The Lores of Lyra - Rising Star [Book I]

Chapter 5 - Drowning

Chapter 5 – Drowning

She was suffocating. Miriam was sure that she would die now, her head kept coming down under water, and she couldn’t swim—the stream was too heavy. She was with someone, but she couldn’t see the person. Reaching a hand out, she tried to grab onto something. To no avail, she was drowning.

Her muscles started to relax as her body gave up on fighting against the water. She might as well go peacefully. Death had been trying to claim her for so long, but her own stubbornness—and her mother’s money—had always managed to keep her alive.

A large bell sounded—maybe there were bells at the gate to heaven? She hoped so. Miriam had always enjoyed the sound of church bells, and it would make sense if they were similar in heaven.

Her chest ached. It felt as if someone was punching her solar plexus repeatedly. Was it the pressure of the water? Would this be the last thing she felt?

 “She’s cold, bring me some blankets,” someone said. She knew that voice, but she couldn’t remember from where. “Can you get my bag? This seems to be inland water; so I want to make sure it doesn’t get mixed with her blood, so she doesn’t suffocate from lack of oxygen.”

Inland water? Miriam couldn’t make sense of this. She lived near the coast. Wouldn’t it be salt water?

 “Uncle, what is this?” Darkness followed that voice. Yet it warmed Miriam’s heart.

“I honestly don’t know, Blake. The signs show that she was close to drowning, though, I can’t understand how that is possible.”

Her lungs fought against the water, and she coughed. Someone lifted her, and she was out of the water. Was it an angel? Did Solem always treat people this nice?

“Will she be okay?” Darkness again.

“I think so; I need to give her an injection, and then she need to rest.”

Miriam opened her eyes to see Blake leave the room.

Don’t go, she wanted to ask, but her throat hurt too much. Her mother sat down beside her, stroking her hair.

 “Thank god for Christina.” Veronica muttered. Miriam looked at her. Her mother’s eyes had unshed tears.

“You should rest for a bit after I give you this. You might feel lethargic and tired, that is common when people have been close to drowning,” Dr. Johansson said, and Miriam winced when she felt the needle penetrate her skin. Soon after, they both left the room, with promises to return to check up on her occasionally

Miriam was tired. She had slept badly, having a weird dream of running through a forest. The dream had ended in a river. Her head pounded, and her body ached. 

These attacks are getting worse by each time, she thought.

In the last couple of years she had her share of unfortunate events, though, the last two topped them all. This was also the first time she had ever been close to drowning; the previous attacks had covered everything from minor injuries, to broken bones.

She wondered if there could be some kind of connection between the weird dreams, and the recent attacks.

The more she thought about the dream, the less she could actually remember. The area around her diminished as she tried to recall the memory of the dream, her eyelids were heavy, and finally she closed them and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

The maids woke her up every half hour to ensure that she didn’t go into a coma, and after the third time she gave up on trying to go back to sleep. She asked Beatrice for something to eat, and shortly after, a tray with fresh fruit and a sandwich was placed in front of her.