Trouvaille (#featured)

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The third day had already come and the forest still had not seen any sun. The dampness and the cold sent shudders throughout Nathan's body and Faye could do nothing but pull the layers of blankets and leaves up to his chin. She had not slept since the night before as her conscience gnawed at her, blaming her for not stopping him when she already knew in her gut that something was wrong.

She reached under the covers and felt the hives that formed on his skin. They didn't feel as bad as it was the first time. Even his confused muttering in his sleep quieted down for quite some time. At least she could be thankful for that.

Chinook came up to them with two bowls of vegetable soup and some barbecued bird and sat down in front of her. "How is he?" he asked.

"His heartbeat is even now," she reported, thinking about some of the other things that were not that obvious, "-and he doesn't look like he's in so much pain right now."

"That is good." He smiled. "Let him drink this and I will prepare the medicine."

There was nothing she could do but to acquiesce. In truth, she wanted to do more than just feed him and the only reason she did not want to do it was because it was a messy business. If she could make the medicine, she would, but she could not understand a word Chinook's mother said, and so, she resigned herself to the task.

She positioned herself behind him and cradled his head in between her lap and her arm. It was a feat of a balancing act just to make it enter his mouth and making him drink it was even tougher. He sometimes spat and coughed the soup out, which frustrated her, but in the end, there was more soup that went into his system than what spilled all over his face and her thighs.

At the same time, Chinook came with the medicine and fed the contents into Nathan's mouth. He smiled at her then left, telling her to call his mother if she needed anything since he would be out.

Nathan's head was still on her lap looking peaceful and content and she could not help but brush the hair over his forehead away. It had been eight years since she last had human contact, and that was when she left home and her parents hugged her. Having him in her arms was not an unwelcome feeling. She would admit, if only to herself, that she missed the feeling of holding another person beyond a handshake. Handshakes were tiring and too bloody professional. It was so different from caring, personal touches. And she missed the latter kind.

Outside, the rains promised more bleak days ahead, removing any hope she had of leaving anytime soon. The clouds overhead made her lose all sense of time. She did not know what time of day it was without looking at her watch, which made her wonder how the natives could tell if it were morning, noon or sunset.

"I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Nathan's voice bolted through her like a lightning and stunned her just as electricity would. Faye refused to answer hoping that he was just having another one of his delusional sleep mutterings. Even when he touched the arm that cradled his head, she didn't move.