She Said

Part 3

                I woke the woman up from her sleep, and told her that she was home. Huge tears came to her eyes and spilled over her face. The houses were exactly as she said they would be. Upon entering the place, the boy called out to the people who lived there, and they came running out. Before I knew what was happening, the woman was lifted out of the wooden mine car and brought into one of the houses. I gave a cry of surprise and tried to follow her, but the people who had taken her away held me back. They said that their doctor would take care of her, but I did not know who-or what-a 'doctor-was. I was forced to pace outside of the small house for what felt like a lifetime. At one point, the boy who had brought us here was summoned inside of the house. I eagerly awaited his return to hear of the woman's condition, but he hastily hurried out again and raced to his wooden car and drove down the road. 

           I felt myself grow sick with distress. I couldn't bare her absence anymore. Just when I thought I'd break from the suspense, the boy and his car returned. Right behind him was another, much larger car, one that was enclosed and was pulled by two creatures instead of one. A man well advanced in his years stepped out of the car. He had jewels on his fingers and his clothes had neither dirt nor tears in on them. I saw him walk into the building that held the doctor and the woman inside. At this point my curiosity had reached it's zenith. Questions churned in my mind without rest. Before I could dwell to fiercely on these  things, one of the families called me over to their house for the evening meal. They offered me a delicious stew that I had never dreamed of tasting. As we ate, the family of four told me many things. Although they tried to enlighten me, my made me even more confused. I just knew too little of this world to grasp the concepts of which they spoke. But what I did understand was that the man in jewels was called a Baron. He was in command of this place. Once I knew that, another question arose in me. What did the woman have to do with a man like that?

             When I was done with my meal, I was finally summoned to the doctor's building. Slowly, I stepped inside, uneasy of the stillness of the place. Venturing in further, I saw the man who was called a doctor and the man who was a Baron. But what grabbed my attention was what was on the bed in the corner. Laying on sheets as white as bandages lay the woman.  She slowly turned her head to look at me and raised weak hand out to me. Her eyes were dark and glazed over, her breathing was shallow and sounded painful. I had seen this behavior before. I had seen such darkness in other's eyes. It was the look of death. I quietly sat down next to the bed, fighting back my tears of sorrow. Her next few words took my breath away, for she called me by the name she had given me all those nights ago. In her own way she was marking the end of our adventure by revealing our special secret. 

       "Do not cry for me, Garren. These last few months have been the best of my life. I want you to live the life that I couldn't live, for I was taken away from here was I was very young. You have brought me home, and now I can die in the place of my birth. Keep smiling my boy, and learn about this world that will serve as your new home." She closed her eyes when she said the word 'home' and breathed her last breath. I gripped her hand tightly, and tried to feel grateful that she had returned home, but that feeling was eclipsed by the ache in my heart. 

        "Nora." I whispered her name softly to myself. The Baron  stepped forward and rested his hand on my shoulder. I gazed up as he began to tell me about his relationship with Nora. Nora had been his older sister of three years, but had been kidnapped from their land many, many years ago. He said that Nora's dying wish would be for him to take care of me in her name. He had never had a son, only eight daughters who had all been married off by now. I was to be the Baron's adoptive son from now on. I was neither happy nor said with the arrangement, but rather content as I was nurtured and instructed in the traditions of their world. One would think that living the life of wealth would be an accomplishment for me. That for someone who was once a slave, dwelling in darkness and pain and ignorance, the light of luxury and nobility would be a welcome turn of events. But it wasn't. Every time I was adorned with jewels and ornaments, I couldn't help but think of where they came from and how they were procured. And, naturally, that reminded me of my early days as a slave. 

    Therefore, the true treasure that I found in being the son of the Baron, was owning the field of flowers. Because it was in that field that Nora had played in and it was in that field that she had been buried.