Page 71 of Beautiful Venom
And carry your dreams to the ocean so deep.
Mama’s soft voice echoes in my ears as my lids fall closed, flickering in that dreamy place between wakefulness and sleep.
“Mommy?” I whisper, but I’m not sure if any sound comes out.
My head’s heavy and my limbs are gripped by paralysis, as if I’m shackled to the rugged bed beneath me. Mom’s gentle features appear blurry behind my reddening eyelids, but her soothing voice carries on in the darkness.
Rest now, my sweet one, the night’s gentle song,
Will cradle you close as the tides move along.
The sea whispers softly, the wind hums a tune,
And soon you’ll be dancing beneath the soft moon.
“Are you here to get me, Mom?”
A calloused hand lands on mine and she stops singing. “Do you want me to get you, dear?”
“Hmm. I’m so tired, Mommy. It’s exhausting.”
“Then come join us.”
“Dahl!” a familiar voice calls, panicked urgency lacing its usual softness.
“Vi?”
“Don’t leave me, Dahl. We promised to be each other’s family. Dahlia! Dahlia, please! I only have you.”
The sea whispers softly, the wind hums a tune,
And soon you’ll be dancing beneath the soft moon.
Mom’s lullaby echoes around me mixed with Violet’s screams, until my senses explode in maddening chaos.
My eyes pop open.
A white ceiling with a moldy spot at the corner greets me first.
I try to sit up, but my limbs are so heavy, my head crashes back down.
Hot.
I’m so hot, the back of my throat is dry and I feel as if my clothes are my worst enemy.
Where am I?
What happened?
I cast my eyes around. A small white room, completely sterile except for the metal bed I’m lying on.
The place is dim, bathed in a soft amber light that casts long, flickering shadows on the walls. Everything feels wrong. Hazy. The air around me is thick, pressing in, suffocating me with its weight.
Again, I try to get up, but it’s as if my body is tethered with unseen bonds.
The world swims around me, blurring at the edges. Then my senses come back in sharp, jarring fragments. Unbearable warmth spreads over my skin, a fire igniting from the inside out. My heart pounds in my ears, each beat loud, pulsing through my veins.
Every brush of fabric sends shivers through me, amplifying the burning heat.
