Heart's Desire

Chapter 13

Everything hurt. The pain was excruciating. This was death? Myka had imagined death as the stage of sleep right before you start to dream. The black that no one remembers. A place where nightmares and pain sit just out of reach. True oblivion. 

If this was death, she'd been wrong. Why did death have to be so painful? Hadn't her life been painful enough? Hadn't she been the lowest of the lows? For years they had kick her around, ruined was little peace she had built with her sisters. One man had ever loved her. Now that she was dead, she hoped these things would not matter. That all that pain would just melt away into nothing. She had been wrong again. Pain was all she felt now. Never ending pain that consumed her as nothing else before every had.

Just when Myka thought the pain would never end she felt something. It cut through the pain separating her from it. It was a cool sensation. It started on her lips and moved slowly down her mouth into her stomach. From there it traveled into her veins. The cool relief etched its way into all of her mussels, up into her brain, out into her hands, and down into her legs. Finally, it stopped at her heart. Something inside of her had changed. The pain was completely gone. She opened her eyes.

"Where am I?" she asked. Above her were two dark figures. She could not make out there features so she blinked her eyes to try to clear them. It worked. The figures started to take on the shape of two giant blobs. They blotted out the sun the rays of which shone down on her every time one of them moved.

"I think she's coming around," said the blob on the right. She was the one shacking left and right allowing the light to reach Myka's face. The light blinded her. It was selfish to think that the blob should stand perfectly still. That is what Myka wanted more than anything in that moment, since the pain was gone.

"Oh good!" said the blob on the left. "She's opened her eyes!" it squealed. Myka blinked again. The blobs became brown mounds.

"Do you think we should sit her up?" said the one on the left. Myka squinted. Were the mounts starting to grow faces? Yes, there was a nose visible on one of them and a pair of lips on the other.

"I don't know," said the one on the right. It was the one with lips. The lips started moving again. "Maybe we should wait until she can talk to us."

The one on the left nodded. Her, Myka could tell form the voice it was a female, nose bobbed up and down with her head. At least Myka thought that it was a head. It was so hard since the mounds had more of a hill shape then a human shape. They must be human though thought Myka. Otherwise they would not be able to talk.

"Myka, Myka? Can you hear me," said the one on the right. Myka blinked again. Now she could see the outline of two pairs of eyes. One pair was green one was blue. Those were her sister's eyes. Myka was relieved for the moment. Something from on of then was dripping down on her. Was it silver? No, that was silly. Even Myka knew that silver did not drip. Then what was it? Myka took a moment to think. If these mounds were in fact her sisters, then it only went to show that this was hair. Ada's hair to be exact. Myka knew that Sae did not have hair anymore. Sae had lost all of her hair years ago after a bully had pulled it out. Not that she had had much hair before then.

"Lift me up," said Myka. Both of the blobs, no both of her sisters looked at each other. Sae shrugged. She went and helped Myka to a sitting position.

"Here we are" said Sae.

Ada helped by patting Myka on the back.

"How do you feel?" asked Sae. There was another question in her voice. Myka could tell she was holding it back. What she really wants to know is why I am still alive.

"I feel great," Myka said truthfully.

"Really?" asked Ada, "Because we just gave you water. I thought you were a goner for sure, but Sae wanted to at least check, because if you were a goner then she thought that we would need the coin and the paper if we were going to make it to the palace on our own, but then we saw that you were still alive, so I went down to the river to get you some water, but I didn't have anything to bring it up here with until Sarah, you know Sarah, my rhinoceros bug? Well anyway, Sarah pointed out this flask that was just lying at the side of the stream. I was already full so I just brought it over to you and force-fed you some and then you started to look less, well, broken and then you opened your eyes. I guess I said all of that to say, were glad to have you back Myka." Ada could ramble on non-stop if she tried. It was interesting to see that their years of silence had not changed that about her.

Myka smiled. So her sister's did care even if they had only come back for the compass and the note. All the same, they had come back. That was joy in and of itself.

"Do you think you can walk?" asked Sae. Myka tested one leg and then the other. She shook her head yes.

"Good," said Ada, "Michel tells me that's it's not a good place to stay. He is afraid. He wants us to leave right away."

"Michel?" Myka asked.

"Oh," said Ada, "You haven't met Michel yet. He is a new recruit. I met him down by the river."

"Oh," said Myka as she got to her feet. Her mussels were cramped, but there was no pain anymore. "I think he might be right. I don't want to stay around her a minute longer. Sae?" Myka turned to Sae.

"Yes, let's get on the road."

Myka dropped the coin again and the followed the line it made in the dirt.