Chapter 39: A Time Not of Mine

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Doctor Ben was dead.

It made sense to believe it - there was no possible way in my mind that he could have been alive. There was blood - so much blood. Enough to make someone wonder how it was humanly possible for us to possess that much blood in our veins.

Aza's scream of sheer terror carried until she was at Ben's side. Her hands trembled over him and hung over the gushing wound on his neck. I felt, suddenly, like I was about to collapse. Ringing had replaced any sound coming into my ears, and everything began to spin around me.

Sajida and Mama ran into Ben's office while I stood by the door frame, hanging onto the wall for support. I couldn't go in. I wouldn't and I couldn't. I looked on from afar, Mama, Sajida and Aza sitting on the floor next to Ben's unconscious body, his shirt stained with his own blood that he also laid in a pool of. His eyes were closed; I didn't want to see them open. The office was completely ransacked, dozens of books lying on the floor, a bookshelf tossed over, unknown liquids spilled on the carpet from broken glass vials, herbs and roots torn and saturated in the blood that was splattered all over the office. One detail that caught my attention the most was that every single book that Ben owned was out of place and ripped like someone was looking for something hidden inside them. This was Abraham - he had ignored all territorial lines to find these sacred papers that possessed the ritual he desired. There must have been resistance. Ben refused to hand the papers over. And when, after Abraham or his henchmen, decided to look on their own accord, Ben fought back. Ben lost, and now, we were left with him dead.

The cry that came out of Aza's mouth brought me to my knees. She held Ben's handsome face in her delicate hands and brought it close to her chest as she continued to cry. Mama was speechless, staring down at his body like it wasn't real. Sajida, somehow, looked like she possessed some type of empathy for the situation in front of her. I felt the floor on my fingers, wanting to sink into it. This was my fault. If I would have just kept the papers from Aza and to myself, Ben would still be alive.

If I would have, allegedly, never written these papers, Ben would still be alive.

I hadn't realized that I was crying until my cheeks were completely wet and my eyes caused me irritation. Through the blur, I watched Aza hold him and lament loudly. She cried until, suddenly, she gasped. The room went still for a moment. I had built up the strength to stand then, and when Ben let out a gurgled groan, I ran over to him. Aza's eyes lit up as she stared down at her brother in her arms struggling to breathe.

"He's still alive!" Aza looked over to Mama, whose eyes were larger than hers. "Q-quick, help me find some Yugantis root! I think he grows it around here!"

I didn't know what yugantis root was at the time, but regardless, I helped Mama look for it. Ben had a large number of plants and herbs growing near his large windows, and after a few moments of searching, Mama finally found the dark green leaves growing downward behind a cannis root plant. I recognized this plant - Aza used this plant, along with a potion of hers, to heal the wound on my arm. Mama knew exactly what Aza was trying to do; she found a mortar and pestle and the dark liquid needed and brought it to Aza. Mama mixed the concoction herself. Aza was impatient. She took the mixture in her hands and smothered it over Ben's neck wound, the evergreen paste slowly turning red from all of the blood.

With Ben's head resting on Aza's lap, her hands pressed into his neck, her eyes closed as she mumbled something through labored breath. I wish I could have done more; I only stood by and watched with a twisted stomach and shrunken lungs. I didn't know this magic, and even if I did, Mama would have refused to let me participate it in.

Mama watched. She waited. She looked conflicted as Aza cried while trying to keep her composure during the healing process. Then, from a split-second decision, Mama suddenly placed her hands over Aza's and recited her exact words. There was the faintest, most subtle white glow coming from their fingers. I watched in awe at their blessed hands.

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