~smile's POV~
'Smile!! Levi!!' rage called from downstairs.
Without so much as an answer, I turned and headed back downstairs. The table was already set with ice-cream cups, muffins, a variety of different toppings and a medium sized ice-cream cake drizzled with chocolate syrup. My gaze raked the whole table, wondering what I would devour first. All. Levi walked up to me but didn't say a word; He was also eyeing the food on the table. Rage tilted her head questioningly, dividing my attention. She had that mischievous look in her eyes as she glanced from me to Levi. When she gestured for us to take a seat, we did. Levi surprisingly pulled out a chair for me to sit. I blushed uncontrollably and caught Noah and Gladys staring. They were all gentlemen, weren't they?
Cutting the cake with a small knife, Gladys shared the pieces equally. She slid the ice-cream cups to their designated owners, leaving the toppings for them to choose. The muffins remained in their baskets until we had finished.
'Darling, what's your name please?' Gladys asked with a tender tone 'Rage never introduced you' she continued and I saw Rage stab her cake with her fork.
'It's Smile' I had said it three times already.
'Smile?' she asked fascinated, just like everyone else. I nodded.
'I like your parents. Creative. What's your mom's name?'
'Marilyn'
'-Monroe' she joked. 'How about your dad?' she asked oblivious to the fact he was....dead. My smile faded away and I looked down at my plate.
'Oh no honey, is he...'
I nodded.
'I'm so sorry, hope it didn't ruin your mood'
I shook my head. It was a lie. It did.
He died seven years ago in a fatal accident on his way back from work. I tried so hard to forget about it and move on, I did...well, until now.
There was a moment of silence for a while, it wasn't awkward. It was kind. I figured I'd start the next conversation to convince them I was alright. We finished a couple minutes later and I called my mom.
'She's on her way' I stated plainly.
Levi left the table first and headed upstairs. He didn't say a word to anyone the whole time; he was either the quiet or shy type. With all that charisma, definitely not the shy type.
My mom arrived and talked with Noah and Gladys for a while before driving us back home. They and Rage stood waving at the door while we disappeared around a corner. Where was Levi though? Did he want me to leave? He didn't bother saying goodbye. Why should he care, he just met me. I probably shouldn't care either.
I left their house with a muffin in my hand but I dared not eat it with the rollercoaster of feelings swirling up inside me: Noah and Gladys making me feel suspicious, Levi making me feel shy, then scared, then attracted, then curious, then confused, then scared, then shy again. I'd probably throw up if I did.
~gloom's POV~
A grand, glorious and colourful palace stands high on a hill overlooking a beautiful land; village with fields, lakes, hills and forestation. But despite appearances, this almost-perfect rainbow kingdom, is actually in black and white spirits. They have just lost their queen, their caring and empathetic queen. The whole kingdom is mourning over the loss of their queen. All except her killers, they can only pretend. The king goes into solitude and the still young princess, devastation...
There was something about this book, maybe it was the title: Happy or sad, or the image of the quarter cropped face picturing a smile amidst a tear drop. I had already asked for permission to borrow the book for a week. Enough time to get to the bottom of it.
I curled up on my bed and tucked the book under my duvet. Wouldn't want Uncle Kael finding out about it; he hated when I read books, he'd rather have me socializing. So not my thing.
I flipped through the pages and landed at my bookmark.
'Dad, I know how you feel, it's hard for us both, but do you really think marrying me off is gonna do any good?'
'Absolutely! How can you even question that? You're a 21 year old princess, unmarried and still living with your father. It's shameful Dulcea'
'Mom didn't get married until she was 32'
'Don't drag your mother into this!' he yelled losing his cool, his patience….....His mind. 'You have a month to find a man yourself. Afterwards, you'll marry anyone that shows up at the gate'
'Dad!'
'Dismissed'
'But-'
'I said dismissed!'
Dulcea left the throne room with anything but satisfaction. Her attempt to talk her dad out of marrying her off to just anyone failed. Did it though? At least she had a month to find true love. But, what is that easy?
She strolled to her chamber, nipping her lip while....
'Knock-knock' the sound of the door made me drop the book.
'You there?' Uncle Kael asked from the other side of the door. 'Haven't heard a sound' he continued worried.
'I-I'm fine' I stammered adjusting, then laid on my left side, on top of the book. He walked in and stood tip-toeing, checking if I was really okay.
'You hungry?'
'No'
'Sick?'
'No'
'Tired?'
'N-Yes!'
'Well if you get hungry or sick, there's expired takeaway in the fridge and cocaine in the cupboard' he joked.
'Are you leaving?'
'Yeah, on a date' I turned at the mention of the word 'date'.
'Really?'
'Yep' he said turning to leave. 'Wish me luck' he stuck his head out of the doorway.
'Good...luck?' I wished which earned me a smile before he left.
I heard the creaking of stairs, then keys, then the door before I was sure he was gone. I could get back to reading now. I rolled over and continued with the chapter.
Dulcea paced her room, biting her nails and finger-brushing her hair, rather ruffling it. She was frustrated on how unreasonable her dad was being. Fall in love in a month? Was he crazy?
'He should have just told me to pick...a random guy' she said, the last part slowly on realising he did tell her to find a man, not fall in love. 'Uggggh!' she groaned. She walked over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. At least getting a man to fall in love with her would be easy. She placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head. Her nails were all chewed up and her hair was a mess. She sighed, grabbed a hair-brush from her Acacia wooden side drawer and began brushing her hair. Her father wouldn't be pleased to see his daughter looking all ruffian.
He had taken care of her from birth and she had grown up to be a prim and proper young princess. Her brown skin, browner eyes and brownest hair - a replica of her mother's, only added to her god-giving beauty. No wonder he Eoved her so wuch...
Eoved? Wuch?
She looked lxacflv like her mother.
Lxacflv?
The words were all messed up. Was this a pirated version? I closed the book with my finger still in it and browsed the front and back cover. It looked legit. It was either the typist was drunk or my head was spinning.
A sharp pain in my brain confirmed I was just feeling drowsy. I sat up and held my head, squeezing it. I winced in pain as it felt like I was hit on the head with a log. I blinked my eyes multiple times trying to clear out my dizziness. Everything was spinning and my head throbbed. I lay back down to steady my all-of-a-sudden-increased heart rate. My vision went fuzzy, right before I blacked out. Again.
I expected to wake up in a white room with Fright sitting or standing beside me. I didn't. Instead, I woke up to see a beautiful blonde looking down at me. She was wearing black specs, a white overall and had a stethoscope around her neck. Seeing a complete stranger in my room activated my autopilot, and I sat up automatically.
'Lie down' She pressed my shoulders back, making me lie down again. I wanted to get up but my body didn't. It was either too weak or too comfortable. I decided to just turn my head and survey the room. Right there in the corner, Uncle Kael sat straddled on my reading chair. He looked worried. I turned my head a little further to the right and my gaze met a thin tall pole. My eyes travelled upwards and I saw a translucent bag with some transparent fluid in it. There was a chord attached to the bag and I followed it down to my right hand. A pipe-thingy was injected into one of my veins. Was I on drip?
'You were unconscious and your body was quite drained so we put you on drip' she stated as if answering my unquestioned question.
'How long was I unconscious?'
'4 hours. That was an unnaturally long time to "sleep"' she air-quoted. 'Your uncle thought you were asleep before he checked up on you and found out you weren't breathing. He called me almost immediately' she continued.
I struggled in sitting up straight so she assisted.
'What's wrong with her?' Uncle Kael almost whispered, as if he didn't even want to hear the answer. He looked pale...….scared.
'.....She's yet another victim of dysthymia' she hesitated a little.
'Dysthymia?!' we both chorused.
'And what's that?' he sounded a bit irritated.
'It's the chronic form of depression, also called persistent depressive disorder. You may lose interest in normal daily activities, feel hopeless, lack productivity, and have low self-esteem or an overall feeling of inadequacy. These feelings last for years and may significantly interfere with your relationships, work and school. If you have dysthymia, you may find it hard to be upbeat even on happy occasions — you may be described as having a "gloomy" personality, constantly complaining or incapable of having fun' 'Literally. That's an internet definition' she joked and I saw Uncle Kael smile a little. Only for a second though, his next expression was livid. He stood up so abruptly from the chair it fell.
'You see now Hilda! I warned you about this! I told you to let it go! I told you that getting rid of your happiness would never give you a happy ending, it wouldn't bring back your parents! It would only deteriorate your health.....depression KILLS!! Instead, you insisted on locking yourself in your room all the time, never socializing, hell! Never even smiling, once. Now you've developed some disorder I've never heard about in my 29 years of existence! I mean, dysthymia?' he sounded more hurt than angry. 'What do we do now?' he asked the lady, calmly.
'Well, you have three options'
'Yeah?'
'Either exercise, therapy or medication'
'What kind of medication?'
'SSRIs, a safer version of antidepressant'
'Antidepressant?' he said as if remembering something. 'I had given her something like that a few years ago'
'Oh please don't! Antidepressant has a lot of side effects'
'Like?' I asked suddenly intrigued.
'Um….nausea, tiredness, dizziness...headaches' my brain sparked at the mention of the word 'headaches'.
'Headaches? As in, migraines?'
'Sort of, yes. Ooh also don't give her any diazepam!'
'Why?' Uncle Kael asked with an expression that said he had already.
'It also has negative side effects'
'Like?' he asked kinda exasperated.
'Like I said before, drowsiness, blurred vision, unconsciousness'
Wait a minute. So all my nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, tiredness and migraines were just the side effects of some drugs. I wasn't really sick. I looked up at Uncle Kael and he had a rueful expression on. He probably blamed himself for all this.
Just to make him feel better, I swallowed a huge lump of self-restraint and began to confess.
'Well, I felt a little dizzy before my vision blurred out and I became unconscious'
'Is that supposed to make me feel any better?' he asked slightly peeved.
'At least it confirms I'm not sick. Just not safely medicated'
'About that.....you might actually be really sick' the lady interrupted.
'No, these are just side effects of some poorly chosen drugs, not symptoms of a whole new level disease'
'I did give her those drugs a long time ago' he added hopefully.
'It can still take a turn on her health, now. Even to the grave'
'I think you have to make sure. Run some tests and don't just guess' I shot skeptically.
'Dear, I'm a professional'
'So'
'Gloom!!!' Uncle Kael scolded. This was the first time he had called me gloom in a long time. He hardly ever raised his voice; he was always playful and lenient with me. What had skyrocketed his anger to this extent? It definitely wasn't this disease, I had had worse. It wasn't this woman either. Was it.....me?
He clenched his fists, closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. I guess he too was shocked by his demeanour. After letting out a heavy breath, he opened his eyes and blinked away his anger.
'Gloom?' the lady asked utterly shocked. He could only nod carefully. Seeing his already tensed muscles, she didn't ask any more questions.
'Thanks a lot Paige. Let me drop you off, it's late' he said offering a hand.
Did he know this annoying woman? He knew her name...Paige.
'Sure' she answered and began packing her kit. She grabbed the tripod-looking pole, folded it into three parts and tucked it into her kit. She then tossed her stethoscope over her head and into the kit. She shrugged her overall off and put it into the kit as well.
She did look some-what professional. Well, until she removed her decent, all-focus work overall. Underneath it was a pastel blue crop-top that exposed her tiny waist and toned flat belly, above a pair of denim crazy jeans; probably the craziest I had ever seen. She was beautiful but also an I-know-better-cause-I-studied-medicine-for-5-years-plus-aren't-you-just-15 kind of person. She accepted his offered hand and he led her to the door, out the room and hopefully out of the house too. They were just out the door and in the hallway when they did something that confirmed my suspicions. Uncle Kael leaned in and brushed his lips on hers in a quick but romantic kiss. I bet they didn't know I could see them through my slightly opened doorway.
That was a little too intimate for me to suggest it was just a friendly small gesture. Could it be that this was his date?