Cosmic Twists 1 (Old Version)

Part One - Lara - Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I wake from my unconsciousness, in the shade of a small glade, with Cosmo snoring gently beside me. I still feel the warmth of damp blood seeping through my tunic. I sit up painstakingly slowly, wincing at the throbbing sensation that pulsates from my face to my back. There is a tree with a hollow alcove nearby, so I try to push myself up, using Cosmo as a grip, and crawl towards the tree.

I notice a peculiar blue glow, shimmering against the bark above my head. I slowly and carefully turn my whole body towards the source of the light so as not to cause more pain than what I can already feel. For a moment I think I’m hallucinating in my deliriousness, but it seems that Cosmo has found this place as a rest spot, and I see the pool shimmering under the beams of light pouring in through the gaps in the leafy canopy above. The colour of the water is strikingly blue, almost luminous. I pull myself towards it, clawing desperately at the loose dirt on the ground. I carefully untangle myself from my damp clothes before letting myself fall into the water, pulling my blood-sodden clothes with me. I wear only my necklace.

For a moment I bask weightlessly under the surface of the cool, calm waters as I feel the blood wash away from my skin. My sore eyes flicker open and I see the dark red clouds of blood plume from my clothes.

I rinse them gently until they seem clean, and toss them out to dry on the bank. I lie in the water, keeping myself afloat as I watch the water lap over my body, washing the blood away as it fades into the blue, and with it the pain fades.

I let my face fall under the surface as the tingling sensation draws away the sting from my face. I push against the bank and propel myself weightlessly through the water as I feel my body regain a little strength, allowing me to pull myself through the water for several strokes.

I try to open my eyes under the water once more to see how clear it is, and I begin to swim deeper. I keep swimming, losing my sense of direction as the vast blueness surrounds me. Suddenly I begin to sink, as if a great weight is pulling me down with an almighty force. I struggle against it, reaching desperately upwards towards the surface, but my muscles fail me and my arms flail hopeless in this vacuous silence. I keep sinking and I can’t stop it.

Stupid girl. Only moments ago I had been lying unconscious in a pool of my own blood after being chased by a wild pack of strange animals. I’m exhausted; of course I don’t have the energy to swim.

Out of panic, a rush of energy surges through me and I finally manage to lurch myself upwards out of the water, followed by several moments of spluttering up fluid from the depths of my lungs.

I remain cautious of the water after that, but I can’t deny the way it fascinates me, for it had taken away my pain.

I lie on my hip with my elbow against the bank and my head resting on my palm, still, beside the water, gazing at my own reflection on the flat surface; the split in my skin illuminated by the gentle glow. I stay there, still and sleepy, until I eventually fall into the comforting darkness of slumber. 

***

The several hours of rest seem to have replenished my energy. The speckled sun appears between the leaves of the canopy as Cosmo and I begin our trek onwards through the forest, but I can’t stop thinking about what happened in the lake. I feel the awe of it, drawing me back towards it.

I had wrapped my scarf around my shoulder before we left the glade, to prevent infection and to stop the flow of blood, but it feels good to have the fresh air on my face.

We stroll on, through this forest that seems to go on and on for miles. I begin to worry at the familiarity of our surroundings, questioning whether the funny shaped trees were the ones we’d passed earlier, and I consider the fact that perhaps we’ve been encircling our own path. Perhaps Isaac hadn’t intended for us to enter the woods, as I realise that I have absolutely no idea where we’re heading.

We’re lost, I suppose, but we don’t really know where we’re going anyway.

Cosmo and I take rest by a large boulder next to a flurry of young pine trees. I lean on my good shoulder to give my wounds a rest from the monotonous motion of riding on horseback. The pain comes back in waves of sharp throbs like knives in the open wounds.

I begin to miss my mother, and Isaac, but most of all I miss painting in my chamber, and how carefree it would make me feel. I reach down at my chest for my necklace, but all I feel is my protruding collar bone and notice the low rumble in my stomach as I realise that I can’t remember the last time I ate. I feel at the thin material of my undershirt. My necklace is gone. Suddenly a lump forms in my throat; I’ve lost the one thing that only ever belonged to me. I retrace our footsteps in my mind of where we had been, but it could be anywhere, and I quickly, reluctantly, accept that it’s gone.

The bitter sting of my tears seep deeply into my weeping cut and I gasp with pain, startling Cosmo. My head begins to feel dizzy and I start to sway slightly in my loss of balance as the pain in my ear grows excruciatingly painful. My vision starts to blur, but I see Cosmo move towards me and, after some uncomfortable painful manoeuvring I suddenly feel weightless again as I sway side to side in motion with Cosmo’s steps beneath me. 

It isn’t long until I feel the cool, revitalising sensation of the water on my feet again. Cosmo had retraced our steps back to the pool, perhaps knowing that the water would help relieve my pain.

I hold myself beside the water’s edge as my deliriousness makes me swoon, and for a moment I worry about the sinking feeling again, but all that matters to me right now is how to rid myself of the pain, and this is the only way I know how.

I stand, trembling, with my arms raised above my head, and slowly lean forward, plunging myself into the water. I feel my fingers break the surface as my whole body follows almost silently. Just like I had done before, I propel myself weightlessly through the water, letting my body absorb the strength and life the water replenishes it with.

I let myself sink deeper into the water this time, feeling more at ease the deeper I get, and I get taken away into the familiar trance. This time, when that same pulling sensation returns, instead of struggling, I let myself go. I wonder where it will take me. I become aware of every part of my body: the weight in my arms and legs as the tiredness I’ve always known begins to take me under. Everything begins to tingle, until I feel numb. I hold my breath.

A long moment of stillness passes. I try to open my eyes, and all I see is darkness, but there is a strange gold light glowing far ahead of me in the misty water. I open my mouth and water rushes in.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I feel two soft hands grab me by the forearms and pull me upwards. When I look up, all I can see is my own reflection against the surface above me. The rippling water disguises the break in my skin. I should never have gone back into the water, I thought, before my eyes flicker shut into the darkness once more.