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Chapter 63, Will The Wise (Ep. 4: Sorcerer)
There was always something wrong with Natalia Cortez.
Not in her spirit or in her sharpened tongue, but deep in her marrow and crimson blood. The wrongfulness of her existence was a torment, but she learned to endure it. She understood no amount of praying or bargaining would allow an escape from misfortune.
She was meant to be eternally trapped.
But her wrongfulness no longer lived in her bloodstream.
It now lived in her mind.
Three months ago, Natalia began to experience a haunting. It was not the typical kind that came in the form of nightmares and memories. This haunting came in hallucinations.
Hallucinations about him.
Eddie Munson.
He first appeared to her when the first leaf fell, right when autumn was about to prevail against summer. His disheveled curls, Hellfire shirt, and dark leather jacket were worn like a pristine veil, as if he were dressed for an imminent funeral.
Natalia associated his memory with death, so his presence brought her horrific thoughts that dwelled on the possibility that she might be next. That perhaps he hoped she'd follow him into death.
Sometimes she considered it.
There was no one waiting for her. No friends. No family. The only person she considered her person was dead and her parents had disowned her for having defended Eddie. She was alone in a world consumed with poison, so how could she fathom staying?
On many occasions, she nearly got close. She thought back on all the mistakes made and how much of a coward she had been for not befriending the people she now longed to stay close to.
And one of them was already gone.
But he now haunted her.
Natalia would try to ignore him whenever he appeared. She would continue with her day, head to her job, and perform her daily routine. Sometimes he would talk to her and other times he would simply offer her company. At first, she urged him to disappear, but his presence began to offer her solace. Even if she still associated him with death, it was her loneliness that let him remain.
It wasn't until last month when she gathered the courage to speak to him. She didn't expect him to respond, but he talked to her the same way he did when he was alive. He would offer witty remarks, call her out on her mistakes, and insist on calling her 'princess.' She used to hate the nickname knowing it was a pick at her prissy personality, but she now cherished it.
Whenever she was lost, she would confide in him. He would listen and help her through her problems. Maybe she was losing her mind, but if this was how insanity was like, then she would wander through madness for an eternity.
