Thank you for your reviews! I hope you all like the third chapter. Here you go...
Chapter 3 ~ Awakening
Her nose tickled. How could that be? Didn't her mother always tell her that if she died, she would be in perpetual peace? Sure, everything around her felt warm and fluffy and... oh what a wonderful feeling it was to not have a nagging hole in her stomach! But the tickling in her nose was getting worse and she automatically lifted one arm to rub off that annoying sensation.
With her eyes still closed, she then just lay there trying to feel her body. And after the tickling faded, the first she realized was how well the hand she had brought up to her nose smelled. Maybe she still had ended up in heavenly peace? Her skin smelled so pleasantly fresh and flowery like never before during her lifetime. But why could she even feel her body in limbo? And the more she listened to her own body, the more her senses awakened until she noticed the pinching and twitching and the places on her back and legs that felt unnaturally stiff. It shouldn't be like that in a place of natural bliss, should it? What she felt was so contradictory and she couldn't decide if she should be happy to have died or not.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her back. She inhaled sharply; clenching her teeth, then automatically took deeper breaths to breathe the pain away. The next second, out of nowhere, she then felt a source of warmth on her right arm. She automatically turned her body into that direction. Something cool then touched her arm and slowly stroked towards her shoulder.
Near to her ear she heard a soft voice that sounded familiar to her. "Where does it hurt?"
Whimpering, she tried to open her eyes to see who was beside her. But her eyelids felt heavy and didn't quite want to obey her. But whoever that was radiated a bright warmth that she enjoyed. To feel the warmness even more, which was paradoxically so pleasantly cool while touching her skin, she moved closer. At the same time, she mumbled 'back' and then the warm body with the soft voice was no more inches away from her hand, but was suddenly behind her back. Before she could react, she felt that cool touch on the skin of her back again and was briefly startled. But then the coolness started to wander and stroked her in slow and even movements all over her spine. It felt so heavenly pleasant, and when her body relaxed more and more under the touch, she sighed softly.
"Thank you..." she breathed and turned onto her stomach to give the gentle touch more space to work with. At the same time, she also turned her head back to the person she knew from somewhere and felt the mattress sinking, but not just by her movements. With great effort, she forced her eyelids open a bit and saw that the person was sitting cross-legged beside her. For a moment, she could only see one knee in dark gray pants, but as she turned her head a little further and looked up, she crossed the gaze of the young man whom she had warned about the attackers. Recognition flooded her and she frowned.
"I'm not dead?"
The young man's gaze became even more serious, but he shook his head slightly.
"You are not, little one."
She didn't know what she should feel. Her body was in a strange limbo between relaxation and constant pain, but slowly it dawned on her mind that she was still alive. She lived! When this realization hit her completely, tears welled in her eyes and she smiled.
"Thank you!"
He also gave her a smile and stroked a tear from her cheek.
"Rest a bit more," he said with a gentle voice and she rested her head on her arms again. Not long after she closed her eyes he once more stroked her back with his cool hands and even started a soft massage a few minutes later.
She didn't know how long she just lay there and enjoyed the feeling of his hands on her back, but eventually her curiosity gained the upper hand.
"Who are you?" she asked very quietly.
"My name is Godric. And what is yours, little one?"
"Ava."
"It is my turn now to thank you, Ava. I had heard your warnings about the men who wanted to attack me. How did you know that they where there?"
Ava hesitated to answer him; he had undoubtedly saved her and she felt very safe with him. But her mother's voice still sounded in her ear never to tell her secret to anyone in this world. She opened her eyes and looked at him silently for a few moments.
"If I tell you my secret, will you tell me what you are, too?"
She felt his hands stop the massage and how he sat upright.
"You do not know what I am?"
He sounded incredulous and a little... sad? Immediately she had the same feeling about him as she had at their first meeting; it wasn't right that he had negative feelings because of her. Ignoring the dull pain in her back Ava sat up quickly and took his hands into hers.
"Ava-" Godric began with an expression in his eyes she couldn't interpret. But she interrupted him.
"Please don't be sad about me. I'm sorry I don't know what you are, I... I'm aware that I don't know as much as other people do. Over the years I've seen many young people walk into school buildings every day, listening to them over and over again in the afternoon about what they had to learn again today. After the death of my mother, I never had anyone who wanted to teach me anything; otherwise, I would certainly be smarter."
She slipped closer to Godric so that her knees and his almost touched but couldn't look him in the eyes.
"I've always envied these other kids, but over time I've learned other things, and unlike others, I can survive unaided." Remembering the night they met she blushed a little bit. "At least if I'm not being attacked with a knife..." she mumbled, playing embarrassed with a strand of her hair.
When he didn't answer, she looked up at him again and noticed that he had closed his eyes. He had also become completely still like a statue and didn't breathe. He... he wasn't breathing. She leaned further to him and touched his cheeks with her hands.
"Godric!"
Clearly hearing her alerted tone he opened his eyes again, looking at her. Startled, Ava removed her hands from his face when he looked at her with pupils that had become noticeably darker. But because he didn't start breathing again too she put her right hand on his chest to check his heartbeat. Still caught in his gaze, panic was spreading within her when she realized that not only his chest was neither rising nor falling, but his heart wasn't beating at all as well.
"Your... your heart isn't beating!"
Ava had once watched a man who had revived another, but that was many summers ago and she doubted she would do it right. But he wasn't allowed to die in front of her! When he closed his eyes again, her own heart began to beat anxiously even more. Extremely caring for Godric, she leaned even closer to him, ready to try a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to rescue him, but then she heard a bright laugh at that moment and turned around, startled.
In the doorway stood a woman with a tray in her hand. Now Ava was confused. Who was this woman and why didn't she help but laugh instead? But before she could say anything, the woman came over to her and set the tray on a small table near the bed.
"Do not be afraid, my dear. Godric is fine. Or at least he will be fine if you cover yourself again."
"When I cover myself?" Ava looked down at herself and noticed she was wearing nothing but her very own skin. Hastily she let go of Godric and reached for the blanket.
"I'm sorry." She noticed Godric's tortured gaze onto her once again and dropped her eyes. "I know that it is unpleasant for people to see others naked."
"Ava-" Godric began, but she slipped away from him and wrapped herself completely into the blanket until only her face was visible.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again.
When she heard Godric sigh and the mattress moved, she looked up again, but he was already standing next to this beautiful woman, talking quietly to her. When he turned to the door, the panic returned within Ava. He must have sensed her fear, because he quickly turned back to her.
"You do not need to be afraid, Ava. This is Isabel and she will take care of you. I will see you later again."
"Oh… okay." She nodded quietly and watched as he quickly left the room.
She didn't notice how Isabel watched her closely or heard her soft sigh at that miracle that Godric wasn't dying despite the fact that his heart was as still as a dark night in the city, even though she hid her mouth behind the blanket.
"I assume you are thirsty?"
Ava broke away from the sight of the door and forced herself to look at the other woman. She was really beautiful and had a strange accent which Ava couldn't recognize. Like that woman Ava also had black hair, but due to her personal circumstances, her hair was always matted and just hung down over her shoulders. She played with her long strands, lost in thought, wondering if she should ask for a pair of scissors to cut her hair short. By now her hair had already grown in length to her butt and disturbed her immensely, because she couldn't care for it properly.
When this Isabel suddenly sat next to her on the bed, Ava came back from her reverie to the present.
"So, your name is Ava, yes? I am glad that you are feeling better. As Godric said, I am Isabel and if you have any questions, you can ask me anytime."
Ava looked at Isabel shyly and then fixed her gaze on the glass of water that Isabel handed her with a smile. Almost greedily she reached for it and drank it in one breath. Until that moment, she had successfully suppressed how thirsty she was and how rough her throat felt.
"Slowly, girl! Your body has to acclimatize first. You have just been fed through a tube for three weeks and-"
"Three weeks?" Ava asked in disbelief. Or at least wanted to ask – because it wasn't a good idea to talk while she was still drinking. And so the inevitable happened. She choked and was now about to cough her lungs out of her body. Isabel patted her on the back, and after a few minutes, Ava had recovered to the point where she could breathe and speak normally again.
"Better?" Isabel asked her sympathetically and Ava nodded.
"Was I really unconscious for three weeks? Was the wound really that bad? I mean, I realize that it had to be bad..."
Unconsciously, Ava grabbed her throat and groped for the scar, amazed to find she could only feel smooth skin. Where was the scar? She looked at Isabel with raised eyebrows.
"I thought I was going to die because of the wound. How could it heal so there is no scar left?"
"Oh my dear child, you owe that fact to Godric." With a smile that reminded Ava of her own mother, Isabel stroked her dull hair and looked at her dreamily.
"Is Godric a doctor?"
This elicited a soft laugh from the other woman. "Godric used to work as a doctor some time ago, but no, that is not the reason."
"Some time ago? But he looks so young. How can that be? How old is he?"
Again, Ava was given this motherly smile and when Isabel gestured for her to come closer, Ava was grabbed by her curiosity. Shifting to sit closer to that woman, Isabel leaned to her ear and whispered into it.
"He is over two thousand years old..."
Incredulous, Ava tore her head back and looked at Isabel with wide-open eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"You ask me if I am-? Oh, good God..."
Isabel began to laugh heartily, and after a short while she had to wipe away the first tears that escaped her eyes because she laughed so much. That messed up Ava even more.
"Isabel? Your tears!"
"Yes, dear?"
"They're red! Are you alright? Should I go and get Godric to help you?"
Ava didn't know what to do. She really would like to think about what Isabel meant by saying that her savior was an ancient being. But this new fact that Isabel obviously wasn't well threw her completely off track again. Because it wasn't normal to have red tears – that Ava knew for sure. But otherwise her head was empty and she felt totally helpless. When she also started to cry and couldn't suppress a sob, Isabel quickly fell silent and looked at her, her eyes clearly begging for forgiveness.
"I am sorry, Ava. Please forgive me." With a handkerchief wiping away the last tears, Isabel became serious again. "For a long time I have not met anyone who is so wonderfully innocent and ignorant of my nature."
She took a new handkerchief and wiped the tears from Ava's face as well. When Ava calmed down a bit, Isabel kissed her forehead and she realized that the other woman was as cold as Godric.
"What are you?" she asked Isabel shyly and with curiosity.
"Both Godric and I are vampires, my dear child. Do you know this term?"
"Yeah..." Ava started slowly, trying to think. She had heard of it before, but where had that been? "Ah, I remember! Two summers ago I passed a shop that had a TV in the shop window and there was a broadcast about vampires. There was a woman with short blond hair who didn't look very friendly and she had argued with someone. I thought it was about some political issue and so I went on."
"Well, that would have been Nan Flanagan..." Isabel sighed, reaching for a plate on the tray. When she left the plate in front of her, Ava saw the biggest sandwich she had ever seen. Between two layers of crispy toasted bread lay a thick slice of cheese and a juicy lettuce leaf with two slices of tomato peeking out. At that sight, Ava's mouth was watering and with gleaming eyes she looked at Isabel questioningly.
"Is this sandwich for me?"
"Of course," Isabel assured her and stroked her cheek with a suddenly sad expression.
Ava wasn't really hungry at that very moment; her stomach was still pleasantly filled because of this tube that Isabel had mentioned earlier. But just the sudden kindness and care that Godric and Isabel have given her so far brought hot silent tears to her eyes again. With more and more blurring eyes, she took the sandwich and bit into it.
She ate slowly and deliberately, savoring every bite. Ava didn't know what was going to happen to her and because there was the possibility that this was the last time in her life that she would eat a sandwich that someone had given her, she wanted to remember this special gift and keep it forever in her mind.
When the last bite had disappeared into her mouth, she even picked up the crumbs that had fallen on the sheet. Isabel sat quietly next to her all the while, letting her have the time she needed. Ava was grateful for that, too. On the street, it often happened that some homeless people were constantly fighting over the best remnants and if you wanted to get something too, you had to be quick. Ava had always run away from such arguments as she didn't like to fight with others.
"I thank you... both of you! I can't remember when the last time was that someone gave me something just as a gift. And you've been caring for me for three weeks now. I... I don't know how to thank you!"
Ava felt that new tears were threatening to fall again. Normally, she wouldn't burst into tears so quickly, but today she couldn't stop it somehow. It was as if all the repressed feelings of the last few years were coming loose and pushing to the surface. Before she knew it, Isabel held her in a tight hug and stroked her back in a reassuring gesture.
"It is okay, Ava. Let it out. Today you do not need to be strong. Just let it out..." Isabel whispered and for a felt eternity Ava did just that – crying until her soul felt lighter from all the pain and hardships of the years since her mother's death.
At some point, the pain in her noticeably decreased and her tears dried up. But she stayed in Isabel's arms for a while longer, simply because she longed for the touch of another being. She noticed that Isabel slightly rocked her and hummed a soft melody; it was so relaxing that she nearly fell asleep. Unfortunately, Ava's nose called in an unpleasant way, so that she had to sit up. Isabel wordlessly handed her a handkerchief and after she had blown her nose, Isabel gently stroked her hair.
"Come, my dear child. I will show you the bathroom."
Without another word, Isabel rose from the bed and held out her hand to Ava. With a grateful smile, she took Isabel's hand and moved to the edge of the bed. However, when she wanted to put her legs on the floor, Isabel stopped her.
"Careful, Ava. You may be suffering from muscular atrophy, and your legs may not be able to support you. So try it carefully, okay?"
Ava nodded, and though she didn't know exactly what a muscle atrophy was, she at first only tentatively put her right leg on the floor. Leaning on the bed, she gradually shifted more and more weight to her leg when she realized she had no trouble with it. Getting braver, she also put her left leg on the floor and strained it until she was completely on both legs. Satisfied, she smiled at Isabel and earned an appreciative nod.
"Your body has so far recovered a lot, Ava, but please keep in mind that you still should give yourself a break now and then the next days, okay?"
Automatically, Ava had to think about the pain in her back, which Godric had massaged away with his pleasantly cool hands, and nodded thoughtfully.
"Isabel, what... What's next? I mean, what-"
"Stop, my dear child. You are going to just take a bath now and then we will talk about what is going to happen to you, understood? And do not worry; I know from a safe source that Godric does not intend to put you back outside on the street."
This statement was a load off Ava's mind and she looked at Isabel in disbelief. Before she could say anything else, Isabel opened another door and switched on the light in the bathroom. The first thing Ava noticed was the warm colors. No boring white tiles, like in so many station toilets, were to be found. For the most part, the wall was decorated with beautiful mosaic stones, with silhouettes of birds and dark winding paths like the branches of a huge tree on it. In addition to a ground level shower there was also a freestanding bathtub nearly in the middle of the room with a huge black screen on the wall behind it.
Ava looked around in astonishment as Isabel already went to the bathtub and turned on the faucet. Then she went to a small wall console and pressed a few keys – not a moment later a chimney appeared on the wall screen, blazing a fire and dipping the room into even more pleasant warm colors.
"Wow..." Ava murmured and went also to the bathtub. When she saw the water rippling into the evenly shaped tub, it sparked a joy in her that made her smile. But that drew her attention to something else, and with a shameful expression she turned towards Isabel.
"Isabel? Um, I would have to use the toilet..."
"Of course, my dear. I am waiting outside until you are ready."
Isabel walked out with quick steps and closed the door behind her. Quickly Ava turned to the toilet and relieved herself. After she had rinsed and wrapped herself in the blanket again, which she had taken to the bathroom to cover herself, she stood in front of the screen and watched the roaring fire. She could even hear the soft cracking of the wood from somewhere. It was such a reassuring and lulling image that she didn't hear Isabel come back in and shut off the faucet. It was only when Isabel came to stand beside her that she spun around, slightly startled, and smiled sheepishly at the other woman.
"Come now, Ava, the bath is ready."
Isabel held out a hand, but Ava hesitated. It was clear that Isabel apparently wanted to help her bathe, but she hadn't forgotten Godric's reaction when she accidentally showed herself naked. Unconsciously, she pulled her blanket closer around her and Isabel sighed and sat down on the edge of the tub.
"It is okay, Ava. You do not have to be ashamed of your body, dear. You know, I am also a woman and-"
"I'm not ashamed of my body. But it is unpleasant for others to be naked around them." Ava looked embarrassed to the ground. "As Godric reminded me earlier..."
Once again she heard Isabel's bell-ringing laugh.
"My dear child... believe me when I tell you that it is not unpleasant for me to see you without clothes. In fact it is very natural and you should not worry about it."
"But Godric-"
"Just hop into the tub and we will talk about it."
"Um... okay..."
Still hesitantly, Ava lowered the blanket and folded it then. When Isabel took it from her and put it away down onto a shelf, Ava slid into the bathtub and immediately felt the irrepressible joy she always felt as soon as she came into contact with water. On the water was also a thick layer of foam shimmering in the light and when Ava wanted to sit back comfortably, she realized that her hair still hung out of the tub. As she bent forward to get it into the tub too, she felt how Isabel gently grabbed her hair.
"You have beautiful long hair, Ava… Do you want to leave it that long?"
Ava half turned to Isabel and looked at her uncertainly.
"Not really. I like long hair, but as long as it is right now, it only bothers me."
From the corner of her eye, she saw Isabel nodding and reaching for a comb.
"I have some experience in cutting hair, should I cut it down a bit right now?"
"You could do that? That would be great, Isabel!"
"Okay, dear. Sit back and relax. I will shorten it right now and fine-tune it when you are done bathing and your hair is wet too."
Ava gladly followed Isabel's request and had to be careful not to fall asleep thanks to the surrounding warmth of the water and soft crackling of the fake fire. When Isabel was finished cutting her hair, Ava got from her a wonderfully soft sponge to wash herself with. She felt so free and secure that her mind could shut down completely.
Without all the worries and fears she usually carried around, she could now remember a tune her mother had always hummed to her when she was a little girl. Ava tried the melody quietly for herself at first and when she was sure of it again, she began to hum it loudly. After a little while, Isabel began to hum the melody together with her and that conjured a bright smile on Ava's face. And slowly, infinitely slowly, but inexorably, a hope grew within her heart that maybe she would be able to live a new, better life from now on...