The Walled Cities

Chapter 32

Five days after I had set out to find a cure for Kaelyn I found myself walking into the clearing that was home. Not my true home, but the home that Kaelyn and I had been in since we had left Columbia. It was a nice feeling, having trekked to the mountains and returning with a cure as well as a few hares that had been caught in the traps I had walked past in the last hour.

All these thoughts and feelings disappeared as noticed a still form half inside the hut. Fear and anxiety coursed through me as I rushed across to it. Without even seeing her face I knew it was Kaelyn. A quick check steadied me as I found her heartbeat and watched her chest rise and fall with each breath. Still she had fallen and that worried me, along with the fact that she did not respond to a gentle shake.

Scooping her up in my arms and cradling her, I carried her inside. Once she was lying on the bed, I took a quick inventory of the room. Everything seemed to be in place, the firewood was well stocked, and the fire was orange coals. She must have collapsed recently as the coals would have been dead after a few hours of being left unattended.

Confident that she was not going to get worse, I set my pack down. Before I could work on making her the cure, which I hoped would rouse her, I needed to bring the fire back to life. This was easy enough as I used my hatchet to split some wood into thin pieces. These pieces I placed on top of the coals and watched as they burst into flame. Since they would burn up quickly, I added larger pieces until I was certain that I could turn away from the fire.

Water needed to be boiled so I grabbed the pot and went outside. Rather than chip my way through the ice in the stream, I scooped up snow off the ground. Snow was an easy resource to collect especially as it was snowing as I collected it off the ground. Later I could worry about what the extra snowfall would mean for life now.

Snow filled pot in hand, I went back inside. The change in temperature was noticeable as I headed towards the fire. This was a good sign as I knew it was going to get colder and Kaelyn even with the medicine I was going to give her would need this extra warmth. I would be fine no matter what, but I was used to the extreme weather that occurred in this region.

While I waited for the water to boil I took out the Frost Flower petals. Each one would provide two doses of tea for Kaelyn. This would be enough to get her body to mend whatever was causing her to cough. All I needed to do was make the tea and give it to her. To do that I needed to gently cut one of the leaves in half without bruising it. I had done work like this before, but it was no an easy task and I could not afford to get it wrong.

Bubbling noises from the pot indicated that the snow had melted and had come to a boil. Glad that the water was ready, I carefully cut the Frost Flower in two. It would have been easier with a table, but I made do with simply holding it as I carefully cut it.

Frost Flower in hand, I set it in the bottom of a cup and then carefully poured boiling water into the cup until it was three fourths of the way full. The waster would need to cool  for a minute or two before it was safe to give to Kaelyn, so I busied myself with putting away the reaming Frost Flower. It once back in the bags I had transported it in, was put in the pit where the other herbs were. I made sure to tie it around the top shelf so that I would have easy access to it these next few days.

Still with time to spare I added a few sticks to the fire. There was a good base of red white coals that would make for baking tubers in, as it was near lunch and I was hungry. Kaelyn would also be hungry when she woke up and a lunch of tubers and some type of meat would be just what she needed to get her strength back.

Before lunch could be started I needed to rouse Kaelyn. Ideally smelling salts or some strong odor would be best, yet I did not have either. A gentle shake on the shoulder was the best I could manage, and as I rubbed my hand on her shoulder I whispered, "Kaelyn, wake up."

Nothing happened so pushing slightly harder and raising my voice slightly I repeated, "Wake up, Kaelyn."

Uhhhhh!

That simple phrase had my heart beating harder and I let out a deep sigh of relief. This sigh was repeated as both brown orbs of her eyes flicked open and looked into my face. Lips formed into an oval she asked, "What happened?"

Keeping an eye on her I stretched my hand over to the cup of tea as I replied, "You passed out. I found you maybe a half hour ago. You have been in the bed ever since... Here I have something for you to drink."

Wrapping her hands around mine, Kaelyn smiled briefly at me before taking the cup. Glad she took it from me, I settled myself on crude bench that took up where I had originally slept, I started, "I am sorry we argued before I left. I understand you dislike guns and I only pushed because I was scared for you. Clearly you did not need it, but I am glad you had it anyway. Now, we have bigger problems to worry about though."

Frowning slightly at me, Kaelyn replied, "Okkk, but first, what is it you gave me?"

Not at all surprised that she had asked, I replied, "It is known as Frost Flower. You can only find it in mountain caves. Never collect more than a couple petals per plant, as not much is known about the plant. It is used to heal breathing issues which is what I think you are having."

Nodding her head in understanding, Kaelyn sipped the tea as I informed her, "Snow is falling outside. I do not know how much, but this means that Winter has set in. We need to cut more wood but it will be a chore every few weeks for most of the Winter. Food is my main concern, as soon we will be living mostly out of the storage with the occasional Rabbit or other small animal if they get caught or I can kill them. Because of this we are going to spend more time working around the hut, which I know is going to be crazy."