Existing

Proserpina

When I came back to the world of the living, it was bright and sunny outside. I was in my room and the cool air of the air conditioner swirled around me. For a minute, I was blindsided. What was I doing in bed in the middle of the morning, I thought bemusedly.

I sat up, puzzled.

Why was I in bed? I needed to be with the kids…

My thoughts trailed off as reality and my memory of the previous day’s events slammed into me, like a hard fist.

Raising a shaking hand to my mouth, I made a gasping, sobbing sound as I recalled Beston’s words.

*

“Are you awake?’ It was Rachel. She was huddled on the large couch in a corner of the room and she looked beaten, as she watched me. The door opened and Danielle stormed in.

Danielle did not do slow and graceful. She was like a tornado, sweeping in, regardless of the destruction she caused in her wake.

“ Is she asleep?’ she barked at Rachel who stood up, glaring daggers at her.

Both of them seemed to have taken an instant dislike to each othe