Finding Contentus

Chapter 16 : Pointing Out

Two pairs of dark brown eyes stirred in the dark, only accompanied by the sweet smell of ethers, and the lamps that lit up their figures. Matching childish groans of wariness and aching pain shimmered through the soft yet firm bed beneath them.

A feeling akin to getting pulled in took them as hostages, sinking deeper and deeper with both tenderness and helplessness, further down the paradoxical abyss.

"G-Gene?"

"Y-yooo."

Genesia and Neosa whispered to each other with hoarse and strained voices.

"O-oi."

"Neo... please..."

"O-oi Sankwade."

Genesia kept quiet.

"Oi Sankawade?"

He remained silent.

"Oi San—"

"Na man, me I'm gone," he caved in.

"Hehe, me too," she giggled.

They laid there, unbothered and unperturbed by the coursing screams that their bodies made in adjusting to the now awakened sensations. Their eyes darted around the raisin coloured room to the lucid lamp lights.

They narrowed their eyes so that they could tell that they were back in their new home. The ethers filled the entire room with its potency.

It reminded them of healing medicines used back home in Mootlakeng by Banti and Rasie to induce insensitivity to pain. The smells they were mostly used to were that of fruits such as apples, oranges and pineapples, however, the ones present with them now smelled more like cherries and strawberries. Nonetheless, the effect was still lethal and pleasant on their reacting noses.

After a few minutes of collecting their senses, they both proceeded to use each other as leverage in order to get up into sitting positions. It was there that they also realized that they were both wearing purple garments and their skins were glistening with cocoa butter petroleum jelly.

Upon their vision becoming less blurry, they were able to make out the figure of a person resting on a chair by the end of the bed.

"M-Mina?" They both whispered softly at the sight of the woman who had both her arms under her head, eyes closed in slumber.

The twins remained staring at Minaleese with owlish eyes watching her sleep. Her golden blonde hair looked more unkempt and less maintained. But the most alarming thing that served as the main reason for their large eyes were the marks across her arms.

"Oh no..." They were barely audible.

By this point given all that's happened, it would be superfluous for them to be astounded as to how such scratch marks that weren't there before appeared on Minaleese's fair skin.

Not again. They wanted to curl up in balls under the bed and remain there.

"Oho, finally awake I see."

They whipped their heads to the source of the chilly voice that immediately caused their bodies to jolt and tense up immensely. There she stood, at the entrance of the soundless door, as intimidating as ever.

"K-Kakara!"

The mere sight of her standing there, halfway lit, had them in a panicked state due to the last thing they remembered.

The fight. The Two for One special. The spectacle of smarting and suffering.

All the torturous trauma, all the ear-bleeding screams and ear-wrenching cries reverberated in their minds. Their heartbeats started racing. They held their breaths at the prospect of having to undergo more pain than what they had already gone through. As though all the torment happened mere moments...