Sana Sana Sana

“So, where would you like to begin?”

The room was dimly lit, two lamps shining behind a camera. It gave the room a warm atmosphere , not that the interviewee minded, reminding the interviewee of the love of her family, or what she hoped was love. The interviewee was Limestone Pie, daughter of Igneous and Cloudy Quartz Pie. She wore a black T-shirt with her band’s logo. Scars and deep ran from her upper shoulders to her hands.

“From the beginning, where else?” she asked with an annoyed tone. Limestone didn’t mean to come off as annoyed; everything that had happened over the past four months took a toll on her.

“So, it was January 21st…”

It was 2 A.M. on the Rock Farm, the pie household, within it lived four residents, Marble, Igneous, Cloudy Quartz, and Limestone Pie.

In the downstairs bathroom lied face down in the toilet Limestone Pie, age 24, She was the eldest of the Pie family, and heir to the farm. A revolting bile hit the porcelain throne, the taste of fear strong and the stench of a coward pugnant.

I don’t want to do this!thought a pained Lime.

I don’t want this to be my life forever. The bile rose up again.

Another round of repulsive sludge rose from her stomach and found it’s exit from her mouth.

Dammit! I don’t want this shit, I just want to be free! I don’t want to feel this way forever! Dammit! Dammit! Dam-

“Limestone?”

Limestone’s ears perked up at the sound of her name. She looked up and saw her baby sister, Marble, standing in the bathroom doorway.

The young woman looked at her sister keeling on the floor, tears flowing out of her eyes, and her lower jaw covered with vomit.

“Limestone, a-a-are you ok?” Marble asked with a quivering voice.

Limestone wiped her eyes and proceeded to get up. She flushed the toilet, attempting to rid any of the evidence of the vile filth she had emitted.

“Nothing’s wrong Marble; go back to bed.” Limestone told her sister, trying to hide any pain in her voice.

“But I heard—“

“YOU HEARD NOTHING! NOW GO BACK TO BED!” yelled Lime.

Normally, someone yelling at the shy Pie would break her, but Limestone she was used to. Marble knew her sister well, knew when she was hurt and when she was truly angry.

Marble approached her elder sister, whilst Lime tried to back away, only to bump into the wall.

Marble embraced her sister and held her tight as Lime broke down and cried.

“Good one, my Eldest child!” praised Igneous.

It was Monday afternoon. Limestone was doing her job, breaking rocks down and searching for minerals to sell. She already broke twenty-five that day more than any other Pie could.

Igneous walked up towards his daughter, pickaxe in hand. His eyes were stern yet warm.

“Twenty-five in one day? You put me to shame, young one.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Limestone grunted. “Not even I at your age was able to achieve such a feat. You really do make me proud, Limestone!”

Igneous placed his hand on her head, patting it affectionately. Igneous was not always good at expressing emotion, hence why Maud’s the way she is. Yet, ever since Pinkie’s first party, he tried his best to convey how he feels. This didn’t always work out in his favor, but how would he know? With no one telling him, it led to other issues.

“Now, how about you take a break? You’ve been at it all day.”

“No need Pa, there’s thirty more rocks to break.”

“You sure? As I said, twenty-five is quite a lot for one day. You also need to get ready for our meeting with our business associates later tonight.”

“I got this dad,” Limestone said whilst focusing on the next rock.

Igneous chuckled.

“A very headstrong gir—I mean, woman. You make me proud, Limestone, you and all of your sisters.”

As Igneous walked off, Limestone focused on breaking down the next rock. She gripped her ax so tightly veins bulged from her arms. She swung her ax down with such force it was like she was avenging some wrong the rock had done on her.. Her gaze intensified upon the rock; the outside world was tuned out. All she could think about was getting the work done, since they were already behind. She knew that most clients had already invested in other companies, and that getting it from the source was quite old fashion, but her family still managed to live up to the expectations of their clients. She knew if they even miss one day, slip one time, they will all pull out, and her family will go broke. Pinkie and Marble would have to forgo college, unable to achieve their dreams. Maud would have to drop out and return, giving up on her geology degree. Soon, they wouldn’t be able to afford the medication for Pinkie’s ADHD, Marble’s anxiety pills, and Cloudy’s kidney medicine. And without Cloudy’s medication… Limestone couldn’t bring herself to think about the possibility of losing her mother.

“Lime!”

Limestone snapped out of her trance, and looked up to see Marble standing in front of her.

“Oh, hey Marble. How was school?”

“Good. Pinkie and her friends say hello.”

Lime just grunted and went back to breaking down the rock.

“Uh... Lime.”

Lime didn’t hear.

“Lime…Limestone!”

Limestone swung her ax to the ground and fixed a fierce gaze upon her sister.

“WHAT!?”

“That rock’s already broken down.” Marble pointed out.

Limestone looked down at the rock she was working on. It was shattered and she didn’t see it. Was it her thoughts on the possibility of losing everything, or did she know, and just wanted to get rid of this painful feeling she was harboring within herself?

Limestone spat on the ground. “I am going inside to get something to eat, I’ll do this later,” she announced, dropping the ax.

As she turned around and headed back to the house, Marble called out to her. “Hey, Lime, about earlier this morning—”

Limestone stopped but didn’t bother to look back to her sister.

“—do you want to talk about it?”

There was a minute of silence between the two Pie siblings. It was soon broken with the gruff tone of the eldest child.

“Marble, please, stay out of my business. Don’t you have homework or some shit to do? Focus on that or else you’ll fail.”

Lime then continued her trek back to the house, leaving Marble standing there in the cold field.

It was 6:30 pm. Igneous and Limestone were at the Joseph Star Hotel’s meeting room, waiting for their clientele. Lime and Igneous were dressed in a prim and proper attire, Igneous sporting a traditional 1800s suit with a stiff tie over a tall collar, black pants, and black suede shoes. Lime on the other hand was wearing a more modern grey dress, with high heels and her hair was tied into a bun. She wore white gloves that stretched up to her forearms, little scratch marks of an indeterminate color marking them. Despite her family saying she should get new ones, Lime ignored them. She didn’t favor these gloves; hell, she didn’t like wearing them in public, but there was something about these gloves that called to her.

At around 6:45 the clientele arrived five in all. There was Better Sort, a tall lanky man with pale skin and yellow teeth dressed as if he were attending a funeral, his hair slicked back and black as night. He reeked of cheap cologne to cover the strong Latakia-smelling tobacco that clung to him.

Next was a middle-aged man of average build, Haunt Monde. Light blue skin, and dawning a tweed attire, and a bowl cap. He had a brown Dallas mustache, that shined like a horse’s coat.

Thirdly there was a man with spring green-gray skin, azure eyes, short dark grey hair, and square glasses. He was dressed in a white ascot, with a green sweater draped over it, with stylish dark blue dress pants, and pointed black shoes. His name was Smart Set.

Next was a green skinned woman clad in an elegant yellow gown, with jewels bedazzling on her collar, while also wearing a dark green gem necklace. Her black hair complemented her dress. Her name is Crème de la Crème, but she would often go by Cream.

Last, and certainly least, was a portly gentleman with pasty pink skin. His attire was similar to that of Igneous in the sense that it was quite retro: a black top hat to cover his shiny dome, a tall white collar, and black suit with a red tie, and black pants. His shoes were black and suede like the ones worn by Igneous. His name was Porky.

“Good evening folks.” Igneous greeted.

He and Limestone both got up and shook hands with their clients. When they sat down, they went straight to business.

“Now, Mr. Pie,” Better Sort began, “I understand this is your eldest child’s first meeting?”

Igneous smiled proudly. “Yes, indeed it is so.”

Limestone didn’t bother to smile, but neither did she have her usual scowl.

“Hmm. Nice to see another young lady coming to power.” Cream said.

“Well, this will be an exciting night for you, and hopefully you will learn something valuable,” stated Haut.

“Indeed, it shall,” Igneous answered for his daughter.

The meeting started off lightly, but that soon changed. It wasn’t even thirty minutes before things got heated. Talks of long waits, threatening to pull out, and passive insults at their background was all that came up.

“What do you mean you ran out of beryl gems, I have five stores demanding more!” yelled Porky.

“Mr. Porky,” started Igneous, “you must understand that these gems are already rare on the farm. If we ran out of the sources, then we ran out. We can, however, provide you with other rare gems you don’t have yet.”

“I want the beryl gems, dammit! What kind of a rock farm are you running?”

“Now, Pigsly,” Smart Set began.

“Porky!” the portly gentleman corrected.

“Whatever. Surely you cannot be too picky, especially when we are dealing with people of…traditional background.”

“That being said,” started Huat, “we each lose something to our competitors waiting for their family to produce. Yes, while we do get more positive income in the long term, in the short term we lose more and more, and the lowly consumer can’t wait.”

“We are working as hard as we can,” stated Igneous.

“Well, clearly not hard enough!” retorted Cream. “You would think with all your children, they’d be able to help instead of wasting their time educating themselves. And throwing ridiculous parties.”

“WE’VEWORKED OUR ASSES OFF SINCE WE WERE KIDS!” screamed Limestone.

The room went quiet. Limestone breathed heavily, her head banging with pain. Her heart pounded at an alarming rate. Limestone was not blind to this, she took a deep breath, and exhaled.

“Listen,” she began in a calmer, but still annoyed, demeanor. “We are working hard as we can. I’ve been putting in hours upon hours of work, more than what the law allows for a business to give their employees. Just today, we have gathered twelve percent more material than we normally do. All we ask is patience and understanding. For years, our family has yet to fail any of you, so please, just know that we are working hard and will get you what you need.”

Better Sort was the first to respond. “I understand, and thank yo—“

“I don’t give a damn about patience! I’m on a schedule!” Porky interrupted

“Yes, and my god, a lady putting more in a shift than needed?” Smart Set questioned. “How ghastly, perhaps life isn’t all farm hands and teaching the ‘youngun’s,” he jabbed.

“Oh, come on Smart; clearly you could tell from her more masculine features, clearly she is one that plays for the same team,”sneered Haut.

Lime knew what he meant; she always presented herself as a masculine figure but she wasn’t gay. She was teased as a kid for appearing masculine. Memories of childhood bullying flooded back.

“Gentlemen, please,” pleased Cream. “You must commend her for her bravery; she might not be the most beautiful flower amongst the patch, but after years of hard work she’s become a hard-working person. Her attire speaks volume of such.”

“W-what?” Lime asked, pain creeping into her voice.

“Such drab attire, broken and beaten; clearly she has forsaken years of womanhood and any chance of... well I shouldn’t say,” Cream giggled.

“Could you please excuse us?” Igneous asked.

Igneous pulled Limestone out in the hallway. When she saw her father’s face, she saw the ire in his eyes.

“Limestone, what in God’s name are you doing?”

“Standing up for our family! They all kept mocking us and threatening our livelihood. You can’t tell me you can just stand there and take it!”

“Limestone, listen. I don’t like what they’re saying anymore than you do—“

“Do you?”

Igneous breathed out a heavy sigh.

“Limestone, when it comes to things like these, you must learn to take it. They mock me all the time, make fun of you and your sisters, and even make comments on your mother.”

Limestone’s eyes turned to a color reminiscent of brimstone. “What did those bastards say about Mom?”

“Limestone, calm yourself, or I will keep you out here. You are twenty-four years old! Act like an adult!” commanded Igneous

The two Pies stared at each other, before Limestone gave a huff. “Fine, I will.”

Igneous’s face lightened. He wanted to say something encouraging, but he opted not to. The two then returned to the table with their guest.

“Sorry about that,” Igneous said.

“We have something to s—” Porky said before Smart interrupted him.

“Let me tell them.” He cleared his throat before beginning. “Mr. Pie, and daughter, the five of us have talked, and in a vote of four-to-one, we have agreed that we will give you until the end of this month to fulfill our needs.”

“What!?” both Igneous and Lime exclaimed.

“With accommodations of course. Beryl gems will no longer be needed, and instead, rubies are what he now requires.”

“One hundred ruby gems!” bellowed Porky.

Lime blanched. “A hundred? We barely get twenty.”

“Not our problem!” Porky said with a grin.

“Now, if you fail, we will all invest our money elsewhere,” Smart declared.

Lime’s world turned bleak, the air thinning and her blood running cold. A small ringing filled her ears and her stomach felt like it was being squeezed by a boa constrictor.

By the end of the meeting the terms were agreed upon. There were a few bright sides; the beryl gem order was canceled and Better Set agreed to extend the deadline to the end March. The car ride home was tense; there was no talking but Limestone could tell her father was irritated not only by the order but her behavior as well.

When they got home, Lime went straight to her room, ignoring her mother and sister. Busted open the door and threw herself on the bed and buried her face in the pillow.

Dammit Dammit Dammit! I fucked everything up! WE WILL NEVER MEET THEIR DEMANDS!

“Limestone.”

Limestone lifted her head and looked at the entrance of her room. It was Marble.

“Lime, do you want to talk?”

Limestone sniffed and her face softened before hardening further.

“Not now Marble. I just want to be alone.”

“I understand, but-“

“No! Please, just leave me alone.”

Marble didn’t like seeing Lime like this, but she left.

After a couple of minutes of sobbing, Limestone fell asleep, only to be awoken by an unfamiliar voice.

“WaKe uP!”

Limestone woke up, turned on her lamp and looked around. All she saw was her sister sleeping in the other bed, and the rest of their room.

Before Limestone could brush it off and go back to sleep, the voice returned. “Don’T SleEp!”

“What, who’s there?” Limestone demanded in a panic.

“You hurt us! You are the reason Mom is dying!” It sounded like Pinkie.

“Pinkie?”

“Lime, don’t speak to me!” This one sounded like Maud.

“Maud?” Lime’s voice cracked with a trace of sadness.

“I hate you. I know I am not good at expressing myself but listen to me when I say this. Don’t speak to me again. I had to break up with my boyfriend and quit my job. Never talk to me again, you selfish bitch.”

“Limestone, my eldest.” It was Igneous’s voice, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Limestone got up and ran to the bathroom while the voice continued to berate her.

“My wife, your mother, has died. She meant the world to me.”

Limestone turned on the sink and splashed water on her face, as she made sure the water didn’t drain.

“I know what you are thinking but know this: I will never forgive you.”

Limestone’s heart broke, and she screamed as she plunged her head into the water, to drown out the voices.

With that, they were gone. Limestone took her head out and turned around and sunk down to the ground as she began to cry. All that she could feel now was pain, a mental pain that is stabbing continuously, molesting her mind. She wanted it to end.

She felt something in her pocket. Her Italian stiletto knife. She unsheathed it and looked at her left arm.

Everything was crystal clear. She then proceeded to free the stream of darkness inhabiting her body. Five cuts, each freeing her from her captors’ grips. It was serene.

“LIMESTONE!?”

Limestone snapped out of it and looked at the doorway. It was Marble again, standing there in her pajamas. Fear was written on her face as she witnessed her sister engaging in self-mutilation.

Limestone looked at her baby sister. She stood up, and tried to talk to her, but a vicious cat held her tongue. Nothing came out of her lips.

Marble, shaking, slowly approached her sister, and like the previous night, Lime stepped back.

However, unlike that night, this night had a different outcome.

When Marble was going to embrace her sister, Limestone grabbed her by the collar and said, “Leave me alone, you clingy, annoying bitch!”

She threw Marble to the floor.

Everything went red and black, but when it simmered. Limestone looked at her sister, tears streaming from her eyes, her body shaking. Limestone couldn’t stand to see Marble like this, but nor could she believe she did such a thing to her own sister. She dropped the blade and ran back to their room.

She slammed the door behind her and cried.

After a minute or two, she picked herself up and knew that she had to apologize to Marble.

Limestone walked slowly back to the bathroom, she noticed the door was closed but the lights were on.

“Marble, I—I’m sorry I hurt you. I love you, I... I don’t know what’s wrong with me...” Lime sobbed, choking on her tears.

“I understand if you hate me.”

Limestone opened the door.

“But—“

Limestone froze when she saw her baby sister dragging the Italian knife over her skin. Blood ran down her left arm, and from the look of it, these weren’t her first cuts either.