The Devil's Blade

𝟷𝟶 || 𝚂𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎: 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚙𝚘𝚞𝚛

Days bled into weeks, and the weeks blurred into an endless stretch of time. Precisely, 42 days, 1008 hours, 25 minutes, and 12 seconds. I have been lying here, prostrate on the cold, hard ground, my body a mere silhouette against the dull, lifeless landscape. It had been ages since I moved, or even shifted the weight of my being. I hadn't had a drop of water or anything to eat for an exceptionally long amount of time. With hollow eyes, I stared into a clear blue sky as birds fly over my lifeless body, wondering when my life would finally come to an end. However, there was only the ceaseless rhythm of my heart, beating like a distant drum, a reminder that life still lingered within my body.

The sun had become my constant companion, tracing its rays across the vast sky. I had watched its ascent and descent, watched it weave patterns of light and shadow through the passing hours. I had watched the seasons change, felt the gentle caress of spring evolve into the fierce embrace of summer. Time, it seemed, had lost its meaning.

On day 43, rain was pouring out of the skies, soaking every inch of my body. For the first time in weeks, I turned over, facing the horizontal line of the ground instead of the sky. Though I had completely lost the ability to feel emotion, my body felt strangely comfortable in the wetness of rain falling down upon me.

My comfort was abruptly interrupted when I suddenly felt no rain falling on me anymore. Then she appeared, a figure cutting through the downpour like a specter, holding an umbrella over my body. My eyes weary from all the water that landed in them, blinked in disbelief as she drew closer. My vision focuses on the woman before me, her face bore a gentle presence, as if sunlight had broken out of the dark clouds.

She examined my gaze thoroughly, as if she was searching for my soul through my eyes. In that fleeting exchange, I sensed a glimmer of recognition, as though she understood the weight of my burden. It was a shared understanding, unspoken yet visible, that in the desolate expanse of our world, two souls could find solace in the quiet companionship of suffering.

"Do you want to live?" she asks, her voice gentle yet resolute.

I watch as this stranger manages to awaken emotion in me that I thought I had lost a long time a go. Her simple question making me contemplate every decision and action I have made within these past weeks.

"I just... want to die." I utter words with the voice that haven't heard in so long, it sounds unrecognisable to me.

She steps away from me, her expression remains unchanged. "Okay then." she responds, and leaves me laying in the same spot.

The rain starts falling on me again, and I return to my depressive state as if this encounter had never happened before.

Day 44. I awaken to a raven pecking on my arm. Its drilling beak leaves blood wounds all over my front arm. I gaze at the bird's deep black eyes, before it takes a flight, leaving my arm covered it all different holes. As I inspect my arm I notice some odd looking spots that resemble those of rotten flesh. My body was falling apart, but my mind wasn't. It was a realization I didn't want to acknowledge, because it would confirm the loss of my humanity.

Day 45. The heat was excruciating. The sun completely exposed with not a cloud in the sky. Its searing rays burn through my skin without mercy. Every breath was a struggle, and my cracked lips were a reminder of the lack of hydration my body had. My throat felt swollen and dry as if it had transformed into sandpaper, scraping against the roof of my mouth everytime I tried to swallow. My stomach had turned into a growling beast, as it feels like it consuming me from the inside out. The heat tormenting my entire body, while draining out every last bit of water I had left in my body throughout my sweat. Each second felt like an eternity, and I start to wonder if I'm already death. This must be hell, right? I think to myself. My eyes, blurred and sunken, gaze at the world in front of me. Its last vision, catching a glimpse of a person's feet standing before me.

I have no clue what day I was on when I awake to the smell of fresh prepared food, and the sound of a sizzling pan. My head jerks up, startled, and questioning how I ended up here. Not far away from me, I notice the same woman I saw two days ago, sitting besides a cooking spot, scooping some food into a bowl. She senses my presence almost immediately, and quickly glances at me before she continues filling up the bowl. After finishing up, she walks over to me and places the bowl in front of me. I sit up, bewildered, intruiged and most of all confused. 

Without saying a word, she returns to the cooking spot to serve some food for herself. My gaze stays fixated on her and then moves to the bowl of food sitting in front of me. 

"Eat up," She says, as she takes a bite from her bowl.

I examine the food in front of me, a thousand questions fill my mind, but only one slips my mind. "Why did you save me?" I ask, disappointed.

She swallows thoughtfully, her demeanor shows signs of annoyance, yet she takes a moment before responding, her voice carrying a certain gravity. "Because your body yearns for life." She answers, her tone sincere.

I almost laugh at her reasoning. "When my body is rotting, you say that its yearning for life? What kind of answer is that." I retort, my tone slightly mocking.

She calmly places her bowl on the table and turns her attention to me. There's a glimmer of sympathy in her eyes.

In an instant, a tidal wave of pain, anger, regret, and loss engulfs me. All of the horrifying moments I had witnessed flashes through my mind, and something about the look of sympathy in her eyes makes me angry.

"I have nothing to live for anymore." I burst out, tears welling in my eyes from the intense emotions.  "My town is gone. My friends and family are gone. I'm not even human anymore. I had left myself for death, but yet, you saved me. Why? I don't— I don't deserve to live."

 After my outburst, I take a deep breath, attempting to regain my composure.

"But," I start again, my voice quivering. "Why am I still alive?" 

The girl keeps her eyes on me, completely unfazed by my breakdown. She absentmindedly stirs her food with her spoon.

"There were times where I wanted to die, too." she begins, her voice tinged with vulnerability. "I was just like you. I layed on the floor for a long time until my lips started to crack from thirst."

"I thought there was no point of living. I would die anyways, if not by the hands of a creature then I would become one."

"Until my body started to crave for food, I started to realise how alive I still was." she continues, turning away from me and resuming her meal. Minutes pass before she speaks again.

"I watched you struggle to die for more than six weeks. Any normal person would've died by then. It made me believe you were different, and that's why I decided to save you." she concludes.

Her words were oddly motivating even though nothing in her voice or gestures was convincing.  I slowly rise from my position and force myself to take a bite of the food she prepared. With every spoonful, her words and this compassionate gesture trigger a few tears from my eyes. My loneliness had subsided and gave me a little more hope.