𝐃𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓 - 𝐿. 𝐿𝑎𝑤𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑡 ♘

𝟎𝟏𝟐.

❝ some may call it 𝒂 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 ❟ a life 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆. ❞

──────── SHE LAYED THERE tiredly, chewing coughs rattling her laboring lungs as spittle flew from her cracked lips. Steadily her heart beat; its drummingly drawn and hulking form felt almost ponderously massive as it weighed her chest down, settling deep within her and onto her back, pressing thunderously against her. Chiyo felt the fever burn her limbs horizontally, the cool of her sheets and stripes of sweat soothing only certain strips of her skin. Shallowly she breathed, her stomach rising and falling with her chests tiring efforts to stay alive as her teeth chattered tenderly against each other. 

She felt like she was being held, alternative to the sudden capturing strangle that tortured her moments before, the girl simply felt better although she was even sicker. Slowly her bedroom door creaked and slid open, a soft yellow glow burning shadows onto the walls and illuminating herself dimly. Chiyo's eyes shook with watery erratics as her gaze slid to the doorway and was met with her mother's worried silhouette, leaning gently onto the doorframe, hands tightening the knot of her olive robe as she wiped her wet hands onto its fluffed fabric. The slow drip of water from her dampened hair stained the wooden floors muddy brown and which left a trail behind her as she walked forward towards her feverishly shaking daughter.

 "Baby girl, are you sick?" She erupted into a worrying tone, pressing a palm to Chiyo's burning cheek with utter tenderness before the girl tiredly croaked a dauntingly rough cough, spluttering witheringly. The girl gazed up at her mother in distrust, a disdain for herself had left her scared her vile form would be detestable as she couldn't imagine any other sentiment. Her mother stared down at her, tutting softly at the lack of response and chiding with utter tenderness,"No school for you. Stay in bed, don't move." Her tone was playfully conveyed as her knuckles pressed onto Chiyo's cheek in concern before a small drop of water drizzled from her muggy hair and onto the tip of Chiyo's nose, tickling her fever scalding skin.

 A sort of radiance passed from the aging creases of her mothers bright face, her grey eyes darkened by a thick clustering spread of dark eyelashes that poured over her eyes in a languishing motion with their downward growth, a prostration that profoundly fluttered with her heavy blinks, a wetness that stung groggily from water runoff. Sneezing coarsely, Chiyo shivered under her mothers calm movements, retreating deeply into her sweat pooled pillow. "Don't move, Chiyo stay still. Don't make me turn on the light." Maternal scolding rung out through the room, a soft and gentle ringing that was welcomed almost immediately.

 Chiyo suddenly found credence in this gentleness, trusting as much as she could with her current mentality and slowly shutting her eyes. She could find rest now; she needn't fear silly things such as stab wounds that weren't even real anymore, although they felt very much so. Her mothers black ringlets draped plumb down, their formerly unbending and silken strands crammed tightly into her natural waves which excitedly clung to her forehead in an irritable manner that prickled her dewy, fair skin. Chiyo's mind chattered and clicked with delusions, the instability brought on by her sudden departure from safety and health. 

What left her greatly unprepared for her daunting bout of sickness was the fact that she had never fell ill for the entirety of this life, save the inevitable run in with colds and flu as a child although this was suffering that was easily forgotten unlike other memories. A sudden change, quite similar to death- she would know-, took place in the room as the swelter of the sweeping yellow light dimmed and a darker and maliciously blue shadow dragged itself towards her bedside. Chiyo clenched her eyes shut in a pathetically denying gesture, ignorantly trying to wish the pretense brought along by the sudden presence of that Shinigami at the foot of her bed away, it's haunting gaze seemingly inconvenienced by her weakened state. 

It almost made her want to beg for forgiveness as she knew more than anyone that a sickly human wasn't very entertaining. Especially not one who had previously backed out of using the notebook, something that might've been amusingly fascinating to him then but now made her human nature grow burdensome and bothersome. Chiyo's fingers tightly wove together under her sheets, her nails bent as they pricked her knuckles with a force that was meant to encourage her to control the building anxiousness in her chest but instead drew her mothers attention. "What's wrong?" Her mother uttered apprehensively as her dark grey eyes examined her daughters movement with innocent suspicions, unaware of the creature stretching its malformed head over her shoulder, curiously blinking at her as it hovered omnipotently. 

Unedited.