ADRIFT
Vera had re read the letter a half dozen times since Michael dropped it on the floor and scurried to get the bear. The renewed determination in his eyes, and the names on his lips was surely a good thing? It gave her some measure of hope that they could still fix this once in for all. This was of course providing that Elissa woke from her slumber so deep that death hovered near in anticipation.
“Elissa… My name is Vera. I never got the chance to thank you properly. I won’t if you don’t wake up. You have to pull through this… not for us, for your sons. For your Eric.”
She set the letter near by, and continued speaking… she prayed silently that the woman would hear… if not she begged all the gods of benevolence in the Seven Heavens thought to answer… that they were not as forsaken as they now seemed…
“He needs you. Just like my Michael needed me. He used to say the only thing that made the work bearable was knowing I was there at home waiting for him. That I would help him sell his portion of the catch. I wasn’t always a harlot. A successful Fishwife. I know your Eric wasn’t always so worked to the bone in bitter dry earth. Michael wasn’t always a thief. Gods know he’d have never if…”
She sighs. If I could have hidden my… No, Vera… don’t think like that.
“Damn this war, damn the dragons, the pirates that make fishing impossible. Damn them all to the Nines!”
She looked to Gregory, who slept soundly despite her outburst. She softened her voice before she continued. She spoke to Elissa as if the two had known each other for an age… She certainly felt more kindred to the woman than anyone she had in a very long time…
“Please, Elissa… If you hear me… it wasn’t Michael’s fault… but we’ll make it right somehow. It wasn’t Michael’s fault. He was just trying to keep me safe. You were just trying to keep your boys safe. If Michael had known what that bastard was truly planning… he never would have come along…”
But if Michael hadn’t gone… his ‘friend’ still would have. Elissa would not be sleeping… but dead. No one would have gone to get help… Her face twists in resolve as she looks to her dear Gregory sleeping near by.
“You have to wake up. For Max and Will’s sake. A mother will do anything for her child. You know that. I know that… It’s what we do. What we have to.”
Murmured prayers fell into uneasy sleep. Her hand in Elissa’s, Vera dozed in the straight back chair. Something startled her awake. She sat bolt upright and looked to the dark haired woman next to her.
“Elissa…?”
The question was hesitant and hopeful… still, it was answered with more silence. Vera’s shoulders sagged and she squeezed the hand in hers. Had she only dreamt of the twitch of Elissa’s fingers? Or did she dare to hope?
The woman remained veiled in sleep. She was less pale, no longer feverish. The wound no longer wept and Elissa was far less pale. She was further from death. The supplies Michael had been taking were making all the difference. Still… she wouldn’t wake. She needed her sons… Or perhaps she needed to remember that they needed her…
“Michael will find them… we’ll get them home to you, but you have to wake up… Please, Elissa.”
The earnest plea went unanswered still and another bedraggled sigh escaped Vera’s lips. She offered another prayer to any of the benevolent powers willing to listen. A yawn escaped and she suddenly realized just how exhausted she was. So much so that she was dreaming of the woman waking. It was a dream wasn’t it? Elissa remained silent… but still she couldn’t be sure.
She looked out the window. Michael would not return until well after dawn. Gregory would not wake for a few hours. She should try to sleep. Elissa certainly wasn’t going anywhere. She stood and gathered a quilt that she had mended while she watched over the injured woman. It was a comfortable quilt. No doubt sewn with as much love as Vera stitches into her own… What would Vera do if Gregory was out there alone and scared? Gods, they had to set this right… too easily it could be Vera on that bed and hovering between death and life.
They were not so different, these two. Their families were their world. A world that took a turn for the worst for each of them. It threatened to sunder every visage of hope and joy from them. If Michael could just find the boys, they could help draw their mother from her slumber. Then maybe Elissa could be reasoned with. Michael would be safe. They would all be safe.
With the drought, Harvest would end all too soon, another month or two at best? What would they do then? What if the boys were still missing and his wife still had not been drawn from her near death slumber? So much hung on her waking…
With tired hands she continued to plead with the woman and the gods as she re dressed the wound. All the while thoughts and worries churned through her. It was dizzying, and she was exhausted. When she had done all she could for Elissa, it was still dark, dawn still an hour or two away. Gregory slept. Vera had to try to rest…
Finally, she fell into another uneasy state of rest. She was cast adrift in a small boat, her nets kept coming up empty in her dreams. Nightmares that could well come to pass tossed the small boat about on the sea of nightmares. It was far too much… she knew she would drown if Elissa didn’t wake. The dark haired woman was all that kept them afloat now…
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