Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
the𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔 ...
THE NIGHT TIME in the Glade was Ria's preferred time of day.
She didn't care much for the work and clamour that settled upon the Glade during the day. Rather, Ria enjoyed when all those chaotic things slipped into the peaceful mist of night where the world was still, only being guided by the moon showering its milky pathways of light.
She'd endured another night in the Med-jack hut after a day of broken slumber, her pain slowly dissipating as each hour passed. Ria had eventually woken up from her dark, dreamless sleep due to the noises of the Glade outside. The faint murmur of distant voices and the gentle hum of the animals stirred her and she opened her eyes. It was the morning — she could tell because steady beams of sunlight would hit objects in the Infirmary and resile off them, setting the room in an imperceptible glow.
Yawning, Ria sat up and stretched. Despite having rested for what seemed like eternity, she felt the heavy burden of fatigue slow her every movement. The air was cool, lifting the ragged cotton curtain from its casement with a calm ease. As she turned her neck to the side, Ria could feel the small tinge of pain that was left surface to the front of her head. However, the pills Clint had given her had clearly worked wonders, so much so that she'd forgotten that she was in the Infirmary at all for a few seconds.
The dreams Ria previously slept through still trickled into the front of her mind like water and she felt as though they were desperately signalling her to feel something, perhaps spark the embers of a distinct memory. But, they simply didn't. All Ria was left with was a veil of confusion that shattered her thoughts and the ability to recollect. It was strange, the flashes of life beyond the Glade. She'd seen flowers, trees, mountains. She'd witnessed natural beauty that had been swept away, leaving fragments of earth slipping between the crevices in her recollections. The colours seem to fade the more Ria tried to grasp onto them, like chasing a butterfly that continued to flutter out of arm's reach. The feeling consumed her.
A creak of the door to the Infirmary opening distracted Ria from her thoughts and she hastily brushed them aside. A boy who which she didn't recognise entered the room, gripping a tattered notebook and splintered pencil in his hand. He was an image of dark skin and curly hair cropped short, carrying a slight hunch to his shoulders. His eyes scanned the room until his gaze landed on Ria. A quick smile tugged at his lips as he made his way over to her, tapping his pencil rhythmically against the book.
"Mornin' Greenie. Name's Jeff, I work with Clint 'ere in the Infirmary. I guess you could say we're a team." he introduced himself, pulling a stall next to her cot and taking a seat.
