《The Peripheral Girl》Chapter 11

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Try as I might, I couldn't get the image of the shadowy figure out of my head. I was more jumpy than usual, cowering at dark corners in my home, and I was hesitant to go to bed at night on my own. Madi refused to let me sleep in her room, so I ended up falling asleep with a lit candle every night, though that left strange shadows on my bedroom wall that left me unsettled as well. The longer I went without telling someone about the figure, the more paranoid I became. So much so, that my mother suggested that I spend more time outside, even without an escort.

It had been a week since the incident in the garden and I my parents finally confronted me and convinced me to go visit Hirsh and Baila.

"Hirsh has been feeling his age lately and they miss your visits," my father explained. "You can't stay cooped up in your room forever."

"I can try," I grumbled.

My father stroked my hair tenderly. "Go, Zuza. You need the fresh air." I slipped off the bed reluctantly and made my way downstairs. I hated to admit it, but the crisp fall air felt good on my face as I stepped outside.

Once I got to Hirsh and Baila's, I found myself back at the garden gate. Hesitating, I slowly pushed the gate in and poked my head in. In all my years of knowing Hirsh, I had never gone through their front door. Even now, the thought of using it felt weird, but I think a small part of me wanted to know if I'd see the creature again. Morbid curiosity killed the cat.

I knocked on the back door, waited a moment, then let myself in.

"Hirsh! Baila!"

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"We're upstairs, dear!" Bail's voice drifted from their bedroom. I found Enzo sitting at the bottom of the stairs. He looked up and smiled, though his expression was that of slight surprise.

"Zuza, what are you doing here?" he asked, setting down the book he was reading.

"My parents said I needed to get out more... so here I am." I smiled sheepishly. It wasn't in my nature to be shy, but I hadn't seen Enzo since I talked with him outside my house and asked me if I had seen anything that day in the garden. I felt awful for lying to him. I wanted to tell him the truth about everything; the creature, my growing powers, but I didn't feel like I knew him well enough. Maybe it was just because I saved his life that I felt an odd connection to him. Does he feel the same way? I wondered. How could I even go about asking that?

"Oh, well... glad you could come by." He looked as awkward as I felt.

"I just wanted to see Hirsh. I heard he was feeling sick."

Enzo looked grateful for the change of subject. "Yeah, he does feel a bit under the weather, but nothing too serious, I think."

"You don't think-" I stopped myself. Was it too rude to ask Enzo if he gave Hirsh the sickness?

"You think I gave him the sickness?" Enzo asked, a little defensively. Okay, maybe it was rude to ask him that question.

"Well... Uh- I just think we need to consider all our options," I said.

"Okay, like the option that Hirsh is just super old, anyway."

"Look, I didn't mean to point fingers. Besides, did you ever get the sickness back in your community?"

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"No."

"Then he can't be showing the signs of symptoms, right? What are they?"

Enzo furrowed his brow. "The symptoms? Well, it can be hard to tell how long a person really has the sickness. They could have it for weeks, but don't show really noticeable signs until right before they die; slow and painful movements, ashy skin, unable to eat or drink... the oddest thing though is the eyes. People get black rings around their eyes- around the iris- and their eyes are all bloodshot. Those are the symptoms."

"Sounds... pleasant," I mumbled. "Is that why it's so hard for people to catch? And why so many people die in a short period of time? They could all give it to each other, but not know it until right before they die?"

Enzo nodded. "Still, we don't know all that much about it, like where it came from or whether it's spread through physical contact or not."

"Gotcha..." I said. I still wanted to check on Hirsh, however. Not that I didn't believe Enzo...

"Well, I haven't seen Hirsh and Baila in a few days, so I owe them a visit anyway," I said, scooting past him on the stairs.

"Of course," Enzo said, getting up and letting me through. I left him on the step, where he went back to reading.

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