The Cure

V

"Dirt. What on earth...?" I wake up and stare at the ceiling.

I was more exhausted than I thought, but since I went to sleep earlier than usual, my mind's racing with activity, done with rest for now; not exactly a convenient place to find yourself in at two in the morning.

I stretch and wipe my face.

I can feel crusty patches on my skin from the tears I didn't bother to wipe away.

I decide to get up and wash since I didn't earlier and when I stand up I realize I'm still in the clothes I was wearing yesterday, too.

I don't bother to change but trudge down the hall in my socks, trying not to make any noise.

When I reach the bathroom – more correctly, a lean-to I insisted Ofelia build when I moved in with her – I turn on the faucet and let it run for a few seconds before shoving my face beneath.

The rushing water cools my burning skin and when I resurface I feel better, though only slightly, than what I felt before.

Turning it off I dry my face with a towel and step back out and shut the door soundlessly, and that's the only reason I hear what sounds like tiny moan.

Not a moan as in pain, but as of someone rolling over in their sleep. It didn't sound like Ofelia, who I can also hear snoring loudly down the hall.

After listening for a few more seconds, and hearing nothing, I turn and walk down the hall, grab a sweater and step out into our backyard.

The cool night air greets me like my mother would have.

Gentle and reassuring that the world will keep spinning no matter what we try and do to stop it.

I stroll around the yards for awhile, looking to see if I find any holes where Ofelia might have got all that dirt.

I don't see anything, but wonder if I might find something along the fence, perhaps where she tried to dig under.

There aren't any holes there either, so I lie down on the wet grass and stare at the sky.

I can see a few tiny, twinkling stars and even a bit of the moon, though it's mostly covered by a patch of newly formed clouds.

I love the sky and have always wondered what it would be like up and out in the universe.

Ofelia told me once how, not far from the Southern Region, in a state that's no longer populated, there was a whole site dedicated to space exploration and discovery.

In the old America, people had even gone to the moon!

This fascinated me more than anything else I had been told about the old America, and I know, that if I was given the chance to go to the moon, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I wonder all the time about 'old America'.

How many people there were, who ruled them and mostly, how long the lived.

I've never wanted a time machine more than when I think about that, so I could live forever, as everyone believes that they must have.

Of course, time machine's are not real, and never will be. At least I know that.

After a moment, I feel tiny drops of water start to hit my face. I sit up hurriedly and roll over onto my hands and knees to stand up, and that's when I almost squish it.

It's barely two inches tall, the brightest green I've ever seen.

It has several spoon shaped segments sticking out from a toothpick sized branch.

I don't know what to even call it.

I've never seen anything like it before in my entire life.

What's even stranger, though, is that...I'm terrified of it.