Yesterday (Part Two - Chapters 37 & 38) (Patreon)

CHAPTER 37

Just a week ago, at that very same time, Adrian was out walking around Valencia. He recalled that breakfast. It didn't look much like the one he'd just had. Nor was his mood the same.

He was still standing next to Eva, watching over her in silence. She was sitting in the cabinet, alone. He knew she was making a tremendous effort to keep it together, but also knew her well enough to know she was in pain. He tenderly reached his hand to her hair in gratitude, but withdrew it not daring to touch her, looking away, lost in the inevitability of it all.

Terrified, he wondered how much he wanted to know.

Feeling empty, betrayed by life.

Oh, fuck!

Who had done this to him?

They were alone in the room, Eva and him. And the silent ghost of Roman.

Adrian turned his eyes back to him. He had been standing at the foot of his bed for quite some time, staring back at him, morose and troubled.

Adrian could not bear his tormented expression. How dare he show him pity? He hated him deeply, for he represented everything that had led him there since last week. The voices, the mysteries, the trips, the jumps....

He decided to give him one last, angry look.

He would ignore him from that moment on. He would fight against him, he would prove him he could get out of this.

—I'm going to get out of this,— said Adrian in a whisper.

Time didn't flow as usual. It did not have the same effect. The drama was useless. He decided to make a first step.

"What is real?" he asked himself approaching Roman "Him?" he wondered looking apprehensively at his own corpse lying on the bed.

"The french already warned me about this" he thought lowering his gaze. "It's the treatment. Something must have gone wrong".

CHAPTER 38

Laura felt guilty at herself for having been waiting for it for days, almost impatiently, but it finally happened. Eva made the call she had been waiting for. The fact that it was finally happening made her feel both relieved and guilty in equal parts.

She had never dared to confess the premonition to her sister. She had long sensed that Adrian would suffer a mishap, and that she would be needed. And that she could help.

She repacked her suitcase and, once again, sat on her bed, but this time not expecting anything else to happen. There would be no more surprises. She gave herself a few minutes to reflect. She had had enough sleep and at last felt rested and ready to face whatever that day had in store for her.

Eva told her about her meeting with the doctor and what they knew so far. She also asked her to come over as soon as possible, since she would have to leave for a while to cancel all the wedding arrangements and get the details of the funeral underway, and she wanted to do it in person. It surprised Laura how composed she was.

She realized with relief that her father had not yet confided in her about anything that had happened between them since her mother's funeral. Better this way, she told herself. It was best for everyone to put that matter on hold.

She arrived at the Stanhope Clinic shortly after noon and found Eva sitting at a table in front of the door to the room. The glass roof of the large gallery let in a few rays of sunlight, and their reflection on the greenery of the huge planters scattered here and there made the atmosphere sedate and tranquil, more like that of a hotel than a hospital. Her blood red eyes betrayed suffering. She made a brief gesture of resignation when she saw her, stood up and kissed her twice, but said no words.

—Adrian?— asked Laura.

—In the room— she nodded, —They haven't moved him yet.

—And how are you? — Laura asked, grabbing her hand.

—Me?— Eva made an effort but couldn't help but get a little misty-eyed. —I’m devastated, pissed off and I want all this to go away quickly so I can just drop dead for good.

—Don't worry, I'll be here as long as you need.

—I know and I thank you, sis.

—Take it easy.

The two remained silent. Eva took a handkerchief out of her purse and tapped it to clear her eyes. She got up determined.

—I'm going to get going, or I'll be late. If they come to get him, have them talk to you and then call me, okay?

—No worries.

Laura watched Eva leave and remained pensive at the table. The place was beautiful, of course, and although there was a great architectural effort to hide the fact that it was a hospital, Laura couldn't help but feel inside herself some of the pain that those doors hid. She looked up and could almost guess what each floor was dedicated to because of the sensations that flooded her mind as she looked at each of them.

She disliked public places, especially hospitals. It was very difficult for her to abstract herself from the emotions of the people, to eliminate the "background noise" of the crowd, each one with their own problems and anxieties. She had been preparing herself mentally for that situation for some time, to be able to endure such a place, and she knew she could do it if she concentrated hard enough.

She needed to focus on Adrian, on him alone, on watching over his remains. She needed to help Eva, it was her personal goal. Now more than ever.

She stared at the door to the room, at its colors, mentally zooming in until noticing its texture. Then she invoked the memory of Adrian. She tried to visualize him in her imagination. She imagined him in his bed, but healthy, resting serenely. She accompanied her breathing by repeating these thoughts. And with her eyes closed, she focused on sending him as much peace as she could.

She pictured green and yellow colors, healing lights wrapping around Adrian's figure, and let them radiate beautiful reflections in her mind. She imagined clear water flowing around him and the smell of freshly laid linen. The innocence of his childhood.

A shadow.

There was a shadow in there.

Laura opened her eyes surprised. She wondered what was going on in that room. She began to feel an itch all over her body. She hated doing those things, because she was terrified of corpses, and sometimes, when she tried to help a deceased person in transit, she ended up feeling sharp pricks that made her lose concentration, like cramps. She had noticed presences other times, but this shadow frightened her.

She approached the door of the room and tapped on the wooden frame.

—Hello? —She whispered.

Half-opening the door, she cast a fleeting glance towards where Adrian was lying.

She entered the room and approached his lifeless body.

Silence.

She felt a shiver, and fear paralyzed her. Someone was watching her, she felt someone close, uneasy. She wanted to overcome that feeling and do something, but terror was consuming her. She knew that if she did not move quickly she could not escape.

She hurried out of the room and leaned against the door, trying to gather herself together, to keep whatever was inside from coming out, trying to reason why that was happening.

And then suddenly… nothing.

She felt an emptiness that muffled her ears and the murmur of the hospital surrounded her again.

It was gone.