Chapter One - Pineapple Cake
WARNING: This story contains material that might be triggering to some viewers! Adult content! Proceed with caution!
Chapter One - Pineapple Cake
Her cracked lips parted carefully as her warm breath escaped like fog from between them. The chaotic noises of the city seemed to be muffled down to nonsense ambiance in the back of her head. The concrete underneath her bare feet was cold, so cold that it felt like her soles and the tips of her toes were burning.
How did it get to this point? Just when did life lose its color? Just when did everything start to go astray?
A pathetic smile etched its way on her face, causing the dry skin on her cheeks to crease like satin sheets.
Was it when the sound of his heart monitor became one long agonizing beep? No, that wasn't it...
Was it when the curls on his head melted off his scalp like cotton candy? Was it when the muscles on his arms disappeared? When the skin tightened around his ribcage like wrapping paper? When dark circles underneath his eyes and sunken cheeks became a permanent feature on his once bright face?
"He has cancer... We can begin treatments when-..."
Joan covered her ears with her bony palms as something hot ran down her cheeks. Her teeth chattered, her heart was squeezing in around itself.
He had promised not to leave her, he had promised her to visit the sea together. To see a blue whale together. She thought that they would spend Christmas together. The pineapple cake that he loved so much became the janitor's responsibility once it slipped out from her grip at the shock of seeing the nurses walk out his room with gloomy expressions.
Joan started choking on her tears, her screams disappearing as she trembled on the edge of the building.
There is no limit to human misery, and if there was truly a god or deity... then they had abandoned man to his own devices.
Joan's knees buckled in on themselves as her hands fell to her sides. Her brown eyes looked duller than they ever had been before that moment. Duller than when her father had drunk a little too much and decided to let out some steam on her mother. Duller than when the hospital bills became too much. Duller than when she decided to become homeless and drop out of college to afford his survival.
Her eyes lazily scanned the city below her. It was dirty. Everything was filthy. The streets, the alleys, the taxi cabs stained with vomit, the spilled coffee cup on a window edge, the crumbs scattered all over the floor of a cafe. But... the filthiest things were the creatures walking around with two feet.
Her chest moved slowly before she burst into a fit of laughter that seemed absurd given her circumstances.
"I am sorry Kinon... I am so sorry. I promised you that I would keep my heart pure. I promised you that no matter what happened I would keep on going for you... but I can't do it. You were the only thing in my life that mattered, and now I have lost you. You broke your promises too... so its okay if I break this one, right?"
Joan grimly smiled before she allowed her feet to slip off. The immediate drop caused her ear drums to pop and burst. The wind toyed with her body, pulling and pushing her limbs around before a loud cracking noise was made as she finally hit the concrete slab. Her black eyes turned to the gray sky as droplets of snow fell on her twitching body.
"K..inon."
A snowflake danced around her face and landed on the tip of her nose before her consciousness slipped away.
'What is this feeling?'
'Its so dark and cold here...'
'My head stings...'
'Am I still alive?'
A piercing shriek and a violent impact against her body forced her eyes to snap open. Her shoulders shook as she tried to breathe in as much oxygen as possible. Her ribs felt as if they were digging into her organs.
"Father! Stop, she's sorry please stop!! Please, we won't do it again. Please father-."
Stubby little arms wrapped around her head, pulling her body closer to a strangers lap. The shaking and thrashing caused a thick velvet fabric to fall over her face, making Joan scrunch up her nose at the itchy and uncomfortable texture. She could hardly breathe as it were, the obstacles kept on coming
"Please father, you know how clumsy she is, we're so sorry father- father?!"
Joan bolted her eyes shut as the shrilly voice and the commotion around her dizzied her. She did not understand what was happening, are nurses usually this physically intrusive? She felt a prickle of relief that she was still alive but frankly speaking, this situation was causing that relief to steadily decline.
An eerie silence followed as the sound of leather boots grew louder to where she laid.
"Take this one back to her lessons, and as for that one... reeducate her." His voice was deep, the consonants sounding like a death sentence on his tongue. A few moments passed as if the man was letting them savor his words before the sound of leather drew further away until it fully disappeared. The shrilly voice soon followed with the sound of more shoes.
Pairs of hands dressed in pearl white gloves reached for her, grabbing on to her forearms and jerking her up as if she was a rag doll. She thought of protesting and screaming but her ribs were still in pain and the thought of drawing in more oxygen than necessary made her worry that she would choke.
"Open your eyes, pest."
Joan did not obey. Bad things happen when you become aware of your surroundings. Ignorance was bliss after-
Something flat caused her head to spin to the side and her cheeks to sting.
Never mind for that advice.
Joan grit her teeth before opening her eyes wide. She suddenly felt incredibly dizzy and thankful for the tight grip that she was held in. Was she dreaming? Is this what heaven- er hell looked like?
Richly stained mahogany dressers and bookshelves. Elaborate vintage armchairs and sofas upholstered with a deep jade fabric. The faint scent of sage and leather. Persian rugs. Everything looked like it was made for giants.
Another slap and soon enough both cheeks shared the same pain. Death was not supposed to be this painful to the physical state of a human.
"Are you ignoring me, mutt?! You disgust me, because of you my salary might be compromised!! You probably did this on purpose to get back on me. Petty mutt. You sly little-."
Joan suddenly realized how shrunken she felt as she had to tilt her head all the way back to meet her assaulters gaze. Deep wrinkles that caused her skin to fold around her lips and eyelids, perfectly slicked back silver hair, and a menacing gaze. Her eyes scanned the woman's body down to take in her outfit. A gloomy black dress with an inconvenient amount of buttons. Who was this giantess and why was she dressed like a Victorian widow?
A foreign gasp escaped her body as the older woman dug her fingers through her hair, purposely digging her nails into the flesh of her scalp. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, creating a glossy overlay to everything she saw as the woman kept spitting out insults, droplets of saliva smearing against her cheeks and forehead.
"Go reeducate her. I'll let you know when to let this mutt out of its cage. I'll keep her twin busy." Her voice was cruel as she smacked Joan in the back of the head as she was being dragged away from the mahogany room.
What was going on? Where was she? Her head was spinning with wild ideas and thoughts before she caught sight of something she should not have. At the end of the marble hallway leading to wherever "reeducation" was held was a mirror framed with intricate golden angels.
Joan suddenly felt sick as she stared at the human looking back at her. Thick black hair that dragged down to her knees, a deathly pale complexion, a tiny nose, thin arms, short stature, and wide violet eyes that seemed to glow with a hue. Who was this child? What in gods name is happening to her?
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