Pebbles: A Collection of Short Stories

Nature's Brew

Erline had been called many names in her travels: a witch, a demon, a vixen, but pixie was her favorite. She felt akin to the nature spirits as she trekked through the brambles and forests. She had been a farm girl. Her father was willing to sacrifice taste for a larger crop of rye. The disease of both crop and body was a constant threat. By the time Erline was 8, both had taken their toll. Her mother and older brothers had passed from illnesses leaving Erline alone with a shattered father. He turned to drink and quickly became a tyrant, while Erline found herself stretched to take care of their limited livestock and faltering crops.

Erline would go shoeless so she could move in silence and off the radar of her father. In this silence, she overheard her fate as a bride to a nearby farmer. The shock was only second to her need to flee. With only a pouch of rye seed and a cookbook, she ran. The book was not just of soups and stews, but tonics for ailments. It marked her as a girl of nature, which was met with suspicion in the towns where she sought refuge.

One evening she arrived in a small village, not unlike her own. The screams called to her, pulled her closer to the danger of the light slicing from a parted curtain. The woman was with child. Two young men looked on in helpless terror as a foot dangled from their mother. Erline knew what must be done to save both mother and child but feared showing herself. She mustered the strength to offer her assistant to the skeptic men.

As the baby daughter nestled into her big brother's arms, Erline gave the mother a tea to sleep. But the brothers told Erline the horror of a father not unlike her own. They feared not only for their mother but for the tender child only minutes old. "Nature is powerful, and teas can harness this power. Mix you father this tea; tell him it will ease any aches the day may bring." She mixed a potent blend of roots and herbs, departing before the sun. She continued from town to town, aiding the sick and trodden women in her likeness. With each village, she grew stronger, knowing she would soon be strong enough to return to her village to share a cup of tea with her father.