The Wishing Tree - Book Two [Completed]

Lost Time - Part 16

It's dark, so dark that I wonder if all the light in the realm has disappeared completely. It takes me a moment to realize that my eyes are still closed. I try to open them, but it's like they are glued shut. My mind races, trying to remember when I fell asleep. I push myself into consciousness, like a diver piercing the surface after swimming in the depths for too long.

The faint glow of the fire comforts me. I try to move my head, but it's like there's a weight holding me down.

"Mason?" My voice is weak; I've forgotten how to speak.

I hear scuffling and then Rocco's face hovers over mine. "You're awake."

"What's going on?"

"After you opened that mental box all hell broke loose. You collapsed and started flailing around. You were unconscious. We thought you'd survived only to perish from the pain."

I close my eyes, trying to remember any of it, but it's a void. "I don't remember any of it."

"Mason's been working with Ryan and Maizie to isolate whatever was keeping you from waking up. He fixed all the physical problems, but it took a few days. You were a mess."

"How long have I been unconscious?"

Rocco looks away from my face for a moment, towards a sound in the distance. "A while, I'm not sure. The days have started to blend a little. We've been trying to keep moving. It wasn't safe to stay there."

"Why can't I move? If I'm better, why can't I move at all?"

"Oh right." He moves back out of my range of vision and I feel a gradual loosening around my arms and legs. My chest doesn't feel compressed anymore and then finally my head is released. "We had to strap you to some wood so that we could carry you. Mason didn't want you to be able to move at all until you woke up."

I sit up gingerly and touch my head. My arms and legs appear to be functioning alright, but my mind is very fuzzy. The once white dress is now a slightly greyish color.

"Where's Mason?"

"He and Riven went out hunting."

I blink, trying to process all of this. The last thing I remember is watching Mason close his eyes as the man emerged from the hut with the ribbons.

"I guess if I can't remember what happened to me, that's answer enough about what they had to take from my mind to get me to wake up."

Rocco pauses. "Whatever you saw up there. Whatever brought you back to your body, Mason said it was the reason you weren't waking up." He shakes his head and seems a little angry when he speaks again. "I didn't think he should have had you open that box of pain, but I didn't get a vote."

"It's all a blank space to me now." I give a little shrug, testing out the movement.

I hear footsteps and laughing in the distance. I turn to see Riven and Mason emerge at the edge of the light. The flickering fire creates shadows across their faces, masking their emotions. Mason stops at the sight of me and his smile falters.

"Queenie. You're awake."

Somehow, I expected him to be a little more excited about my supposed rebirth.

"I hear you, Ryan and Maizie had to do some sleuthing around in my brain."

He stares at me for a moment longer. "All in a day's work. I'm glad you're up. You were getting a little heavy to carry everywhere." He puts down the small animals they managed to kill and avoids my eyes.

His effort at coming across as relaxed is backfiring. Riven and Rocco are oblivious to the tension that seems so obvious to me. I stand up and wobble. Rocco grabs my elbow to steady me and I give him a grateful smile.