Vibrant Eyes

Chapter 21 (Part 2) - Zero

I couldn't sleep that night. The pain was too excruciating. I held my leg in agony through the night. I could hear the crickets chirping and the rabbits running. Suddenly, I saw something. There was a silhouette of a dog. "What is that...?" I wondered. I sat up, the pain in my leg growing more painful. The silhouette came closer, until I was able to see what it was. It was a wolf. It was black and white with bright green eyes. "Hello..." I said with a slight smile. The wolf put its head and ears down, sniffing at my leg. "Oh...this...?" I showed it to him. He suddenly started to lick at my face. I giggled. "Stop, that tickles," I said. The wolf wagged its tail. I felt Kuragari move beside me. "You better go, he might hurt you if he sees you," I said quietly. The wolf nodded, giving me one last lick. I saw that it had a dog tag on its neck. "Salem..." The wolf wagged its tail. "What a pretty name," I said with a smile. The wolf backed out of the cave, running off after nudging me. I smiled and waved.

The morning came over us as Kuragari awoke to me sitting at the lake. I felt Kuragari walk beside me and drink from the lake. "Can you walk?" He asked. I shook my head. I could barely stand. He knelt. "Here, get on. Its gonna be a long walk to the city." I crawled onto his back, and he stood up. "You're actually really light," I laughed slightly. We walked for what felt like days. We stopped here and there for a rest during the night. But in the day, we walked. I could feel myself growing weaker every day. I chose to ignore it. I knew I was a burden to Kuragari, but what could I do? I was only young. We walked atop a hill and looked around. "Kuragari! I see a village!" I yelled with delight. "Where?" Kuragari looked and finally spotted it. "Well let's get going then!" He spoke. He picked me up and we were off.

We made it to the entrance of the village before we were stopped by a guard. "Stop. You don't look like you're from around here." The man before us was tall stocky. I feared him. "Please, we're just travelers. My friend has been hurt bad... we need help," Kuragari pleaded. The man didn't budge. "We're on tight medical supplies as it is, we don't need people like you taking all of it!" I felt Kuragari change. He was mad. "What do you mean by 'people like you'...?" He said quietly. "You better watch your tone boy..." We suddenly heard someone speak. It sounded like a woman. "That's enough Thatcher." A tan woman with navy blue hair appeared. "Ma'am!" He said with a salute. "At ease. Come with me travelers," she said with a warm smile. I was skeptical of her, but we followed behind. She took us to a building and opened the door to let us inside. There we saw an old lady. "Oh dear... What happened?" She asked softly.

"This is Aggie, our healer. Aggie, these are some travelers who have been hurt. Could you help them?" She asked. "Of course! Bring them through." The old woman gestured for us to follow her. Kuragari set me down on a bed. The bed was soft like a pile of duck feathers, and the sheets were a brown color. The room I was in had a huge shelf, with vines attached to the walls of the room. There were books and potions. I wondered what village this was. Not that I would know even if I was told.

"Now, I'm going to have to use this sewing needle and thread to patch up the wound. Is that ok?" The old woman asked. I nodded. She gently placed her soft hands over my leg and began to clean my wound. The liquid she poured over it stung, and it smelt like alcohol. I watched as she sewed my wound closed with the needle and thread. I looked around the room. 'Where is Kuragari?' I wondered. The old woman looked up at me with a warm smile.

"Almost done. Are you looking for that young man that was with you?" She asked. I nodded. "He's just outside. Once I'm done you can go see him." She cut the string and wrapped my leg with new bandages. "There, all better now. Don't move around too much and get some rest!" She said sternly to me. I nodded to show my understanding.

I watched as she slowly walked out of the room. I wasn't sure what to do so I laid down on the bed. The bed was warm and soft, I almost fell asleep on it before I heard the door open. It was Kuragari. "Hey bud, how're you feeling?" He asked walking towards me and sitting down on the bed. "I feel better..." I said quietly. He smiled warmly down at me. "That's good." Kuragari sighed. "Look, I must get going. I need to find my sister," he said to me. I sat up. I knew he was going to leave eventually, and I knew he needed to find his sister... but... I didn't know where to go myself. I wanted to find my family, but would they even want me back? I looked down at my hands, then back at him. I gulped down hard. "I hope you find your sister..." I spoke. He smiled. "Thank you. And I hope that you find what you are looking for." I felt his head touch the top of mine. "You're a strong kid, never forget that." I watched as Kuragari pulled something out of his pocket.