VIGNETTE 7. DEATH'S DOORS

I entered the abandoned village. The greyish buildings looked at me while I walked down the main road, expectantly. A cold wind blew and shut a door far away. I jumped frightened and looked around carefully. There wasn't a soul. It was all deserted. But I somehow sensed a presence.

The petals led me to the door of an old church. But I already knew they were going to be there. I had already seen that place before, in my brother's book. But back then it was a painting and not the real church, this one looked threatening and much bigger. I set ready my bow and my daggers and opened the door.

Inside, despite the stained-glass windows, was dark. The corridor was long. At the end of it, I thought I could see a jumble of cloth on the floor, but I was too far to be certain about it. I approached it slowly.

While walking down the maroon carpet I could read some inscriptions on the walls. They weren't related to Light, since I was sure I hadn't seen them in my life, and I was exposed to those signs on a daily basis. I couldn't recognize any sign. When I came a few feet apart from the jumble I saw an immense circle with some symbols. There were petals all around, and a little irregular hole in the middle. I tried to look through it, but it was so small that I had to bend over. That was when I realized there was a dark liquid covering the circle and going down the hole. I touched it and approximated my fingers to my nose. It smelled like metal. It was blood.

I looked at the jumble again. I started trembling. Was that…? I uncovered the cloth and saw my brother's face, pale as dead. I kneeled right at his side breathing with difficulty. I put my bow apart and touched his face. He was cold, very cold. With my hands shaking I took his right arm and checked his pulse. His heart was barely beating. I looked for injuries and discovered a deep cut on his left hand and a wound on his abdomen. There was a knife at his side.

I tried to wake him up, but he didn't seem to be there anymore.

'Caleb?', I said with horror in my voice. 'Caleb? Can you hear me?', I cried. 'Caleb–'.

I suddenly heard something like a hiss. It was coming from the hole. I came nearer and tried to see through it. At first, all I saw was dark, but then I notice it was like an underground chamber. A few horn-shaped figures started moving, like crawling down there.

It was time to go. I held my brother and tied him on my back as well as I could and took my mother's bow. I ran to the forest hoping that those creatures hadn't noticed me. Some clouds started pouring little rainy drops as I tried to find the refuge I left behind. I had built a little tent, made mostly of branches and leaves. I went inside with my brother still on my back, I placed him carefully on the ground and went outside again. I looked for plants. I needed something to clean and disinfect the wounds, a plant that could stop the bleeding and could make the cauterization easier, but I didn't have those in my flower bag. I finally saw the little yellow flowers between the shrubs of grass and went inside the refuge.

I made a fire and burned the abdomen wound. He suddenly responded shouting. I felt the relief in my chest and continued with the healing. He was still alive. I put the roots of the yellow flowers on the wound and pressed until I sensed how they absorbed the blood. He was in pain, but this was the best idea I had. I ripped the fabric from my own clothes and put it around his waist. He started breathing heavily. I was worried he would fall unconscious again, but he relaxed his muscles and tried to control his respiration.

After a few minutes, he looked at my red face.

'Thank you', he said weakly.

I put my hand on his forehead to check his temperature. He looked like a ghost and a cold sweat covered his body. I decided he needed a curative potion.

I went outside again and collected some more yellow plants. I mixed them with the plants I had in my bag to create a consistent mixture. Then I put it all in a little wooden container I usually keep in that bag, which contained the exact amount of water I would need in a situation like that. And I went inside the tent again. The mixture smelled horrible, but it was better than nothing and I wanted his fever to disappear. I made him swallow it and waited at his side while cleaning his left-hand wound.

'That tasted horrible', he said.

'I know'.

Now that the shock had disappeared from my body, I started feeling mad at him.

'Lennah, I'm really sorry', he said after a few seconds.

I didn't answer. I continued cleaning his wound.

'I had to do it… I'm trying to stop her', he said.

I already knew that too.

'I was this close', he pulled his thumb and index finger together. 'But I don't know why it isn't working… I thought it needed more blood'.

I pretended I was ignoring his nonsense talking, but my eyes denounced me. I started crying. He went silent all of a sudden.

'I didn't want you to risk your life', I sniffed. 'All I wanted was to be with you… But you had to do it… You had to go to the abandoned village to defend the world, to become a hero…'.

I felt a stab in my heart. My breathing was all chaotic and unrhythmic. I let all the tears fall from my eyes.

'Lennah, I don't want to be the hero of the world­–'.

'Yes, you want to. You've always wanted it!', I interrupted him.

He incorporated with difficulty from the floor and hugged me. He had a comprehensive smile on his face. One smile I'll always remember because it made me doubt what I said to him.

'It's just a little sacrifice', he said.

He separated from me and cleaned my tears.

'You know I love you, right? You are always the best sister I could ask for'.

I let the last tear fall.