C11 Brazen

The next day, as the dawn approached, the first rays of the sun filtered through the curtains, casting a glow on my face as I peacefully slumbered in my soft, warm bed as though nothing odd had happened the night before, true to Aunt Veke's words, the tea had indeed relaxed my nerves.

Scared that I was going to start another round of fits, I managed to calm myself enough to lay on my bed, the awful aroma that stirred from the pitcher strangely helped me to keep calm. Despite the trembling, I managed to control my phalanges and reach for the table where the pitcher was. Bringing the pitcher close to my face, the aroma of the tea was stronger. The odor that had once made me feel nauseous surprisingly calmed the fit that was going to erupt. Without delay. I gulped down the whole content, it had a grassy, slightly sour, and tangy taste that made me quiver for a millisecond.

Within minutes of taking the tea, The effect gradually overpowered me, my eyelids had become heavy and I fought to keep them open. It started as a gentle whisper, a gentle caress against my weary mind. Slowly, the tendrils of sleep wrapped themselves around my senses, lulling me into a state of tranquility.

The worries and burdens that had plagued me during the previous hours faded into the background. In the cocoon of sleep, I found solace. My breathing slowed, my muscles relaxed, and my mind drifted into the night's realm of dreams and serenity.

Unknown to me, Gehal had devised a mischievous plan to wake me up in the most unforgettable way. Determined to start the day with a bang, she tiptoed into my room, with a devilish grin dancing across her face.

With a twinkle in her eye, Gehal reached for a bucket perched atop a shelf. Slowly, she walked into the bathroom and filled it with freezing cold water from the tap, suppressing her laughter at the thought of the impending chaos. Once the bucket was full to the brim, she approached my bed, her heart pounding with excitement.

As she stood above my sleeping body, her grin widened all the more but she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt. Her adventurous spirit urged her on, assuring her that this would be a hilarious memory we would laugh about for years to come. Taking a deep breath, Gehal prepared herself for the grand wake-up call.

Without hesitation, she dumped the icy water over my unsuspecting head. In an instant, I jolted upright, drenched from head to toe, and let out a blood-curdling scream. Shocked and disoriented, I looked around to find Gehal doubled over with laughter, unable to contain her amusement at her sister's drenched state.

"What on earth? Gehal, what did you do?!" I exclaimed, my voice a mix of disbelief and annoyance. I scrambled to get out of the soaking wet bed, shivering from the cold water that had seeped through my clothes.

Gehal finally managed to compose herself enough to speak through her paroxysms of laughter. "Oh, Ivy, you should have seen your face! It was priceless! I couldn't resist pranking you this morning. I promise I'll make it up to you," she said, her eyes still twinkling with mischief.

Surprisingly my annoyance slowly melted away as I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. While I appreciated my sister's adventurous spirit, I also knew I needed a peaceful morning to recover from the prior night and the surprise wake-up call.

"You better make it up to me, Gehal," I replied, still chuckling.

"How about I stir a hot bath for you, and we can spend the day together, just the two of us? No more pranks, I promise."

I nodded and wrung the water out of my dress. She was feeling a sense of relief that I was taking the prank in good humor. That was when she noticed my disorientated room.

"Gosh, was there an earthquake in your room last night?!" She exclaimed.

"This place is worse than a filth house!"

I looked around and I was embarrassed at the sight, my things were in complete disarray, every item that lay on the dresser close to the bed had been either flung to the ground and had dismantled or was completely missing. The duvet was completely rumpled, The damp texture also gave the bed a contemptuous appearance. and Gehal must have figured that I must have slept like that on the rough bed, which I did in contrast to my tidy disposition.

"My room wouldn't have been in this much disarray if an earthquake had occurred here last night," I said dragging out the wet duvet from the bed and picking up some of the clothes on the floor, I kicked the cloth basket upright that was toppled bottom up and stuffed the clothes inside. We'd been without electricity for days, so I needed the sun to adequately illuminate the room, so I opened the curtains to let the sun in while Gehal's jaw dropped all the more.

"So what happened here last night actually?" She managed to hold in her amazement.

"If I didn't know you any better I'd say you had a party here last night but without the fun and drinks." She clamored.

I had one hell of a party alright, and it was definitely no fun. I literally fought to stay alive last night and I hadn't figured out what really happened, I was suffering from an illness, yes, the doctors had confirmed, but not enough to suffer a convulsion.

"I was looking for my Filbert brush, I got tired when I couldn't find it and so... I slept off," I lied.

She raised her chin as if to say she knew that I was lying I knew I couldn't fool her that easily but instead, she let the sleeping dog lie....for the moment.

"C'mon, I'll help you tidy up." She walked up to me and helped me out of my clothes.

When we had finished tidying up The room, Gehal kept to her promise and prepared my bath. I changed into something warmer and dry while we headed downstairs to have our first meal for the day although it was already lunchtime. When we got to the dining, there was no sign of Aunt Veke anywhere around.

"Hey, I'm sorry," she said when we sat down. We hadn't yet set the table at the dining room table when we settled.

"About the prank? No, it's cool. I'm not mad I promise."

"It's not about the prank..." She sighed heavily before continuing and resting her palm over mine. "I know how irrelevant our birthday is to you but it's not to me, and you probably forgot."

....where was she going with this...I thought.

"We turned eighteen yesterday, Ivy."

I was stunned, how could I have forgotten our birthday, if not for me but for my sister? She was always hyped about our birthdays and It was the year that we were going to become adults and I had let it skip my mind. Though I never took my own birthday into cognizance, I never forgot about it and we were always the first to wish each other before anybody else did.

Oh gosh! What was wrong with me? our special day meant so much to her even if it didn't to me and I had let my cirrus of sentiments cloud my senses into forgetting. I felt ashamed and I found no words to which to apologize nor justify my recent attitudes, especially towards her...but why was she the one apologizing.

"Sweet mother of....how did I forget that, I promise I mapped it out, I can bring my calendar and show it to you and..." I searched for my phone in my pocket and mumbled the rest of the words inaudibly.

"Ivy!"

I halted.

"My friends threw a party for me."

Did she celebrate our birthday without me? Now I was the one getting disappointed, but what did I care? I never cared about birthdays anyway. Thoughts about her partying out the night with friends, our friends while I was having a series of fits jumbled with my sense. I clenched my fist in disgust and banged it on the table, I pushed my chair backward and stood up, she stood up with me. The surge I felt building up inside was greater than rage.

....it was just one dumb birthday... I tried to soothe myself but a familiar surge of anger was seething through my body and this time it wanted to burst out and cause chaos.

"I just felt like letting you know that I celebrated our birthday in your absence, not that you ever cared." She said,

"What are you getting all worked up for man, you took a good joke this morning and now you're tooting your horn over something you never gave an if about before." She asserted.

I didn't know the reason I was getting agitated. I had never gotten this angry in my entire life before and over something I considered irrelevant. My knuckles had already turned white as a result of the pressure I applied in shutting them too tight as I tried to get a hold of myself.

The room was shrouded in an eerie silence as I paced back and forth, my eyes filled with a fiery intensity, the sound of my heaving chest crammed the room while Gehal's eyes watched me cautiously from where she sat. My hands were trembling and itching to smash into something. The atmosphere crackled with tension, I was more horrified at my behavior than she was.

My mind was consumed by a maelstrom of anger and frustration. I flenched every muscle in me to suppress the rage but the weight of a thousand unresolved conflicts bore down on my shoulders. I couldn't bear it any longer. I turned to face her, my voice trembling with rage.

"You think you can get away with everything, don't you?" I hissed, my words sharp as daggers. "Well, not anymore. I'm tired of being the one who always has to clean up after you!"

"What are you talking about?". Fear was already etched across her face.

"Where were you at yesterday during the day? " I breathed.

"You were out planning with them for the party, isn't it, and you didn't dim it fit to even inform me about it?"

She stammered, trying to defend herself, "I didn't mean to... I'm sorry, Ivy. Please, I didn't think you'd be...."

But before Gehal could finish her sentence, I lunged forward, my hands grasping at her shoulders, I exerted all of my strength as I pressed her down.

"What the?!….. Get off me, your fingernails are hurting me so bad," fear mixed with doubt as she sobbed but her pleas were met by a brick wall.

Having my fingernails dug deep into her shoulders made me feel good, her warm blood dripped onto my fingers and the sudden urge to taste it subjugated me.

I retracted and tossed her to a corner, the ferocity of my attack caught her off guard, causing her to stumble backward, crashing into the table. Objects tumbled and shattered, the sound echoing in the room like a symphony of destruction. I didn't realize how much strength I had to overcome my sister, but it felt like I had developed tremendous abilities.

My senses were heightened and I grew bigger at every move I made which made my clothes begin to rip from my body. My face twisted with a mixture of anger and pain as I advanced, my fists still clenched tightly. I succumbed to the pangs of bitterness and each blow I delivered was fueled by moments of pent-up frustration. Gehal cowered, attempting to shield herself from the onslaught of my fury.

I paused amidst blows and brought her face close to mine observing every inch, Her eyes met mine, and they were filled with shock rather than fear.

"Why can't you just do things right for once?!" I growled, my voice had deepened. "You keep messing up my feelings!"

Gehal whimpered, her voice barely audible through the chaos. "Ivy, please... I didn't mean to cause any harm. I'm sorry, I knew pranking you was a bad idea, I didn't know what came over me!" Her voice strained and tears choked her as she struggled to breathe.

"Please let me go, I promise I'll never bug you again."

I didn't stop or rather I couldn't stop, my emotions overriding any remnants of reason. Deep down inside, I knew I wasn't doing the right thing, but it felt so amazing that I didn't want to stop, I felt a twisted satisfaction with each strike I took out on Gehal. I battled to regain control of myself, and my failed attempt made me frustrated. I grabbed my head with both hands and let out an aggressive yell

I begged my rage to wane as I took a step back, breathing heavily. My hands trembled against my temple covered in the evidence of her aggression. I rested against a wall as I felt my energy drain, I slid down to the bottom as regret washed over me like a tidal wave, the gravity of what I had done began to sink in, crushing my spirit. I dabbed my forearm over my face and realized it was covered with fur.

Shit... I cursed.

The room fell silent once again, save for the heavy sobs that escaped Gehal trembling lips. With the remaining resilience she could muster, she stood up and raced up the stairs.

Don't leave me, please... I whispered but she was already gone.

Guilt consumed me, leaving me empty and broken. I turned my head toward the section Gehal had been battered, The floor was covered with bits of her blood. My mouth grew hungry as it salivated heavily.

I dragged myself heavily across the floor to the section where the blood was and dipped my fingers and drew a heart shape on the floor before tasting it and chuckling like a maniac.

My mind suddenly went to the necklace, I reached into my dress and brought out the necklace, and stared at it emotionlessly.

...are you doing this?... I questioned the necklace. A reflection stared back at me from the necklace and I was petrified at the sight, I screamed and flung it to a corner before dashing up to my room.