The days just kept passing by in that place. Midori didn’t have any notion of time; she spent her days burrowed between the bedsheets. She hasn’t eaten in days but she didn’t feel hunger anymore. As much as she tried, she couldn’t awake in the real world. It didn’t matter how many times she fell asleep, she kept waking up alone in that bed. She was starting to think she was going to lose her sight there too, since all the curtains were closed and she never came out from between the sheets.
Every so often she felt dizzy, but she wasn’t able to distinguish if they were because of the hunger, thirst or for the same unknown reasons Atlas’ had them too. Everything was irrelevant.
Since she was left alone, it started to rain sometimes, something that had never happened. She had already forgotten what the rain sounded like as it fell. That day there was a thunderstorm, the sound of the thunder was deafening. Midori tried to cover her ears; she has always had a fear of thunders.
— Don’t worry, Midori, I’ll always be here. The thunders won’t do anything to you.
— Promise?
— Promise
Right then, a thunder was heard very near. Midori burrowed herself even more into the bedsheets, letting out a scared scream.
— There, there… —the person took the bedsheets off of her and started to stroke her hair—.
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Midori eventually calmed down, slowly closing her eyes. Her father leaned down and placed a warm kiss on her forehead, then he carefully stood up so as not to wake her up and exited the room.
Those memories invaded Midori’s mind. She could only remember those nights where her parents had to sleep with her because she was too scared. In a quick movement, Midori came out from under the sheets; the room was completely dark except for the lighting that sometimes illuminated it. Midori sat up at the edge of the bed and sighed deeply.
She stood up and slowly made her way to the curtains. In that moment a lightning fell, completely scaring her and making her take a few steps back. She covered her head with her arms, and when the rain drops could be hear again, Midori once again took a few steps forward. She stood in front of the curtains and took them in her hands. Gulping down, she opened them up quickly, revealing the clouded sky and the rain falling down. It was something simple, but it has been some time since Midori last saw a rainy day.
Those days had a certain charm. She could stay on her bed reading a book while drinking hot chocolate. Sadly, that wasn’t the situation she was in. She was completely alone, in an unknown world, without the only person she wanted to be with.
Lost in her thoughts, another lightning stroke down, the bright light of it left Midori speechless, and then her head started to hurt. She squeezed it between her hands. The pain was so immense she couldn’t stay standing, making her fall to her knees.
After she finished eating her favorite lemon cake, she paid the bill and got out of the café. Having seen that family made her full of envy. Her blood was boiling in rage. Why couldn’t she be like that? Why couldn’t she live happily with her parents? All those questions burdened her almost every day after their separation. Without noticing, she ended up in a dark alley.
— … Where am I?
As she turned to make her way back, she noticed how a black car stopped at the end of the alley in front of her. From it, 4 people exited and made their way to Midori. They all had lanterns pointing at Midori, she covered her face with her hands, the brightness was too much for her to look forward. She just heard how the footsteps were getting closer and closer to her, she was petrified, couldn’t move a single limb on her body. “What’s happening?” she started to question.
They took Midori between the 4 of them, she started to scream but they covered her mouth and nose with a napkin. Even though her screams were muffled, she still tried with all her might, tears started to run down her face and wet the napkin. They threw her into the black car from before, and suddenly she lost consciousness.
Midori was in a hospital bed. The bright light above her overwhelmed her. She opened her eyes anyways and tried to get up but it was useless. Her arms and legs were tied to the bed, but even if it was in vain, she still tried to move her body, trying to free herself but it didn’t work. 4 people entered the room and Midori started to scream, hoping that someone could hear her and rescue her, but no one did.
The nurses took needles and threads, Midori looked at them scared. She looked everywhere tying to look for an answer but all she could see were medical utensils and hospital beds. She heard the sound of latex gloves slapping again the nurses’ skin, they all had masks on their faces. One of them approached Midori and forcefully shut her eye. Midori was screaming at the top of her lungs to the point where her vocal cords were for sure going to have some damage. She saw how the nurse slowly got the needle closer to her eye, introducing it along with the thread, starting to sew it. In that moment all she could see was torture and a man in black in the distance.
Midori’s body had run out of tears and they still weren’t finished with the first eye. After a moment more the nurse finished, leaned back and walked to the other side, getting closer to her other eye. His hands were covered in blood and the thread was painted red.
Another lighting brought Midori back to the present. She was looking forward with a blank stare. Slowly, she hugged herself, trembling, and softly touched her eyes. Images of Aoi and her mother flashed through her head.
— W-… Why…? W-why did this happen to me…?
She muttered to herself, she was starting to lose her voice.
In that moment, she abruptly woke up, painting in a hospital bed. She had trouble breathing, but there was something she was sure of, and that was that she wasn’t able to see.
— We’ll get out of here, Midori.
TO BE CONTINUED.
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