Days of Remedy

Part 3

That evening, my parents were invited for a business dinner, leaving my sister and me alone. Aiko loves me very much; I know that, and it breaks my heart that I can't focus on what she has to say to her big sister. I have always enjoyed her stories and the enthusiasm with which she tells them, but recently her babble only has caused me a headache. Today is no different. Trying to ease my throbbing head, I lay down on a white sofa in our living room, but not even a minute later, a pillow smacks my head. 

Aiko's giggly voice resonates next to my ear: "Sis! Let's pillow fight!" 

She may have used a pan, it wouldn't feel no different, but I don't have the heart or energy to scream at her. 

"Not now, Aiko; I think I am gonna go to bed. Had a rough day, you know?" I say, squinting my eyes because of the hard ceiling light and my spinning head. 

Then, as soon as I finished the sentence, her beautiful sparkly eyes and dimples disappeared behind a scowled stare and curled lip. Her puffed-up face starts to whine: "You always say that! Since you broke up with Daichi, every day has been rough for you! It's been weeks! Weeks! If you are gonna be annoying about it, then maybe you two shouldn't have broken up!"

Those words hit me like a buckshot, piercing through my insides. My blood is boiling, but all I can feel is tightened chest and a twisting stomach. I don't want to, but suddenly, a venomous snake finds its way into my mouth and poisons every word: "GO TO YOUR ROOM, YOU LITTLE BRAT! And leave me alone, everyone, just LEAVE. ME. ALONE! I have had enough of this; you have nothing to lecture me about, not mum, dad, and especially NOT YOU!" 

Aiko is taken aback by my reaction; I never scream at her. 

She takes a moment to pick up her thoughts and yell back at me: "Lecturing?! Maybe if YOU started acting like a big sister, I would not have to lecture you!" 

I bite my tongue before I say anything else: "If you don't go to your room, I will go to mine. The dinner is in the oven, eat it, go to sleep, and don't bother me." 

I quickly get up and run up the stairs as Aiko angrily throws more pillows at me. I lock myself in the room and push my back at the door, questioning what just happened. Tears start rolling down my face as my legs can't hold me standing any longer, and my heavy body slides down on the floor. I sink into the soft rug beside me and close my eyes, not making a sound.

******

Waking up hours later, I feel my dehydrated body tremble; the dizziness is even worse than before. So I gather myself to get up and head to the bathroom. The brightness blinds me as I turn the light switch. In the mirror, I notice the dry-out tears on my cheeks, red eyes, and the purple veins showing through my skin. This sight brings back my pitiful sorrow. All I can see is a shell of a person I used to know. Instead of a young girl full of life, I look back at a scum with shivering hands, thinning hair, and circles under their eyes that remind me of all the sleepless nights I have spent with shallow, neverending sobs. I take off my clothes, sit in the shower, and wish the filth would go down the drain, but even after the water gets cold, an empty feeling keeps consuming me from the inside.