On Broken Stars

Chapter 12

Coralia woke up early the following day. She went about her chores as though the world was right. She even went as far as to complete those that belonged to Geneline. She made her mother a perfect cup of tea and placed two chocolate muffins on a saucer next to it. After a long bath, she wore a white dress. She left her hair loose and snatched the novel she had kept at her bedside. Barefoot, she made her way through the town and greeted those that waved at her. She went past they hayfield, trees and up the ragged path that led to the dam. She walked to the edge, flipped the book to the last page and smiled as she read the last line aloud,

"And so, the princess died in the king's arms."

She laughed at the irony of it all. She closed the book without ever setting her eyes on any of the other pages and tossed it into the water.

My dearest Geneline She thought, Promise you will never tell mama that I slept with him.

With that, Coralia jumped into the icy cold water and never bothered to try to swim. She had never learnt. She felt the heaviness of her body as she sank, her chest stinging with the need for air. For some time, she felt weightless, her dress bubbled up in the water and her toes curled as she released her breathe. She began to swallow water and slowly, her mind switched off.

There was a ripple in the surface of the water, limps struggled against the moving weight of liquid before two strong arms circled around her unconscious body. He began to move up with her, broke through the water and gasped for air. He pulled her to the shore and as soon as he was out, he dragged her as far away from the water as he could. He worked fast, alternating between blowing air into her lungs and pumping at her chest. He did so until she coughed out most of the water she had swallowed. She blinked several times and between half closed eyes she made out his simple form in a soaked grey suit.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He lowered her head rested it against the curve of her neck in relief, "You could have died."

He watched her black eyes roll back into her head and she fell back from her coughing fit, exhausted.

"You are coming with me." He whispered, "This town is too small for you."

Coralia let herself drift off into unconsciousness as she felt the memory of her sister tingle out of her. For the first time, tears flowed down her wet cheeks. When he lifted her into his arms, the naive little girls they had once been, remained in the dirt of an old sleeping town.