15 Dropping By

Rosalind sat on her bed, stiff as a board staring at Louis, walking around the room without her mask on. His? Her?

The light of the lantern created shadows that dance all around the room.

"You need something?" She asked, unbuttoning her shirt.

Woah. That's how her voice sounds like that. It's pretty. I can't believe I thought she was a guy!!!

"Rosalind?"

"Huh? Oh! uh . . . I'm just wondering. Why did they introduce you as he? I'm sorry if I'm being too intrusive."

"No, it's alright." She continued to unbutton her shirt as she talked. "I told them to."

"Why is that?"

"Same reason you have for coming here and saying you're a nurse." She sat down next to her, lighting a handmade cigarette. After a deep puff, she said, "I'm a cardiologist with a well-know name in my hometown. I was very respected and sought after. My reputation took years to build and I enjoyed every moment of it. But when the war broke out, they called all the renowned doctors from all around the Northern Region. I was summoned too and felt enormously honoured."

She took another puff. "What they didn't expect was that I would be a woman. Because of my name, they called me but because of my gender, they tried to send me back."

She played with the smoke swirling around her. Rosalind quickly covered her nose with her hand.

"Managed to convince them that I was male by cutting my hair off and wearing that mask. I'm surprised they fell for it but that worked in my favour. I was surprised to meet Vincent when they presented the doctors or was it the other way around? I knew Vincent from medical school and Ralph was an acquaintance who quickly became a good friend. The rest is history."

She laid back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Rosalind walked to the window where the cool night air blew in and the full moon was basking everything in its light.

"What's your story?" Louis asked, through a breath of smoke.

"I'm just a small-time doctor and midwife. Came here hoping I could help somehow. Tired of just sitting around." Rosalind stared at the vast plane in front of her. The world seemed at peace, no sounds except those coming from the insects could be heard.

"I'm sure you're good, that's why you were sent here." Louis snuffed out her cigar and leaned back on the bed. It creaked and groaned with every movement she made.

"Huh? Oh yeah." The stars look awfully bright tonight. She felt the ache from missing her grandparents. She wondered what they were doing now. Did they eat yet? Are they sleeping now? They were probably worried to death about her. Was it a good idea to be here?

"Louis?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have anyone you left behind?"

" . . . Yeah. . . My daughter. I miss her every moment I'm here."

"You have a daughter?" Rosalind couldn't conceal the surprise in her voice.

"Yeah." Louis peeked at her, smiling. "I know. I know. People told me that I'm a bad mother for leaving her behind with my sisters family. I hear it all the time."

"Do you regret it?"

"I regret that I didn't leave more things for her. But if you're asking if I regretted coming here, then no. I know I'm needed here. No matter how many times I've doubted myself. I'd rather be here than living comfortably in my home while there are people out there, fighting for us. Don't you think, Rosa?"

They smiled at each other, no more words needed to be conveyed.

They understood.

"Go to sleep now, Rosa. You need to rest up." She tucked herself into bed and was knocked out in a second.

She must have been tired.

She looked up at the sky, with its millions of stars.

I guess I understand you a little more, Titus.

She clutched her hand over her heart as a shooting star flew by.

Please be alright.

Walking away from the window, she checked up on Louis again. Confident that she was, indeed, asleep, Rosalind took off all her clothing until she was in her undergarments.

She carefully peeled off the bandages around her waist, biting her lip to stop herself from making a sound because of the pain.

The bruises had gotten darker.

"I have to let it breathe for a while." She whispered, slipping into a loose fitted dress. Even a light touch or movement sent jolts of pain through her body. She couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why this was taking so long to heal. She healed faster than this.

But that's not her priority at the moment. She had come up with a plan on how to rearrange the rooms of the patients so that it wouldn't be so cramped up. The vegetable patch still has to be made, even the bathrooms and dining hall had to be cleaned up.

She untied the cloth wrapped around her head, letting her hair fall loose, glistening in the light. It gathered itself on the floor, sweeping it as she moved her bag to the table. She adjusted the light of the lantern, lowering it down by twisting the small knob at the front. She tucked her hair behind her ear, she got to work.

Rosalind wrote everything down on a leader bound diary that her grandfather had made for her. She never got the opportunity to use it until now and once she started writing, she couldn't stop.

Many changes needed to be made and she was not going to leave any stone unturned to find the most plausible solution.

According to what Ralph told her, two doctors died from getting sick by drinking contaminated milk. More than twenty patients died because of infections on minor wounds. She knew they were all highly qualified doctors but cleanliness wasn't given much priority. Now that the war is put on hold in light of the discussion of a treaty, she figured there is no better time than now.

She was going to see to it that everything is spick and span by the end of the week. Rosalind spent the entire night working and by the time morning rolled around, she had come up with a plan.

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"Good Morning, Rosalind!" Ralph called out from the window, waving at her.

Rosalind waved back. Dirt covered her from head to toe, her hair is put in a braid then twisted into a bun. She covered her head with a cloth, to prevent headaches from the heat of the sun.

She wore gardening gloves and was busy hacking away at the soil. Adena is busy carrying a bucket of water, to dampen the soil.

By the time she freshened up and walked out the door, Adena was already waiting for her. Gardening tools in hand.

"Where did you get these?" She exclaimed, examining the tools. They were in very good conditions.

Adena just shrugged his shoulders, not saying a word. No matter how much she asked, he wouldn't tell so she decided to leave it alone.

Presently, they're working on a small plot of land. Planting tomato seeds, potatoes, lettuce, onions, garlic and carrots. Because of their rotting state, they had gone soft and were turning to mush.

Rosalind separated them, then carefully buried them into the soil while Adena watered the plants. They were done just in time for lunch.

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Rosalind couldn't concentrate on her food, lots of other things swim in her mind as she mindlessly continued to play with the food. With no appetite to eat, she was full of anxiety and worry. When a sigh escaped her lips, Ralph dropped his spoon in shock, it landed on the table with a clatter.

"Rosalind! What happened? Does it taste that bad?" Ralph's voice laced with concern.

Vincent and Louis looked up from their piles of books, their conversation coming to an abrupt halt.

Realising that everyone was staring at her, Rosalind blushed a deep red.

"Oh, no it's still delicious as ever. I don't know how you do it, Ralph." She tried to reassure him.

"Oh, you flatter me." He joked. "But that isn't the point. Is something bothering you?"

She turned to Adena, eyes pleading but he only shook his head, nudging it in their direction and giving her a reassuring smile.

"What? Did the both of you just communicate telepathically? I thought only women had that gift." Vincent exclaimed, getting hit by Louis in the stomach.

"What's wrong, Rosa?" Louis whispered from her mask.

"Well . . . the thing is. . ."

They leaned closer to her, giving her their full attention.

She looked down, unsure of how to say it. "Uh. . . We need to . . . uh . . . move the patients. Todayifpossible."

"Hmm? We've been planning to do that for a while too, haven't we? Didn't we clean before?" Ralph said, looking at the others.

"Yeah. But we kept getting patients so we never got the chance to do it thoroughly." Vincent looked thoughtful.

"Why don't we do it today?" Adena piped in, avoiding eye contact when they turned to him.

"I think that's a good idea," Louis answered, her voice a very low octave. "So far, all the patients we have are now stable."

"We aren't getting any new patients either because of the pause on the war for discussion of the 'potential' treaty. I don't think we'll get any better opportunity." Vincent smiled, leaning his head on his hand.

"Let's do this then!" Ralph shouted, picking up the empty plates and ran out the door to the kitchen. Having a sudden burst of energy, as always. The others follow suit.

"Ah! Wait!" They all stopped unable to believe Rosalind even raised her voice. They turned to her, their countenance amused.

She was all flustered. Unable to form words or even look at them in the eyes, she kept fumbling into her words. Summoning all the courage she could she said, "Canweusethisroomforthepatients?"

"What?"

"Rosalind, honey. You have to enunciate your words properly for us to understand." Louis whispered.

"Uh . . . Ahem. . . Can. we. use. this. Uh . . . room. forthepatients?"

"Sure! I don't see why not!" Ralph shouted from the door, poking his head out. "There are only seventeen of us now, the soldiers eat in the other cabins or at their post and the patients can't come out of their bed."

"We have to come up with a plan to rearrange everything and clean it up without disturbing the patients too much."

"I have an idea!" Rosalind's voice cracked.

This is how I'll die, from embarrassment.

"That's what you've been working on the whole night?" Louis asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Yyyyy-you k-knew?"

"I just woke up in the middle of the night, the light was still on and you were fervently writing and thinking, mumbling to yourself. I didn't want to disturb you so I went back to bed."

"I'll go get the book! Adriel! Come with me!" She ran out of the room, Adena at her trail. Heat radiating off her.

"Did she just say 'Adriel'?" Ralph asked, the other two just shrugged and continued on their way.

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After a gruesome three days of non-stop cleaning and rearranging, they were finally finished.

The dining hall has been transformed into the patients' ward with enough spacing between each bed to move comfortably. The windows were wide open, letting in sunlight and fresh air. Some beds remained in the old room, while others were shifted there. There was space even for more beds to be added without overcrowding the room.

The walls and floors were scrubbed clean until not a speck of dirt or stain remained.

The Major and Corporal Sky dropped by occasionally to help and bring news of the frontline. So far nothing was certain but things were getting tense, with anticipation.

The vegetables were also growing surprisingly fast. Rosalind suspects that Adena had something to do with that but he would never admit to anything.

In the course of the three days they spent cleaning, Rosalind found out a lot about the other two doctors. Vincent has a fiancée waiting for him back at his hometown while Ralph has his siblings waiting for him. He has twelve of them.

"That's why you're so good at cooking for a large number of people," Rosalind commented, holding a worn-out scrubber in hand.

They were in the bathroom, cleaning themselves up.

"Yup." Ralph had just finished mopping the floor.

"Oh! Ask him about that time his brother fell into the well." Vincent coughed, patting dust off his clothes as he entered the bathroom.

"What?" Rosalind laughed.

"It wasn't my fault. He asked for it!" Ralph tried to defend himself.

"Sure." Louis rolled her eyes while she washed her hands.

"It's true!"

Rosalind dropped the brush into the black murky water in the bucket. Good thing they had surgeon gloves in abundance thanks to Vincent.

Her hands were trembling, this mostly happens when she overworks herself. The bruises at her waist don't seem to be healing up either.

A sigh escaped her before she could stop herself.

Adena noticed and took her to the garden.

The others continued to laugh and joke, oblivious to their departure.

"Are you alright?" Adriel asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. What about you? How are you doing, Adriel?"

"I'm fine as well. Is there any pain in your hands or waist?"

"No." She lied. "You worry too much, Adriel. I've only used it twice."

"Rosalind." He sounded tired. "I promised your mother I would look after you and you managed to make a deal with me, even then. I have every reason to worry."

"Ok ok. I promise that I'm fine. Alright?"

"Try 'I promise not to make any more reckless decisions that may put my life in danger'." Adriel raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. I promise that. Now stop worrying, you're going to ruin that pretty face." Rosalind patted his shoulders.

They stood in comfortable silence, gazing at the night sky. The garden flourishing beneath it. She misses the fireflies from her garden, they would have been out by now.

"Thank you, Adriel."

"What for?"

"Everything. You've been by my side, you go along with my silly ideas and I don't think I appreciate it enough. So thank you. Once this is all over, let's do something you like, ok?"

"I'll hold you to it then." He smiled.

The door burst open suddenly, "Rosa!".

The sound startled Rosalind so much she felt her spirit leave her body. Laughing she turned to see a frantic Louis, blood splattered all over her, from her face and mask to her clothes.

"Louis? What happened?" Rosalind panicked. Is she hurt?

"Now's not the time to explain. Six soldiers are there severely wounded, along with some people from the villages nearby. Rosalind, not all of them have all their body parts intact. We need EVERYONE. Come fast!"

After she said that, she ran back inside.

Adriel grabbed Rosalind just as she was about to run inside with Louis.

"Adriel? What is it?"

"Wait."

Something in his expression sent shivers down her spine.

"Adriel?"

"Rosalind!" Corporal Sky came running towards them. He also looked frantic but while Louis looked worried, he looked excited.

"Corporal Sky. What is it?"

He grinned a broad, manic grin. "The treaty isn't signed."

"What? Why?"

"They bombed one of the villages to the Northern Border just an hour before they settled it. They called for a Massive Deterrence. I along with some of the men are going there now." He laughed, then continued talking. His words are full of venom. "F***ing bastards. Do they think they can just do whatever they wish? We're going to retaliate, harder than they can ever imagine. No ONE will be left alive. We'll make sure of it."