Chapter 2
Lavender looked at her surroundings and frowned. She was soaked through, and dirty and uncomfortable - she could not believe she was silly enough to go up the mountain by herself. Now, she did not know where on the planet she was, her horse long gone, and she was stranded in the middle of nowhere.
She sat on a wet log with a huff, and suddenly remembered something she had heard.
If you get lost, stay put where they can find you.
Lavender took a long breath and sat more easily on the cut down tree. A whinney was heard in the distance and she strained her ears to hear it. Was it her horse? Or a rescuer?
She stood up and looked in the supposed direction.
Another sound from a horse pierced the air and a holler rang out.
Thunder roared and lightning streaked across the sky. Lavender shivered as more rain came down like she had never seen. She felt faint, so she crossed her arms on her waist and sat back down. Cold overtook her, and she felt herself laying on the log and giving away to sweet unconsciousness.
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Trev yelled Lavender's name again, and received no response. His brows pressed together in thought and worry as he ducked another branch. He looked to the side and raised his brows back up in surprise.
Lavender was stretched out over a log, pale, dirty, and very wet. Another blast of thunder sounded, and Trev trotted his horse to the log. He was unsure how to properly do this, as she would be very upset when she wakes up and learns that he was carrying her.
He slipped on a pair of gloves.
"This is ridiculous," Trev muttered, as he lifted her off the log onto the front of the horse. He took a hand and pressed his calloused thumb into her wrist. Lavender blood flow was weak, but steady.
Trev took off his coat and wrapped it around her, and then mounted. The sleeping girl was leaning against his chest, and with his hands around her waist, he held the reins and kicked the mares sides. As he entered the trail home, she tossed and turned her head. He heard her whisper some unintelligible words and then murmur "Gabe". Lavender lifted her hands to Trev's and whispered, "Gabe? Is - that you? oh, Gabe, I have so much to tell you," She again whispered words Trev did not understand but then fell silent.
Trev tugged at the reins. "Whoa."
Trev made it home as snowflakes began to fall from the sky. He carried her to the door and opened it, and a cry of relief came from within. "Oh Trev!"Cried the old woman, "I was afraid you two would not come back in time. A snow blizzard is due," She predicted, helping Trev to the living room to set Lavender down.
"I need to put my horse away," He told her, and hurried back outside, after Lavender was made comfortable on the couch.
The door slammed from the wind and Essie called out, "don't get lost!" She thought of stories of how people can get lost during a snowstorm between the barn and the house.
"Why did you go out Miss Lavender?" Essie inquired half to herself, while stroking Lavender's head. She put a blanket on her and heard a cry come from a room.
"Not the first time," Mumbled Essie, getting up and walking toward the bedroom where Lavender's baby hollored. "The poor child's starving, but Lavender should wake up soon."
She came back out with the whimpering child and sat down.
"Lavender," Essie smiled and put the baby in Lavender's lap. The child crawled and came to her face, placing a slobbery kiss on her nose. Lavender came to, and at first asked in confusion, "Where am I Gabe - wheres Gabe?" She looked around, and held her child close for feeding.
"Gabe? No Lavender, he's gone," Essie said softly.
"No, he was there! I was with him, not long ago," faltered Lavender, wrapping herself in a blanket.
"That must have been Trev," replied Essie, "you got lost in the storm, remember? and he brought you home," Lavender pursed her lips as Essie said this, "Now, tell me why and where you went. I was sinfully worried."
"Uh - I...."
"Lavender Etch!" Essie chided.
"You know my last name?!"
"Of course I know your last name," Essie retorted, "why did you go without telling us where you were going?"
"I was going to visit Gabe's grave and put flowers on it," Lavender replied quietly.
"Well," said Essie with a sharp sigh, "Don't do it again without telling us." Essie took the ween child and set it down in the room for bed.
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Trev came back from the barn and entered the house. Lavender was sitting on the couch and Essie was out of the room to settle the baby into bed.
"How are ya feeling?" Inquired Trev politely, leaning on the wall and taking of his hat, fingering it with his hands.
"As well as can be expected," she replied a little cooly, "The horse I was using got frightened by thunder and ran off, when I was not on him." She rather enjoyed the shocked look on his face, that vanished as soon as she stopped talking.
"Well-" Trev stuttered, scratching the back of his neck, "I guess I'll go after her when the storm stops - it's snowin' right now."
Lavender looked surprised. "It was raining before I lost consciousness." She said and looked through a window behind her. Indeed, snow was coming down quickly, and landing on the soft earth below. She turned back around and stared hard at him.
"Did you carry me home?" She inquired, glaring at him.
"What else could I have done?" Trev retorted, returning her icy stare, "Sure, next time I'll strap you to the back of the horse and I'll be in the very front," he said with a sarcastic twinge in his voice.
Lavender rolled her eyes and Essie came back into the room. "The baby is sleeping -" she began, but stopped when she saw their faces. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Got in a argument already? Shoulda' known when you put two genders in the house there will be disagreements."
She looked at both of them, frowning, then to their surprise burst into sudden laughter.
They looked at Essie in bewilderment but she waved them off and took her leave out of the room, still chuckling.
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Trev sat at the table sipping tea slowly, while watching Essie prepare dinner with skillful hands.
"Is Lavender a believer?" said Essie suddenly.
"No -not that I know of," Trev shrugged his broad shoulders.
"Hmmm," Essie took out some freshly baked bread from the oven and set it on the counter. "Shared anything with her?"
"She does not even like me. Why would she listen to me me if she dislikes me so much?"
"Hmmm.." Essie thought again and sliced the the bread in front of her with a big knife.
"Win her like, or love-"
"Don't you say it," Trev glared at her, sipping a bit more tea.
"Your supposed to be hitched, right?" Essie retorted, putting a chunk of butter on a slice and sliding it to Trev.
"Well sure- but to her- its a whole different thing. We are so different, we would hardly last a day, as far as getting along with each other," He uttered, then taking a bite of bread.
"Then why did you take her in?"
"No one else would," He crossed his arms, "and I guess it is my duty."
"Well that's fine, but don't you dare let her know that," She said with motherly italics.
"Of course I won't, but I don't think she would mind," Trev replied cooly.
"You're not yourself today," Essie remarked, fully facing him, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine," He said, putting the last crumb in his mouth and heading toward the door, "Jest one of those days," He crammed on his hat his head and opened the door.
"Okay," Essie said slowly and uncertainly with a sigh, "But I'll be praying for you anyway in case you have something you don't want to say to me."
"Thanks," Trev said with a tired smile. He closed the door and stepped off the porch.
Trev! he chided himself, Why didn't you jest tell 'er? Of course she always knows when something is different with you. Why do you hold back?
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The lump in Lavender's throat would not get swallowed down.
No wait, Gabe's dead?
Even though it had been two months since Gabe's death, Lavender still could not take in that her loved one had died. She was laying on her bed, the sun long since had gone down, thinking and meditating on her sorrow. Lavender suddenly thought of the words on the door.
Knock, and the door will be opened.
Thats kind of obvious, isn't it? She thought in perplexity. The sentence was rather familiar to her. Where could she have heard it? Then she knew.
No more than ten, her mother was sitting on the couch, reading from a book. Lavender could not recall the name of it.
"It is filled with adventure, good advice, romance, victories, failures, and true stories," Lavender remembered her mother say to her. She recalled her mother reading,
"Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened..."
Just what could that mean exactly? The book was about a hero. Someone who cares for my being. Someone who will always be there. Someone who cares about my loss, and be my comforter. No, I'm sure no one can be that perfect.
She sat up and looked at her bed stand. Right there, sat a dusty book that looked as though no one had read it in a while. Lavender picked it up and brushed it off.
Holy Bible.
Funny name for a book, She thought. She flipped it open to a random page and read; "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Lavender raised a brow. All? I thought there is supposed to be one who is perfect. Wait, fall short of the glory of God....
She flipped a few pages.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Now she was really confused. He loved the world that much? To give His only son? To what? She glanced at her baby.
"...and while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." She read another verse.
She laid down the book and rubbed her temples. This is too much. This world was such a burden for him that he needed his son to die? Lavender felt so guilty. Yes, she had sinned before, multiple times. Was it something that can be helped? Then she thought of the verse.
"..While we were.. sinners, Christ died for us."
The verses ran through her head on its own as she drifted off to sleep.