Madness

chapter 16- the hunger inside

The night had rolled in over the village, bringing with it a threat of a winter storm. The air was still, heavy and thick clouds blotted out the moon. The night sky stood an inky as canopy of darkness freckled only by a few stars. The relentless downpour of snow has since tapered off into a softly falling mist which managed to paint the area in a strangely fanciful light.

The bus ride to Luna's house was hardly a smudge in her memory but somehow listening to her timeless drawl broadened the memory of her. Pressing her face against the window, Elena peered out at the solemn world before her. Elena could hear the grave chiming of the church bells over the growl of the traffic. The air was clammy and had a brittle edge, but the coldness seemed to pass right through her.

She felt out of step with the world as if it was moving on without her.

Why was Luna even with her? Amidst all the mad happenings and swelling terror, Elena hadn't questioned why Luna had even invited her. Elena sat up, accidently nudging her. Perhaps this was a trick.

An image of dread passed over Elena. In the blackened mirror, speckles of reflections were blotted against the glass. Silken tears threatened to creep in her eyes.

Where's mine?

And it happened all over again. Her mind started failing, stopping and starting at random inconsistent moments. Shaking, Elena clutched onto her frail, skeletal figure as if clutching onto the remainder of her life. She was losing weight, fast. Too fast.

Stop being so nice to me. It will only make it harder for the both of us.

Upon arrival, Elena peered up at the bungalow and couldn't help but shudder on the inside. Her mind was still on the brink of tears.

The house was out of the ordinary for being so ordinary compared to Luna. She didn't know what she accepted but this was far off from what was there. It had long, wooden panels across the walls and low hanging lights. Everything was far cleaner than it should have been as if she'd already been accepting guests.

Elena's gaze paused at the partially ajar door. At first the room seemed normal but then it sort of jumped out at her. From bright blue and purple flowers in carefully designed clay pots to several marble reindeer heads, her house seemed to include anything and everything you could find. It was crammed in an organized, purposeful way.

Elena felt a compliment stirring at her mouth, but the words simply didn't form. Instead, she followed Luna into the main room with an emotionless, dry expression. The house was as still as snow.

"You look awful," stated Luna, studying Elena's leaden grey face. "Would you like some tea?"

Before Elena replied, she scuttled out of the room. Unsure if she should follow, she felt herself shrink inwardly in a mixture of shaking terror and hunger. Desperately crawling through her hair, Elena felt her fists tighten around a litter of leaves which curled in all the wrong ways. There were always more dead leaves in her hair.

Elena crept around the room like a breath of air. She'd noticed that she had started to creep everywhere. It wasn't a matter of guilt or shame but how natural it came to her. Every time she spoke to someone she would pause as if listening to someone else. Only now did she start realising how shadow like she'd become. Or reflection like.

Staring into the hearth which was only just beginning to gather life, Elena noticed that the air was cold enough that each breath summoned a breath flicker of mist. So why couldn't she feel it? Why did she have to be so different? So ill.