hiraeth

nineteen

xix. Nia

Being underground elicites some kind of gravitational pull at Nia's feet, one she can't elucidate. It forces her to drag her limbs, the phantom feeling of some invisible entity grasping her ankles as she stumbles after Enne along the foul sewer tunnel.

She swings her backpack off one shoulder, the zip of the zipper breaking the pattern of their footsteps on concrete. "Here, Enne. Think fast."

Enne twists around to face her. Nia throws the package wrapped in tinfoil at her. "What is it?"

"Sandwich," says Nia. "Half of my sandwich. Peter reminded me you haven't eaten."

Unwrapping it gingerly, Enne nods, but before she takes a bite, she makes a noise of frustration. "Ugh, Edmund hasn't eaten anything for hours. He's probably starving."

Not if he's dead, Nia ruminates, but it's the last thing she'll tell Enne; she doesn't think she can say it in a lighthearted manner. "He'll have something to look forward to when we get him," she reassures instead.

The putrid stench of their location wafts up her nose, and she gags silently, covering her hand with her mouth. She sweeps her eyes up and notices Enne, too, looks queasy, her skin tinged with a slight shade of green. Her friend examines her sandwich with some trepidation, but her hunger evidently outweighs her nausea, and she tears a small portion off with her teeth.

They keep walking. Nia requests the tale of the Witch to get her mind off of the heaviness in her legs and the whisper in her head, pulsing faintly...

Get me out of here.

"So this...witchy person," starts Nia, their shadows pulled thin, "you think she's responsible for our memory loss?"

"More or less," Enne answers. "You should have heard the way she talked. I'd genuinely be shocked if I'm wrong about it."

"what exactly did she say?"

Enne chews in contemplation. "the thing is..."

"Go on."

"she might have said something about Edmund and I."

A dose of serotonin hits Nia. "Ooh, spill the tea."

"she basically told me I still feel something for him. Anyway, the point is-"

"wow okay, don't try to breeze past that," Nia interrupts, a smug grin gracing her lips. "You still feel something for Edmund? what's that all about?"

"He's just a friend," Enne groans, shaking her head. "The Witch came to her own delusional conclusions. The point is, she used the word 'still' and the phrase 'after everything I did.' If that's not grounds for 'Hey, I cursed you and now you're suffering the consequences,' then I don't know what is."

"Do you like him?" Nia asks, not letting it slide.

"Did you not hear a word I just said?"

"yes, but do you like him?"

"You're impossible," Enne whines. "No, I don't like him like that."