THE PASSAGE

My Own Blood

Chapter 23

"Oh my god, Solstice."

I look between Cain and Solstice several times as she dries the area around Toby's wound.

"So, are you telling me that Cain hasn't eaten in two days?"

"Not exactly. I came up with some clever thinking about feeding Cain. I have been giving him some of the purple fruit by chewing it up in my mouth first, then putting it into his mouth, a little at a time. It's very watery, and he can take some of it. I have been giving him that several times a day, along with water. Yesterday, I found four bird eggs in a low nest and fed him two then and two today."

"Oh, Solstice ... that poor baby." I stare at Solstice as she gets the wound ready for the bandage. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Tomorrow morning you'll point me in the direction from which you came, and I'll go and look for help while you stay with Cain and Toby. How far did you walk before you realized that you were lost?"

"Not very far. Now, help me get Toby in a sitting position so we can rewrap the compression bandage around his chest."

We get Toby into a sitting position, and I support his weight while Solstice works on wrapping the bandage.

"Okay, so, where were you before you managed to get lost here."

"I was with my husband and my sister, eating lunch in the village."

"Okay good, a village. I'll find it. With you carrying the baby, you couldn't have walked more than a few miles, right? What's the name of the village?"

Solstice tests the tightness of the compression bandage around Toby, then stands up straight and looks at me. "Jamie, there are many things I need to tell you. But first, I need to see if Cain will take a little more of the crushed fruit and maybe the broth from the tuna." She smiles. "Be patient. We'll get there."

"What were you running away from?"

"Bad people."

"Okay." I let out a breath as I stare at Solstice's necklace. I had noticed it earlier but didn't take the time to look closely at the details. "Solstice, I like your necklace. It's very unusual."

"Thank you. It's my recognition."

I stare at her, not understanding her last statement. "May I look at it closer?"

She smiles. "Sure."

I turn the flashlight on the low beam then shine it on the necklace. The gold chain going around the back of her neck and coming down the sides is very unusual. It has a pattern of three small links connected by a larger loop, then the pattern repeats. Completing the chain are two small disks that look to me like gold pennies, with a symbol in each center. Dropping down from the center of the chain is a larger disk, about the size of a half-dollar. It has the same symbol in its center as the others but differs in that it has strange writing and markings on its outer edge.

"It's gorgeous. What does it say?" I ask.

She blurts something out in her native language that sounds like Arabic.

"And what does that translate to in English?" I ask.

She grasps the larger disk and holds it up. "The marking in the center is my village seal. The writing on the outer edge says, um, how would I translate it in English—The Mender of the broken."

"The mender of the Broken?" I ask, confused.

"Well, maybe that's not a good translation. Maybe a better one is The Tender of the Injured."

I look between her and Toby. "Are you trying to imply that you are a first responder or something?"

"Where I'm from," she holds up the chain, "this is my recognition as a rohf-AH."

"A what?"

She giggles. "A female physician."

I feel my lower jaw drop. "You're just a kid."

"I'm twenty years old."

"Well, even so, you're still a kid. You would have had to have started college in your teens."

She nods. "Yes, that is when I started my training. I haven't been actively practicing since I got married almost a year ago. Well, except for emergencies."

I look her up and down. "A physician, really?"

She nods. "Yes. Now, I should tend to Cain."

"What country are you from?"

"We'll continue our conversation a little later."

A physician, at her age? She looks like a sixteen-year-old. Although I do have to admit, from what I've seen about her, it's possible. I'll have to give her the benefit of the doubt. I suppose that in some countries, starting a career early in life is normal.

Solstice goes and gets a purple fruit from the table, then walks back to me and snatches the Leatherman from on top of the ice chest. She cuts a few slices off of the fruit, then cuts off the peelings.

"Do you mind if I try to give Cain a little of this tuna broth?"

"If you think that it will help him, yes, give it to him. If we need to, we can try to boil the remaining tuna later and make more broth out of it."

She grabs the bottle with the tuna water in it, along with the slices of purple fruit, and walks to the bed where Cain is lying. I watch as she picks him up, then takes some of the tuna water in her mouth, and then covers Cain's mouth with hers. I think about going out this evening to find help, but I soon dismiss the thought, realizing that the wise thing to do would be to wait until morning.

While Solstice is busy with Cain, I add more wood to the fire. After that, I layout and inspect my supplies from the backpack; Two cans of tuna, two cans of sardines, half a bag of potato chips, a pack-and-a-half of beef jerky. I'll leave all of this with Solstice tomorrow and take the open pack of jerky while I go out to look for help.

What a day this has been. My eyes are growing heavy, and my muscles ache. I'm not sure what time it is now, guessing it to be around 9 p.m. After Solstice lays Cain down on the bed and covers him with a blanket, she comes over and sits on the bench across from me. She clasps her hands between her knees and stares blankly at the fire, as if deep in thought. I don't rush her. Instead, I watch the flames dance in the fireplace, illuminating the small cabin with an amber glow.

"Do you think Cain was able to take enough food?" I ask.

She shrugs, looking down at the floor. "I suppose for now it will do. I won't have to resort to my other plan yet."

"What is your other plan?"

She looks up at me. "My own blood."