A tale of Charlotte

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Screaming! Panting! Gut ripping… These were the only sounds I could remember from the previous nights as I tended to my unexplained wounds.

“Nana had promised and failed me again,” I thought quietly as I carefully dabbed on the sore with a soaked cotton wool that had been submerged in a mixture of healing ointments.

My visions were blurred as they were dark, and I could not help but wonder why such nightmares. It's been decades since the beginning of my woes, and it only gets worse because no night passes by without me seeing myself in a disturbing state in the dark woods.

Every so often I do not even see myself, at the same time, I can't help it with the sharp cry of people being mulled by an unidentifiable beast.

Is there a message to these nightmares? I will regularly ask whenever night fall approaches because the thought of shutting my eyes and being catapulted to a world I would rather not be in scares me.

It's even more scary now with this sore that has found its way to my back.

As I wonder lost in thoughts of uncertainty, I caught a glimpse of something dangling in my window, I drew a little closer with some scare then realized it was theDreamcatcher Nana had given me for the up tenth time, with the usual promise of this is the final deal with no more nightmares.

“I do not want to believe Nana is failing in her craft, or maybe I'm the cursed one” I thought quietly, as I tended to my wound at my spine area, with a mirror.

As I continued to dab the soaked wool to my wound surface for healing, something unexplainable happened, it let out little fire sparkles as the wound expanded some more. At this point, I knew I needed Nana's help more than anything else in the world, as I was being suffocated by the excruciating pain the wound brings.

“You know, Nana saw your coming two moonlights ago,” Edward said as he welcomed me in with a smile.

Edward and I grew up together in Nana's cottage after my parents had cast me out due to my nightmares.

Edward, on the other hand, is Nana's grandchild and only surviving relative.

“Hello, Edward,” I managed to say as I felt cold and shivery. It seemed my whole back was peeling out.

“Are you ok? You seemed pale” Edward said as he extended his hands to me for support.

He guided me to an old wooden chair in the corner, of which I sat. Not able to even say another word in response to Edward's question, I stood up and let down my cloak, exposing my naked body and the wounds laid bare as I collapsed to the hard earthen floor.

All I could hear at that point was Edward calling out to Nana as I descended into the darkness without much resistance.

Incantations, fire, smoke and the pungent smell of mixed herbs, I do not know whether it was sleep, between sleep or just me dreaming one of those realistic unexplained occurrences.

I coughed so hard and as I opened my eyes, it was me standing in a corner watching myself lie on the floor as Nana performed her rituals trying to revive me. I couldn't tell what was going on, why there were both of me, but I knew the other me standing felt different from my very own self.

“Could they see me?” I wondered as I walked up to the scene of what looked like an exorcism.

“Am I possessed?” another question left unanswered as Edward made his way to my side holding a bowl of dark liquid.

“Give her to drink” Nana instructed in a croaked voice, begging to be soothed with water.

Edward leaned towards my head as he gently placed the liquid between my lips. As I stood watching the whole scene, I could feel everything that was done to my body.

I could not identify the content in the liquid, but I knew it was spicy enough to draw my other self back into my body, with a vibrational speed that felt like a strong magnetic pull.

I gasped for air as Edwards held on tight.

“Shhhhh” Edward whispered in my ear to calm me down.

As I relaxed in his arms, I felt peace, I felt loved. I kept murmuring thank you as he kissed my hair. Edward and Nana have been my support system and have shown me so much love.

Nana went in and took long, while Edward and I remained in our position of solitude.

We soon heard her leg beads rattle as she thumped her walking staff on the floor to support her movement.

“Take this” she commanded, she stretched forth her shaking hands filled with veins. Nana's skin was so light that I could almost see the blood flowing through her veins.

“Take this now!” she commanded a bit louder, as I wasn't paying attention to the first command.

Edward shook me a bit to alert me to Nana's order. I looked at Nana's extended hand and saw yet another dreamcatcher. I rolled my eyes and like she knew what was going through my mind, Nana added as she walked away, “If this dreamcatcher fails, then your condition is beyond me.”

Edward and I gazed at each other as I held on to the dreamcatcher, together we watched Nana descend into the darkness of her shrine.

“Do you feel better?” Edward inquired.

“Hm hmph!” I responded, simultaneously shaking my head in agreement as I got into my cloak. I did feel better as I noticed the sore was no more.

I walked to the door, still holding in my hand the mirror designed gold-plated dreamcatcher.

Furthermore, I bid Edward a farewell and opened the door, as I proceeded to take another step outside, the sun rays reflected in the dreamcatcher into my eyes.

Immediately, I felt a separation, a tear and howling.

As I descended to the floor into a state of unconsciousness, I saw Edward battling the beast that just came out of me.

“It wasn't a dream after all,” I thought, all those nightmares were my reality, and I was the beast.

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