33 Pain

When I opened my eyes I stared at a familiar ceiling.

I must be home! I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain coursed through my body and I instinctively stopped trying to sit up. I grimaced as I tried to endure the pain coursing through my body and tried to crunch up, but that only intensified the pain.

I tried to relax and just lay still as even breathing gave me uncomfortable pain in my chest.

My movements did not stay undetected as my mother´s worried face entered my blurry vision.

"She is awake."

Is there someone else in my room?

"And she is in pain!"

Her accusing voice reached my ear as she reprimanded someone.

"You know why I did not interfere, Gulda!"

His voice was tired, resigned, and a bit angry.

"But I will remind you once again! This... is a result of a challenge by the gods. Mortals do not interfere with their business! I did not do so for the other ones and I will not for her!"

I tried to look at him, but as soon as I moved my head my neck protested and send definite signals to my brain to stop, so I did.

"Are you injured?"

Her worried voice once again sounded in my ears and I definitely wanted to calm her down and tell her that I am fine, but as soon as I tried to speak pain shot through me once again.

"You would be better off not to touch her!"

I heard Elder Irvin´s voice warning my mother as her hand was just a few inches away from my cheeks.

"Don´t you see, that she is injured?"

She retracted her hand and vanished from my eyesight. Instead, I heard a few hitting sounds and Elder Irvin groan.

"What injury?"

He groaned as my mother was apparently arguing with him as all these people do.

"She has just muscle pain, that´s all!"

I heard a rumble and something heavy hitting the floor.

"Muscle pain? How does it make sense, that muscle pain would hurt her so much?"

Mom... that is because I am weak...

"She moved strangely for twelve hours!"

His voice seemed to come from somewhere lower this time and I could definitely imagine how my mother tried to talk to him.

But, moved strangely? Did I dance while I was inside that storm? But why couldn´t he tell that I was dancing? I saw them dance quite a few times...

"Then!"

Did mom just punch him?

"Why!"

Mom?

"Don´t!"

That´s not...

"You!"

... how you...

"Heal!"

... convince somebody!

"Her!"

Yeah, that´s torture...

"Already!"

Mom? Are you okay? Did marble hurt you?

"Can´t you stop already?"

I could hear, how he stood up once again and groaned disappointedly.

"I know, that I am very hard to hurt, permanently, but this bad habit should have stopped ages ago! I am not your stress reliever!"

He huffed as his voice became angrier and louder as he was talking.

"You know that I am not allowed to heal her!"

I could hear the door opening as Elder Irvin was leaving.

"Let her rest for a few days and she will be fine."

His voice was already less angry and after those words, I could only hear the door close.

My mother sighed and returned to my bedside.

"How are you?"

Scanning my face up and down with her worried gaze. She tried to touch, me but recoiled just before she touched my face.

"... fi...ne..."

I tried my very best to get something out, but I found it very doubtful, that she understood me.

"It´s fine, Arn. Just rest a bit and you will be fine in a few days."

I gave her a small nod that sent pain through my body once again and tried not to show it.

My mother got busy singing and working in the house. After a few hours she left for the woods to hunt, but she promised to return shortly.

So... I am cursed... apparently. Why though? I mean... I was... am not exactly a person that anybody would go through the trouble of cursing... there are faster solutions... and probably more effective...

Who in my old world would even be able to curse somebody? There are a lot of stories where curses played a role, but in the end, they are only fiction and nothing more... even the witches of old were an only woman, that knew a bit about herbs and illnesses or were often forced lovers of rich men that needed to be hidden or... disposed of... If you have ever read even a part of this cursed book Malleus Maleficarum, which was the book for recognizing witches any sane person would recognize that it is complete bullshit.

I did read the book... sadly. It was quite a waste of time... It was a sad period of human history...

Now, don´t get me wrong I do think that demons and the devil do exist and that they try to convince pious people to betray god. But outside of that, the rest is nonsense. Bok Hiob is a perfect example of how the Devil is working: First, the target is faithful people. Other people do not get targeted, because simply the Devil is not interested in them. And why is that? Because secondly in the book Hiob there is not a single misfortune that happened to the protagonist because of him. That was god´s doing to test the protagonist... or to show the Devil that Hiob is actually a true believer... The Devil did only accuse Hiob in front of god. That is all. Even later he tried to seduce Jesus, but only with words and never with any action. That is what demons and the Devil are - I think - a voice telling us how great it is on another path... but without power.

So I can´t believe that a witch or the Devil did curse me. I would find it far more believable if somebody told me that God cursed me, but he wouldn´t have any motivation to do so... since I never was and still am not a paragon of virtue and faithfulness.

I am pretty sure that I did listen to the demon´s voice quite often... sadly...

But I think...

"Hey there!"

Aer?

"How are you doing?"

I am... fine?

"Oh! Can´t talk can you?"

She snickered amused by my powerlessness.

"Should I?... I should...?"

I groaned in pain as out of nowhere somebody began to poke around my body. Snickering to herself.