Heliophilia; d.m

XLIII

Violet was taken aback by her aunt's unexpected appearance. She had to blink several times to fully realize who was standing in front of her.

Violet felt a surge of panic when she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen, and she tried her best to suppress the feeling, saying it was just another anxiety attack, but when she saw Mariel, it faded only for a fraction, and now she was more upset.

This was their world with Draco, they ran away leaving everything and everyone behind, and no one was supposed to disturb their peace and happiness. Violet suddenly felt small needles of anger — Mariel shouldn't have come, It was not she who should have come in through the door, but Draco.

Violet opened her fingers, which had been gripping the fabric of her sundress so tightly that her knuckles were white, and with a sigh, she smoothed the hem away from the folds.

She had to find out the reason for Mariel's visit and get her out of there as soon as possible, because she could already feel her head beginning to ache — she urgently needed to rest.

"Mariel?" Violet spoke in a low voice, looking at her aunt with a frown.

Her aunt was the only remaining relative, and Violet loved her with all her heart and was grateful for her help and support, but the moment Violet felt that she had just opened her wings and was ready to fly, Mariel lowered her to the ground, with a heavy thud.

"Violet, what's going on?" Mariel looked a little worried as she peered at her niece from under her furrowed brows.

The question was somehow a trigger for Violet, and she could feel her sanity slowly slipping away from her, leaving her head teeming with bad and disturbing thoughts.

"What are you doing here and—" She broke off, lowering her head. She began to breathe heavily, and a panic attack was coming on. She tried to breathe deeply, trying to distract herself, but the only thing that was in her mind was the question "Where is Draco?" He was able to help her avoid it.

"Violet? Okay, it's okay." Her aunt gently stroked her back, and in a few seconds Violet felt better. She looked up at Mariel, but immediately closed her eyes — no, she didn't feel any better, in fact, Mariel's touch only made her feel worse.

Mariel looked at her with sad eyes, with an expression of sympathy and pain for Violet. Mariel was heartbroken by Violet's suffering. She wanted to do everything she could to help her, but she knew that Violet's main help would be only herself.

She looked around the kitchen where they were standing, and her eyes fell on something behind Violet.

"What's this?" She asked and went to the kitchen set, picking up something that clattered on the marble surface, but Violet kept her eyes closed, feeling the tips of her limbs go numb, and the feeling of nausea began to grow rapidly.

"Please don't tell me you didn't take your medicine today."

Violet's eyes snapped open, and she suddenly felt as if a cold spear had pierced her.

Medicine.

It was something that put her in a daze, and slowly, she turned to Mariel, her eyes falling on the pot that her aunt was holding in her hands, in which she was cooking dinner for herself and Draco. But when Violet looked closer, she saw that there was only dirt and scraps of newspaper. 

"I—" Violet's voice sounded pitiful, broken, and she closed her eyes and shook her head, wishing that Mariel would just leave and Draco would come back instead.

She suddenly realized that she could no longer hear the chirping of the birds, and there was no sunlight coming through her closed eyelids, no smell of fresh-mown grass and acacia.
She started to shake.