Dating : Aunt Nora’s Lullaby

The drug bottles clatters as he walks into the room, a few syringes clinking mockingly under his feet as the smell of marijuana fills his lungs. The club sandwiches lying at the foot of the bed have their own version of Darwinism growing and the curtains behind the bed are closed as if hiding some dark secret. Hide holds back a gag reflex when he accidentally tramples over soiled sanitary pads lying carelessly on the apartment floor; their smell makes it all the more impossible to breathe.

And right in the middle of all that chaos is a girl grinning madly at the ceiling overhead. Lying on the dirty mattress with her arms sprawled above her head and her legs propped at an angle, the girl looks at something far away with a look of irrational fondness. Her feet quiver as she giggles at something and her pale skin gleams with injection marks and angry rashes.

Hide stops at the edge of the bed cursing under his breath as he compels his body to move. But he’s rooted to the stop.

Maybe I shouldn’t… he thinks, stepping back.

The girl, still oblivious to his presence, continues giggling and waving her hands as far as she can. Her hair get in the way sometimes, but she doesn’t seem to notice the pain when she pulls too hard.

Hide almost leaves but shakes his head reminding himself of his mother’s last words. Get her to sign the documents while she’s in her wits, and all that money is all yours for the taking.

It would be a shame to give up all that money just because mortality got in the way, after all.

Gritting his teeth, he leans over the girl, holds her arm gingerly and swiftly pulls her up. Holding her at an arms length, Hide waves his hand in front of her eyes but she doesn’t react. He slaps her a few times but nothing registers. And gritting his teeth to keep himself from throwing up, he pulls her into his arms and moves away from the bed.

As he walks out of the apartment, he pockets the red seal thrown on the night table and leaves the door open.