Love Games ✔️

Seventy: Tired

One afternoon, when I had almost forgotten about the world around me, immersed in my cookbook again, a sudden knock on the door jolts me out of my routine. Before I had a chance to drown myself completely in the next chapter, everything seemed interrupted, as if it was all just part of a plan I was still trying to understand. A book that was almost a part of my everyday life was now just a kind of escape from a truth that was getting closer and closer.

I sigh and put the cookbook in a drawer, as if to hide it for a moment from a world that is becoming more and more disturbing. The drawer creaks softly as I close it. Then I walk lazily to the door, feeling my heart leap, as if I knew something was coming that would change everything I had ever imagined.

When I open the door, Rose looks at me. Her presence confuses me completely for a moment, because her gaze is so sharp, as if she knows something that I do not yet understand. "Rose," I say her name with a little surprise in my voice, as if all this were somehow too unpredictable.

Her body is almost expressionless, but there is something in her eyes that is hard to describe. A secret? A feeling that she knows something, something that I am not yet ready to accept? Her stillness in this moment makes me doubt. It seems that she has come with something that will transform once again everything I thought I understood.

"I came to talk to you," she says quietly, but there is something in her voice that tells me she has not come just to fulfil a mission. That this is something personal. Clearly, I can no longer run away from what is waiting for me.

"Let's talk about what?" I ask as she walks past me and into the room. I take a few steps back to allow her to cross the room. As the door closes behind her, I realize that she has not just come for a casual visit.

"About you," Rose replies, her voice firm yet reassuring, as if she knows I must accept what she has to say. "You've been here for almost a month; something's been going on with you. Lina mentioned that you throw up almost every time you eat." Her words are harsh, but without judgement - just a fact that she recognizes as something that needs to be resolved.

She paces up and down the room, her thoughts seem clearly focused, her movements quick and determined, as if she is preparing for something that will be difficult. I feel like I am in her game - every gesture, every step is part of something I only partially understand. I can't shake the feeling that I have something in my hands that will change my life, but I am still not ready to accept it.

"What can I say, Rose?" ask I ask quietly, almost without a voice. "I know what's happening, but I don't want to admit it. It's not just physical. It's something deeper. And ... and I don't know what to do." With every step she takes, I can feel her pressing me deeper into her truth, but I'm still looking for a way out, as if I'm running away from what's waiting for me.

"That's why I'm here," she says, stopping and looking at me with eyes that are filled with understanding, but also with seriousness. "Your problem is not just food. Your body is giving you signals that you have to accept, even if you don't want to admit it yet. And it's not something that will fix itself."

"I know," I say quietly, a feeling of heaviness settling in my chest, as if something inside me already knew what was coming.

"The doctor will come; he's on his way. They'll take your blood and water to find out what's going on. Darling, I think all this is a lot more complicated than you want to admit. Do you realize that?" Rose says the words slowly, with a worried expression on her face, her eyes full of concern, as if she recognizes something that I cannot yet understand. Her gentleness reassures me a little, but the feeling of fear does not subside.

"I know," I reply, but my voice sounds worried, almost like a whisper. Words are easier spoken than received.

"If my suspicions are confirmed," Rose says, her voice becoming more serious, as if every word carries weight, "then you will be forever linked to him, Sarah."