Characters: Zinnia, Shelly, Courtney
Warnings:
Suicide attempt and hospitalization. These are not vague or implied. Please skip this chapter if this could trigger you in any way.
That night, it seemed darker than usual. The air felt stagnant and the clock was looming louder, as if counting down to something.
The TV was still on in that old living room, looping the title screen sequence for whatever movie Courtney and Shelly had decided to play. They were both completely unconscious, having fallen asleep about three fourths through; and next to them, sat Zinnia.
Nothing had gone particularly well for her. Not for the past week. Not for the past year. Not for the past near decade, for that matter. And with the two roommates fast asleep on the couch next to her along with her companion Whismur, Zinnia was stuck alone with her thoughts.
She was thinking of a lot of things all at once, and slowly started to tap her pointer finger on the couchâs side table. She tapped faster and faster, until she stopped. And let out a deep, drawn out sigh. She made sure she was careful not to wake anyone when she got up from the couch and made sure to slowly creep up the stairs, lest the old house creak aggressively.
âThis isnât fair.â
Shelly only woke up to a noisy thump. Disoriented, she briefly looked around to see that Zinnia had vanished. The noise didnât just wake her up, though – it managed to wake the other two resting on the couch up as well. Shelly got up and moved across the vermillion carpet to the foot of the stairs.
âZinnia? You up there?â No response.
Shelly was uneased and proceeded to walk up the stairs to knock on Zinniaâs bedroom door. Zinniaâs Whismur, Aster, was quick to follow in suit despite itâs stumpy legs. They seemed to be distressed at missing their trainer. Begrudgingly, Courtney got up from the couch as well to chase the pokemon, only to stop in her tracks when she heard Shellyâs scream. There was a pause, and she wasnât quite sure how to act, until Shelly called down to her.
âCourtney, call 911 right now!â
â
It was the old, moldy ceiling that saved Zinnia that night, whether she wouldâve liked it or not. She offered no explanation, and refused to speak while in emergency – but given her history, it wasnât much of a surprise. She just lost everything, Shelly would say to the nurses, if to even lightly explain her situation, unable to truly scratch the surface of what happened during the past 9 years.
Zinnia wasnât completely silent though – nurses would occasionally catch her muttering to herself in a language nobody could understand, and when asked, Zinnia would actually respond.
âItâs Draconianâ sheâd say with a flat expression, before grabbing the notebook sheâd requested to avoid further conversation.
Zinnia was the lorekeeper – an inherited position, and the acclaimed social leader and prophetic keeper of history of the Draconids, said to have regular contact with the gods themselves. But times have changed, and thereâs not a lot of Draconids left, simply due to the passage of time. Neither Shelly nor Courtney knew much about Zinniaâs obligations, other than the fact that two had met her while she was younger and undergoing training of sorts for the role, under a mentor who had gone missing after the incident.
The nurses had asked the two what the incident was, and they could only give a vague recount of it – the two were in a very different stressful situation at the time, after all. They were only really able to say that Zinniaâs then-girlfriend had been killed and Zinnia was accused for her murder – it was only recently that she was freed from prison. Zinnia would mumble of it all being the fault of a âJoseph Stoneâ.
Time went on, and Zinnia seemed antsier, and was writing and drawing a lot more in her notebook. She had requested another one, having filled her previous one entirely. Her nurses had requested to see the contents, and while Zinnia denied, she didnât really have any power in the situation. Though, itâs not like the nurses could even read anything – it was all in Draconian. They had asked questions about the floorplans Zinnia had drawn, and she responded;
âItâs a dream journal. Iâve been having vivid dreams latelyâ, keeping herself as straight to the point as possible.
âRight⌠if you need anything, donât be afraid to call.â
The nurse left swiftly, and Zinnia left out a sigh and picked her notebook back up, flipping through the pages just to make sure it was the same. Calling it a dream journal was a bit of a white lie, but not entirely. Zinnia had been having vivid dreams, showing her things she should never have known – but she felt like it was a prophecy. She wasnât just cataloging her dreams – she had a plan and knew she had to do something. And that something had to be soon. She was running out of time.
The doctors and nurses werenât really seeing much progress in Zinnia at all, even after moving her from emergency. She still barely talked, and was absorbed in writing or drawing most of the time. While they werenât confident in discharging her, especially in her current state, they also didnât know what benefit it would be to keep her hospitalized much longer. So, they compromised – Zinnia would be discharged, and would have to be accompanied at all times; if not by a human, than by her pokemon. Shelly did point out that since Aster was a whismur, its cries were quite loud – and that it was because of Asterâs noise in the past that Zinnia had stopped doing things that wouldâve landed her in this situation sooner.
Zinnia didnât talk for the entire drive back home from the hospital, she just stared out the window, watching the world go by. It wasnât until she got home that she showed any real semblance of emotion – when she saw Aster. The little pokemon was just about as excited to see Zinnia again as Zinnia was to see it – it leaped up into her arms and was excitedly murmuring. Zinnia let out a smile and made sure to scratch Asterâs head while holding it.
âThey really missed you, yaâknow?â Shelly said, breaking the moment that the two had together. Zinnia didnât respond, but acknowledged what Shelly had said.
Everyone went to move inside, and Zinnia once again heard the familiar creaking of her home once again. She took a deep breath, finally smelling something that wasnât sanitized floors and pillows for once. Then, in a complete change of attitude, Zinnia started to laugh.
âGod! Damn it!â She mumbled in between her chuckling. âGod damn it! Shit!â
âZinniaâŚ? Whatâs going on?â Shelly interjected. âDo you need to sit down?â
âWhat day is it, Shelly?â
âItâs March 28th, why? Zinnia, are you alright?â
Zinnia managed to compose herself, and took a long, deep breath, before running her hands through her hair.
âYea, Iâm⌠alright. I just forgot something that was coming up, was all.â
Shelly looked confused. âWhat was it? Do I need to help with anything?â
âNah, Iâm good, Iâll deal with it myself, itâs no big deal.â
âAlright, but remember to take care of yourself?â
Zinnia gave Shelly a snide look, as if to mock her comment. Shelly just sighed, and watched as Zinnia went upstairs to her room, followed by Aster.
She laid there for a while, staring at the patch in the ceiling. She found it hard to look at directly without getting dizzy, so she just moved to laying on her stomach.
Holding Asterâs paw, Zinnia started rambling to the pokemon;
âWeâve got a lot in store for us, huh? We got one week, Aster. Weâve got our work cut out for us but⌠I think sheâs helping me. I think I can do this.â
Zinnia started a new notebook.
â
March 28th, 2005
10:57pm
7 days
Iâve been thinking about her a lot. I try not to, like I always say I will, but I do anyways. But I think⌠maybe I have a legitimate reason to now, at least. Thereâs no other explanation.
Her spirit must be following me somehow, from beyond. Now that Iâm home I can finally look things up – itâs not like I donât trust the cryptic dream blueprints Iâve been getting, but it seems all too implausible⌠but again⌠maybe itâs her? She mentioned her mom was like a weirdo Cresselia zealot, so if theyâve reunited in another plane she got her to send me things? Do I sound crazy? Yeah.
I havenât got to see Courtney yet, I hope at least sheâll be more open to helping me – if not, shitâs gonna hit the fan real quick.
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