Recovery

Rhea, Year 813 of Avia, Day 280

Icarum woke up to the crackle of fire and the familiar chirp of birds. He was laying down on a fur carpet, covered by a white linen sheet. His whole body ached when he tried to sit up.

He quickly glanced around. He found himself in a small, log cabin, with a small fireplace in front of him. A wax candle was placed next to a cup of water in the center of the room. He reached for the water, but his body wouldn’t move.

He looked down and noticed that his entire chest was bandaged and his arm was in a cast. He could tell that his arm was broken recently, but someone had set it back into place. As he peeled off the bandage to examine his wounds, a voice called out to him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I’ve applied some healing gauze to your burns, but it won’t work very well if it’s exposed to the air.”

Icarum turned his head to the source of the sound. He felt a sharp pain coming from his back and shoulder. Behind him, an old man sat in a rocking chair, casually smoking with a wooden pipe. He had dark grey hair and a six-inch-long unkempt beard. Icarum immediately recognized him as Karine’s father.

“You okay, son?”

Icarum nodded. “Why am I here?”

“You don’t remember? Karine brought you here while you were unconscious.”

“I was with Karine?”

“She said she found you at the chief’s house. It’s a miracle you survived in that mess.”

“Survived?”

A rush of emotions and memories filled Icarum’s head. Pain. Death. Rage. The charred bodies of his parents. The back of a Sydurnian soldier. The world around Icarum began to spin.

“You sure you okay, son?”

“Just a little light-headed, that’s all.”

Icarum reached for the water.

“I can get that fo-”

“It’s fine.” Gritting his teeth from the pain, he grabbed the nearby cup and finished drinking it in an instant.

“Where’s my brother?”

The old man sighed. “I think it’d be better if you got some rest. We can talk in the morning.”

“I need to know.”

The old man thought carefully about how to break the news to a ten-year-old boy. He decided that it was better for Icarum to discover the truth now than later.

“Igsum was arrested by the Sydurnians. I heard that he was flown off to some prison on another island, but that’s all I know.”

Icarum pushed himself onto his feet, and one of the bandages on his chest ripped. He could only take one step forward before he fell down again.

“Icarum, don-”

A tear streamed down his face. “Father said that all of the Sydurnians recorded their flights at the airship office. If I go there and I ask the-”

“Icarum! They’re looking for you, too. I don’t know why they’re after you and your family, but if you get caught, you’ll never be able to find your brother.”

Icarum forced himself to stand. “I don’t care! The airship records are deleted and refreshed every nigh-”

“Karine always tells me about how smart you are, but you’re actually quite stupid, aren’t you? The moment you step into town, they’ll catch you.”

“But-”

“Icarum, you’ve been asleep for two days. If you’re right about the records, they’d already be gone.”

Icarum fell to his knees, and he could no longer hold in his emotions. He burst out crying, and the sound of his loud sobs filled the room.

“He-, he-, he’s all I have left.”

The old man sat in front of Icarum and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know.”

“I-, I-, I want to be strong like my brother, b-b-but I’m weak.”

“I- I- couldn’t s-save my parents.”

The old man tilted Icarum’s head upwards and stared into his puffy-red eyes.

“When the Sydurnians killed my wife, I said the same thing. I cried and screamed. I cursed the Gods and then asked them for forgiveness. I was crushed by the weight of my emotions, and I lost myself.”

“Icarum, don’t make the same mistake I did. It’s okay to cry, and it’s okay to scream, but don’t wallow in self-pity for years, hating yourself for your weakness.”

“If you’re unhappy about the world, all you need to do is gain enough power to change it.”

“Why didn’t you, old man?”

The old man chuckled. “If not for my daughter and my condition, I might’ve overthrown your father as chief and fought against the Sydurnians long ago.”

Icarum laughed, his eyes still filled with water.

“It doesn’t look like you’re going back to sleep, so I’ll cook something up for us.” The old man stood up and made his way to the kitchen.

The door slammed open. “I’m home!”

Karine walked in wearing a red hood, carrying a basket full of herbs and vegetables. “Icarum! You’re alive!” She dropped the basket on the floor and rushed to Icarum, hugging him tightly.

“Not for long.” Icarum gasped for air and winced in pain. A bandage fell off his back.

“Oops.” Karine took a healing herb out of her basket, crushed it into powder, and applied it to Icarum's exposed wound. She then placed the bandage right back where it was.

“Perfect!”

Icarum rolled his eyes. “Uh, Karine,” he started. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

Karine's smile turned into a frown. “I was seriously freaked out when I saw you laying there. You were burned all over and a falling rock broke your left arm. I thought you wouldn’t make it.”

“My body’s pretty resilient, you know. Probably because you’ve been punching and kicking me for so many years.”

“And I’ll punch and kick you ag-”

“Karine!” her father shouted from the kitchen, “you might accidentally kill him!”

“Yes, yes, I know,” she shouted back.

Icarum’s expression turned serious. “Are you sure you should be taking care of me? Your father told me that the Sydurnians were looking for me.”

“That just made Dad want to help you even more,” she replied. She moved up to Icarum’s ear.

“It’s his forty-year late rebellious phase,” she whispered.

“I heard that!”

Icarum and Karine burst out in laughter.