Enaeya

10 - Contemporary Hindrance

I squinted against the weight of the morning fog, a thick blanket of mist that dulled the vibrant greens of the rainforest, shrouding everything in a muted gloom. All around me, the air was alive with the sounds of nature: the distant call of a songbird, the rustle of leaves whispering secrets, and the occasional thrum of insects buzzing through the damp air. Yet, amid this tranquil ambiance, I found myself fixated on a decidedly less serene interlude.

"Get up, Damian! You can't lie there all day!" The voice sliced through the morning like a blade, coarse and impatient. I tried to lift my head, but the world around me swayed, drowning in a blinding mix of sensation and confusion.

"I'm trying," I grumbled, my throat dry and my body unwilling to comply. Why? A question that cut deeper than my physical constraints, as I could barely muster the thought to articulate it. I forced my gaze upward, where the frantic figure of Eunora emerged from the swirling fog. With wild hair and sharp features that seemed carved from the very shadows of the forest, she was a tempest wrapped in the skin of an old woman.

"No, you're not. Move those legs! Do it now!" Her voice thundered. Despite the warmth of the spring sun trying to pierce through the mist, her temper cast a chill over the small clearing - a mossy glen carpeted with soft earth and tangled roots.

I struggled to grasp the wooden crutches, gripping them with both hands until my knuckles turned white. "And if I fall? You're only making this worse!" The crack in my voice betrayed the panic that lurked just beneath the surface.

"Enough with those lame excuses!" Eunora barked back, her sharp gaze narrowing in my direction. "If I'd known you were paralyzed, I would've started the therapy days ago!" she retorted sharply, a huff following her words.

"Is being unconscious a valid excuse?" I shot back, unable to hide the bitterness lacing my voice. The gaps in my mind still yawned wide like dark caverns. Days of my life spent adrift, caught in limbo. Eunora didn't seem to care. She only scowled at me as I made another attempt to hobble across the small clearing.

Eunora had been helping me regain my strength; I had overheard her muttering to Misha about how "soft" I had become during my unexpected stint of helplessness. But every time I dared defy her, her fury brought fresh doubt upon my heart that I could ever fully recover.

"Don't talk back! Keep moving!" she howled again, her gnarled finger pointing like a spear toward my defiant hesitation.

"It's not like I can just sprout legs like a sapling, you know!" I retorted, fueled by frustration. The fog swirled around us as the humidity settled on my skin, mixing with my pent-up anger. The trees stood witness, whispering in the rustle of leaves. A shadow fell across me as I attempted to laboriously maneuver my wooden crutches, wooden and rough-hewn, under me. My palms were already sore from the pressures of attempting to stand, to walk, while my legs betrayed me - still paralyzed from the mysterious affliction that had rendered me immobile.

"Move more, you dimwit!" Eunora spat, her last word practically flew like venom.

"I'm fucking trying!" I snapped back, my jaw set in resistance to her tirade. How dare she wail at me, demanding more when I felt as though I were wading through quicksand. The shift of my weight brought forth an ache, and I stumbled. A stray limb threatened to trip me, but I gripped my crutches tighter.

Eunora threw her hands up in frustration. "I said don't talk back! Move!"

With a grunt, I forced my legs to shift under me, feeling the frigid air bite against my skin. I pushed myself upright, the wooden crutches scraping against the earth. My heart hammered in my chest as I took a shaky step forward, and another. I felt like a newborn fawn, unsteady and unsure, my body reluctant to cooperate. "I'm not a puppet you can control," I retorted as I fought to keep my balance.