The People of Dewbrook

Chapter Twenty-Two

Caroline could not sleep the following night either. This time, she had no obligations, and thus it was only her mind that kept her awake. It was a dark, starless night with a full moon looming overhead, drawing her curiosity even with the gloomy landscape. She lay in her bed still as a corpse as the moonlight illuminated her pale, thin figure, eagerly awaiting sleep with half-closed eyes. A dream came to her at an unknown time, but it did not last very long, which was a relief due to its content.

It began in a room whose walls were ruby red and whose furniture was represented solely by black silhouettes. Completely naked, she lay atop an untidy bed with beige pillows and blankets, staring at the horizon with a smile full of glee. Quickly, she got on her knees, her smile widening as a black hole that came from the mattress swallowed her whole, covering her in the filth of sin as she moaned and moaned, closing her eyes in peace. Those moans of hers echoed throughout the room, carving themselves relentlessly on the walls and bed, destined to remain etched there forevermore. Soon, she was gone, but she could still be heard moaning, eternally pleasured by the sight of flesh and blood and-

No!

She woke up with a scream, glad to observe that no one had heard her. Even when her dream had finally left her, the imagery never did. It would not stop condemning her, acting as her jury without a jury. People were hanged for these things and less, which she had seen quite a few times in the local square. They mostly came from poverty, which brought them to the point of despair so thoroughly that they had to steal and cheat and murder to save their own skin. It was only natural that she had not cared for them until now. A wealthy and privileged person like her, privileged even amongst the ranks of the wealthy, never had anything to hide nor to fear. She had felt guilt before, and she had hidden things before, but this was an apex of shame she had never thought she could reach, and thus this new feeling ruled over her like a tyrant.

At the edge of dusk and dawn, the sky was a dark blue with a couple of misty clouds from which rain came down to the earth gently, tapping on the glass of her windows. The forest stood darkly in the distance, that same forest where her son lay as dead as could be, and no one had a clue about it. The coldness of death came upon her skin, sent to her address by the harsh winds, not flinching once as she stood motionlessly, not having the strength to move. An emptiness overcame her heart and soul, numbing every single bone in her body, and she felt she would never be whole again.

In the shadows of the night, Satan lay at every step. Wherever she tread, she left a mark of sin, forever tainting the purity of whatever was there before. She delighted in tainting the purity of things, and she could not help it, which she was soon able to observe once more. As rain flowed mercilessly from the oppressive grey clouds and the wind mercilessly swayed the branches, expressing the sheer beauty and terror of the force of life, her thighs were consumed by that very force in the same manner, eagerly remembering the countless moments of passion and pleasure she had had. 

They were hungry with desire for various things - to feel the taste of love upon her lips; to feel a strong, desirous touch of a man's hand upon her breasts; to feel the sway of her hips and buttocks in all their excitement over a lover; to feel the heavy entrance of a man's reproductive organ into hers. Softly yet wrathfully, they sought to devour every bit of another's love for her, love that was always passionate and unwavering. Oh, the wonders of lust! If there was any reason to exist, it was the pure mirth that they brought. Such mirth, such unbelievable and undefiled mirth!

Horrified, she flinched away from the window with a tear. Even after a murder, her senses drove her to indulge in her vices and devour everything that was in her path. Satan still lurked in the shadows of the night, this time harder than ever before, and if she did not take action soon enough, he would forever remain by her side. That harrowing realisation, gradually dawning on her throughout the four-and-twenty hours that had passed, weighed on her soul and shattered decades of her life into pieces.