Lithium Petals 1

Listen to: Valentine's Day by Linkin Park

Cold. It was all she could feel as her body slowly slipped into black darkness.

Tamilla never thought blood would be shed when she simply wanted to tag along with her family's duties.

... Especially blood of her own...

covered in charred red blood, all Tamilla wished for was to not feel anymore. She didn't want to feel... this pain, this regret, this sorrow... If only she could just slip away into eternal sleep, never to wake from this nightmare again.

After all, what was left to live for?

She closed her eyes, letting a few thick drops of tears sink into the blood-covered cold earth before drifting into a warm darkness.

--

"Is she awake?"

"Almost; I thought I saw her eyelids move a little."

"I hope she's alright. Please, please don't die on us, please..."

Tamilla heard echoes of unfamiliar voices pounding in her head. She was submersed under dark water, sinking, going further into the depths of the ocean. Her body was heavy, as if it was buried under softness. Wait, softness? What is this? Tamilla tried to reach out and touch the softness surrounding her, but her body could not respond. She was too heavy, too heavy; too tired.

"Please, please... you can make it..."

Where was this sweet, honey voice coming from? The voice was broken, the voice whispered tears, the voice of an angel. Angels shouldn't cry, Tamilla thought hurtfully. Tamilla wanted to reach out to the angel, to tell him that everything was going to be fine, that angels were not meant to cry.

Trying to move anything, an arm, a finger, an eyelid; Tamilla could not make her body to follow her brains orders. She wanted to open her mouth, wanted to whisper reassurance to the broken-hearted angel, to tell him that there was nothing at all to worry about.

Then she felt something.

Something comforting and strong enclosing her hands. She could feel her hands! Tamilla itched to move a finger or two, but all she could do was mentally frustrate herself at the irresponse of her body. Was she even in a body? It would have to be, there was no other way she could feel the softness of fabric encasing her and the comforting, cold hands at her fingertips.

She managed to twitch a thumb.

"You're safe with me, who ever you are, I'll always be here with you at your side. You're not going through this alone, not any more..." the angel softly kissed her hand, as soft as a rose petal brushing her skin.

Tamilla wanted to wake up, to see the dear angel she heard so clearly. Was this a dream? Tamilla shook off that possibility, realizing how loud and clear the gentle voice emanated. She was so comfortable, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to wake up. It was quite the life just bathing in this plush softness and listening to the tranquil voice of an angel at your side.

Tamilla was regaining her consciousness. Guessed it wasn't a dream after all, slowly opening her eyelids to the brightness of her surrounding reality.

White. Everything was white. Not the blade-sharp, blinding white of a summer midday sun, but more of the soft, hospital white of a snowy evening, the white of the snowflake that drifts past windows and dances with the breeze on a winter night.

"Focus," Tamilla internally growled to herself.

Then, things started to take shape from the white blur.

The softness was in fact the down-stuffed cocoon that wrapped Tamilla. Everything in the room was a clean, caring white, even the glow coming out of the nearby window.

"You... feeling better?" The angel asked.

Using all of her effort to turn around, Tamilla absorbed the angel that saved her.

He was about Tamilla's age, perhaps a little older (maybe 14?), with chocolate-brown hair and a rich crimson shade in his eyes. Oh my, his eyes... they were, to say the least, mesmerizing. There was just so much... mystery in them. On the surface, his eyes showed over-concerning kindness and calmness, but deeper, one could identify with difficulty the slightest splinters of loneliness and exhaustion.

"Can you hear me? Are you feeling better?" The angel asked again, with obvious concern.

"I - yes, I'm feeling... better," Tamilla managed through her raspy voice. "Wh-where am I?" Tamilla asked, confused. What happened? How did she end up here? Where was her fa-

Her family.

Suddenly she started to take in everything, she started to remember...

The family that she loved so dearly, extinguished by a band of vampire-hunters. The blood. The screaming, the voice of her brother Viktor as he panickly rushed her away from the fight, how she saw her very own brother killed by the emotionless hunters.
... and the darkness Tamilla was confident the face of Death as she slipped into him.

Tamilla shut her eyes in pain. This could not be real. Somewhere out there was her family waiting for her to come home to a warm supper in her cozy home in the woods. There she would see the smiling face of her brother, and she would run into Viktor with open arms before helping Mama set the table.

But as Tamilla began to recall the disaster, her memories just flowed back like the waves of a river. Fragments of blood, a fire, the limp bodies of her family. This was too painful. This just couldn't be real.

"Are.. you... okay?" The boy worried at Tamilla's sudden wince.

No, she was not okay, not at all; There was a painful hollow in her heart, like as if a hand of ice tugged away a part of her. The emptiness was overwhelming, there was so much discomfort in the heaviness within her chest. But at the same time, Tamilla didn't feel. She couldn't bring her tears to the surface, as if someone tranquilized her to not completely feel the agony of losing her only family.

It was confusing. She didn't know what to feel. Only... emptiness.

"I'm... empty." Tamilla whispered monotonely. The boy tilted his magnificent head, as if he was sympathizing.

Tamilla didn't want sympathy.

"What's your name?" he gently questioned.

"Tamilla... Tamilla... Winter..." Tamilla replied. Her last name was too painful to pronounce, like it would bring back the faces of her beloved family. Tamilla didn't want to feel anymore.

"Tamilla... my name is Kaname. Kaname Kuran. My guardian and I found you in a disolate area, covered in your own blood. Could I know please how you ended up there?" The boy inquired. He was so considerate. Kaname - that was his name.

"I ... don't want to talk about ... it..." Fat tears were gathering around her eyes. It hurt to much to feel, so why not feel it at all? Perhaps if she'd just forget what happened, she'll forget the pain.