Hello again! Thank you for the reviews, faves and alerts!
It took a really long while to get inspired to write this chapter but I hope I made up for the delay with the length.
BTW, this whole chapter is in Loki's point of view which is weird because I never planned it to be that way. It just happened. Also, the second part is has song lyrics being sung and is written in italics.
Well, here it is! Chapter 15!
Disclaimer: …..I've already stated this 13 times.
Loki P.O.V.
It felt strange to wake up to nothing. For the first time since I had arrived in Midgard, I was roused by my own need to end sleep. The light drizzling outside was barely audible and the cold air made area feel empty.
The silence of the house reminded me to check on Mandy, who was probably still ill. Without truly acknowledging it, I felt responsible for her. After all, if I refused to help her, no one would. She was already blind and being incapacitated by her illness would have made things much more difficult for her.
Mandy was sound asleep in her bed. She appeared quite relaxed and did not show any sign of discomfort. I gently touched her forehead and found that her temperature had dropped several degrees. Her fever had broken that night but she still needed rest to recover completely.
Seeing how peaceful she was, I decided to let her stay in bed. I walked over to one of the windows in her room. The broken one was still boarded up but the other was still intact and allowed me to peer through it.
The mist created by the rain made the area look so different. There was a gray and white landscape outside. It seemed like everything was calm this day.
Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep!
I jumped at the sound of Mandy's clock. It irritated me that it destroyed the serenity of the moment. I turned around, dreading that the noise would wake Mandy up.
Just as I thought, she pulled herself up to stop the sound. She then scratched her head sleepily before starting to cough.
In response, I ran to the kitchen and brought her a glass of water.
"Here." I said, offering it to her.
Mandy held back her cough to say, "Loki?" She must not have noticed my presence earlier.
"Yes. Drink this first so you can ask more sensible questions." I told her as I put the glass in her hands.
As usual, she did not take offense. She simply took the drink without caring about the rest of what I said.
Afterwards, she combed her hair with her fingers as she spoke, "I feel a lot better today. Have you eaten yet?"
I unnecessarily shook my head as I replied, "Not yet. I woke up not too long ago."
"Then I better make breakfast." She said, throwing the blanket aside.
I grabbed her arm to stop her. "You need to rest. You are still recovering."
She sighed and said, "I don't feel too bad to make a meal. Besides, I can't let you starve."
I thought back and realized I had only eaten a fruit or two yesterday. My mind was too focused on Mandy's situation to care too much about food.
"Don't worry about me. I won't overexert myself. I promise." She said, though her last sentence sounded like a mischievous child trying to cover something up. I would know.
Regardless, I permitted her to work.
She slowly made her way to the kitchen and began to prepare her tools and ingredients. Since I did not know much about what to do, I simply observed.
It still amazed me whenever I saw her perform intricate tasks though unable to see. She successfully chopped vegetables and meat without hurting herself. All the measurements were set accurately to her needs. She knew exactly where things were and what to do.
"You truly know how to manage things here." I told her as she finished cooking.
Mandy placed the soup into two bowls while saying, "I have to. Accidents are hard to handle when you can't see."
I assisted in bringing the bowls to the table. She still looked weak by the way she moved, but I did not inform her that I knew.
We both ate silently for a while. I assumed that she was hungry so I did not bother her.
Ill or not, Mandy's cooking was consistently good. No one would be able to identify that what we were having was made by a sick, blind girl.
When we finished eating, she cleared up the table as she normally would have. I tried to stop her but she managed to get the job done before I could.
"You promised not to exert yourself." I reminded her.
She stopped when she heard me and put the items down.
"Oh, right. I forgot." She said. "I'm used to doing my usual chores in the morning."
"You will not be able to continue such things if you become ill again." I told her.
She sighed and wobbled over to her room. I followed to make sure she would do as she was told.
Mandy looked unhappy to be back in bed so I decided to keep her company. Perhaps a chat would keep her there and away from work.
"Did you need something?" she asked when she realized I was in the room.
I sat down beside her and said, "No, but I can tell you still want to do those chores."
"So, you're here to stop me just in case I get up again?" There was a hint of teasing in her voice.
I did not let it bother me and instead said, "I find it strange that you enjoy such things. Don't you ever tire of housework?"
She chuckled before telling me, "I normally would but honestly, before you came along, it was the only thing to wake up to each day."
I never really thought about it, but she was right. Mandy had very little to do considering her situation. She did not have any other responsibilities other than to herself.
"Every day is a simply cycle for you, is it not?" I asked, though pondering how she could live like this.
"Most of the time it is. There are some days when something different happens. You living here is one example. Other days, just being able to recognize a new sound is already a big deal." She said simply.
"After all that had happened to you, it seems you take delight in such simple things. Until now, I could not understand how you recovered from all of what you have experienced." I said honestly.
Had I not witnessed those fits she had when she had her nightmares, I would never have guessed that she had been through such things.
She shrugged and told me, "At first, I thought I would never be able to move on from it. But a certain someone helped me out."
I cocked my head to ask, "Who?"
"Mrs. Wednesday." she answered. "She was an old widow who took me in after I got away."
Her last word reminded me to bring something up. "You never explained how you escaped."
She took a moment to think before she spoke. "I'm not sure exactly how. I guess I was just lucky. Once I heard them open the door again, I ran through it and searched for a way out of the house."
"And you accomplished that without seeing?" I asked, skeptical of her statement.
She defended herself saying, "It was raining at the time. I followed the sound and as soon as I felt the raindrops, I knew I was free."
"From that point, all you had to do was evade those men." I said, having some knowledge of escape tactics.
Mandy gave off a short fake laugh before telling me, "Yes, but I'm sure I was pretty easy to spot. I couldn't see and I probably looked like road kill with all the bruises."
"So how did you manage?" I was forced to ask.
"I was lucky enough to stumble into a bus. The driver felt bad for me and offered to take me to a hospital. I told him just to take me as far away as he could." She said.
I raised an eyebrow. "He complied?"
She gave an awkward smile. "Weirdly enough, he did. Maybe he knew I was running away from something but I'm not sure. He just let me ride for hours until his last stop." It seemed that even she found the events too strange.
"That was when you met that old woman, right?" I said, trying to move the story along.
"Actually, I met her days after I was dropped off." She answered while scratching her head.
In disbelief, I blurted out, "You survived days on the streets?"
"People thought I was a beggar so they gave me half eaten food and stuff. At the time, I didn't really mind. I thought that it was as good as things could be for me." She explained.
I knew of course that there was more to the story. "But then?"
"But then a woman who had no family left, took me in. She saw me in terrible shape and said that it was her 'moral duty' to help me out." She continued.
"I'm doing my moral duty. I can't just leave someone like you on the streets."
I remembered Mandy saying that on the day that we met.
I could not hold back the need to ask "Was that also the reason why you let me stay? You pitied me so you decided to follow her example?"
There were actually more questions that were left unsaid.
Was I just a charity case for her? A helpless being used to compensate for her desire to imitate her savior?
She placed her hand on top of my own as she told me, "I didn't 'pity' you, Loki. I related to you."
I did not say anything. I only observed her face which showed no sign that she was lying.
When she noticed my silence, she spoke again. "When you told me that you had nowhere to go, it reminded me of myself. I believed you deserved a helping hand, like I did."
As kind as her words were, I knew better than to believe them.
"You deserved it. I doubt that I do. She must have known that you meant no harm." I told her.
Mandy removed my hand and said, "Maybe, but I'll never know for sure if that's what she thought. It's one of the mysteries she left after she passed away."
Her voiced dwindled at the end of the sentence. The sadness of the loss still lingered in her mind.
I was inclined to say, "My condolences."
She began to smile again and told me, "It's alright. But with all the questions she left behind, she also taught me something important."
Curious, I leaned closer to her and asked. "What would that be?"
"The reason why I had to keep moving forward with my life." She said, ending with a bigger smile.
"Which is?" I asked again, getting a little impatient.
She sounded a bit happier as she elaborated.
"After all the abuse and trauma I went through, the world didn't end. I was still alive, which meant I had a purpose and something better was coming for me."
I could not fully understand that. It was an optimistic thing to say, but not too realistic. Life was harsh. Some people simply did not get that happy ending, no matter what they tried.
"And what good came for you after that? You are still blind and that woman died, leaving you alone." I said almost angrily.
Mandy did not back down and patiently gave her answers.
"Loki, I had a chance to find a safe place to live. I experienced different things. I met wonderful people."
In fleeting moment I sensed that I was one of those that she meant but I brushed the thought off.
I looked at her again. Her blind eyes seemed hopeful and full of life. I on the other hand was the opposite.
"But what if there is nothing worthwhile waiting at the end?" I asked dejectedly
Her voice was gentle as she answered, "Unless it's our time to die, there's always something there, even if we don't see it immediately."
Once again, she caught me off guard with her reply. It was so childlike. If I had not known any better, I would have assumed that whoever came up with such a saying to have never experienced true pain in their life. Mandy however, had and yet she still believed in that.
She had been broken, but she was not defeated.
"It's been a while since I've heard you speak like that." I said, changing the subject before she could detect that I was taking in her words.
"What do you mean?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
I leaned back when I told her, "When we talked about your past, you said such foolish things. You even called yourself stupid."
She took the comment lightly and said, "I guess emotions got the better of me. I tend to be so hard on myself when it comes to that."
"It is better than arrogance. We should be the only ones who can judge ourselves." I stated.
"I can't agree more." She said before coughing lightly.
I then remembered that Mandy needed rest so I told her, "I believe your body is telling you to take a break."
She nodded and placed her head on the pillows. Seeing that she obeyed without argument, I took it as my cue to leave her alone.
I made my way to Mandy's collection of books knowing I had more than enough time to indulge in them. Finding a thick and seemingly interesting one, I made myself comfortable on my "bed" and began to read.
The rest of the day was quiet, but not in a way that felt like the time we were avoiding each other. Mandy slept most of the day away and we had only shared our meals together before going our separate ways. I checked on her now and then and saw that she was doing well on her own.
By nightfall, the storm had returned and it worsened nearing midnight. Rain poured down non-stop and thunder claps appeared every few minutes.
I tried to ignore the noise and get to sleep but it was difficult. An hour or so had passed before I felt tired enough to relax.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, a large bright flash illuminated the room being closely followed by a deafening crash of thunder. It pulled me out of the bed and left me shaking.
I always hated the two. I had enough terrible experiences with them and did not wish for any of it to occur again.
Realizing that it was futile to find rest while the storm continued, I decided to wait until it passed.
"Little child, be not afraid, though rain pounds harshly against the glass."
I heard a soft voice singing through the noise.
"Like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger. I'm here tonight."
I sought for the source of the music and found myself outside Mandy's room. As I peeked inside, I saw her singing to herself while molding a piece of clay.
Her voice sounded wary, like she was trying to convince herself of something.
"Little child, be not afraid, though thunder explodes and lightning flash,"
Her hands fidgeted and she was not as focused as she normally had been when sculpting.
"Illuminates your tear stained face. I'm here tonight."
Suddenly, a loud clash of thunder resonated in the house.
As I tensed up and cringed in response, I saw that Mandy had crushed her clay and braced herself. She then continued singing in a louder voice and a faster pace.
"And someday you'll know, that nature is so. The same rain that draws you near me falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand; makes the beautiful world that you see in the morning."
I found it interesting how Mandy was trembling in fear, but tried to fight it by singing a lullaby. Though somehow childish, it seemed to work. She slowly calmed down as she sang.
"For you know, once even I was a little child and I was afraid."
I too felt relaxed and in some strange way, comforted by listening to her. It was as if she was singing it to me and telling me that there was nothing to fear.
"But a gentle someone always came to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears and to give a kiss goodnight.
Well now I am grown, and these years have shown, rain's a part of how life goes. But it's dark and it's late so I'll hold you and wait till your frightened eyes do close."
I silently returned to my bed while Mandy continued to sing. Finally settled between the sheets, I let myself be lulled to sleep.
"Everything's fine in the morning…
The rain will be gone in the morning…
But we'll still be here in the morning…"
End of Chapter 15
Well guys, that's that. I hope you liked it.
The song I used was "Lullaby for a Stormy Night" by Vienna Teng. I was actually playing it while writing the storm part. Coincidentally, I was writing while a storm was going on so I really felt it. The thunder and lightning were really bad :P also, it was weird/cool that the rain stopped when I finished writing the storm part.
Please let me know what you think. Hate it? Love it? Got a suggestion? I wanna hear it