Chapter Three:
The Fragile Line between Life and Death
Faline spent the walk to Aika's house in a somber calm of reflection. Only the rhythmic tapping of her shoes having any recognition to her unaware senses. Her face and eyes gazed downward at her white shoe-clad feet in an unseen daze. Her silky dark flaxen tresses fell gracefully around her shoulders, veiling her features from view. The world around her passed by as a blotchy haze of indistinguishable colors, the thunderous sounds of the busy city never reached her as she passed through it. There was no acknowledgment or second glance from any she passed. She was just simply there, merely another in a world of countless.
Numerous thoughts flooded her mind in massive swells and images flicked to life like a light bulb meeting unstable electricity, as her feet instinctually led her back to her Godmother's home. A mental overflow of long since forgotten knowledge swept through her mind. Her fragile grip on reality dwindled with every robotic step. Her slender fingers and hands had visibly paled to a shade hazardously akin to chalk from her unyielding grip on her only latch to reality and sanity. The shiny oaken picture frame she clutched possessively to her heart.
Unheeding of the world around her, Faline stepped off the jagged sidewalk edge. Only for the tip of her shoe to catch on a groove in the stone and send her body forward with a sudden harsh jolt, which caused her to snap back to reality with a surprised intake of breath. In a frantic attempt to keep her face from hitting the pavement, she threw out her left hand to brace herself from the impact of her fall.
The collision was almost instantaneous, though it seemed like forever Faline still could not prepare her body for the ruthless contact that followed. She felt the rip of her delicate skin and heard the sharp snap of her wrist bone as it collided with the ground. Immediately a wave of excruciating pain washed over her in a ripple of intense searing heat that shot through her entire body. Her form jolted wildly before stiffening as if paralyzed. A wave of gut wrenching nausea and dizziness rolled over her senses. Faline's vision started to blacken and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to force herself to stay conscious, but she was quickly losing the battle.
A cold sweat covered her body and hot tears fell freely from her eyes as she peered around her in search for her family portrait. Spotting the picture frame a few feet out in front of her, she forced her body to move forward as fast as possible before the precious item was lost and she no longer aware of her surroundings. She lost her footing to another harsh wave of dizziness, fell to her knees beside the picture and swiftly snatched the wooden frame from the ground.
Suddenly everything became all too clear as a horrified scream pierced though her momentarily muted hearing, moments before the sound of a honking car horns and squealing tires blared to life. She snapped her head to the left only to see a white blur headed towards her. Her eyes flew open in terror, but her body refused to move as blackness finally overpowered her vision and she knew no more.
"Oh my god, is she alive?" A hysteric female voice shrieked causing Faline's eyes to flutter open from the piercing noise. A series of amazed gasps rang out around her motionless form as her hazy waterlogged aqua gaze slowly drifted around to each blurry face that stood above her.
Unfamiliar faces, every single one of them were strangers. Even if she could not see their faces clearly, she could tell by their voices that she had never seen them before. Faline had a good memory, especially when it came to voices. Being born mute she learned from a young age to identify people by their voices. She could identify people better by their voice than their face. There wasn't one person she had every heard speak that she couldn't recognize. Everyone had a unique voice that was singularly theirs. It was something she had a deep fascination with.
"Can you hear me, miss?" A velvety soft almost feminine voice asked, as a warm gentle hand stroked her brow. Faline's waterlogged gaze moved upwards when the voice had come from. A haze of vivid colors caused her to blink. It was almost like gazing directly into the sun. When her eyes opened again she could just barely make out a feminine face framed by long scarlet hair.
The person supporting her head in their lap smiled tenderly as her eyes began to focus on him. Had she not been half way unconscious she would have gaped at the beautiful male above her. He was quite possibly the most gorgeous human being she had ever seen. He could not honestly be human. Not with that face, with those eyes. Such vibrance, such life, such intelligence sparkled in those emerald pools. Locking gazes with the male above her was dangerous. She felt like she could drown in their unfathomable depths.
"You're going to be all right, miss. An ambulance is on its way…" The red-haired male continued to speak trying to soothe the injured girl, but Faline couldn't make out any of his words. She only felt the comforting vibrations of his soft tenor pulsate though her entire body. The voice it was so calming, she wished that he would never stop. Slowly her heavy eyelids began to close, her body finally surrendering itself to the bliss of unconsciousness once more.