Promise: The Scarred Girl

by Maya Shepherd

  “And what do you suggest instead?”

  “We should go to the other side of the lake and go into the mountains.”

  “Why should we go to the mountains? There is nothing there.”

  The mountains are peaceful, but that alone is no reason to go there. They could easily get lost.

  “I have friends on the Dementia border and I want to go back to them.”

  “Then go to them. I will not keep you if that is what you intend to do,” Nea replies coldly because she does not like the decisive tone of this pregnant woman at all. Who does she think she is?

  “I do not know if you have noticed, but I’m pregnant! You might be fine going through the forest alone, but me, I might get mugged or go into labor!” Her cheeks glow red, not from embarrassment, but from anger. Her anger and raised voice does not rouse Nea to want to help her.

  “I think maybe you should have thought of all this before you took off from the monastery.”

  “You can’t be serious, right? You have no idea what they did to me there,” she now yells at Nea and there are tears of despair in her eyes. She sinks back into the boat and breathes deeply in and out.

  Nea is not ready to give in, and certainly not if the girl demands her help. Had she asked Nea nicely, she might have been willing to help her. Nea looks at her. Her eyes flash angrily and her mouth is pinched shut. The stranger refuses to meet Nea’s gaze. But still, the stranger is right; she cannot stick to her original plan. It would be madness to continue traveling in the direction of Fortania.

  Nea has no idea exactly where in Dementia they are, but it would certainly be best to leave the lake as the Carris must still be looking for them. After all, the girl is an escaped prisoner. Nea picks up one of the boat oars and looks at the girl expectantly. When she does not move to help, Nea says, “Could you perhaps help me please?”

  “You just pulled an arrow out of my shoulder! How could I possibly row?”

  “I am soaked with blood and yet I am not as stupid as you,” Nea says while trying to hold back her rage. She picks up the second oar and begins rowing the boat. Her shoulder complains constantly, but out of sheer anger ignores the pain.

  The girl sits at the other end of the boat and looks at Nea timidly, but is still unwilling to help row the boat.

  When the boat alights on the rocky shore, Nea pulls her backpack on her healthy shoulder and climbs out of the boat into knee-high water. She runs off without hesitation. She does not look back to see how the pregnant girl is faring. When she reaches the shore, she is surprised to find the young woman right behind her with the sleeping bag. She obviously was able to make it out of the boat on her own. She does not need to act like she is too injured to do anything; after all, Nea is injured too.

  It has become dark; you could hardly see your hand in front of your eyes in the woods. Only the narrow moon can be seen in the sky high above. Sporadically the moonlight shines through the forest canopy. But this does not stop Nea from running deeper into the forest at a pace that cannot be healthy for either her injured calf or the pregnant woman.

  Nea stops to rest for a moment expecting to hear the girl complain, and right on cue, the girl groans. “Now wait a minute, I am sorry that I did not help you, but do you not know how stupid it is to run through a forest at night?”

  Nea ignores her and continues to run straight ahead. She is aware that she is trying to provoke the girl. But when she hears her sob out loud, it is not the reaction she had expected. In fact, she was expecting a fit of rage. Annoyed, Nea turns around to see the stranger slumped down on the ground cowering beside a tree and crying.

  Nea’s head says that it serves her right, but her heart is compassionate and it drives her feet toward the girl. The girl ignores Nea, but sobs and cries. She wipes her face with her filthy hands. Only now does Nea realize how much the girl has been through in the fast several hours. She fled from the monastery into a boat and was shot and is now running behind Nea in the forest. They are strangers to each other, they don’t know each other’s name, nor do they know if they can trust each other.

  Nea sits beside the crying girl next to the tree, but does nothing to comfort her. The girl’s crying cannot be calmed down. If she expects Nea to take her into her arms, she will have to wait a long time for that.

  After a few minutes the girl begins to calm down. Her sobs soon become silent and become only soft sniffs. She raises her head and looks helplessly at Nea, “I’m scared.”

  They are in a dark forest while the Carris is looking for them. It would not be uncommon to be scared in such a situation. Nea has not thought about being afraid, her anger was too great to allow for any other emotion.

  “Don’t worry, you’re with me,” Nea replies.

  “I meant for the child,” the pregnant woman replies as she puts both hands on her belly. It cannot be too long before it is to be born, however, Nea did not know what to say to that. A baby would be the last thing she wanted in this world. The pregnant woman is very young; she cannot be that much older than Nea.

  “I can barely take care of myself, how can I be expected to protect a little baby?” She wails in despair and begins to cry again.

  “Earlier you said you were going to meet up with some friends, surely they can help you,” Nea says.

  “Friends I shall never reach without your help,” the girl replies quietly, without looking at Nea.

  It was not a request, more of a reproach. Nea would prefer to leave this girl in the woods and venture off alone, but she does not need the girl to be with her too long, just long enough to deliver her to her friends and then depart. At least then she would know the girl would be taken care of. Who knows, maybe one of her friends knows the way to Promise. Without the girl, she would go much faster.

  “Do you know how to get there?”

  Nea feels real despair. Any attempt to establish normality is a lost cause. There is no government could take care of young mothers. Only in Promise it's different. Maybe that's a start.

  “Not exactly, I mean, we’re in the middle of the forest. But I grew up here, so as soon as we come to the road I would know where we were and be able to figure out where to go.”

  “Good, then let’s try to sleep now.”

  “But it’s so cold, can’t someone like you make a fire?”

  Nea’s eyes narrow to slits. “What do you mean ‘someone like you’? What is that supposed to mean?”

  “That was not meant to be a negative, it’s just, you look like someone who has had to fend for themselves for a long time, like an Amazon or something...” she smiled at the last part. Nea does not feel like a beer killer or an Amazon. On the contrary, she feels completely exhausted. The throbbing in her shoulder is unbearable. Miro would be laughing his ass off if he heard someone call Nea an Amazon.

  “It is too dangerous to make a fire now as we will only attract the Carris with it,” Nea answers in hopes that the girl will finally sleep, because she desperately needs sleep. The stranger still has Nea’s sleeping bag and does not seem to be ready to return it.

  The girl crawls inside the sleeping bag. Nea stretches out on the ground and leans against a tree. Just as Nea is almost asleep, the pregnant girl says, “My name is Kasia.”

  “Nea.”

  Then there is silence.

  Nea rode her red bike through the port. The sun reflected in the shiny metal. Curled on the handlebars is a flower necklace made of plastic. In the little white wicker basket sat Mr. Squirrel, her favorite stuffed animal. It was her fifth birthday and the bike was a gift from her grandmother. Although her parents had forbidden her from going to the port alone, she still went. After all, what could happen? Even if her parents were there, nothing would happen. On the contrary, the men who worked on the ships or mended nets or painted the boats all waved friendly to her.

  Straight ahead was one of the largest cruise ships in the port. The sight of such a thing was rare since the village could accommodate more fishing boats than large ste
amers.

  Nea stopped and rose from her bicycle to see the ship better. With her hand she shielded her eyes from the sun’s rays. On the deck of the great ship passengers were already standing, gazing curiously at the small village with red roofs. Nea waved to them excitedly

  The ship turned slightly to the right and continued its course. Nea quickly turned to her bike in order to go to the pier, but beside her bike were three older boys. One of them was already on her birthday gift, while another boy flicked his finger against the flower garland.

  “What is this?” One of the boys asked, amused.

  Nea felt fear creep in her neck. She swallowed. “This is my bike.”

  The boy who was sitting on the saddle shrugged, “I want to borrow it.”

  Nea’s mother always told her she should share with others. However, Nea did not want to share her bike. She quickly grabbed Mr. Squirrel to bring him to safety, but she was not fast enough. One of the boys grabbed Mr. Squirrel by his puffy tail.

  “Let go!” Nea shrieked. She had Mr. Squirrel since birth.

  The boy grinned naughtily at her, “Take it, if you want to have it again.”

  Nea grabbed the stuffed animal and pulled it so hard that when she had it back, its puffy tail was still dangling between the fingers of the strange boy.

  Instantly tears rose to Nea’s eyes. He broke her squirrel.

  “Oh, now she cries,” sneered one of the boys while the other threw the remains of the stuffed animal at her feet.

  “See you later then,” yelled the one sitting on the bike, who then rode off on her red bike, while the others ran along laughing after him.

  Tears ran down Nea’s cheeks as she knelt down to pick up Mr. Squirrel’s tail. What should she do now? Her parents would scold her when they learn she had been alone at the port! And her grandmother would certainly be disappointed that she had her new bike stolen. Why had she not fought back?

  Suddenly she heard footsteps loudly approaching. Another boy came excitedly up to Nea. She quickly pressed the remains of Mr. Squirrel to her chest protectively.

  “In what direction did they go?” The boy called out of breath.

  Nea pursed her lips and glared at him.

  “Tell me and I will get your bike back.”

  Nea did not believe him for one second and turned away scared. Maybe he left when she did not speak to him. But he had not. Instead, he went to his knees.

  “I am not one of them, trust me.”

  Nea looked at him with wide teary eyes as she fought back sniffles. “They have ruined Mr. Squirrel,” she sobbed accusingly and showed the boy the two parts of the squirrel.

  “I can help. I am a vet,” he claimed.

  Nea narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You’re too young to be a veterinarian.”

  “I’m nine years old. Besides, you do not have time to think. Mr. Squirrel is seriously injured. He needs an emergency operation.”

  Hesitantly Nea looked at her stuffed animal. She believed she felt the boy’s mournful gaze and so she nodded and handed the injured squirrel to the boy. Very gently he took the two pieces and sat down cross-legged in front of Nea. From his pocket he pulled out a small bag. It included pins, stones, nails, a pocket knife, and a needle and thread. He took black thread and slid it through the needle and began to sew Mr. Squirrel’s tail back on.

  “Worriedly, Nea asked, “Does it hurt him very much?”

  “No, not at all. He is asleep.”

  “When will he wake up again?”

  “Once I am finished sewing the tail on.”

  Amazed, Nea watched while the thread tighten and the tail soon became just as it was before it was torn off. The boy tied off the thread and cut the rest of it with his knife. Carefully, he handed Mr. Squirrel back to Nea.

  “Watch out, he’s still very weak,” he whispered.

  Nea cradled the stuffed animal in her arms like a baby. “Mr. Squirrel, everything will be fine, you have nothing to fear.”

  She looked up at the boy and found he had nothing in common with the three thieves who had stolen her bike. After all, he was a veterinarian and saved Mr. Squirrel’s life.

  “Thank you,” she said shyly and looked down, embarrassed.

  “Now, can you tell me in what direction those boys went?”

  Nea pointed to the alley in which the bicycle thieves had went. “But watch out so they do not hurt you.”

  “Do not worry, I have a black belt in karate,” he asserted with a wink.

  “I am Nea, by the way.”

  The boy bowed to her. “And I’m Miro. Will you promise me that you will wait for me here until I return with your bike?”

  Nea nodded. Miro ran.

  She kept her promise and waited all day, even as it became late, she sat in exactly the same place. Her parents would scold her, but she did not care, as long as Miro returned with her bike. He had promised he would retrieve it, and she believed him. He had saved Mr. Squirrel.

  Just when the streetlights were coming on, Miro came around the corner on her shiny red bicycle. She raced to him. His face had a large scratch and his clothes were smeared with mud, as if he had been rolling in the dirt.

  “Here you are, my lady. Always at your service,” he grinned mischievously as he rose from the bike and held it toward her. Nea was filled with joy and deep inside she knew she was more looking forward to seeing Miro again than to having her bike returned.

  Nea did not have a pleasant night trying to sleep against a tree in the cold without her sleeping bag. But she somehow manages to sleep intermittently through the night. Nevertheless, she is relieved when she wakes up to see the sun slowly rising overhead. While she does not feel at all rested, she can finally move on. Hopefully Kasia will remember the way, unless she lied to Nea just so she would leave her alone. Sometime in the middle of the night, Kasia’s head fell rolled onto Nea’s uninjured shoulder.

  Startled, Kasia rouses herself and looks around. When she sees Nea, she calms down. Most likely she has had so many bad experiences they now haunt her dreams. It takes the two girls some time before they are able to get up. Nea manages to pry herself off the ground using the campaign staff. Once standing, she turns and reaches down to Kasia who grabs her hand and is pulled up.

  “Thanks,” Kasia pants. “I owe you one.”

  After they have hardly gone a few steps, Kasia asks, “Have you anything to eat? The last time I ate was yesterday morning.”

  Before Nea can answer, she remembers that Faith and Hope had all the bear meat packed into their backpack, so Nea’s would be easier to carry. She shakes her head sadly. She can only wear her backpack with one shoulder. Kasia continues to carry the sleeping bag, which makes the backpack much more pleasant for Nea to carry, but the water bottle itself is quite heavy.

  “I do not have any food, but you may have a drink of water if you carry the backpack,” Nea suggests to Kasia.

  “If I say no, would you let me die of thirst?” is the answer Kasia gives instead of a thank you.

  “No, but if you want a drink, you can carry the backpack some. My shoulder’s hurt, I can only wear it on one shoulder,” Nea strives to explain in a patient tone.

  “I have to wear enough,” Kasia said, stroking her round belly.

  “Kasia, if you want me to help you, you have to meet me halfway,” Nea utters in exasperation.

  “Well, then just give me the backpack. But I cannot wear it too long,” she admits defeat with a reproachful face, putting on the backpack after she has brought the water bottle out of it. “Where did you get those two injuries?”

  Kasia stares at Nea with wide eyes as she relates the story of the bear.

  “I’m really so lucky to have found you as a travel companion, I am again sorry for your friends.”

  She says it so casually and unimpressed that Nea knows immediately to not even think her apology was serious for a second. “Don’t say you’re sorry if you don’t mean it, if you do, you’ll only be making it worse,” she re
plies angrily, after which, there is an icy silence between the two.

  The forest appears to be endless, but the sun’s position indicates to Nea that they have only been traveling for a few hours. When the sun is at its highest point, they finally come to a road that runs through the middle of the forest. Expectantly, Nea looks to Kasia, but Kasia just looks up and down the road cluelessly.

  “Do you recognize anything?”

  “Hmm, I’m not sure...” she says uncertainly, which angers Nea.

  “I thought you said you knew this place very well.”

  “If I did, it has been months, so it would have changed a lot in that time.”

  “You think?”

  “Yes, I just said that. How would you know? You know even less about this area than I do, so do not play with me at times like this.”

  Kasia’s brash and cheeky answer leaves Nea speechless. Of course she does not know this area, she never claimed otherwise, quite in contrast to Kasia. She hears her cocky voice loud and clear in her mind. She would love to just leave the girl here in the forest, but that would not help, so Nea reluctantly follows her.

  In addition to the whistling of the wind, the only sound in the forest is the grumbling of their stomachs. Kasia slows down her steps until she stops completely. Cold sweat beads on her forehead and she supports herself on a tree to prevent from falling over.

  “I cannot go anymore,” she complains. This time, Nea believes her immediately because she herself has reached the end of her tether. Her healthy shoulder now hurts as much as her injured shoulder. Her calf burns like fire. She desperately wants to change her bandages, but she has nothing with which she could change them with. But most urgently, they need something to eat, and it is unlikely that Nea would succeed in catching an animal because she would be too slow with all of her injuries.

  “Do you recognize the way now?”

  “I’m not sure... we would have come across a Carris farm by now.”

  “So you really don’t know where you are?”

  She just shakes her head dejectedly. Now the girls sit in the woods, they have no idea where they are.