Sleep, Dreams, and Healing

“Everything will be alright.” The whispered words echoed in the empty basement. Bombs fell overhead, buildings crumbled, people died. “Mommy is here, it will be okay.” 

Rebecca sobbed. “Why are they doing this?”

“Hush now, my love. Don’t think about it. Shhhh, it will all be—“ mother’s words were cut off by footsteps, and she placed a hand over Rebecca’s mouth to silence her crying. Soldiers had found their hiding place. The woman lifted Rebecca in gentle arms, pushed open a small window near the low ceiling, and coaxed Rebecca through it. “You have to run, honey. Your father will be coming home from work, you have to find him. You remember where the train station is, right?” 

“No, I don’t want to leave you,” Rebecca cried, her vision clouded by tears. 

“I will be alright, but you need to hurry. Remember, the train station,” and with that, she closed the window and locked it. 

Rebecca shuddered in the icy winter air. Then, she ran, only turning back once at the crack of gunshots. 

*****

Gala started awake to a loud groan. She sat bolt upright, chest heaving. Seconds of silence passed at a crawl, punctuated by the anxious pounding of her heart. Then, another groan reverberated throughout the tiny cellar.

“Robyn?” She said into the blackness.

“Water.” Came her response

Gala fumbled for the waterskin, and popped it open. She felt in the darkness until her hand came to rest on Robyn’s, then gave her the skin. Robyn guzzled water, spilling as much as she swallowed. She choked, then coughed and laid back down.

“How do you feel?” Gala asked nervously. No response. “Robyn?” She peered through the darkness at her mentor, and saw that she slumbered deeply again. Leaning down, Gala kissed her on the forehead. Her skin was hot to the touch, warmer than it had been earlier in the night. Despair rose in Gala’s chest, threatening to crush the sliver of hope she harbored there. If the fever did not break, Robyn would surely die. She took a deep breath, and tried to calm her fears, but the thought of her mentor dying looped in her head. She settled down once more, and dozed, her dreams plagued by thoughts of losing someone precious to her once more  

*****

A soft red light coaxed Gala from sleep. She pushed herself up, eyes heavy with exhaustion. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest at her movement.

“Glad you could join me.”

Gala looked up sharply, pain forgotten completely. Robyn sat on the other side of the cellar, propped against one wall. She held a small lantern, brimming with warm fire.

“You’re awake!” Gala exclaimed, and rushed to her side. Robyn flinched at the sudden movement, but made no move to deny the physical contact. Gala sat back, and looked up at her mentor, relief plain on her face.

“You did well,” Robyn stated simply. She was in the middle of mixing a paste of water and medicine in her palm.

“I was so scared, I didn’t know what to do...” Gala trailed off, and looked at Robyn more closely. “Your jaw, it looks much better. The medicine?”

Robyn shrugged, and heaved a sigh. She touched her jaw gingerly, and then leaned her head back against the rough dirt wall. “I am not sure how it has healed so quickly.” Robyn said. She shook the jar of grey powder. “Where did you come by this?”

“The Healer at the Medica in the market would not help, so I, uh, borrowed it. ”

“You what?” Robyn asked flatly. Her voice was not loud, but it dripped with anger.

Gala looked down at the floor, shame blossoming as a red tint on her face. “You were dying, I—”

“We have to make this right,” Robyn finally said after a minute of silence. “If he connects the dots, we could have the guard on us for the rest of our lives, and short ones they would be. You know why we never target Healers.”

A few minutes of silence passed between them. Finally, Robyn spoke once more. “I am proud of you, though. You remembered the medicine, and you managed to get in and out of a Healer’s store without getting caught.”

Gala nodded solemnly, still feeling admonished. A small part of her came alight with the words of praise. Robyn was quick to rebuke, and slow to praise, so the words meant a lot to the girl.

“We do need to talk about what happened on the job, however,” Robyn continued, an edge of anger entering her tone again. “You were almost killed back there, and worse, you almost got me killed.”

Gala flushed, both with shame, and anger.

“You were surrounded! I did the best I could!” She replied, but even as she said it, she could see Robyn shaking her head.

“Yes, but I could have escaped. At the very least, we would not be in this predicament right now. I told you not to get involved, for any reason, and you disobeyed me.”

Gala nodded slowly, understanding. It was easy to see in hindsight. Though she could not have beaten them all, it was likely she could have slipped away into the Night.

“I am sorry,” Gala finally gathered the courage to respond.

“We will discuss it more later, don’t think this is done with. For now, we should just be thankful neither of us are dead. Things could have gone much worse for us.” Robyn said, a hint of sorrow entering her voice. “Come, you must still be exhausted. Let us get some rest.”