sparrow and lion

Chapter 15: snowflakes and dragonflies

Of course Wren remembered. He remembered all of it. The bear. The sound of Leo's head hitting the rock. The moment he had been so sure she was dead. The sound of the avalanche that had saved them and trapped them all at once.

He would never forget the days they spent in the cave.

It had been freezing. The snow had looked like diamonds. Leo had been bleeding. She kept saying she was dizzy. He had been terrified. Her voice sounded wrong to him. He was only eight. He wanted to go home. He wanted this to be a dream. He would rather be anywhere but here. And then there had been dragonflies.

He knew that dragonflies didn't fly through snowstorms. He knew that he would never be warm again. He realized this was all his fault. He was sure that Leo would save the day like always. He had been wrong about all of it.

He didn't think Leo could see the dragonflies. "My head hurts," she said. She kept walking. She still hadn't slowed down. Her hair looked wet. Wren realized it was blood. Leo hit the ground before Wren had even noticed she was falling.

He shook her. He yelled her name. He slapped her cheeks. He tried to pick her up. He did his best to drag her. Nothing worked. Leo didn't move. It was cold. Leo was also cold. People were supposed to be warm. It was so dark. He could see the blood spreading around her head like a halo anyway. It was so quiet. He couldn't hear if she was breathing. The snow felt like needles stabbing his skin. Wren started to cry.

He cried and cried. He ran out of tears. He sobbed anyway. His chest hurt. His stomach hurt. His heart hurt the most. Leo wasn't moving. He couldn't move her. Something tickled his skin. Wren looked up. A single dragonfly had landed on his hand.

"Do not weep, child," someone said. Wren looked up. A woman stood mere feet away. She held a lantern. Warm light filled the cavern. She wore a white gown and slippers. "I heard you crying," the woman said. "And so I came."

The feeling that came over him was like cold water poured over a burn. The tightness in his chest was suddenly loose. It seemed like his cuts and his bruises had magically healed. He wanted to pull up his shirt to check if it was true. He stared at the woman with wide eyes instead. She had a gentle smile. He didn't need to be scared anymore. This woman would help them. He felt suddenly, utterly certain that Leo was alive. He knew in his heart that Leo would be okay.

Wren felt so overwhelmed with joy that he couldn't say anything at first. The woman waited silently. He could tell that she would never grow impatient with him. "Who are you?" he said. His voice echoed weirdly in the cave. It made him think of wishing wells and fairytales. Was this a dream come true?

The woman smiled gently at him. "I am the weather witch," she said.