The Essence of Water

NEW VERSION Chapter 22

I slip in and out of consciousness. I unzip my jacket at some point because the heat is almost unbearable. It will hurt too much to take it off, unzipping it is the best I can do. Aiden's steady breathing is like a lullaby and the pain a nightmare. I moan every time the sled tips or jerks. If I concentrate hard enough I can feel the snapped bone in my wrists rubbing together.

It's eternity before we reach safe haven. Aiden pushes the sled to the bottom of the porch steps and takes a moment to unlatch the door and disappears inside. I stare at the dark silhouette of the cabin against the stars. What a strange perspective. What if the stars were the ground and we cast shadows upon the sky?

I laugh and can't stop.

"Adie?" Aiden appears out of the cabin.

"We're stepping on stars," I tell him between breaths. His hand touches my forehead. It's like ice yet it burns my skin.

"You're burning up," he says. His voice is quick and his breathing is no longer even and controlled. He eyes are black and wild. He gathers me into his arms and lifts me off the sled. I take a sharp breath and an animal like whine escapes my lips, but he doesn't comment. He takes me to the bed and sits me down on the edge where the covers are already pulled aside. There is a flashlight pointed to the ceiling to give us some light. He sets me down as gently as he can but it still jars my body painfully.

"I'm sorry," he says and he pulls one arm out of my jacket and then he goes to remove the other.

"Don't," I plead.

"I have to." He doesn't wait for me to respond and I'm in too much pain to fight. I'm too tired, too weak. He slips the jacket off as quickly and as gently as possible. Tears are staining my face but I have the care to wipe them away. Once the jacket is off he works on my boots. I'm surprised that that hurts as well. He slips off my socks and folds my right pant leg up. My ankle is blue and purple and swollen.

Aiden runs a hand down the side of his face, along the beard that is filling in. "You've sprained your ankle," he tells me.

"Sorry."

He laughs harshly so that it sounds more like a sharp exhale. "Don't apologize." He grabs my legs at the calves and swings them onto the bed and puts a couple of pillows behind my head. Aiden grabs the covers.

"Please, it's too hot," I tell him.

He shakes his head and pulls them up to my neck and tucks them in on the side for extra measure. "You've got a fever Adie, that's the only reason you feel so hot. You've just spent hours in the cold with a broken bone and a twisted ankle, you need to get warm. So you will keep those covers on until I get back or else you will see just how angry I can be. Now don't move. I'll be back shortly."

I stare at the donut of light on the ceiling and try to push the pain down without opening the void. Eventually fall unconscious.

"Adie, wake up." I struggle to open my eyes. A cold has settled deep in my body. I was dreaming. No, that's wrong, I was remembering. Tears stain my pillow and new ones wet my cheeks. I don't think I've stopped crying since I fell.

"Please don't take me back there," I plead. My voice is broken too.

Everything is broken.

Aiden's hand gently strokes my hair. "Never," he promises.

There are two candles casting light around the room. The shadows dance with the light and run across Aiden's face. One side is dark, the other light. I see two faces. One frightens me. The other makes me stronger.

A broken face. "How bad is the pain?" he asks.

"Bad," I say honestly.

"I've never tried to heal a broken bone before, but we can't leave you like this since a hospital is out of the question," he says. "