L.O.V.E.

Chapter 1 - Nerissa

It's the Commemoration Day, a sorrowful dent in everyone's life. The whole city has gathered around the blazing fire, some more willing to pay their tribute than others. A canopy of dark shadows encircles them all, displaying a ghoulish dance in the dim light. The guards are already in place, watching from above the rooftops and ready to keep the order by all means, especially today.

Rising from the middle of the scorching flame, a 100ft monument shoots towards the sky. The Endless Column looks like it's flowing to infinity, with its octahedral modules glowing in the flames. The "beads", as everyone calls them, symbolize the funeral stones of all the victims who perished from infection. The virus is ruthless and spares no race. It invades the brain, hijacking its genetic information and driving the host insane. Only death can end such an excruciating pain, yet no one has lived to tell the tale.

The official starts reading the names of the lost ones, the rhythmic sound bending thousands of heads in slow and harmonious waves. Nerissa and her grandmother, Susan, sit in the same spot as they have been for the past seventeen years. This time Ilya, her best friend, decided to accompany them. It's either that or she would have ended up paying her respects to her deceased mother all alone. Nerissa hates this day. If it was up to her, she wouldn't have come, but Susan insisted and she would rather be present than to plant the seed of unwanted gossip and suspicion.

When she hears her parents' names, two captive tears start gliding over her pale cheeks. She wasn't supposed to feel so devastated. She wasn't supposed to feel like her heart is ripped apart. Those two stray tears are her liaison with her departed parents, and wiping them off would be losing them all over again. The monster inside her tries to break free, exploiting her weakness. She is too broken to fight him off, too exhausted to keep it chained inside the darkest part of her soul. It seems it has been growing stronger, making her vulnerable and an easy target in today's battle. With the lump in her throat bigger than ever, Nerissa starts gasping for air - lungs empty of breath, she can no longer stand. I have to get out of here, she tells herself over and over, afraid she might faint.

She slowly backs away, finding her way out of the crowd. Leaving the swinging sea of bodies behind, she starts running, consumed by the tears that had invaded her eyes. Soon the streets merge into each other creating a continuous looping strip of distorted buildings and dense canopies. She runs until her feet start hurting, blindingly skimming through the abandoned city.

The park, a flicker of green in the steely barren desert, unveils the beauty of the dark. It looks empty, as she enters the protective blanket of the leafy cover all around. Worn out and beaten, she gives up too tired to fight it anymore. Defeated, she falls to the ground and sets the demon free. With the big, old oak as her guardian, she cries out loud for all those years when she needed to, but couldn't.

'Why can't I be like everyone else?' She demands, her voice hoarse from sobbing.

The nanovaccine should have dulled her empathy receptors. At first, it was a game of keeping secrets, but then, as Nerissa grew older, Susan taught her how to hide her feelings, to suppress them deep inside her. Otherwise, the others might get scared and take her away, too. Her grandma kept telling her she is different, special, just like her parents, although she would give anything to feel numb right now, to stop the pain from flowing through her body. Today, out of all days, brings out the worst in her, entire defences crushed into pieces. The tables have turned and now she's the one entrapped in her own inner-cell.

Slave to her weak mind, Nerissa is too busy fighting for her freedom to hear the light steps coming towards her. An instant later, a dark silhouette appears from behind the statue, one of the founders captured as he greets the passers-by. He passes through the barrier of light still coated in a thick cloak of darkness. Then, he takes a leap further crossing the path into the pitch black. He moves undetected in the stillness of the night, like a predator stalking his prey from the shadows. She doesn't notice him until it's too late, his presence only a few feet away. Terrified, she quickly wipes her tears with the back of her hands thinking that maybe he didn't hear her crying, maybe there is still hope.

Time stands still, as he kneels in front of her, their faces a few inches apart. Half of it is hidden under the hood, however, she will never forget the peculiar ocean eye examining her. She's caught straight in the centre of the storm, unable to swim in the deadly waters. The winds are pushing her into the deep, forcing the air to leave her lungs. It is said life starts rolling before one's eyes when the end is near, still, Nerissa's wit is held in a mind-game so strong, she can't move. Her heart stops beating as he raises his hand and gently wipes one stray tear with his thumb. He stares at her for what it seems like an eternity, and then, with a smirk on his face, he backs off, disappearing behind the metal sculpture.

Time starts ticking again rupturing the barrier of Nerissa's mind and flooding her memory with instances from her temporary blackout. Flashes of her and Susan leaving the house are superseded by images of Ilya meeting them on their way to the Main Square. Then, they get replaced again and the voice of the officer starts reverberating in her head, making her feel uneasy once more. She recalls the sharp pain that pierced her heart as her parents' names were read out loud and the crowd hovering over and leaving her breathless. The familiar surroundings soon become clear as she shifts her stare between the iron-grey monument and the thick, luxuriant forest encircling her. Clear, cold waters touch her skin and her entire body shivers at the memory of him. No one, except Susan, knows her secret. Her life is now in the hands of a stranger and she has no clue who he might be. Baffled and with her mind in a complete fog, she slowly gets up, her lip still burning where he had touched. Her fingers follow the same trace as him, welcoming the unfamiliar feeling as it grows stronger. Then, the reality carves its way into her mind, shattering the moment into a million pieces. Alone in the dark, her heart starts beating so fast it could break her chest. This is the end of her and she knows it.

'How could you be so reckless!' She yells at her, hating herself for being so weak. She should have known better than to fall prey to this sorrowful night.

With trembling feet, she escapes the inert grassland into the mesh of busy streets. The ceremony had opened its stop gates a while ago, letting the masses flood the city in their return. She merges into the vast stream of people, bumping into them and collecting a few swears on her way. Her behaviour is the least of her concern right now, compared to the consequences she will have to face sooner or later. Her mind, an intricate patchwork of unanswered questions, sets her adrift. She wanders the busy streets, thinking over and over at what has happened. What if the guards are already waiting? What will happen to Susan? Will they take her, too? Breathing heavily, she quickens her steps preparing for the worst.

Still deep in her thoughts and not knowing how she got home, she finds her grandma sitting on the porch, her face spoiled with worry. The lights are out, but she could recognize her silhouette from thousands.

'Where have you been all this time, you, foolish girl? The curfew was half an hour ago!' Susan jumps off the wooden stairs and hugs her tightly to her chest.

After searching Nerissa's body for any injuries, she continues on a much softer tone.

'Thank God you are safe!' She adds, pushing away all the distressing thoughts that were ripping her apart. Then, gently invites her granddaughter inside, away from the prying eyes.

'I needed to be alone.' Nerissa whispers guilty and embarrassed as soon as the door closes behind them.

She's decided not to share with her what had happened in the park, no matter how much her heart aches for that. They've never kept any secrets from each other; however, she doesn't want to worry her grandma more than she already has.

Her few words are more than enough for Susan to understand how much Nerissa needed to mourn. She kisses her tenderly on her forehead, knowing too well how greatly she misses her parents. After all, she'd lost her daughter, too.

'A good night's sleep tends to calm even the most unsettled of souls.' She tells her, still holding her to her chest.

Nerissa chuckles bitterly, thinking that Susan has always known how to make her feel better, still this time she couldn't be further from the truth.

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