My Dearest Morphine
Chapter 6: Proscription
Whatever Ms. Daidouji did to Kaho on the evening that they met bewildered me.
That night, Kaho came back with a smile, a sly and almost scary smile. She was passionate about something. A flame gleamed in her eyes, as if she was expecting me to woo her.
"Hi, Eriol," she called almost coyly.
"What did you discuss about?"
"Huh?"
"Ms. Daidouji and you."
"Oh, you mean, Tomoyo?" she giggled after her rhetorical question.
Kaho had never called Tomoyo by her first name. And it didn't look like she intended to either.
"… Kaho, did you drink? You know that you have low tolerance for alcohol," I frowned as I analyzed her movements, attempting to recognize any strange patterns. But none showed. She was… sober and crazy?
"Well, if you're too tired, I would understand," she said gravely, disappointed.
"Too tired for what?" I was so confused. It was as if Kaho had transformed into another person.
"For some lovin', of course!"
I cringed.
"Yes, I am indeed too tired for this," I rubbed my temple and sighed.
I had no idea what Tomoyo had done to Kaho but I hoped that it was reversible. I would prefer living with a stone-hearted woman than a lustful hormonal wife.
I looked at Kaho one more time before I slipped into my study room. I felt guilty to leave her alone in the bedroom but she didn't seem to mind at all. She grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV. Instantly choosing a soap opera to watch, she settled herself comfortably against the soft pillows and smiled like a child.
I smiled to myself a little. At least Kaho seemed to love something about life. Before, every step she took looked like she tried to drag herself out of hell.
The following morning, Kaho had decided to take a day off from her lawyer cases. The thing was… she never took a day off before. Her assistant was utterly confused and her clients shocked. Kaho Mizuki was known as the always attentive lawyer; she never even seemed to get sick and she even worked on Christmas. It was November the tenth, and Kaho really had no excuse to stay home at all.
"Oh, I just want to relax," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I deserve that, don't I?"
She certainly did. But Kaho never used that logic before. What was considered a waste of time before became then an essential luxury of life. "I can't believe that I've never watched television shows before!" she exclaimed as she micro-waved some popcorn. Wait—
"Since when do we have a microwave and popcorn?"
"I had them delivered," Kaho replied, shrugging her shoulders again, as she munched on her new snack.
This was simply outrageous.
I had no choice but to call Tomoyo. I shouldn't have trusted her with this. But who knew that healing powers could have… side effects? Or turn people delirious. Yet, somehow I felt like this wasn't Tomoyo's fault. When I picture her innocent smile, I never associated her with treating her patients badly. Even tough Kaho was a horrible patient for Tomoyo, the latter would not treat someone so poorly.
Without hesitation, I reached for the phone and dialed a now familiar number. Her usual, optimistic, although distressed, voice rang across the line.
"Tomoyo Daidouji speaking."
"Tomoyo," I began calmly, "what did you do to my wife?"
"Nothing abnormal. She was fine when I left her last night," Tomoyo confirmed.
"I doubt it," I frowned, although knowing that she would not see it, "Kaho is acting rather hysterical for her normal self."
There was a muffled laugh on the other side.
"What?" I exclaimed immediately.
"Sorry, I can't imagine how Kaho would act if she was hysterical. Maybe I should go over and see her situation. I assure you though that I have done nothing out of the extraordinary. We talked. She confessed. I healed her heart a little."
"What do you mean by 'heal'?" I asked curiously.
"Well, according to you, I have healing powers. I suppose that they make the person in contact feel better. I suppose that they have made Kaho forget the important qualities of her life. Maybe that's why she's hysterical in your opinions. I am sure that she is just care free. I could tell from yesterday that she has been under a great deal of stress. I am sure that a few days of delirium won't hurt her at all. It will actually relieve her of her normal stress."
During Tomoyo's long discourse, I continued to frown to myself. Was it possible that Kaho's confession was so scary that Tomoyo's healing powers reacted exceptionally strong? Because from what I could see, Kaho wasn't just hysterical. She seemed to have forgotten half of her life.
"Tomoyo…" I paused, searching for the right wording of my question.
"Yes?" she asked with a bit of fear.
"Can you erase memories?"
"I… I don't know."
"What did Kaho tell you? What was so grave that your powers made her forget everything?"
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid that I can't tell you that. It's purely confidential—"
"Damn it, I don't care! My wife is breaking down inside! Although she appears to be hysterical, I don't know what's happening to her heart and soul! You better fix this Tomoyo Daidouji or you'll regret this for your life!"
"I… am sorry," her voice suddenly became apologetic and shaky. She seemed so scared of me. Perhaps my outburst was a bit too much. Still, she was aggravating me. In the five years that I've known Kaho, she has never even come close to this. "Did I… hurt you because I healed Kaho?"
"Yes, yes you did."
It was a direct accusation. I didn't realize at the time how much it had hurt her. She seemed to have dropped the phone before hanging it up clumsily. It was the first time that Tomoyo Daidouji had ever inflicted pain on someone. And ironically, she had done so while she attempted to help the same person. Until then, I didn't realize how painful it must have been to be in her place, cursed for her own gift and unable to escape faith. Her bubble of perfection and of guiltlessness was finally broken.
Tomoyo Daidouji dared not to come to my mansion for another week. The next time that I saw her, she was a completely changed woman, as if fifty years had passed in a week. I couldn't help but to stare into her pitiful eyes. I frowned to myself. How could I trust such a woman with my wife's spirit? For the first time, it seemed that my magic had betrayed me, for it was magic that led me to her in the first place.
Author's Notes: Uh, definitely not one of my most well-written chapters but it should do the trick. The writing style should reflect the mood a little…
College's busy as usual. NaNoWriMo's going on right now this year but I'm not doing it. I suppose that instead, I should be editing this.
Again, please review!
