One day. Just one day. One singular day. That's all you need for your life to be turned upside down. For it to be changed for the worse. You don't realise it, but all your actions have a consequence. Whether it is big or small. Whether they're good or bad. Whether they affect you or others. It's just the way it is, you know? We cannot help it. No one can.
Alania Canmore had never before feared death. It had always just happened. She had always just carried on with her day, as if nothing had happened. As if it was normal. She had always figured, what was to fear about something inevitable? After all, we are all surrounded by our old friend. Why should we be afraid of something that is woven into the very fabric of our world? But lately, she began to realise how others felt. When her brother was greeted by that old friend, and her father caught in his icy clasp, she began to feel that fear. That torment that death had imposed on all living creatures.
Death tormented us, with the things we could not have. Made us relive memories when we were at our most joyous times, bringing our spirits down to the floor. He clenched our hearts, squeezing them. Ridding them of all love, emotion, and sanity. Like the Sheriff from the tales of Robin Hood, but as if the bags were the people, and the money, everything that made us, us. It sounds harsh when put like that, but death is death. And we cannot change it.
~
It was a cold day, the dark clouds rolled in over the horizon. It appeared as it was about to rain but the rain never came. Nia lay with her father, his bony, sallow hands rested upon hers. She couldn't stand to see him like this. Arnold lay peacefully sleeping on his quilted bed. As if he thought all he could do was wait for fate to take its turn.
Soon came a knock at the door. She tilted her head as if she had any doubt to who it was and stared at the door. Staring upon endless opportunities, just waiting for her take.
"Hey, it's only us."
A head peered round. Nathaniel's cool brown curls were the first to be seen, his hair nearly getting caught in the doorframe. Nicholas' short blonde hair was second. His head peered round below Nathaniel's, around a foot below, before both boys walked in. Their ash coloured eyes stared back at Nia's, as if they were waiting for her to say something first.
"Look... you need to eat," Nathaniel said "If you won't come, I'll get Nick to bring you something up again, ok? You do need to come out at some point.. it's doing you no good staying cooped up in here all day. Especially not on a day like today, you love rain! Why aren't you outside?"
"I don't feel like it Nathan," she bluntly replied.
"Ally, come on! We can jump in all the puddles outside!" Nicholas insisted. Nia just stared back, before refocusing her gaze upon her fathers frail fingers.
Nathaniel sat beside her, his mass causing the mattress to deform. Whereas he had not been as close to their father as Nia had, he understood her pain. He understood that it was her father lay on that bed, her best friend.
"Just staring at him won't change anything. You know that?"
"I know.." she said, her voice breaking as she spoke back to him. She looked at her fathers malnourished, diseased body. "I just think, that maybe... if I look for long enough, his illness wont be as burdensome on me.. that I wont feel as responsible for it as I do..."
"Hey! Look at me." He fixed Nia's gaze upon his, gently lifting up her chin so she couldn't look back down.
"This is not your fault. At all. If anything, I should be the one to blame... I couldn't protect our land like I should have done, if I had, he wouldn't be ill. You need to stop blaming yourself. Ok? Now come downstairs and eat. And then later, you can go outside with Nick," his tone was reassuring. As if he knew what he was doing, like he knew that their father was going to be ok. That Nia was going to be ok.
"But... If I had helped you, like you had asked, maybe-"
Nathaniel looked at her. His eyes were firm, as if he was saying 'Stop talking and come downstairs now'. He had always been way too protective, over the both of them. But in this time, his protectiveness was for the better.
"Fine.." And with that, Nia stood up.
It was the first time in what felt like days she had managed to stand up off of her father’s bed. Her legs felt weak. Her bare feet were slowly walking along the cold stone floor. She took 3 steps and had to stop, an uneasy, dizzy feeling overcame her. She put her arms out in an attempt to resteady herself. Nathaniel looked over, he had noticed that she had stopped walking.
"Ally? Are you ok?" He asked.
Nia didn't answer. She couldn't. Her head began to droop as she focused on battling this feeling.
"Nia? Nia… What's up? Nia!" And with that she fell. Her vision eventually fading to darkness as she fainted. She hadn't eaten in days, the event was inevitable.
Nathaniel fell to his knees to catch her, resting her head on his hands.
"Nia? Nia! Oh no... Nicholas when was the last time you actually saw her ear the food you brought up?"
"Umm... I don't think I've actually seen her..."
"So she hasn't eaten in 4 days? Great, Nick go and shout for Blainey. Nick? Nick can you hear me?"
The voices muffled in his head, he didn't know Nathaniel was talking to him. Nicholas was worried. He idolised his sister, and there she was. Lying on the ground in his brothers lap because he didn't check on her enough.
"It's all my fault," he thought. "If I hadn't had been so obsessed with making her a new sword for her birthday, maybe she would be ok. Maybe she wouldn't be sprawled out across the floor. I have to fix this. This isn't ok. This is all me. What's wrong with me? Why can't I do anything right? I have to fix this. I HAVE to fix this!"
"NICK!" Nathaniel shouted. It wasn't a mean shout, more of a concerned yell. He jumped.
"Yes?"
"What was that! You were completely gone for a minute then! Please go and shout for Blainey I don't know how to help her."
Nathaniel was worried. He thought he had lost both his siblings for a minute there, both to be succumbed to deaths icy hand, but Nick came back. He quickly scurried off in an attempt to find Blainey, to help Nia. She slowly lifted her head up, repositioning herself on the ground.
"I'm ok... dont worry" she tried to sound as convincing as possible, she knew that Nathaniel would not easily be fooled.
"I will admit Ally, you worried me for a hot minute there. You're awake now, but how do I know you won't collapse like that again? Please, I know you haven't eaten in a while, so please just eat something. And then afterwards we can do what you want ok? It's raining, we can always go outside! I know Nick is dying to jump in puddles with you. Fresh air would do you some good."
He handed her part of a croissant that had been left on the old oak dressing table. Her favourite. Astoria always used to make them for her, and when she left, Nathan took over. Nia took the croissant, slowly ripping apart pieces and gradually eating them one by one.
"Thank you, Nathan. I'm sorry.. I guess I just wasn't in the mood, and then I kept forgetting when I was. I would love to go outside later. I need some fresh air." She stared back at Nathaniel's ash coloured eyes, and smiled. To say the circumstances, she had never felt happier.
~
The clouds we're getting darker the further on the day went. The three of them all put on their coats, one by one, and Nicholas even putting on his boots. They walked outside of the grounds, well, Nia and Nathaniel did. Nicholas just ran. He couldn't stop running. That's just 12 year old energy. Never runs out. They looked at eachother, as if to say, 'How the hell is he doing that'. Eventually, Alania's guilt gave in, she ran through all the same puddles he did, catching up to him, before she ran up behind him and lifted him off the ground. He laughed. The water gathered in dips in the old stone road, mainly in the gaps between each stone slab. However two teenagers running though them meant that it was splattered everywhere. No longer uniform.
Nia and Nicholas were running though puddles when it started to thunder, if there was one thing Nia loved more than rain, it was thunder. She was peculiar with things like that, finding comfort in things others hate. Nicholas was afraid, which Nia understood. Thunder is scary. It's an odd loud noise that only happens every so often. He covered his ears with his small, dewy hands. Nia looked back, kneeling down on one knee to get to his level. She placed her hands upon his shoulders, and said
"It will be ok. Alright? I'll look after you". She smiled, and Nicholas returned it. He slowly peeled off his hands from his ears, and continues running.
Nathaniel was watching his two younger siblings. Running though the shallow water, slipping and falling on their back laughing... To see the bond that those two had, it was something quite special. To see that Nia was still finding joy at 16 in the same things as she did when she was 7, it was quite special.
A yellow bolt struck the ground infront of them, stopping the 3 kids in their path. A talk lump of dirty patch worked clothes walked out. His shoes were tatty, brown with stitches sewn on, looked like he hadn't seen a cobbler in years. Like those were the only shoes he ever had. Nia's eyes rose up the body, to his hands. His long, yellow fingernails seemed to bother her. She was unsure why, but the look of yellow fingernails with things beneath them was disturbing. His face was untidily shaved, not close to the skin at all. Grey hairs made themselves clear every now and again, but no one colour was prominent. He chuckled, his voice sounding sharp. She placed her hand infront of Nicholas, as he slowly creeped behind her body.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" The harsh sounding voice brought out. "Need a lift?"
He plunged Nia into the air, restraining her limbs, her head, even her cries. It blew up in her head with a terrifying blankness. It was nauseating. She started to quiver. The pain felt as if a hot, sharp knife, covered in salt, slicing through her skin and into her muscles and bones. As if her leg had been frozen and a bolt of lightning had struck her body from head to toe. As if someone was surging electricity through her entire body, but it was gathering in her stomach. As if someone was cutting off all her limbs, one by one, but instead of using one clean cut, they were cutting every centimetre off individually.
Nicholas glanced over, he was terrified.
"No! That's my sister! That's my SISTER! You let her go, LET HER GO!" He couldn't see Nia writhing in pain like that, Nicholas went to kick the awkward legs that stood in the way, but Nathaniel held him back.
"You heard him.. Let her go."
With that Nathaniel extended a two foot long sword from his wrist. He handed it to Nicholas, to defend himself. Dismal clouds rolled overhead, with more thunder to come. Nia would normally be loving this, but she was in too much pain to enjoy it. Nathaniel bent down onto one knee, placing his left hand on the ground. He closed his eyes, then lifted his head up so he could see directly to the man. The earth's rumbling started low at first but turned into a body rocking tremor by the time it hit him, knocking him off his feet and plummeting Nia down from the sky.
Another bolt flashed behind Nathaniel, and Nia dropped to the ground, gasping for air. She grabbed her throat, as if to untie the imaginary ropes that had been strangling her. The man was still there, staring at her, enjoying her suffering. She squirmed in her place, panicking. Nathaniel rushed to her aid.
"Nia! Ally, Ally are you ok? I've got you he can't hurt you now." She just cried. She scrambled to Nathaniel and wrapped her arms around him. That's when she saw it.
"Nick.."
Another man, similar to the last one, stood behind him, holding the handle to a sword. The brown leather handle was engraved, the patterns were beautiful, flowers, vines, and then a word in the middle. She recognised this sword. This wasn't just any sword. Nathaniel's sword. The blade poked though Nicholas' stomach, the blood drenching the man's hands. He felt cold inside him, no pain initially, but just cold. A few seconds later, it then began to burn. He felt a wetness, covering his entire body, but a warmth, that was somehow a stabbing cold at the same time. The blade retracted, and the man vanished with a bolt of lightning, just how he appeared. Nicholas found that his legs could no longer support his weight, and he collapsed.
This time, Nathaniel wasn't there to catch him when he fell, he collapsed and fell onto the ground, to which he bled upon the dried leaves on it. At first it came thick and strong, flowing through his fingers as he lay on his back, clasping his stomach in an attempt to stop it. He felt the thick fluid running over his hand, telling him that what he was trying to do wasn't working, and he should give up.
Nia and Nathaniel rushed to him. Nick's head was rested upon his lap, and Nia helped him. Nathaniel put his hand upon Nick's, trying to contain the bleeding. He was panicking.
"No no no, come on Nick, you're gonna be ok! Ok? Just keep talking to me! Yeah?" Nia said, her voice trembling.
She put her bloody hand upon his face, suddenly all the pain she felt had faded away, and all she could focus on was her baby brother. Her hand rose up as she began to play with his hair, in an attempt to calm both her and Nicholas.
"Umm, Ally pass me- pass me that... that jacket. Yes the one over there, I think I can use it as a tourniquet-"
He wouldn't stop bleeding, his hands were covered in Nick's warm, dark blood. The blood dripped from his hands, onto a brown, crispy leaf on the ground. A tear rolled down his cheek, he didn't know what to do. Usually he could stay calm in these types of situations, but now, he could do nothing but cry.
"I- I don't know what to do.. I'm sorry I am so so sorry Nicholas. It's all my fault, it's completely my fault" his lip quivered.
He felt guilty. He admitted guilt for his fathers illness earlier, and now he was guilty for his brothers death. He couldn't cope, he thought everything was his fault. He was so busy making sure his siblings didn't feel guilty, he didn't make sure he didn't himself.
"Nathan.." Nicholas adjusted himself, placing his red hands upon Nathaniel's cheeks.
"It's not.. your fault- don't- don't blame yourself..." his hand dropped, but Nathaniel held his remaining hand against his cheek.
As much as he could relive the moment of Nicholas saying it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help feeling guilty for it. He sat there, with Nicholas' hand pressed upon his cheek, his body in his arms, and sobbed. He rested his head into Nia's shoulders, and sorrowful tears streamed down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably. He sobbed into her shoulder with a strangled scream, his shoulders trembling. Nia's voice quavered as she tried to comfort him.
Nicholas was only 12, when Death wrapped his icy fingers around his neck. Dragging him through to the underworld. He took him for his own. Nia had always cared for Nicholas. He was her baby brother after all. She wanted to give him everything in the world. It broke her. It made Nia relive all those moments they had had together, all those memories to which they had bonded. She may never have recovered from the death of her brother, but it had only hade her even closer to Nathaniel. But losing someone that close to you, makes you value what you have left. It makes you see how lucky you are to have all the things you have, to love all the things you love.
