The thunderstorm which lasted for a whole day had finally subsided. Droplets of rain tapped onto the window in a drum-like rhythm. A music soothing to the ears.
And it was between the murmur of the winds and the hissing of grass blades that slowly brought Geo to consciousness. Still, he was drawn back into a dreamy state by the comfort of the mattress in which he was laid on.
The chill in the air seem to encourage him to seek warmth in that promising rest.
As he was lying between half asleep and half awake, thus with his rapid eye movement, a nightmarish sight swept past his mind's eye in a deadly stealth and a condemning stare.
There was also a familiar glow that he didn't get to recognize in that brief flash.
His foot jolted and his body shook itself to wake him as he heaved out a shocked gust of breath. He trembled for a moment and felt cold sweat dripping from his temples.
Before he could even remember what he saw, the dreadful sight slipped off his memory, leaving him to catch his breath and regain his normal heart pace.
Sighing, he slowly opened his eyes. They were greeted with flickers of flames and he blinked a couple of times before his sight adjusted between the dark surroundings and the tiny lights.
It didn't took him long to realize he was not alone and that somebody was too busy to notice that he was awake. Despite the clattering of the rain, he heard soft hums from the person. Geo soon realized that it was a woman.
The embers crackling from the elevated pit at the other corner, tells him that she was preparing a meal. Or a concoction of some sort. Who knows.
Carefully, Geo slide slowly from the bed, and noted that the mattress was of foam. He was grateful that they were no springs under it. Or else, squeaks from his shifting of weight could have gotten him into trouble.
But as soon as his foot touched the wooden floor, it creaked. Just when he thought he was getting lucky.
"Cripes!" he muttered under his breath, feeling betrayed by his own body.
"Oh, my!" the woman gave out a little shriek. To Geo's disbelief, the woman was more startled than he was.
"Um, hello..." she nervously greeted the stranger on her bed. "I'm - I'm almost done with dinner... If you would wait for a while... - "
She didn't quite complete her sentence and Geo can see how nervous she was, so he simply muttered an "Uhm", accepting her offer. More words from him might have put her on pressure, he thought.
"Great!" she exclaimed, smilingly, although obviously remained uptight. And to overcome that, she seem to find relief by continuously talking non-stop.
So Geo helpfully trying to be attentive, sat un-moving at the edge of the bed while she tells the account of her story; how the weather began today, how she found him, and how they instantly got into the house.
And that, later, led her to explain how she found her glowing friend; - mentioning that it appeared to her during a malicious purple storm around four months ago.
Upon hearing that, all of a sudden, Geo cried a grave groan as he felt a striking pain in his head like a stinging whip slash, and a heavy laden burden dropping all it's weight over his shoulders. The woman was terrorized by his sudden reaction but quite instantly asked him what's wrong.
Geo could not utter a single word. His tongue gone numb not only by the intense suffering, but also by the recurring memory of being inside the turbulence of the purple miasma - The ectoplasm - The time fog.
Seeing all the flashbacks made him sick and for some reason. It all filled him with the utmost regret.
Only God knows how long Vingcanti had left him inside, tumbling helplessly through the passage of time...
