Silent Fog

Chapter 11 - That Night

"I've, definitely, had better days," Clara thought while she examined the wound that had not healed yet, on the right side, between her abdomen and ribs. When she had come down from a tree two weeks before, her body swayed, and in the fall, a stick had gone deeper than she had expected. She struggled with a bleeding that persisted for a few days until finally, it diminished. But the injury brought her another problem: due to the pain, she could not move nimbly and to find something to eat was getting harder and harder.

So, after a few days walking through the fields and forests of the area, she thought it was better to find shelter, at least until she got better. Walking through what had once been a dirt road now taken by the bushes, she saw a small house hidden behind some trees. She hid amid the bushes surrounding the house, to check if there would be any movement or sign that someone would live there, but after half an hour she concluded that the place was abandoned.

It was a simple house, "country", as many people say. Built with clay bricks that after years without maintenance were now exposed in several places where the plaster had fallen. The windows were closed as well as the door. Clara circled the small house, moving away from the bush and watching where she stepped searching for any snakes hidden there. She saw that somebody had nailed wood into the windows of what seemed to be the living room and the kitchen. The place seemed uninhabited for a long time so, with little resistance, she opened the back door and stepped inside.

The place was covered in dust, and although it was a little twisted, she was surprised to see that there were some furniture and kitchen utensils. Perhaps due to it was so hidden by the trees and bushes, the place had not received many visitors from eventual thieves. She crossed the kitchen where there was only a table, a chair, an old gas stove that now would be useless and some pots and cans scattered on a shelf. She went into the next room and found only a bed and mattress, a luxury for someone like her. And no matter how her head said no, her body was so tired that she threw herself on the bed without even bothering to see if there were any spiders or scorpions hidden there and fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

When Clara woke up, she noticed that it was late afternoon by the light pouring through the window's cracks and although the unusual heat to that time of the year, she felt a cold that made her tremble involuntarily. She sat on the bed and lifted the T-shirt, removing the bandage with an herbal ointment improvised around her abdomen; the wound had not yet healed. Clara frowned, worried: she knew she would have to act fast before fever and infection got worse. She restored the bandage and got up, yet a little dizzy, to search something of value he could exchange in the village she had passed through.

Attempting to stay upright, she reached the village that was only a couple streets where a cluster of small structures had survived the action of time. Amidst the rubble, debris and still frame of old vehicles, some inhabitants lived there. There also was a small shop and by the noise that could be heard outside, a bar where some people were gathered. She went there and after a long time arguing with the owner of the dump, she exchanged an old wristwatch and a pair of glasses for a bottle of the strongest drink he had there.

With a slow pace and unsteady steps, Clara went down the street. Chills were going down her spine what made her close the worn and torn jacket, focusing to not let the bottle fall to the floor. Her vision insisted on shuffling and blurring making the simple act of walking even worse until she bumped into someone on her way. She apologized, glancing quickly at the figure standing before her, but with a blurred vision, she could not distinguish if it was a man or a woman. She only prayed that he would not be a bum making a fuss or... something worse. Lowering her head, she dodged the stranger and kept her way, focusing on taking one step at a time.