Captivated by a Highlander

Chapter 18 - Absentmindedness

 The last thing I remember was being in the garden, reading a book.

It was a cold morning, and Kain had insisted that I bundled up.  

I listened.

I left my violin on the windowsill.  

I didn't think I would be playing.  

I only wanted to read.

The words came to life in my mind as they played across the pages.

I was lost in my thoughts, breathless in the cold air.

I keep reading.

It was a folktale.

Why can't I remember what it was about?

It was windy.

The leaves fell free of tree branches and swirled around in the air.

I was oblivious to my surroundings, but I could hear the leaves rustling against the stone and brambles.

I thought back to the visit to town.

I lost track of my place in the book.

I started reading it from the beginning again.

I thought about Gillian.

Oh, that sweet, sweet girl. 

She reminded me so much of a girl I went to school with.

One of my old friends.

I keep reading.

My fingers began to hurt with the cold.

I flexed them to try and move my muscles.

The tendons pulled slowly in agony.

I decided to go inside.

I stood.

I closed my book.

Wait, what was that?

Was that a cat?

A kitten?

I followed the sound.

It was meowing in pain.

Was it caught in a rose bush?

It was just outside the castle walls.

Kain always told me to never go out alone.

I would only be gone a moment.

I was going to get the kitten and get back inside.

Nothing would happen.

I pushed open the gate.

The hinges creaked loudly, like a squeaky scream.

I winced at the sound.

I prayed no one heard.

I followed the meows.

I hurried faster.

The wind was picking up.

I found the kitten.

It was stuck in a hole in the wall. 

Its front leg looked broken.

I crouched down and put down my book.