Grasping at Eternity (The Kindrily) Read Online Free PDF Page B

help.” I tried to stand, but Louise kept her arm around me.
    “No. You relax while Carson and Anthony take care of it.”
    “But I—”
    “No buts.”
    Anthony went inside while Louise, Krista, and I sat in silence, staring out at the garden.
    A million questions gushed through my mind as I replayed the details. How could so many flames be put out in what felt like two seconds? How did Carson move across the room in an actual blink of an eye? Where did Anthony get the hose from so fast?
    “Something is wrong with me.”
    Krista placed two fingers on my neck, checking my pulse, and surveyed me for visual damage. Always playing nurse. “Are you feeling light-headed? Nauseated? Having trouble breathing?”
    “I don’t mean because of the fire. I think my brain is messed up.”
    Louise took off her glasses and looked at me with a strangled smile. “Why do you think that?”
    I paused, trying to think of how to explain it without sounding crazy. “Maybe from when I got hit in the head, or my surgery, but my brain short-circuited during the fire. Like it stopped working for a few minutes.”
    Louise’s expression softened. “Fight-or-flight syndrome causes the mind to react strangely in dangerous situations.”
      “Yeah, but…” It didn’t feel anything like that. My mind shut off. But, then again, I’d never been near a raging fire before so maybe she was right. “Maybe I’m just paranoid about doctors fiddling with my brain.”
    She patted my hand. “Understandably so, but let’s assume they did their job correctly.”
    Krista flashed me a hesitant look, but I agreed with Louise. “Okay.”
    “Let’s go inside so you can calm down and eat something.” Louise stood and offered to help me up. When I reached up, her wooden necklace brushed against my fingers.  
      “I meant to ask, what’s the symbol on your necklace mean?”
      Looking down, she rubbed her thumb over the carving. “It’s an ancient symbol from Antiquity. The modern interpretation means ‘lunar halo’ but interestingly enough its original meaning is,” she paused then smiled, “fire.”
     
    ∞
     
    My angel of death came for me twice. Maybe the third time would be a charm.
    Why did I fight so hard to get out of the fire? I should’ve inhaled every last bit of smoke. I should’ve grabbed onto my angel of death and demanded he take me to my family.  
    Louise set a steaming cup of tea on the kitchen counter in front of me. “It’s called Calming Wind. It will help with the shock.”
    “Thank you.”
    I swiveled back and forth in my stool, watching Louise flit around and make dinner as if nothing had happened.
    Carson came in, scooped some pasta into a bowl and sat beside Krista. He was cleaner—and drier—and his hooded sweatshirt looked blaringly white against his tan skin. “So, Maryah, you hated your room so much you had to burn it down?”
    “Carson, enough,” Louise warned.
    Krista tried making light of my humiliation. “She wanted a flaming hot debut.”
    No, I wanted to run away and hide. “I feel awful for ruining your brother’s decorating job. Should I email him and apologize or something?”
    “Email him?” Carson stopped chewing his food. “Nathan isn’t a fan of email, and don’t even think about texting him.”
    “Ohh-kay.” Why wouldn’t someone be a fan of text and e-mail? “Should I call him? I’d feel rude not thanking him and explaining what happened.”
    Louise and Carson looked at each other. Krista shrugged.
    “You should apologize in person,” Carson said curtly.
    “He’ll stop by one of these days,” Louise said. “Everyone returns home at some point.”
    My clothes and hair still smelled like smoke, and every swallow of tea hurt my irritated throat. Plus, being around Carson wasn’t exactly comfortable. “I’d like to shower and go to bed early if that’s okay.”
    Carson’s fork bounced across the countertop. “You’re going to trust her with another bed?”
    Krista