| |
KHYLA
I drag myself to the house, but at every step I feel that I’m losing more and more my strength. Too many emotions and too much fatigue all together, impossible to bear even to a fighting fighter like me. So, as I am at a step away from my goal and about to knock on the door, my head starts to whirl round and round and I fall on the floor with a dull thud.
I’m out of breath, oppressed by fatigue, and meanwhile I think of Matthew, of the life coming out from his ice grey eyes, far away from me. I have to recover my strength, I have to save him.
As I’m trying to get up, the door suddenly opens. I’m invested by a strong light that hurts my eyes, but, most of all, I see a big shadow above me. What the hell...
«Hey! Is everything all right?»
A male voice comes to my hear as a far sound. Two strong arms pull me up, but just when I should feel stronger, my body gives up and I fall fainted.
When I wake up, I’m lying on a coach. In front of me I see a boy with dark eyes and black curly hairs, who looks at me worried.
«How are you? Feeling better?» he asks whispering as not to make me frighten.
«Excuse me, I run in the snow and I couldn’t handle the fatigue» I answer with a voice that seems to come from the hereafter.
«What are you doing here?»
To this question I cannot mask a terror expression. I panic and leap to my feet as if I was a spring. In my condition it was probably an excessive effort, because I start to oscillate dangerously. I don’t fall just because of his promptness in holding my arm, then he says to sit down on the coach again.
«Stay calm... It’s all right...»
All right? I’m sitting trying to recover, while Matthew is risking to die. I must immediately hold on the situation.
«No, it isn’t ok at all. I need a telephone, right now.»
He looks at me astonished.
«I would be happy to help you, but the line is down because of the bad weather.»
As soon as I comprehend his words, my breath gets shorter and I feel my pression lowering again. Now I’m probably looking like a dead person.
«What can I do? He’s wounded... He is going to die for sure...»
He holds my shoulders and looks into my eyes determined.
«Try to calm down and tell me everything.»
I’m holding my head in the attempt of regain the necessary energy to retrace the events in an ordinate succession.
«First of all tell me your name.»
I can’t tell him the truth. If he heard about me and Matthew from the media, it’ll be the end.
«Laura... Yes, my name is Laura...»
«Ok Laura, you were talking about a wounded...»
«It’s my brother John. You know, he was depressed because of a woman. We asked some friends to let us stay in their mountain house for a few weeks. We arrived this morning. I hoped nature would give him relieve... Then the snowstorm. We were afraid the wood wouldn’t be enough. We found some in an open woodshed and someone fired to M... my brother, John. Maybe a poacher by mistake. He’s injured in one leg. He needs a doctor.»
«I’m afraid there are no doctors in the neighborhood and the area is isolated.» he says.
To these words, I start crying desperately. Among the crying sobs I ask: «Do you mean that my brother is destined to die?»
He looks at me tenderly. Probably my desperation went straight to his heart, because he takes my hand and says reassuringly: «No, be quite. I can do it. I’m a veterinarian specialized in treating wild wounded animals. I’ll go to take the necessary to stitch and treat your brother.»
A veterinary? I can’t believe my ears...
«Wait a minute, do you really think you can ...?»
«Trust me, I’m the best. I’m sure I can help him too.»
He runs across the room to take everything he needs. As I wait, he explains all that he’s picking up.
«I don’t know what conditions your brother really is, so I’m going to bring more sutures and dressings.»
After filling the case, he comes back to me saying that I’ll have to point the way.
«This is another problem. I was so desperate that I ran without taking into account the points of reference. I’m afraid I can’t go back.»
So he asks me to describe the house as accurately as possible. When I tell him about the table in the porch, he understands right away.
«I see! Your brother is in Vicky’s house. Come on, I’ll lead you. There’s no time to lose.»
Getting out he takes my hand to lead me in the snowstorm. As soon as our fingers come into contact, I realize that he’s driven by a strange motion, a sort of chill. Maybe I’m not indifferent to him. But there’s no time to think about his moods. We have to save Matthew as soon as possible.
MATTHEW
Thanks to the fire, the room is warm and welcoming, but I can’t feel myself part of this cheerful atmosphere. I can’t enjoy anything away from Khyla. She has not returned yet and I’m feeling more and more tired. Although the belt stops the spillage of blood, I’m feeling weak and powerless. Why did she go again in the snowstorm? In addition to the awareness that I’m now about to die, I’m quite concerned about her. She doesn’t know the area, she’s in the storm without a defined goal and she has no tools to fight any danger she might meet. Only now that she’s out of here, I can imagine the worst scenarios. She could have fallen into a cliff, this time without way out, pursued and torn from wild animals. And I can’t run to save her. Frightened by this perspective, I really try to get up, but I fall like a stone. Because of weakness, I can’t move anymore.
So I decide. I firmly close the eyes, waiting for the darkness to hold me ones for all.
