Wings

Chapter 4

     KYLE          

 We were halfway back to the field, when something spooked Charles. It all happened in slow motion. Charles reared up on his hind legs and threw Sarah from his back. I didn’t see what happened to Charles after that, because I was already dismounting from Lily and running towards Sarah.

SARAH

                I woke to the steady beating of hooves off the forest floor. I was being gently held in strong arms. Kyle. I snuggled closer to his chest. I couldn’t remember why I am in his arms, but all I wanted right now was comfort. He whispered something to me, but I was already falling asleep.

KYLE

                She looked so broken, here in my arms. As she snuggled closer to my chest, I knew something was wrong. Sarah never showed signs weakness to anyone, not even to me. I whispered to her that we were almost there, but she didn’t seem to hear me. I rode Lily right to the front of the house. Thankfully, Cherry was already there. I quickly dismounted, being careful not to hurt Sarah.

                As soon as I walked through the door with Sarah in my arms, Cherry got to work. She laid a sheet down on the couch, and motioned for me to lay her there. Sarah was completely unconscious now. I didn’t want to leave her side, but when Cherry told me to go wet a cloth with water, I obeyed. I walked back in with the damp cloth, and Cherry immediately took it from my hands. I watched as she wiped the blood away from Sarah’s leg and started to wrap it in a dry cloth. “Is it broken?” I ask. “Yes.” Cherry replies. I wince.

Sarah is in so much pain that it knocked her unconscious. She lay perfectly still as Cherry tends to her broken leg. She had made some sort of a sling for Sarah’s leg. After Cherry finished with Sarah’s leg, she moved on to the other cuts and scratches on her arms and other leg. I knelt beside Sarah, and carefully wiped away the blood that came from the scratch across her cheek.

Cherry asked me to get out the wild black cherries, so that I could give them to Sarah. Everyone knows that wild black cherries relieve aches and pains. It was easy to locate the cherries in Cherry’s medicine box. I knelt down next to Sarah and held her hand, but she was still unconscious.  I decided to crush them and then let the juice fall down her throat.  Her eyes fluttered and she squeezed my hand once before going unconscious again.

SARAH

                I was so tired and my leg hurt immensely. I could barely lift my eyelids. I felt someone’s hand grab mine, and then I tasted a cool juice falling down my throat. I was too tired to even swallow.  I mustered up all my strength to flutter my eyes and squeeze the mystery hand back. After that, I fell asleep.

KYLE

                I held her hand for the rest of the night. I must have fallen asleep at some time, because I woke up with my head on Sarah’s stomach and with our fingers still entwined.  The first thing I noticed was that she was hot. I felt her forehead, just to make sure. She had a major fever. I gently let go of her fingers and stood up to go pick some dogwood petals. I walked outside and saw that Cherry was already picking the petals. I immediately blushed. If Cherry knew that Sarah had a fever, then she also saw me lying with her.  I decided that I would help her anyway. Taking care of Sarah is more important than my embarrassment.

                I walked over and silently joined her. We picked a few more petals before she turned to me and said “Why don’t you go and take care of her while I do the chores.” I smiled gratefully at her. She knew that I wouldn’t leave Sarah’s side. I took the basket from Cherry’s hands and walked towards the house.

                When I got inside, I checked to make sure that Sarah was still sleeping before I started to make her tea. I filled a small pot with water and lit the stove before placing the pot on it. Then I rummaged through Cherry’s cabinets until I found the right spices to make tea with. I washed a few of the dogwood petals to add to the tea as well. When the water was done boiling, I poured it into a mug. Then I added the spices and rinsed petals. I walked back to Sarah and was surprised to see that her eyes were opened.

                I walked quickly over to her, and she tried to sit up. “Whoa,” I told her. “You need to just sit back and drink this. It will help with the fever.” “Thanks.” she replied. Despite my warning, she tries to sit up. She winces when her leg moves. Pushing aside the covers, she examines her leg.  “Could have been worse.” is all she says. “Will you be okay for a few minutes while I head to the stream to wash up?” I ask her. She nods. “I’m not a baby.” That may have been the best thing she could have said, because that means that she is starting to feel like herself again. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.” I tell her as I head to my room to grab clean clothes and a towel.

SARAH

                A few minutes after Kyle left, Cherry walked in. “I’m awake.” I told her, so that I wouldn’t scare her by moving. “How are you feeling?” she asks me. “Better than last night, although it would be great if I could move my leg.” She grimaces. “I tried my best with your leg.” “It’s not your fault.” I tell her. She shouldn’t feel bad for not being able to help me. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” I try to smile, but it was unsuccessful. “Do you need me to change the bandage?” Cherry asks me, her face full of concern. “I think I will be fine for today.” I tell her, this time succeeding in a smile. “Really, thank you for all you have done. We are just lucky that you have experience with first aid.” “Well, I try my best. I am going to make some breakfast. Where did Kyle go?” she looked around, puzzled. “He went to the stream to freshen up.” I told her, raising my eyebrow. “Is that a problem?” “Of course not.” she tells me, but I am still a bit suspicious. If I saw correctly, there was a flash of panic and anger in her eyes when she had asked where he went. Maybe I should have listened to Kyle and kept my guard up while around Cherry.

                Kyle came back about fifteen minutes later, his hair still damp from washing it. When he saw my sitting up, relief was evident on his face. He smiled and immediately came to my side. Maybe I should get hurt more often. I thought to myself. No, you are strong and you don’t need anyone, not even Kyle. I had to protect myself from getting too used to company. It is only a matter of time before he realizes what he’s got himself into and will leave me to fend for myself. It is hard to think about, but I had to look out for myself. When he leaned in to hug me, I automatically hugged him back, but I let go quickly. He looked at me with questioning eyes, but said nothing.

KYLE

                I couldn’t understand why Sarah would pull away from me so quickly. I wonder what I did. I looked at her questionably, but she didn’t look back.  Knew what I had to do. I had to ask her if she remembers anything from last night. It could be a good thing or a bad thing, but I tried not to think about that right now. I puttered around the house until it was finally time for Cherry to sell today’s fresh eggs and milk. At first, she was reluctant to go, but I assured her that everything will be fine and that I can take good care of Sarah. Finally she agreed and started down the dirt road, dragging her wooden cart with her.

                As soon as Cherry was out of sight, I walked toward Sarah. I sat down by her place on the couch and said “I have something I need to ask you.” She looked up at me. “What?” she asked, a puzzled expression on her face. “Do you remember anything that happened last night?” “No, why?” she asked, and I tried not to look too crestfallen. “No reason.” I said. Maybe it was better this way.