A Neverland Tale - HOOKED (eng)

Chapter 4.6 - Fiona

Memory was precious... not only in this world. It put one's past in one's hands, this fragile glass that each person was made of. Yesterday formed tomorrow... and both became today. But what could today be without yesterday? It didn't feel complete, that black gap - torn out of her mind - still gaped there. Warm water gently sloshed over it, and gentle curls of steam danced on the surface and swayed around Fiona like graceful dancers. There was a smell of soap and softened wood, still the latent scent of salt over everything. But the warmth permeated her hypothermic limbs in such a pleasant, soothing way that Fiona actually took the time to close her eyes for a moment. Barely a blink, with the soft sigh that beaded from her lips into space... but she enjoyed it.

The pirate might be right, Fiona didn't appreciate the privilege of a bath in warm freshwater - but she was grateful in her own way. After all, there could have been a row of dirty cells behind the gnarled wooden door. Even as the warm water completely enveloped the battered knee for the first time and Fiona let the warmth take hold of her, she turned the man's name back and forth. She was actually a little surprised that he had told her - after all, he was still so resistant to questions on the beach. But maybe it was simply because he had less danger around him here than out there. She tilted her head thoughtfully.Filou.It sounded foreign, not a name Fiona had ever heard before, and yet it tasted like a forbidden sweet on her tongue. Besides, it suited him... the eyes like black charcoal speckled with smaller patches of bright flecks, and the medium-length hair. Here, in the soft candlelight, she could look at him a little better and Fiona gained more assurance from the fact that he didn't budge. She had given up hope that he might still leave the room and that she might somehow escape through the porthole - apart from that, the idea of burning cold water was not necessarily pleasant.

Increasingly, the possibilities to which Fiona had clung her last hope shrank to an inescapable minimum. She didn't like the prospects... at all. Besides, the word prisoner still bumped against her mind. It sounded so hopeless... but there just HAD to be a way.
With a soft sigh, she thought again of the other side - the fact that even an escape would not resolve her predicament. Fiona suppressed a wince as he abruptly pushed himself off the wall and rounded the tub. Unobtrusively, she pushed herself closer to the wooden rim, hoping it was too dark to give him another look. Suspiciously, she watched Filou come to a stop by a candle, pull something out, and... light a cigarette on the golden flame? The smooth forehead furrowed. Fiona knew that word too, that object, but when she tried to reach for a memory - nothing but blackness.

Again the pirate leaned against the wall as she reached for the brush and dipped the soap under water. Thoroughly soaping herself, she scrubbed her fingers and nails with the brush as well until every speck of dirt on and underneath softened and was lost in the tub. Heavens, she had missed that feeling. Along with grains of sand and seaweed, the slightly itchy salt finally came off her skin. Fiona used the moment to submerge herself and rinse out her hair while the water was still reasonably clean. She had no eyes or ears under the water, so Fiona could only really enjoy the familiar silence for a few seconds... before she resurfaced and hurriedly wiped the water from her eyes with her fingers.

But Filou hadn't moved, he was still standing against the wall by the window, letting the smoke from his cigarette seep through the air. Something was fascinating about the way the small clouds spiraled upwards on both sides. Fiona thought she had seen this before too... but where? It looked familiar to her, so damn familiar! This whole thing was freaking her out. Every time she thought she could hold onto something, her thoughts slipped again and slid back into blackness. No matter how she twisted and turned it, Fiona got no further than the roaring waves and terrible cold.