Isabelle's POV
After Lucian left, I felt awkward. I went upstairs to my room and my stomach started to feel eerie; it churned and growled, which seemed like it was upset.
I know it wasn't that time of the month, yet I was head over the toilet, vomiting to my misery. I was shaking from the aftermath & a tad frightened. Once I thought it was over, I threw up again.
This time I couldn't make it to the toilet and threw up in the sink. I looked at the vomit and vomited again, seeing the brown and red mixed with other colors such as yellow, orange, & pink. Was that blood? Oh my god!
What the hell did I eat?! I was pretty sure I walked the food off. I concluded it must've been the meds I was on. Right on time when I was beginning to panic, my mom walked in.
"Honey, what's wrong? You look a little pale," she asked, coming forward to pat me on my back.
I'd just finished cleaning the sink when I turned around to see my mom; I instantly let the tears flow.
"Mom, that was so scary. I think I threw up all sorts of things. What was in the medicine they gave me? I feel terrible."
"It'll be okay. Just drink some milk & take a fresh bath," she ruffled my hair and hugged me before she left.
In my opinion, that seemed very inconsiderate of her. Like mom, hello! I vomited blood and you're saying to drink milk and take a shower. At least panic a bit!
I shook my head and dived back into my bathroom to take a shower. After I was finished, I descended the stairs and went into the kitchen for some warm milk. I poured a cup of milk and placed it into the microwave, watching it spin for thirty seconds.
I took the milk out, poured a bit of sugar in, and drank it to my heart's delight. Drinking milk plainly was very bland and nasty, so I needed a bit of flavor. There was no way I could ever down milk by itself.
"Ahh," I said, feeling refreshed.
"I told ya," my mom said.
"Sneaking up on people is not very nice, mom," I said.
"Sorry. Couldn't help myself when I saw you watching the cup spin in the microwave like you were a little kid," she laughed.
I sighed, "How was work? How come you're not tired today?"
"It was horrible," she then frowned at my question.
Being a pharmacist, my mom would sometimes come home sad, most times tired, and other times she'd be livid. Today was one of those days where she was sad and angry.
I inquired, "What's the matter? What happened? Did someone say something to you?"
"Don't worry, sweetie. I'm just very grateful for the life I have and the life I was able to give you. Never forget that. Go to bed before it gets late," she kissed me and ascended the stairs to call it a night.
I stood there, wondering if my mom was actually okay and what happened that even I couldn't cheer her up. Was she bullied? No, couldn't be! My mom is strong. Then what could've happened? I deduced being a pharmacist sucked. Not to knock any pharmacists, but I just couldn't do it.
I stopped thinking & washed my cup in the sink and dried it; I shut the lights off & climbed the stairwell to my room. I entered my room, flopped onto my bed, and immediately fell asleep.
"You know, you're supposed to be dead. How do you keep escaping my clutches?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"There's been a total of three times I've tried to collect your soul. The third time is always the charm, so how do you manage to keep escaping me?"
"I don't know what you mean, mister."
"You know exactly what I mean. I wonder what's so unique about you, except for what I already know."
"May I ask who are you?"
I was surrounded by emptiness and nothing but darkness. Why did I always have such weird dreams? The voice sounded like the man from my other weird dream when I was lying in the middle of road.
"You know who I am. I am the grim reaper."
"Why can't you just leave me alone? I'm pretty sure other people are dying as we speak. Just let me be; I haven't got the chance to do everything I want yet. I made a promise to my mom; I won't die until then."
"You're willful. I like willful women, but you're causing chaos between the balance of realms. Die already!"
"That is so harsh! I swear if we were on equal footing, I'd kick your butt."
"We'll never be on equal footing; don't you know, kid? I could rip your throat out & make you beg for forgiveness right now. I'm being very kind; on the other hand, you're being nothing but rude & stubborn."
"Whatever. Just show yourself already."
A tad of light shown. He appeared before me, wearing his usual attire: a cloak that covered his entire body with his hood on. I wondered if he had an actual face.
"That's something you'll never know. If you try to feel for my face, you'll be sucked into purgatory. I'd advise you not to stick your hand into my cloak."
"That's very weird. Can you read my mind, now?"
"Of course. You're in my realm after all."
"Well if I'm in your realm then can't you kill me now?" I asked.
"I'd love to but my dear scythe doesn't seem to want to obey me."
Out of curiosity, I asked, "Can I see your scythe now?"
"Are you senile? If I let you see my scythe, you absolutely have to die."
I countered, "I actually do think I'm senile sometimes. I have weird dreams and think of weird things; I've even met the grim reaper a few times. I think I'm way past senile, don't you think?"
I heard laughter after my rant; was he laughing at me? How's the grim reaper capable of producing such a cute & gentle laugh? He was beyond rude, but blessed with cute laughter.
"That's wasn't me; I don't laugh. Laughing doesn't suit my line of work. That was my scythe."
"Quit reading my mind! How do I shut you out?" I paused, "Wait, your scythe can laugh?"
My eyes bulged at the craziness I was experiencing. This was beyond the norm. As I was thinking of this abnormality, an orange smoke appeared.
The smoke spoke, "I'm Gamora; ignore everything this idiot has said. I've never disobeyed him and I still haven't. He's just angry because he's hungry."
"This is beyond weird, but nice to meet you, Gamora. I'm Isabelle and thank you for not killing me."
The smoke laughed again and disappeared into the man's cloak once again. Out of nowhere, it was pitch black dark again & there was a hand around my throat, choking me. I was sure that I was deprived of all my oxygen. Damnit! I shouldn't have let my guard down. Am I going to die for real this time?
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I awoke from my dream, heart racing & pounding with fear. My alarm was blaring and my mom was beating on my door, yelling at me to wake up. That's right, today is the day I go back to school.
I felt my throat and instinctively ran to my bathroom mirror; sure enough, there was a hand print around my neck. I guess I'd cover it up for today.