She Said

Part 2

              My eyes flattered open. With aches and pains I forced myself to my feet. I didn't know how I had survived such a fall, but there was no denying that I was alive. The pain that I felt was a testament to that. Then my mind wander to think of the woman, and my heart trembled in fear. Had she survived along with me? Or had she died? I did not want to believe that I was all alone, not after we have come so far. My eyes scanned the rocky embankment that I was on, and eventually saw her limp form on the other side of the river. I tested the water's speed and found that it was safe to cross.
With no further hesitation, I ran to her. She did not respond to my cries, nor anything else that I could think of to do. I rested my head on her breast, and began to weep. But then, I felt her hand rest on my head, and I looked up sharply to see her eyes fully open. She had a smile of contentment on her face.
"Look up. Do you see the stars?" she asked in a cracked and soft voice. I, too, turned my head skyward and gasped . So these were stars. They were truly the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. This was the sight of freedom. This was the goal that she had always dreamed of, while she was in the mines. Tears came to my eyes. We had done it. We had escaped the mine that I had lived in for so very long.
A cough from the woman brought me out of my thoughts. She was paler than ever, and her breathing was heavier than it was before. With much haste, I took off my over shirt and tore it into strips to bind her wound. As I did this, she asked if I still had the compass. I took it out to show her, and she sighed in relief. With a groan, I put her on my back and I asked her which way to go. With her ever soft voice whispering in my ear, she pointed out the way.
                   For the first time, I saw the world that she had described to me. The world that was covered in plants and creatures that I could never fully imagine, until they were in front of me. I saw plants of all shapes and sizes as we walk through the forest. The trees towered high above us, and as we traveled underneath them, the woman told me more of this world that we had escaped to. She said that there were kings and queens, who governed over other people. She said that they did not rule like the overseers did, but with kindness and grace. I did not fully understand what she meant, but I knew that one day I would.
                We traveled all night and rested during the day. But traveling during the day would be wiser, and so I force myself to go on. Despite my weariness, I was glad to see the Sun and was grateful for its warmth. As we traveled, she told me what plants were good to eat and she taught me how to hunt. My skills greatly improved as the days passed, and I thought that she would get better too. The days passed and turned into what she called weeks, and those weeks were turned into months. I didn't understand how this process worked, because in the mine, there were no days or any of the other things that she told me about. But I believed her, because she never had been wrong before.
According to her, we traveled for six months in the upper world. She was still very weak, and I had to carry her for most of the time. Her cough never left, and she lost all use in her injured arm. I began to worry for her, since she always seemed cold no matter how hot the day was. I quickened my pace during the day, in hopes that I could bring her to her home faster.
               One day, when the Sun was especially hot, we came across something strange. I had never seen it before, but the woman had, and she was excited because of it . She called it a road, and she said that it would take us where we needed to go. She told me to follow it , and I did so, and traveling became easier for days. But the woman's condition did not get better. She was sicker than ever before. She became too sick to carry, and so we stayed on the side of the road for a day.
The next morning, I met my first human of the upper world. He was young and rode in a contraption that was similar to a mine car. A creature that I had never seen before, was pulling the wooden mine car. It was far bigger than anything I had ever seen thus far. At an unseen command from the boy, the creature and mine car stopped.
               "Is she alright? " he asked
               "No. She is very sick, possibly dying. " I answered quickly, wondering if  the boy could carry her in his mine car.
               " I can take you to the next town over. Put her in the back of the wagon." he said.
                 There were many words that I didn't understand, like 'town' and 'wagon'. But I guessed that he wanted me to put her in his wooden mine car, to take her to other people who might be able to help her. With as much care as I could muster, I laid the woman in the car. At another silent command, the creature began moving again. The landscape changed drastically in such a short amount of time. I knew that I could never move so fast, even without the woman on my back.
                We eventually came into a place that I had never seen before, but it felt familiar in some way. I looked at the open field that was filled with tall, lush, green grass that moved lazily in the wind. The clouds above us blew slowly overhead, pure white and soft. The flowers in the field were vibrant with color, and filled the air with their charming smell. And when I realized where we were, I began to cry with joy.  I looked up ahead of us, and sure enough, saw the little wooden houses that were lined up in a straight line.