Medical Condition

[Vivian's POV]

I woke up in the darkness and felt cold and wet. I still had a dog-like smell coming from me. But this time it was less, so that I could breathe easily, as if the smell slowly settled in my mind. I couldn't remember why I had gone to bed so early, but I felt exhausted.

As I lay there, I tried to recall her dreams, a dream with no sun and moon, just blackness and silence. A dream where I always heard a noise. A scream in the distance and laughter in my ears – that made me want to run, flee to escape the horrors that lay beyond. A dream where there are demons that chased after me. A dream where I was drinking blood and eating raw meat. The same dream that I was watching again and again. But they were hazy and fragmented. I couldn't make sense of them.

My eyes were puffy and watery as if I had been crying for a long time. I rubbed my eyes and muttered to herself "why am I crying while sleeping." I found her voice a little strange while speaking but I didn't pay much attention. Suddenly, I heard a noise outside my window.

It sounded like someone was tapping on the glass. I sat up in bed and listened. The tapping continued, and I realized it was coming from the tree outside my window. I looked at the clock on the wall of my bedroom and it was 11 pm, "who could be here at this hour," I said to myself, got out of bed and walked over to the window. As I looked out, I saw a figure standing in the shadows. I couldn't make out who it was, but I felt a sense of unease.

"Who's there?" I called out, my voice trembling.

There was no answer. The figure just stood there, silent and still. I felt a chill run down my spine. I just stood there, staring out the window, until the figure finally disappeared into the darkness. My heart racing, I kept my hand on my chest, trying to keep myself calm "it's nothing just relax."

Suddenly I began to feel very hungry, as if I had not eaten for weeks. While returning from the hospital, I had lunch with Emily. My body was very tired due to the pain, "maybe it was due to running around in the hospital today," I explained to myself and took a look at my own condition. I was still in my police uniform and was sleeping like that. I started changing, I was in no mood to take a shower.

I was cleaning my eyes with a tissue paper and was going to the kitchen when suddenly my feet stopped at the sound of a phone call. A number was flashing on the phone screen, which was not saved in the phone's contact list, but I knew this number well. A heavy male voice was heard from the other end of the phone as I picked up the call that it's my father.

"Hello! Vivian you came to the hospital today, but left without meeting me again, everything is alright."

[Pause]

"Hello! Vivian, are you listening to me?"

"Yes! Yes! I'm listening,” I replied, rubbing my nose with a tissue and trying to sound calm.

"Your voice is getting a little heavy, what happened, are you ill, have you got a cold?"

"No."

"Did you come for a check-up today?"

"No."

"Well, come on, no problem, the weather is changing. So it must be cold to eat and take medicine."

"Okay."

"Well listen, my phone battery is down to 1% talk later."

"Okay," I was trying hard to keep my voice steady.

"Hey, hey, Sybilla, my precious daughter, how did you get this cut? I have told you many times that I got that maid, call her for any work of yours, see how much it hurts now."

"It's fine, Dad. I cleaned it up and put a band-aid on it," she replied.

"I am just worried about you," he said.

"I know, Dad. But I'm not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself," she said.

"I know you can, Sybilla. I just want to make sure you're safe and happy," he said.

My stomach dropped after hearing this, "he might have forgotten to turn off the phone," I consoled myself. Holding back tears, I hung up the phone. I tried to distract myself, but my mind kept wandering back to the phone call. I couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in my chest.

Wiping my eyes and nose with a tissue, I headed towards the kitchen and was about to get something to eat from the fridge when my eyes fell on the raw beef. My mouth watered as soon as I saw it. But to control myself, I closed my eyes tightly while shaking my head in the negative, I took out the vegetables and started cooking them. As I chewed on the carrot, I couldn't help but think about the juicy and tender beef.

Even while eating vegetables, the taste of blood lingers in my mouth. I repeatedly felt the urge to eat raw meat, and despite being very hungry, I vomited. I knew that something was wrong with me, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I had been feeling this way for a day or two, and it was getting worse now. Today was a bad day, muttering to myself, I got up and put all the vegetables in the dustbin. Suddenly something lit my mind. "What if I am suffering from a rare condition, Pica."

Pica is a disorder that causes people to crave and eat non-food items like dirt, chalk, and even raw meat. "Maybe that's why I am craving raw beef. Has my mental health affected lately," I asked myself. I remembered how I had vomited several times while eating raw meat a couple of months ago. And then I had thrown up after eating my dog and the remains of that cat. I recalled how I could not stop thinking about eating raw flesh and blood, especially during my first month of living at home. "Oh yeah! Maybe that was why I threw up. It wasn't food allergies!" I shouted out loud. I ran out of the room and went straight to the hospital to find the doctor who would explain this to me. "This is probably what caused me to throw up so often. Now it makes sense!" I thought. But I found him sitting alone in his office reading a book.