Autumn's Fall

IX. The Minister of Winter's Return

The first loud thump was followed by another one, followed by another stronger one—this one hard enough that the lid of the coffin rattled from the impact. A scream finally escaped from Sophia's throat, bringing her siblings sprinting to her side.

"Sophie! What's the matter?!"

Her face was pale with fright when they reached her. All she could do was point at the coffin. They all witnessed the next loud thump, this one hard enough that the whole coffin moved a few inches to the side. The next second all three were flying at a dead run down the trail towards the campgrounds.

After a few moments of running, logic finally caught up with Angus and he screeched to a halt. "Wait! Stop, stop!" The two girls either didn't hear him or decided that his order was ill-advised and so kept on running. "Typical girls, can't use their heads in an emergency."

Turning around, he hurried back up the hill as quickly as his tired legs and winded self would take him. The thumping was still going on when he arrived. While still hard enough to move the box around, it was not as frequent. Angus hadn't noticed any hinges so he decided to try pulling the lid off; it wouldn't budge. Taking a large rock, he bludgeoned the side, but all his efforts scarcely made a scratch.

A noise behind him made him jump, turning he saw his two flushed and winded sisters coming down the trail. Cici jogged up next to him, bending over to pant for air, "How...do we...open it?"

"I don't know! Grab a side and help me pull on the top." The face had disappeared from behind the glass, but he knocked on it and yelled to the occupant, "On the count of three push as hard as you can." A soft thump acknowledged his order. "Everyone ready? On three! One, two, three! PULL!"

A great creaking sounded as the metal started to bend upwards, but it did not come free. A pale blue light on the side caught Sophia's eye. Next to it was a small metal button, the very one Angus had pressed to start the floating, but the light had not been this color before. Quickly she pressed it. The next moment a snapping sound came from inside and the whole top slid towards the end, revealing a misty opening from which a figure rolled up and over the side, landing in a gasping heap in the dust of the trail.

                                                                                        ab§d

Her side throbbed from her rough fall into the dust, but it was the dull ache in her limbs that filled her with panic. She'd felt this pain before, many years ago. Never had she thought to experience it again. Heaving to breath, she tried to sit up, wincing against the pain. Every cell in her body cried out, echoing the word she fought to whisper through parched lips, "Water!"

The elder of the two girls offered her bottle. She desperately snatched it out of the girl's hands and gulped it down in a matter of seconds. As the bottle fell away from her lips she gave a soft, pitiful moaning sound as the realization hit—her thirst had not lessened the smallest bit. "No...it's not the right one...oh..."

ab§d

Angus looked inside the coffin, only now all of them knew it was not a coffin, but what it really was none of them had a name for. At one end there was a large jug of water. He snatched it up and handed it to her pale, crestfallen form, "Here, try this one. Slowly this time."

She took it from him, decidedly more gently, and half-heartedly took a sip. Her eyes lit up, "Where did you get this?"

"It was in your...box. Is it the right kind of water?"

She took a large drink, a look of hope spreading across her face, "It is! Bless whoever you are and whoever gave this to me, it is!" Tilting it back, she drank until almost half of the gallon was gone. Sitting back with a sigh, she placed the cap back on the jug. She could feel the effects of the water almost immediately, the pain washed away as the water quickly entered her bloodstream and filtered to every part of her body. With a contented sigh, she pulled herself up to her full height, dusted herself off, and faced the children, nodding her head in a respectful bow.