Fetish (English Version)

Chapter 1

Mr. Rochester's unexpected death shocked all of us. Our lord had always been in perfect health - no complaints, no causes for concern, and in the rare cases the man was sick, he was starting to heal within a day or two. As a side observer of his life, although for six years only, I had come to the conclusion that Mr. Rochester was not a man of change, but I didn't blame him. If my life was even half as good as his, I wouldn't want to change it either.

I didn't suspect that so many changes would accompany his death. After he died, Mrs. Rochester had taken matters into her own hands and had decided the future of her whole family. Including ours. Samuel, Christopher and Thomas were leaving for London, where they would take after their deceased father's business. The girls were promised as wives to wealthy young men long before Mr. Rochester's death. According to their mother, it was time for them to be wed so her daughters were sent to many different parts of England. Mrs. Rochester chose to stay here as she had decided that she would spend the rest of her life in the manor, with only two maids left to serve her.

The rest of us were arranged to work somewhere else. We, along with Camille, my closest friend whom I met during the six years I spent in the Rochester mansion, were going on a long trip to London. The thought of leaving this place made me sad and frightened at the same time. I only associated it with good memories, and now I was about to leave it behind. However, that was still nothing compared to what lay in store for us. The long journey that awaited was set to be extremely difficult due to Lilith's illness, which limited her every movement, no matter how slight. Not to mention that the road to London would take two days. I didn't know whether my sister would manage to endure the pain, but we had to make it somehow. We just had to.

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Lilith greeted me as always. I came back home at the same time every day, and she knew exactly when to expect my arrival. Each time I knocked on the door, she would slam it open and envelop me in a bear hug. I lived for these moments.

"How are you, sweetheart?" I asked, gently wrapping my arms around her body.

"I'm fine," she tried to lie. "I was asleep most of the time so I barely felt any pain."

Another lie. I knew for a fact that she wasn't well. I could feel her body tense up with each breath she took, and how much effort it cost her to simply move. Lilith meeting me every day left her with absolutely no energy, but she wouldn't stop doing it no matter how much I pleaded with her to take it easy. The scoliosis was getting worse with each passing day, and I couldn't do anything. I was completely helpless. My sister had been wearing a corset for two and a half years, and yet we couldn't stop the curvature of her spine, and it was bending into a clearer S-shape. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if one day I woke up to realize that she was gone.

I helped Lilith to stand up and together we walked slowly, step by step, crossing the distance to her bed. While she was lying under the covers, I glanced quickly at her bedside table. Earlier that morning, I had seen three anesthetic injections meant to put Lilith to sleep should the pains become unbearable. Now there were none to be found.

"Lilith, I have to tell you something, but you need to be completely calm, okay?"

She looked at me with a certain amount of suspicion, realizing that the news wouldn't be good.

"Mr. Rochester died last night."

"What?" Lilith breathed.

"Yes, I still find it difficult to believe, but that's the way it is now."