Stolen Voices ✓

June 4th

Time:

the healer and the killer

- dj

June 4th:

"Mara," Elias whispers, his voice hoarse.

---

The clock strikes midnight right when Elias gets his voice back, as if he is Cinderella. It comes out scratchy and his vocal cords sting, but he speaks. As if the world shifts on its axis, the rain comes pouring down outside seconds after he utters Mara into the silence. The brash wind rattles against the shutters as Elias blinks at his lopsided reflection in the mirror across the wall.

He looks horrible, his hair a disordered state, his eyes red with fresh tears. Rubbing them, his hand falls to his throat as he tries to smooth away the building tension. Blinking at his reflection in the mirror again, the blankets sprawled over his waist, he coughs.

"Mara," he whispers again, a small smile playing on his lips now.  His brown eyes dilate to accommodate the darkness of the room.

The rain continues to pour, even harder now, as static fills Elias's ears. The moon is obscured by ungracious torrent. He looks to the window, watching as raindrops drip down the glass surface like tears. He laughs, a tearful laugh that gets caught in his windpipe. His mind tries to reel around the fact this is reality, but he feels trapped in a fairytale. Soon the villain will appear and take his voice back, destroying his last ounce of hope.

A soft knock on the door brings him back to reality. His eyes dart to it as he clears his throat, scratching the back of his neck. The rain continues to patter against the windowpane, drowning out the ear splitting silence that surrounds him.

"Come in," he whispers. Although it hurts, he does it with a small smile. He watches as the door peaks open, and Mara's face emerges, her blue eyes wide.

Half of her face is obscured in the shadows, the only light illuminating from the hallway. Nonetheless, he can make out the astonished expression that takes over her sharp features, her mouth parting open with a soft gasp.

Casually she walks in, shutting the door behind her. Her steps are slow to his bed as if she is holding herself back from rushing to his side. Each step she takes is matched by a creak in the floorboards, her arms wrapping around herself. She is feeling a lot right now, every ounce of herself being consumed by Elias's woken state.

"You- you spoke," she stuttered, biting her nails and ruining the polish. Mara can't sleep, especially after hearing his muted cries through the thin walls. Her ear pressed against the wall as she clutched to the fabric of her silk nightgown in pain.

Elias nods in response, his smile turning timid. He rubs the fabric of the sheets between his fingers, looking over her shoulder to a point on the door. He feels exposed under her powerful stare, and he knows she can see the fresh tears staining his face. His hands are still trembling as he tries to hide them below the blanket.

"I couldn't sleep," she reveals, sitting on the edge of the bed. She keeps a safe distance between them, afraid of the current she is feeling inside. The voices inside her head are dulling in his presence but still chatter in the back of her consciousness.

He nods, chewing the inside of his cheek. He looks at her and his breath falters, his heart leaping a beat. There are so many emotions pooling inside her blue irises that he can't pick them apart. All he knows is that her eyes are burning lighter around the edges than he's seen before.