pietá

Drowning

It's dark... And loud... Far too many voices. And yet it feels like water in the space surrounding her. Heavy, suffocating.

She's running though, her hand gripped tightly in someone else's. She trusts this person. Their hand the only thing keeping her afloat.

"...Where?..." They ask, their voice unrecognizable. All surrounding noises, even the voice sounding, like complete gibberish to her. "Where?..." They say again, all the more frantic, all the more audible. But she can't answer.

She feels like she's drowning and she can't get a single breath. Each time she opens her mouth her lungs are filled with water.

There is a dress on her. Its collar is tight, it's too tight, the skirt too long. It's tangling her her legs, her feet. Coiling around her entire body like vines come to life, snaking over her skin and preventing her from moving. It becomes heavy, absorbing surrounding water and pulling her down. She can't breath, she can't run, she's choking.

Her hand is let go, and she is plunged into darkness.

"I love you..." She hears, the most clear of all. She hears this sweetly as as the life is sucked from her body...

"NO!"

(Y/n) shot up screaming, gasping for air with a cold sweat glazing her skin. She's hyperventilating and begins panicking when she feels hands touching her.

The girl starts swinging, yelling and screaming until she is hugged by someone. "It's okay, (Y/n). Shh, it's okay." The voice was from a female, so soothing and velvety. She was immediately calmed by them. They soon pulled back, revealing the face of her mother. Someone she thought she'd never be happier to see.

Her sister Leía was in the far corner of their small bedroom, a slightly frightened look on her face and in her hands a rag and small wooden bowl filled with cold water. She neared the bed and handed the items to her mother, the older woman promptly wiping her eldest daughter's face.

Leía rubbed her arm and gave an uncomfortable grin, attempting use humor to leaven the seriousness in the room. "Geez, sis. What happened? Did a horse trample you?"

"Leía!" Her mother glared at her, all while (Y/n) cracked a small smile.

"What?! She thinks it's funny." The younger girl gestured with a smile of her own. Her mom gave her one last look before turning back to (Y/n). Her sister eyed her some more. "What's with the dress?" Leía nodded forward.

The female looked down, seeing she was still in the rather elegant gown from last night. Upon seeing it she felt sick to her stomach recounting yesterday's events. Her mom and sister could see her expression fall when asked, so they didn't press on when she refused an answer.

The older woman sighed seeing her child like this. "...Leía why don't you go downstairs tell your father and Emille-"

"Emille?" The tired girl's attention heightened when she heard his name. "H-...He's here?"

Her mom gave her a light smile. "He stayed the whole night."

(Y/n) was slightly surprised, mainly by the fact that he was there to help her in the first place. Thank God he did.

She looked towards her mom. "Can I see him?"

There was a brief moment of silence while her mom and sister exchanged glances. Finally the older woman shrugged. "I don't see why not."

The two women headed to the door leaving (Y/n) alone for a moment.

The girl enjoyed the silent moment. She let out a long shaky sigh of relief, happy to be home, happy to be in her own bed. She rubbed her eyes, them still a bit swollen from all her crying.