Concoction of Certainty

Drink in the moment; take time to pause. For better or for worse, at least you know now.

It shouldn’t have taken this long to get sorted but it did. Anxiety dominated the mind. Three small letters becoming something so huge, so scary, together proved the power of three. The page was so welcoming, it invited all equally regardless of their journey to finding it. Question after question until one important one; caught unawares. Acceptance of something… Within moments, confirmation. Alone with those three letters, for as many days.

Alone in silence, waiting for the foretold arrival. It soon came. No time spared. The instructions read as if they held the secrets to great treasure or knowledge; to a degree they did. On that paper, in the words and images printed upon it, the key to an answer that could change everything. It seemed simple enough. A checklist complete, the ingredients ready, the brewing could begin.

To start, uncorking of the self. A swift and guarded lunge from the depths of the plastic; a crackle like lightning shot down the nerves; thunder followed indicating completion. Removal revealed red; a crimson sphere balanced precariously at the peak. Inverted, it fell. Just. One. Drop. The floodgates opened; the red sea cascaded from tip to base, flowing faster than expected. Seeing red caused only more anxiety. It filled every crease and crack, staining skin. Hastily cleansed, the next step could begin. Gently and shakily, the bottle was inverted, the liquid within becoming more and more red. Into the basin the fluid went. A second bottle acquired, the same motion followed; the ocean blue waters bubbled. Into the basin the fluid went. Changes began. A small circle formed at the base of the basin; stained with blue, a third bottle was required. The third bottle was also shaken. Breathing quickened. It joined the others in the basin, bleaching the blue. The single circle remained. No further development.

A thin veneer of blood layered the middle finger of the non-dominant hand. The pulse could be felt under the bandage, heart beating through the chest. What ifs ran rampant: Who would be the first to know, how would it be best to contact the relevant people, what would happen next? Negative. A sigh of relief exhaled.

Drink in the moment; take time to pause. For better or for worse, at least now you know.