Possessed from Birth

Chapter Five: Secrets Revealed

Chapter Five

Secrets Revealed

Day woke up before me and he had gone out hunting for food. I awakened to the smell of freshly killed squirrel, cooked to make a perfect smell and taste. I took a big whiff. It smelled so good. Nothing like waking up to a freshly cooked squirrel. I sat up and looked around at our surroundings. The sky was gray and a gentle rain fell upon the fire. I looked at my watch to check the time. 10:00 am. A bit early for it to look so dark and dreary. "Oh, I see you're finally up sleeping beauty." Day said to me with a smile. I couldn't help but blush. He looked a bit banged up, but who can blame him. I did crash him even harder into a tree the yesterday. "Day, your cut and bruised," I told him in a worrisome voice. He looked at himself and shrugged. "I'm just glad I cushioned your crash," he said with a laugh. I giggled as he handed me a leg. I took it and smile as I bit into the juicy meat. Delicious.

After I finished I noticed he was putting up a covering around us and said: "Boy, you sure do know how to make a squirrel." He laughed and said, "I learned from watching you." I blushed once again and looked around again. Jonty was sniffing around and gnawing on some bones left over. When the covering was up I decided it was safe for me to take out the journal without the words getting smudged by the raindrops. I read some more and realized it wasn't a man who wrote it, it was a woman. The stunning thing was the woman wasn't looking for an item or treasure. She was looking for my mother. I gasped as Day sat down next to me and read. "Oh dear lord," he said with a bit of a gasp. "This... this woman... knew my mother." I looked up at him and was in total shock. "Maybe they knew my father!" I gasped and read more. Nothing.

I threw the book in anger, attempting to throw it in the fire, but it went over it and hit Jonty. My jaw dropped as I ran over to comfort him. Day slowly strolled over, picked up the book, and skimmed it briefly. As he was skimming it he said: "So, nothing?" I buried my head into Jonty's neck. "What about this guy, Daniel." Day said. I lifted my head in confusion. I walked over to him and he pointed out in the book. How could I have missed such an important detail? The exact words from the journal were "Daniel, the loving husband of my beloved friend Katherine was left. Heartbroken in the village when she ran away. He sent me to find her. He lives on with my husband Gregory, his only brother, and the only one who has not left him in life." I took the book slowly, turned to Day and hugged him as I cried out "Oh, thank you Day. This is amazing." He hugged me back and said, "Well, the pages were stuck together a bit, so I separated them for you." I release the hug and put the journal in my bag.

I felt something I haven't really felt. Guilt. I never told Day about how my mother was possessed. That was the only thing I left out. How would I tell him and when? I'll wait a while. Maybe until he asks more about my mother. The look on his face told me he was hiding something too. I think I should wait until he decides to share what's on his mind. I won't ask though. Then I would have to tell him. What if he leaves me? What if he becomes afraid of me? What if it ruins everything? Just wait.

He must have noticed the guilt on my face because he looked at me confused. "Do you have a problem, Kaw?" he asked me. I lied and said, "No, do you?" He paused. I could tell he wanted to tell me something. "Well," he began. 'Oh, boy, here it comes' I thought to myself. "It's just, oh nothing," he said. I glared at him and said, "Whatever it is, Day, it can't be that bad." He looked down. I moved closer to him and lay my hand on his shoulder. "Come on, tell me." Why did I just do that? I knew if he told me his secret I would have to tell him mine. "Well," he began again. 'Not again' I thought. "Your mother. I know there's something you haven't told me about her yet. Why won't you tell me?" I dropped my head and my hand slid off his shoulder. He was right but how could he have guessed so right. "Yeah, there is," I said. I took a deep breath. I really didn't want to tell him, but I was beginning to really like him. More than I should, I think. "My mother. She," I almost didn't want to finish. I just wanted to run away while I had the chance. "She... she was... possessed." I said as I cringed and closed my eyes. I was braced for any impact that could happen. "What?" he asked me. He seemed a bit nervous but tried to speak in a brisk, strong voice. I could tell he was trying not to make things awkward. "By what?" he asked. 'Why didn't a run when I still had the chance to get away from it all?" I questioned myself in my head. I almost didn't want to say it, but I did. "Evil." 

"Are you telling me she is possessed by the devil?" he asked me. I began to cry. I couldn't think of anything else to do, but I didn't want him to see me cry. I was sitting on the ground. Face buried in my hands. I never liked crying. The last time I cried this badly was when my mother burned. I thought nothing could feel worse than seeing your own mother burned alive. Day sat down next to me. His arms encircled my body. He hummed a consoling song as all I could do was cry. He slowly rocked me back and forth until dusk. Dusk was when he had to catch us some food. He first started a fire then left with the sword. He left the bow with me, he knew I could handle a bow better than a sword. I have no idea why he used the sword though. Bows were better at long distance shots. To my surprise, he had returned with 3 rabbits. He apparently used some snares to catch them. He then used his sword and stabbed them in the heart. He held them by the ears and the sword was shoved in his belt loop. It was not bloody, but I knew it was wiped clean with the cloth in his pocket, for it had blood gently smeared on the blade.

I could tell he wanted to talk, but how could we. I'm not the kind of person to start conversations. Day leaned close. As it got darker it got colder. He threw his arm around my shoulder and held me close. "It's cold. How should we keep warm?" he asked. I could tell he didn't want to bring up my mother being possessed again. I didn't want to talk about her either. Although, I could tell there was still something bugging him. "Day, is there still something bugging you?" I asked in the hope it wasn't about my mother. "Your mother," he began. 'Oh, I knew I shouldn't have asked him.' I thought as I held Jonty close to my leg, not allowing him to leave me now. "I think my father knew your father and mother," he said. I gasped in such shock Jonty whined causing me to quickly release him. "Really?" I asked unable to believe it that well. "Yeah," he began "My dad always spoke of this crazy woman named Katherine and her loving husband Daniel. Daniel cared so much about her, he always fought off the ones who wanted her dead. He knew she was pregnant, but others did not. Although they loved each other very much neither of them spoke to each other. He found silence was safest." I was ready for a story.

"He knew she would have to leave one day, but before she has given birth. He didn't want her to leave, but he knew she would run one of those days and not tell him a thing. He and my father were very good friends. He told my father of her being pregnant but made him swear secrecy. My father agreed and knew that the day she ran was the day her husband went crazy." Day could not stop. I had no idea how long this story was, but I refused to interrupt.

He continued "One night she ran away. She told no one where she was heading, how long it would take, or when she would ever be back. Turns out she wasn't coming back. She left with some food and some supplies, but no one ever saw her leave. She ran far away that night. Turns out she didn't run that far from the schoolhouse. Her husband woke up to his loving wife gone. He cried day after day, night after night. In his whimpering cries, he told my father and his wife to go search for her. My father refused and said he had to stay back for his own son born only a month before. The daughter was rumored the be born the next day. My mother on the other hand agreed and ran to find her. She took as much as she could. I guess she was that dead body in the cave. I had no idea though."

I looked down and whispered, "I'm sorry about your mother." He replied with an honest, "It's okay. It's not like I had to feel the pain of her death. I only saw her skeleton. I'm sure what you've been through was much worse." He tossed our blanket on top of us as we lay on the cold hard ground. Every now and then I felt him jump from a strange dream. Every time I would scrunch up closer to him. It was the best I could do as to comfort him. I was a strong girl, so my job was to comfort him as he comforts me.