darker_london | Renee - back inside

The doctors had been intensely interested in Renee's activities over her birthday. She had barely had a moment to herself since the big event. It was more than worth it, of course. She'd had a wonderful time, despite the brief flashback or whatever it was. Either way, it hadn't happened again, so it was probably no big deal.

But now, she finally had time to think. Time to think about the Tarot card she'd turned over while in her new room that she would be sharing with Deirdre. The High Priestess, inverted. Arrogance, dogmatism, religious zealotry. The pointed meaning of the card was not lost on her. Those were all qualities that she had indulged in before... all of this. But what did it mean? Renee still wasn't convinced that there was no meaning to any of it. She just needed to figure it out.

Black pyramid. Crocodile-headed god. Crucifix. Eyes. Sword. Fire. Swamp. Just thinking about those images renewed the flashbacks, but she couldn't interpret the images, even as they assailed her.

Perhaps she wasn't supposed to. Perhaps they were supposed to interpret her.

It made a twisted kind of sense to Renee. She had to let the images flow, had to understand them. The fact that they kept recurring was a signal to Renee that there really was something wrong, even if it wasn't what the doctors thought. She was here to learn something. But what?

Her eyes fell on the untouched box of oil pastels. Maybe...?

She had the pastels and paper. Perhaps if she drew, she would come up with something, anything to help her find the meaning that she so desperately needed.

Renee moved to the table and began to draw.