Karmony
"Joined with yours and shall have no other." I whisper again, as I turn over in my own bed at my parents' house.
After Heif untied the gag and removed the rope from my mouth and hands ... he left out the front door. I took the knife, that he had left on the counter, and cut the rope holding my tied legs to the chair. Assuming he has gone to hunt down Hattie and Billy, I wasted no time climbing the stairs and filling my suitcase with all my stuff from his guest bedroom. Going into the bathroom, I take a couple of vials of elixir, leaving the rest for him. I'm pretty sure my parents will have enough for me. I leave behind my hair products, soaps and lotions, not wanting to take the time to dry them off and pack them securely.
Bundled into my new coat, mittens on, and my Neti pot in my bag, I open the door and look around. Being grabbed by Hattie had been terrifying, so I make quick work of walking back towards the city park. Once at the park, I turn right and go another three blocks down and then left. My parent's safe house had been in our family for years, as a matter of fact, this is where I discovered the history of who I really am.
Normally getting home brings me joy, but upon approaching the front door I can't muster any excitement. Feeling like I'm being stared at, and hoping the Mist it isn't Hattie, I turn around and looking at the street behind me. My eyes are shocked to see Heif leaning against a light pole. He waves his hand in a silent good-bye and turns and walks away. My heart seems to take a small crack, and I rub it subconsciously.
I knock on the door, and it's quickly opened by my mother, who immediately embraces me and pulls me inside. No matter how old you get, home just always has a certain smell that feels safe and like love encased in every wall.
"Henry! Henry! Our Karmony is home!!!" my mom yells and I hear fast approaching footsteps, and my dad is hugging me also. We spend an hour or so catching up, some of the things they say don't make much sense, but too tired to figure it all out; I say I'm still feeling kind of sick, and I head off to bed early.
Not wanting my parents to think Heif a liar, I let them give me some cough syrup, but decline a visit from Doctor Woolsly.
So, now, I'm left tossing and turning... my mind should be on Joven, but no.... the meds kick in and I drift off to sleep with bad dreams of Hattie and Billy catching Heif and I'm not there to help him. I awake, twisted in my sheets and more tired than the night before.
Walking downstairs everything feels so different, I feel different and again...I don't like it! I was only with Heif for five days, but it felt like five weeks.
I walk into the kitchen, give my dad a kiss on the cheek and ask my mom if she would like some help with breakfast. The room goes quiet, and both my parents are looking at me oddly.
"What??" I ask, with my hands out in a confused gesture.
"Nothing dear, we were just thinking you would want breakfast in bed like always," mom says and then hands me orange juice to pour into everyone's cup.
"Oh well, the medicine Dr. Woolsly had me on, did the trick, and I'm feeling much better," I say and head to get the plates from the cabinet. Could the Heifer have been right? Am I really so selfish?
Mom finishes cooking and we sit down to eat. It feels good to be home, but oddly empty.
"So, what have I missed since Winter Solstice?" Might as well address the elephant in the room.
"Well, we had meetings and such, been busy keeping all fellow Dewbies circulating into Dewstone and getting their correct elixir portions," dad says and takes another bite to eat.
"I can help with that, what do you need me to do?" The spoon that had been heading towards my mother's mouth, stops and hangs in midair.
"What now?" I'm starting to feel there's a mole on my nose or something.
"Nothing dear, just you really haven't ever been interested or helped with civic things before," mom says.
"Well, we've never all been exiled from Dewstone before, have we?" I say with a small giggle, trying to get my parents to ease up and relax.
"Mom and I are just glad you are feeling better. I was getting more concerned about not hearing your voice, but I enjoyed our daily text messages. Speaking of which, you did delete them from Heif's phone correct?" My daily what? What has Heif done now?
"Umm sure... hey, dad, can I see the text messages again? I've been so sick, I'm not sure I remember everything I wrote." Dad gets his phone out and passes it to me. Both parents go back to eating and I start to read a series of text message from my dad and Heif, pretending to be me.
It seems the "game" Heif created was simply a ruse, to get information from me, so I wouldn't get the chance to talk to my dad. I continue perusing down the back-and-forth messages, with growing agitation. Every "token" I was awarded from him, was just manipulation. Looking back my prizes were really just chores. I helped him cook, clean up, and fix things around the house.
SHUT THE CREEK UP!
I see the Heif's treachery on one side of the phone, where about a dozen are so questions are from my dad to me (aka: Heif):
"What did you get for your 5th birthday?"
"What was my favorite fairy tale as a girl"?
"Where did we go for your 8th birthday?"
"Where is your birthmark"? huh? Heif didn't ask me this question... HOW in the Mist did Heif know that one?
"What is your favorite food?" This is the question I lied about and told him Chinese. He made me give a correct one, after he "supposedly" contacted my mom for confirmation. Then, I had replied honestly, that Mexican is my favorite. I wonder if that's why we had tacos one night?
"What was my favorite subject in school?"
"What did I want to be when I grew up?"
"What was the name of our dentist?"
"What bone did I break in second grade and how?"
"Where do I store all the teeth I've ever lost?"
"Who was my best friend in middle school?" at that question, I close the phone and hand it back to my dad.
"Thank you, dad, by the way, do you mind if we get me a new phone, since I lost my last one in the water." I ask, but again both parents are staring at me. What in the Mist did Heifer do now?
"Well, dear, we sent over a phone first thing, but you sent it back, remember? You wrote a lovely note and asked us to keep it here until you felt better. Your handwriting was a little messy, but you were sick. Your new cell phone is upstairs in your bedroom just waiting for you," my mom explains.
Of all the stinky, disgusting, filthy, snake eating, worm infested crap on a crust of bread!!! If Heif were in front of me, I swear to the Mist, I would decapitate him! I spent five days thinking my parents, didn't even care about me! Who does that? If I could just get my hands around his thick neck right now, or maybe a dirty washcloth and some rope.
"Oh, well, with all those medicines inside of me, I must've forgot, sorry. I'll just go upstairs and check my phone, unless you need help with the dishes?" I ask, and wow! Am I getting tired of this open-mouth stunned look from my parents! Both shake their heads no, and I hurry up the steps and into my bedroom.
Quickly finding my phone and turning it on... I have dozens of missed messages and phone calls from Hattie. So, frustrated with Heif, I toss the phone aside and throw my body back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. One side of me wants to choke him, until his eyes pop like this stress ball my dad used to have on his desk... Then, I think of Joven, and well... those feelings don't fill me with joy like always... Then I wonder back to Heif and his soft kisses on my face...... ugh! Grabbing a pillow to put over my face and scream!
Knock! Knock!
"Yes?" I reply, removing the pillow from my face.
"Hello, dear, did I hear some screaming from in your room?" I look around with a vacant look, like he's the one that has lost his mind, instead of the other way around, "Okay, well, mom and I are going to the grocery store, do you need anything?"
Let's see... I mentally check off in my brain:
1. Heif's head on a platter
2. Heif strung upside down
3. Heif tied to a chair, bed, and handcuffed
4. Heif drowned in a tub
5. A way to tell Heif why I can't be "joined" with him, and why I don't have a purity ring?
"No, dad, thanks for asking, nothing I need, but you and mom be careful, okay? Before I left Heif's house, I heard they still hadn't located Hattie and Billy yet." Dad looks surprised, I know this, but he just nods his head and turns to leave. "Hey, dad?" that stops him and he looks back at me. "Do we have enough elixir for all of us?"
"Yes, we do for the next few days. But I was planning on going to Dewstone tomorrow to get more, now that you're back."
"Can I go with you?" He thinks for a moment, then nods yes and exits my room.
With my parents gone, and my body stressed from the manipulation from Heif... I need to decompress. What to do? In the past, I would've demanded a trip somewhere, or perhaps a piece of jewelry or new clothes... maybe Heif's right, that I'm self-absorbed? Nope, no way that ogre is right about anything!
Taking my elixir from my bag... I head to the bathroom for two hours of quiet time. NOT because the Heifer said to, but because I need to cleanse my body from anything, he may have touched... And maybe ponder how he knew about the birthmark, and does he know about my butterfly tattoo?