Dream Beyond Life's Edge

Sickness Spanning Ages

Talia banged the door open. Inside, Joseph was lying on the floor, screeching in pain. His mouth drooled with crimson blood, his skin pale as paint, and eyes bloodshot. A red puddle surrounded him.

Emotions flooded her entire being, her vision blurred and her breathing quickened. She jolted back and her legs weakened. A sick feeling arose from Talia's stomach. Her footing crumbled and she fell on the floor. Then nausea hit and the food she had just ate a moment before came right back out of her mouth. Her eyes solely focused on the yellow fluid dripping from her mouth yet, the scent of her stomach's contents couldn't be detected by her nose.

"Dad! Dad, Joseph is—" Talia shouted as loudly as she could but her words got caught in her own throat.

I didn't see anyone else in the house. Are they not here. Was Joseph left alone?

The gears in her mind went into action. This is no time to be petrified, she needs to get Joseph to the hospital as fast as she could.

Using her hand as a support, she leaned on the fence and picked herself back up. Her trembling feet stomped on the ground beneath her, the pain slightly clearing her mind. Looking up, The scenery seemed to blend together from the blurring of her vision, but the red splotch on the floor indicated the obvious goal.

Her hands took ahold of her knees and pushed herself forward step by step, slowly closing the distance between herself and the red pool with her unstable legs. A warm feeling permeated her hand as her hand slowly encircled the baby's burning body.

He's still warm, no. He's too hot.

The trembling on her feet lessened. Why is she so scared, she's not the one that's suffering. With that, she found her resolve.

In the midst of the cold air of dusk, a young girl made her way through the forest. The attire she wore stained with red and a crimson trail traced the girl wherever she went. The repeated tapping of her sandal permeating the silent village. 

#####

"You're getting better, it wouldn't be long before you can get out of bed." With touch, Talia's father transferred his mana onto the patient, slowly healing him.

"Okay doc."

The intense workload he had endured for nearly a month had been reduced significantly recently with the decreasing number of patients. As relief washed him over, he started to think about what he would do with his new found spare time—

With Joseph occupying both of her hands, Talia kicked the door of the hospital, slamming it open. "Help! My brother— my brother is dying!" she shouted as she went inside the blinding hospital.

"Talia!" Surprised by the loud noise, Talia's father—Perole snapped his gaze from the patient onto his daughter. "Is that Joseph!? Quick get him here and place him on that bed!"

Talia quickly did as he told and carefully laid him on the white bed.

"What happened to him?" Perole tensefully asked while adeptly handling Joseph's dying body. 

"I don't know, when I got home he was laying on the floor like this." She scanned her eyes around the room to see the other patients being treated by the other healers.

"Your mother wasn't home!?" Even while staying quiet as to not disturb the other patients, Perole's stupefaction could still be felt through his shaky eyes.

"No, I don't think so. At least I didn't see anyone." Talia's words came out rapidly, even surprising herself.

His eyebrows twitched, noticing something strange. "Wait, go back to the house and check if your mother also passed out."