Nocturne Summit diamond heart

She was a courier with a message that burned a hole through her pocket.

She had spent the last few days sleepless. The sour taste of fatigue filled her mouth, her eyes were dry and irritated. At times they would fill with tears and the world would become sprays of refracted light, stochastic color, fractal starbursts.

She could no longer explain the things which went on in her body.

Her head ached. She sought shelter in shade and she pressed her forehead against the cool bark of an old oak until the heat of her skull transferred onto the surface and it no longer brought her relief. She caught sight of a woman through the undergrowth, but did not have the energy to feel embarrassed.

Excuse me, she murmured, coughed, began again in a louder voice:

Excuse me miss, have you seen my brother? He is blond, with a big scar on his face.

And she thought about what she would do, or say, if the answer was no, and if the answer was yes; found both of them unimaginable.