Mystical Odyssey: The Battle for Sparrow's Mill

"Oh, shit" I said. "I forgot to take my meds today."

Ruby giggled. She had a great laugh, and it was nice to hear it even when she wasn't laughing at me. "It's okay, I know you had a rough night last night."

"No, no," I said. "I mean I haven't taken my meds in three days. This isn't good." I looked down at her feet. The carpet was red but now that I really looked at it I realized it was splotchy and kind of matted down. It looked like someone had spilled paint on the floor, then tried cleaning it up with a wet rag instead of water.

"What?" Ruby asked. She obviously didn't understand what was wrong with what she was wearing. "You don't like my shoes?"

"Look at your feet!" I exclaimed, pointing at the floor. "It looks like you were walking through blood!"

Ruby's eyes widened. "Oh... Oh! You thought..." Her face flushed before she started laughing again. "No, silly! That's just strawberry jam! My mom made pancakes yesterday and I... kind of... accidentally stepped in some of them this morning." She smiled and gave me an apologetic look. "I'll clean it up right away, don't worry about it! You know how messy my family is sometimes."

I sighed in relief and shook my head as she walked into the kitchen to get a paper towel or something to clean up her foot-stains with. It was weird that they weren't disappearing, but considering that the carpet had been there since before we met, it was probably one of those cheap kinds that never really came clean.

I wondered why she hadn't cleaned up the mess yet, though. Surely if I saw something like that on her shoes, she'd want me to ask her about it immediately instead of leaving it for hours? Maybe she just didn't want to get any more jam on her hands than she already had? That sounded reasonable enough at least - girls could be weird about their nails sometimes after all - so I let myself relax and turn back towards the TV screen again before I noticed that everything seemed a little more blurry than before.

"Hey Ruby," I called out from the couch where I sat staring at the screen blankly while trying not to fall asleep on the spot while listening to her moving things around in the kitchen without being able to pay much attention to what she was doing or saying anymore. "Do you have anything that would help me stay awake today? It's really hard for me to focus and stay awake these days when I've missed my meds for too long." Ruby stopped whatever she was doing for a moment and walked over to sit next to me on the couch, wrapping an arm around my shoulder while gently rubbing my back with her other hand and smiling softly, whispering sweet nothings into my ear all the while which helped calm me down more than anything else ever could have done until finally she reached down into her purse which had been sitting next to her on the floor - apparently ignoring both me and all evidence pointing towards the fact that someone had spilled nearly two liters of blood-colored liquid onto it earlier - and pulled out a little amber vial filled with pills along with a small container of water containing two orange slices floating inside of it along with some ice cubes in order to make sure that she didn't forget to take hers as well once we got back home later tonight after dinner out somewhere fancy for our date night together which left us both breathless enough with anticipation for what might happen between us later that neither of us failed to notice how time seemed as if it were only passing by in slow motion as every moment seemed like an eternity during which even breathing itself felt like torture while our bodies screamed out in pain whenever we dared try getting up from our spots on the couch despite knowing full well that waiting here patiently would only be worth all the effort which we put into making sure we didn't miss this night together somehow even though nothing could ever possibly ruin this perfect moment right here right now no matter how much time passed or what happened afterwards because nothing bad ever lasts forever so long as you're always willing to look forward to better times ahead instead of dwelling on how terrible things are now especially if you've got someone who understands you better than anyone else ever could who's always there for you no matter what whenever you need them just by your side always ready and willing to listen closely whenever you need someone to talk too or cry too or laugh with too as long as they're never gone no matter how long you go without seeing each other since they'll always be there waiting patiently whenever you choose to return home whenever your soul decides its time for a break no matter where your heart takes you because they'll never leave your side no matter where life takes you together so long as love guides your way home wherever your heart may take you together wherever your heart may lead us so long as love guides our way home through life someday when all is said and done after all is said and done after everything has been said already what do we have left but love? What do we have left but love? It's all that's ever mattered after all..."