"Here, drink this."
A cup of steaming, brownish liquid is extended towards me by Lazarus. He has an injury on his lips, something that looks like a result of a boxing match. I look at him curiously and earn a sarcastic comment from Orion.
"Worried, are we?"
There is no point in lying. I am worried, but not about Lazarus being hurt. I am worried that I might have hurt him in my sleep. I nod and take the cup from his hand.
"Hot chocolate?"
Felix drops beside me on the bed and says, "It is a magical cup of hot chocolate. It will take you to the stars and make you forget everything troublesome."
Orion eyes him angrily and comments, "I believe we should ask her what happened. What made her act like she was possessed?" He turns to face me and says, "You have already hurt us. Keeping you here is a mistake."
"Did I cause that?" I ask directly to Lazarus. I have caused them injuries once before. Sure, I blame it on the woman, but I cannot ignore the fact that she asked for my word before causing the mayhem that night. What if I have caused something bad again?
"This seems to be my reward for helping a poor girl suffering from nightmares. What was it about?"
I fall silent. Can I tell them what it was about? Will it be right to tell them? I remember whatever Auntie Rosemary told me. "I was at a crossroads, and around me were-"
I shiver remembering the scene. A hand softly touches my head. Art pats my head and says, "What was around you?"
I take a deep breath to muster some courage. "Around me were corpses, many of them. There was blood everywhere."
I sipped some of the hot chocolate to get rid of the strange cold wave on my skin. The hot liquid washes down my anxiety, at least some of it. The next moment another nameless worry appears in my mind. They are all exchanging glances, meaningfully, which means they are communicating something.
"What is it?" I ask anxiously, "It was just an ordinary nightmare, right?"
"If standing among a bunch of corpses seems ordinary to you, then of course."
I lose my patience at this. The urge to scream my heart out and throw something heavy at Orion is so incredible, that I take another sip of the hot chocolate to swallow it. It also helps me to gather my thoughts.
"I have always had nightmares before, but never anything like this. I still feel like it was real."
"Dreams are what our mind wants us to know about, and sometimes our wild imaginations. Sometimes they may also mean something else, like a premonition, or an omen. Tell me, Francesca, have you ever had a premonition in a dream?"
I think hard and look at Lazarus. "I tend to forget most of my dreams. Even if I had them, I can't tell about it now." Then the thought hit me like a slap. "I don't want to be in that situation. Ever, not with anyone. I don't want it to be a premonition."
As I speak, I feel my voice drowned in an involuntary sob. Hot streams of tears fall down my cheeks. Once I realise that I am crying, I can't stop myself. I hold the cup in my palms and start sobbing, without any shame or hesitation. It feels cathartic. All of my pent-up fear and anxiety, anger and doubts, melt down my cheeks. I already know who wants me here and who doesn't, hates me and doesn't, so it doesn't matter what they think of me. If they think of me as a pathetic excuse of a human being, be it so.
They let me cry without even an attempt to stop me.
When the last drop of tear is shed, I wipe my face with the back of my hand. The hot chocolate in my hand is not hot anymore. Who cares? I wipe my face again hoping I am not looking like an alien, when somebody passes on a box of tissues. I take a couple of them and wipe my nose. I must be looking like shit right now. I don't feel like looking at their faces now.
"There is a ritual. We call it the purification ritual. The ancient texts say this ritual was used to purify the souls of those burdened by their past, present and future."
Felix looks incredulously at Rayo and says, "You're not suggesting she should go through it?"
Rayo ponders something before answering. "She was being prepared for the sacrifice for the past three years, but it was not done. instead, she did something to protect herself, and in the process hurt everyone else around her. In addition to that, she met somebody she shouldn't have. Now, she is having this nightmare. What do you suppose she needs?"
"What do you mean by I was being prepared?"
Art's annoyed response to Rayo ignores my question. "She is not going through something so painful. She doesn't need it. All she needs is rest and sleep."
"And who are you to decide that? She is a ticking time bomb."
"And she is present in the room, sane enough to hear you. Can somebody tell me what is happening?" My yell brings their attention back to me. "What do you mean by I was being prepared?"
"A sacrifice of this extent requires a special individual. You were being prepared in many ways in the past three years, or maybe more than that. special food, special room, even your thoughts were manipulated so that you don't end up tainting yourself." Lazarus speaks with a softness in his tone, as though he is apologetic. "You asked whether your nightmare was an ordinary one. Nothing about you is ordinary, Francesca."