Mantra of Misery (female, Secret Santa for PollenFiend)

[Chanel_no5]

Hello... this is me finally posting my extremely belated Secret Santa for @PollenFiend. I am so, so sorry you had to wait forever for this, but I really hope you're going to like it.  

Again, I am really sorry it took me so long to finish.  

***

The light breeze rustled the leaves in the trees around them, and gently moved through the waving grass and fragrant blossoms. A bumble bee buzzed a pleasant summer song as it searched this clearing for pollen.

There was certainly not a lack of pollen. It filled the air, dancing through the air in tune with the breeze, and it felt like every single grain of it took aim at Annie’s red-rimmed eyes and the sensitive lining of her irritated nose. It was slowly starting a fire that the antihistamines she had taken this morning could not put out, despite their best effort.

She knew she should have backed out when the meditation leader suggested they’d take advantage of the lovely June weather and do some outdoor meditation today. She really should have said something. But she hadn’t, and now she suffered the consequences.

“Focus inward… be in the moment… and breathe…” the meditation leader’s calm, soothing voice instructed the small group.

With each supposedly calming breath, Annie inhaled everything she was allergic to, and felt herself tense up rather than relax when she felt the pollen attack her system, overthrowing the power of the antihistamines and taking over the reign of her dreadfully allergic body.

Her eyes felt like they were full of fine sand. Her throat, even her ears, itched. The tingle in her nose was spreading rapidly and growing in intensity, and she knew it wasn’t going away; it was only going to get worse until she had no choice but to sneeze. And then she’d sneeze. And sneeze. And sneeze. Once an allergic fit was a fact, it was impossible for her to regain control in hours.

But if she never succumbed to that first sneeze? The forerunner, the one that brought her entire self-control down? It was something she had tried before and never succeeded in, but maybe she just hadn’t tried hard enough.

She did have a mantra she used to clear her thoughts during meditation, a simple but efficient one; love and light. As the air, brimming with pollen and strong flowery scents, filled her quivering, reddening nose, teasing all those overly sensitive spots, the sneezy hotspots, she switched to a brand-new mantra without even noticing.

I’m not gonna sneeze… I’m not gonna sneeze… I’m not gonna sneeze…

The allergic misery threatening to erupt within, seemed to reply to her desperate command

Oh yes you will.

She knew she would. But she was not going down without a fight.

***

She had no idea how much time had passed since the allergic itch first began to take hold of her, but it felt like an eternity. She fought with all her might to hold back the tickly sneezes threatening to overtake her. There was not a speck of peace of mind or relaxation within her anymore, she wasn’t even trying to find it. Everything she had she put into the effort of forcing the approaching allergy attack into submission before it could break through her unstable defence.  

Her eyes were streaming ceaselessly, and her hands twitched with the desire to reach up and rub at them to relieve the burning irritation, but the cruel irony was this; if you scratched an allergic itch, it would only make matters worse. She knew this, had extensive experience of it, but it was oh so hard to avoid.

Her nose was a dripping mess, another body part she desperately wanted to rub and wipe at, but that would lead to an even bigger disaster. The tickle filled her nose completely, like a thousand tiny feathers, and she feared that the slightest touch might disrupt the balance and tip her over the edge of a sneeze.

I’m not gonna sneeze… I’m not gonna sneeze…

But even as these words kept running through her head, even as she fought to keep her breath even and refused to take those deep, gasping breaths and release the trapped sneezes, her damp, rosy nostrils flared ever so slightly. A shallow crease appeared between her eyebrows. Her lips parted when her carefully regulated breathing suddenly caught in her throat. Several quiet, hitching gasps escaped her as the sneeze built closer and closer to completion, her head tilting back a little…

No, no, stop, I’m not gonna sneeze!

The immediate urge faded somewhat, not enough that she’d consider herself out of the woods (ha, ha) just yet, but there was still a chance, wasn’t it? As long as she didn’t get started with the sneezing, she could suffer through this, sure she could.

She exhaled slowly, unaware that her facial features still wore an expression of worried sneeziness. Her nostrils were so sensitive even the very air seemed to be coarse and prickly, and more and more pollen pricked her nasal passages like tiny needles.

She couldn’t hold it back anymore. It was a perfect storm; constant onslaught and no escape, and the urge to sneeze just got worse and worse. Once more her quivering nostrils began to flare, this time followed by a deep, urgent gasp for air, filling her lungs completely as her body prepared to get rid of these irritants once and for all.

“AAAEESSSHHH!”

Her upper body snapped forward from the sheer force of this wet, powerful explosion, and the spray glittered in the sun before raining down on the grass before her, the same grass that was responsible for making her sneeze in the first place.

She sniffled wetly, trying to keep her nose from running down her face, and realised immediately that this was a mistake, as the itch flared up as if it hadn’t been appeased at all. She drew another sharp breath and this time got her hands up in front of her face to at least contain the spray.

“HeeeIISSSSHHHughh! AaaISSSHHHooo! Hah-! Hah-yISSSHHHHughh!”

These sneezes somehow managed to be drawn-out and frantic at the same time, massive explosions of itchy desperation. Oh God, she was so allergic!

“Um, are you alright?”

Annie managed to open her swollen, tear-filled eyes and look up at Joan, the meditation leader. She looked two parts concerned and one part annoyed. Of course, Annie’s very violent allergy sneezes weren’t the best background sound for meditation.

Annie nodded, her cheeks flushed a shade that almost matched that of her tortured nose.

“Yeah… I’m… huh… hahh…”

Joan saw the other woman’s eyelids flutter and took a step back so she wouldn’t be hit by the next outburst. Annie was so embarrassed she wanted the ground to open and swallow her, but she still struggled to regain her composure. Not that it helped whatsoever.

“HeeeIISSSSHHHoo! AaaISSCHHugh! Huh-ITSSSHHHuh! AaaaEESSHHHHoo!”

They were so loud and ferocious her cupped hands could barely muffle the sound at all, and she was a miserable, drippy, itchy, pitiful mess, dissolving in one allergy fit after another. She had apparently switched to yet another mantra, which wasn't a very positive or strengthening one. 

Oh God I can't stop sneezing, I can't stop sneezing...!

“Hm, well…” Joan mumbled as she watched in horror when the normally so composed and tranquil member lost all semblance of control. “You know, you could have just told me you’re allergic, and we would’ve done this meditation indoors.”

“I took meds,” Annie choked out between two breathy sneezes.

“Really?” Joan said, sounding sceptical. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Me too, Annie thought as she persistently (and in vain) tried to rein in her body’s ridiculous response to the lovely summer surrounding them.

“Okay everyone, let’s finish early today,” Joan told the others, who watched Annie’s involuntary performance with various expressions on their faces; pity, shock, disgust, amusement, annoyance…

Annie’s eyes closed again as she geared up for another sneezing fit, hoping against hope that it would be the last one, knowing perfectly well she was just getting started.

 

[ThePokeFan599]

This was great! I hope for a part 2!

[Sneezingnonstop]

Love the scenario!!! Good work!

[Chanel_no5]

19 hours ago, ThePokeFan599 said:

This was great! I hope for a part 2!

Thank you!  

17 hours ago, Sneezingnonstop said:

Love the scenario!!! Good work!

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed!  

 

[tenderwarrior]

This was so cute! I just wished Joan was more sympathetic. This was great, Chanel! I love how you describe allergic misery. 

[NoV]

Amazing description of the build-up at the start of this story. I always love it when a character inwardly says 'I'm not going to sneeze' and tries desperately to convince themselves that its not going to happen!