La Amante del Profeta ( Bruno Madrigal x Main Character)

~Abuela's Regret~

The first thing Rieka had acknowledged when she came to was the strong smell of ash that still laid dormant within the air

Her sore fingers stung against the harsh green grass, while her back laid against a large tree.

She could hear something....

No...

Someone~

She slowly ease open her eyes, gazing up at the clear sky while heaving out a long breath.

She couldn't move, she was still too weak. Her back ached tremendously, pulsing with alarm to the point she thought it would simply give out.

The falling debris had a good set of weight on them, so when they fell on her it did some damage. She hoped that they wouldn't be that serious, wanting to take her mind off the pain.

Her wish was answered, as a familiar voice would bring her back to reality.

"I can't get it out of my head"

Her gaze falls forwards, mouth agape in surprise to see who was just a couple feet away from her.

Abuela~

She sat on her knees in front a small bucket of water, a wash cloth in her hand. Around her laid a first aid kit and a blanket.

"How you just....flung yourself over her, without any hesitation"

The more Rieka focused her vision, she could see the fresh set of tears streaming down her aged face.

"T-the last time I saw someone do that...w-was
when-" She couldn't bring herself to say it, even after all these years.

Rieka didn't need to ask

She knew who she was talking about

Abuelo Pedro

After soaking the rag, she lightly twists the cotton between her knuckles, allowing the access water to fall back into the bucket.

" My babies, god bless them, endured so much. I was a single mother, so caught up in keeping the village safe to see how I treated my own children".

She walks over to the injured girl, kneeling in front of her and dabbing the damp rag across her scraped face.

"When I was a little girl, before I met your Abuelo Pedro, we had undergone a terrifying dilemma. Our livestock, farm animals, were disappearing without a trace..."

Not realizing how thirsty she was until feeling the first drop of water in what felt like hours, Rieka lightly stuck out her tongue against the damp rag.

Upon seeing this, Abuela placed a cup of water to her dry lips.

"Drink mi perrita~" she whispers lovingly, lightly tilting the cup upwards for the liquid to gently lean into her mouth.

As she drank, Abuela gently caressed her face, letting her take her time.

"It took a couple of days to find the cause..." she continues the story, " and it was something I could hardly believe. We called your kind by a different name back then, wolf walkers. That day, was the first time in my life I had ever seen one in person. It was just a little one, a boy..."

Rieka was confused...

She had never heard this story before

"He was so scared" she continues," shivering, yelling, crying. He was no older than me at the time. Sometimes, when I look at you long enough, I can see his face. The tears he shed, the unnatural cries that escaped his mouth when he lashed out. My family tried everything to help him, but he was too far gone to rehabilitate, too accustomed to the wilderness and his own people to not want to try and live among us. He was too destructive, to himself and the village..."

She closed her eyes in shame, not daring to look Rieka in the eye for the next part of the story.

"Rieka..." she gasps

" I....I let something unforgivable happen~"

Abuela reached a shaking hand towards the girl, clutching her wrist tightly.

"I watched my people....my community... burn him alive~"

Rieka's eyes went large in horror, hot tears engulfing her vision as she let out small gasps. She closed her eyes, turning her head away as she tried to deny what she heard.

"Please!" Abuela cried, hiding her face in the girl's lap," I can't get his cries out of my head! They haunt me more than you can ever know! Mirabel is gone, my little nieta is missing! I know you can smell her tracks, I'm begging you Rieka, tell me where she is!"

Mirabel...

Is missing?

Rieka tried to speak, but her voice failed her. She lifts a limp arm, pointing to the direction of the river bank across the mountain gap.

Abuela knew the place, she didn't have to ask

~"Thank you"~