Another thick drop trickled down her left thigh and slid toward her feet. She continued to walk without a clue. Her blank eyes struggled to locate some familiar sign, but a strange web had engulfed her brain.
Her vision was blurry, her head hurt and then it didn’t. She paused to rub her eyes and stumbled but the cottony ground broke her fall.
As her fingers came in contact with the soft substance, she shuddered. It was ice cold.
“Snow?” she whispered in a hoarse voice.
Suddenly, a beam of white light whirled in her direction and her plump lips parted in a gasp.
It was not the emergence of light but what she saw around her. The snow that surrounded her was purple; dark, lush purple.
How was this possible? She fought another wave of pain as her eyes scanned the surroundings, but there was nothing except a thick veil of fog.
The million particles of light did provide some respite, but even their source was blurred.
What is this place? How did I get here?
The questions mingled with panic as bile burnt her throat. A sudden bolt of pain brought back a weird memory.
She remembered a face distorted beyond imagination. Overwhelmed with fear, she lifted herself and broke into a run.
Though the path was unclear, her legs plowed the snow that became colder with each step she took. Her icy breath fought with the fog, her vision blurred and another bout of headache threatened to bring her down.
Just one more step, just one more, and maybe…
She assured herself.
And just when she thought she saw a glimpse of white, something caught her feet and handed her back to the snow. She struggled with the snow trying to locate the source of her fall. The beam of light was generous enough to help, but as she saw the animal, she covered her mouth to muffle the oncoming screams.
The carcass was torn open, and every drop of blood was drained from it.
She was trying hard not to throw up when her eyes fell on the dried bones. The bones were covered with purple flecks. As she moved closer, a chill ran down her spine.
The flecks were alive. They were moving in straight lines on the bones, then stopping at the joints and moving again.
Her attempts to get up were thwarted by a new pain in her left foot.
The flecks continued to move on those pitied bones, undisturbed by her presence.
Weirdly in that strange place, a question whirled inside her brain. Had the snow turned purple because of these flecks or had the snow given birth to these flecks?
Her head felt heavy as she tried to get away from the carcass. But before she could move, a fleck jumped on her hand. Blinded with pain and fear she attempted to throw it off as more purplish flecks climbed on her body.
And then she heard them, footsteps coming towards her. She opened her mouth to call, but her voice froze.
Disfigured, twisted feet moved towards her.
There was nowhere to go, and within seconds he stood towering over her. Before she could protest, he picked her up with one hand. She raised her hairy arms to trash his stiff body, but an unknown feeling froze her arms.
Something felt familiar about his touch. His words reached her ears, but the fog in her brain clouded their meaning.
“It’s okay,” he whispered in a hoarse voice similar to hers. “Honey, it’s okay. The babies need to feed. You forgot your medicine again, come…” he muttered while caressing her hair.
He carried her back towards the beam of white light while the purple flecks happily jumped back on the carcass buried in the snow.
© Jaya V, 2023
