We Are The Cure : The Plague Doctor's Tale.

Chapter 28

Rosalynn started her day with checking the condition of her injured hand. She took off the bandage and looked at the burn on her palm and fingers. The skin was all red and hurt badly when she was moving her hand. She looked at the bed side table and found there a jar with camomile ointment. Doctor must have left it for her. She smiled to herself and applied some of it on her palm and then carefully on each finger. 

Her injuries weren't that bad but still very painful. She wrapped her hand with new bandage and tried to dress up but it was so hard for her, especially using one hand. She looked out of the room and noticed Annabelle in the kitchen who was cooking breakfast.

"Good morning." Said Rosalynn to get her attention. 

"Oh, good morning, Miss. I hope I didn't woke you up?" Annabelle stopped cooking and smiled nicely.

"No, no. Don't worry..." Rosalynn wanted to ask for help but found herself unable to do it.

"Do you need anything by any chance?" Asked Annabelle politely feeling her uneasiness.

"Actually yes." Rosalynn admitted timidly and Annabelle joined her in Rosalynn's room.

There she helped her with putting on her plague nurse clothes which required both functioning hands. Annabelle also helped her with braiding her hair. 

"Are you sure you're able to do your work today?" There was a concern in Annabelle's voice.

"Of course. I'm working with Giovanni so I won't be alone. Also Doctor gave me an ointment for burns so I will be fine." Rosalynn smiled and Annabelle came back to cooking. 

Rosalynn was sitting by the table waiting for breakfast when her companions left their rooms at the same time. Doctor looked at Rosalynn and spoke loudly.

"Do not even think of leaving this household with your injured hand." He crossed his arms in protest. 

"Doctor, please. It will be okay. It hurts less than yesterday-" He hardly finished when he threw his cane at her and she caught it with her injured hand but quickly dropped it instantly squeaking in pain. Giovanni was looking stunned at Rosalynn and then at Doctor. 

"It hurts less than yesterday you say?" There was a sarcastic tone in his voice. "You will only worsen your state."

"You hurt your hand yesterday?" Giovanni joined the conversation. "Now it makes more sense..."

"I can manage to work. Giovanni will help me." Said Rosalynn completely ignoring Giovanni.

"You ought to be his help, not the other way round, Rosalynn."He sat by the table next to Rosalynn. Giovanni also joined them but this time he remained silent. 

"I know but I can still work with one of my hands. That's not a problem-" She barely finished the sentence when Doctor interrupted her.

"I do not agree for that. The healing process will be prolonged. Moreover, you will only cause additional trouble to Giovanni."

"I don't think so, Doctor." Now it was the right time for him to properly join the conversation. "I think Rosalynn can assist me even with one functioning hand. Besides, it can be a good training to see how well I'm working on my own." Having no other counterarguments, Doctor decided to let these two go and cure together on condition that Rosalynn wouldn't be using her injured hand nor touching the sick. 

...

They spent few days functioning like that. From morning till late noon Giovanni with Rosalynn's little assistance were visiting and curing the sick. The visits were much prolonged due to Rosalynn's burn and Giovanni's clumsiness. It seemed like knowing that he is now in charge of all the patients overwhelmed him. For these reasons Rosalynn didn't have much spare time to search for lavender as they were coming home late. 

In the meantime they had an opportunity to observe Reverend Ruddell and the way he was gradually becoming a lunatic obsessed over a ghost which haunted Young Blight. Each day, the priest was getting up early and taking the boy to go with him so they could see a spectre together. Most of the days they haven't seen the ghost of Dorothy Durant but when they did, the whole town knew about it as Reverend Ruddell didn't hold himself back from sharing his ghostly experience with the townsfolk. Even during Sunday Masses he was referring to the ghost and how a human soul can wander in the living world unless it died proper death.

This day was the first day Rosalynn could finally use both her hands as the burn already healed. She started her day with fast breakfast and then visiting the sick with Giovanni. It was much faster for her to treat them with both functioning hands and without the fear of being infected. 

After few arguments with each other and with the sick, they managed to finish their work earlier than before. All the houses they ought to visit that day were visited so they met Doctor on the town square which was surprisingly empty. There was no sign of Reverend Ruddell or townspeople. 

"That's kind of unusual." Commented Giovanni looking around.

"Yes. It's the first time the town square is so empty." Added Rosalynn. 

"I assume we did not gather here to dwell upon such trivial thing, am I correct?" Doctor seemed uninterested in that fact. 

"Ah, right! Let's go and search for lavender!" Rosalynn became more energetic than for the previous part of the day. She was waiting for that moment quite a time. 

"I asked one of the sick where lavender fields might be and she advised to look for it on the southwest outside the town." Said Doctor and they set off. 

Fortunately for them the weather wasn't too hot and the sun was still shining. Giovanni and Rosalynn allowed themselves to take their masks off to catch some fresh air. There was a nice smell of summer. When they reached the forest there was a multitude of various smells which made Rosalynn so excited about picking all the fresh herbs. 

"Remember, we are here for lavender, Rosalynn. We don't have much time for other herbs." Giovanni reminded her of the proper aim of their trip and she nodded sadly. 

They were searching for long but eventually managed to find lavender, pick it up and set off to come back home. It was already getting dark and they were doing their best not to mistake their way back home.

When they were crossing one of the fields they noticed a dark silhouette in the distance. It resembled a woman wearing long dark dress and black veil. Just like she was a widow. The shadow was moving slowly towards them and with each inch closer they could see more details of her appearance. The dark veil was covering her face and hair but it was easy to notice that she had long wavy dark brown hair and her skin was almost white. Also her body shape was somehow disturbing. She was so slim that they could see the shape of her ribs on the material of the dress. 

The woman passed them without a word of greeting. After making few steps forward Rosalynn decided to look at her for the last time. She was so intrigued with woman's unusual appearance that she must be sure she wasn't imagining things. She was shocked to discover that the strange woman was gone. Rosalynn suddenly stopped and started scanning the empty field in search of the lady in vain. That attracted her companions' attention.

"What is it, Rosalynn?" Asked Doctor still moving forward.

"The lady..." She spoke with her voice breaking with fear. Giovanni turned around and he also froze stunned. 

"Doctor, I have to ask you a question. There WAS a lady who has just passed us by, correct?" In a deep shock he forgot to hide his Italian accent and now it was clearly heard. 

"Yes, that is correct, why?" Finally Doctor stopped and turned around. He also had to acknowledge the bizarre fact all of three were facing.

They were alone on the vast field. The woman was gone. Just like she vanished into thin air.