The Rape of Proserpine

The Rape of Proserpine Chapter Six

The Rape of Proserpine

Six

A lot of things took a turn after the incident at the school parking lot occurred. My parents became too jumpy and paranoid, always on the lookout for me, as if I might disappear or be taken away any second, fearful of what happened to Marel to exactly befall upon me. River, although he steered away from the topic whenever I tried to bring it up in our conversations, somehow blamed himself for my near- death experience. I hardly ever saw him lately. He was full of excuses; life was really dull without him. Our phone chats couldn’t compensate for his presence. Sam and Kenon, with the air of hostile indifference they shrouded themselves with, were actually nice enough to keep my mom updated with my every movement in school and hospital. Kenon, the look upon his face in my dream still haunted me. For a fleeting second, whenever he would look at me, I would be at a loss for something to say, much give a reasonable reaction. Many times, Calvin would walk up to me out of nowhere and ask how I was doing and say sorry afterwards. Emma, on the other hand, kept her distance, a thing to be grateful for.

From an outsider point of view, my life seemed to be almost ordinary and normal. The atmosphere of longing and horror hanging above the town of Appleton was invisible, yet heavy and suffocating to those who knew and were close to Marel. The abnormality of what our separate lives had become was the norm; twisted normal.

“I can’t,” River said in a low voice, making me grit my teeth in annoyance. “I’m just really busy.”

“I haven’t seen you in a week,” I whined flatly. We’ve had the same conversation before, the increasing days the only difference.

“I know, and I’m totally sorry for that -”

I just couldn’t take his stupid reasons any longer. How busy could a burger joint get? “I’m hanging up,” I stated, cutting him off in mid- sentence.

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. I didn’t know if we were already in a fight or not, but one things was sure, we were both tired of each other. “You’re simply overreacting,” he enthused, blowing my temper.

“I’m simply being a friend.” I clicked my cell phone off without saying goodbye. Rude, yet I felt extremely satisfied. If he wanted to lavish in self- blame and avoid me, I’d let him for all I care.

My emotions were surging dangerously as I stared at the ceiling, not only because River was acting strange, but because something was bothering me. After I had left the hospital, I noticed that I had been given a band on the wrist, a band given only to patients who were supposed to stay longer in the hospital. I took it for granted at first, thinking that somebody might have made a mistake. When I came home and was about to take it off, I realized that it wasn’t an ordinary band given to patients. My breathing caught in my throat, my heart pounded in my chest and in my ears, rendering me frozen in shock. I sat on the edge of the bed and opened my bedside drawer, taking the plastic band out to the light. It still made me shiver, the same feeling when I learned what it was.

River was the only person I could talk to about it. The only person I could trust. Unfortunately, we weren’t on the same page regarding the matter anymore. I stared at the object on my palm. The name Marel Connelly was printed on the shiny blue surface, the date beside it was the date when I was admitted in the hospital for less than twenty- four hours, supposedly the date of passing of the patient: of Marel or me, I had no inkling.

The band was an identification tag of the dead to be shipped at the morgue. The dead, the word made my stomach turn upside down. It was at that moment that the full intensity of the situation impacted me in the gut. I knew that what I was trying to recreate was no game, no child’s play. But I didn’t really measure the possible extent of losses I might incur if ever fate decided to work against me. Now, as I felt the cold rubbery texture of the band on my fingertips, it seemed that in the process of seeking vengeance and justice, I could win or lose everything I had, even my life.