One shot for this occasion. sorry for the grammar, I’m not a native speaker :
Renuk’s wife is sick.
Renuk’s wife is sick. The waterlily in her lung, as the healers say, had grown so big that it’s taking all her breath. Jonie and him were in love for almost 10 years, and he works so hard to pay on the potions to save her. He works in the farm all day, and serves as guard duty in the night. It’s expensive to pay for the fish and storage needed to age a potion. The best ones require almost one week in the farm, but you still need to feed and pay rent, not everyone can afford to own a house.
On this night, Renuk just left his work on the farm, and was on his way to the market to get a healing potion for his wife, something to give her before he goes on guard duty for the night. But the stall was empty, no more healing potion. He couldn’t afford to wait for the next day, it might cost his love her life. The seller was sorry, but he just sold the last one he had, and would not get any more until next week. Renuk ask where the buyer went, and ran in said direction. But never caught up with the man.
Resigned, he went to work, but couldn’t think of anything else but the potion he needed for his wife. He was stressed out, and his companions on duty could easily see that he was disturbed and something was wrong. But the duty is often fulfilled by people in need, and you don’t ask people what’s wrong when you don’t really want to know.
Late that night, when he was patrolling alone, near the farm, he saw a young man, his hands in the ground, stealing vegetables. He quietly arrived behind the thief and assertively told him : “You’re done here, boy, you’re going to jail”. The boy turned around to reaveal his face. He knew him, he already catched him twice and the boy did it again, he was only 13. The thief started to beg him : “Please sir, I’m only taking food, I need to feed my old mother, my father died because they said he was an heretic, I don’t want to die, please let me go, for the love of the gods.”
Renuk knew the kid was right. Being the son of an heretic and a recidivist thief, and apparently still praying old pagan gods didn’t give him much chance to survive a trial. He also knew of his family, his father was a paganic healer, and the order didn’t let him much choice. His mother sank into madness when her husband was executed and since then the kid was trying the best he could. But inexperienced work doesn’t pay much when you’re too young to endure the tasks.
He stopped a moment. And finally took what he thought was the best decision. He let the kid go. “Thank you sir, I’ll never forget”, the young one said before he disappeared in the night.
He called the other guards, to show them that apparently someone stole a bunch of vegetables and disappeared without being seen. They looked around a bit and returned to their assignments.
When the duty was over and time for the changing of the guard came, the night was almost over. Renuk walked home, still haunted by what would happen if his wife didn’t get the potion. He was so deep in his thought he didn’t see the old woman that was standing on the side of the road. She whispered him when he passed by her : “A noble man deserves a reward. I’ve heard of your terrible fate. I cannot help you directly, but I know someone who can”. He raised his head and recognized the boy’s mother. “What can you do for her ? ”, he asked. “I told you, I can only guide you to someone that can help you. Take this potion, and drink it on the shore of the lake, where the reedflutes are singing the name of the lady”. She put a flask in his hand, and went away as he stayed stunned here, lost in his thought.
He’d heard of the stories, talking about a lady in the lake. She was said to be a wraith, those who were successful in their quest to see her and survived say she tried to drag them in the waters, screeching that their sould were not worthy. Will he be worthy of her help ?
He didn’t care. His wife’s life was certainly about to end. He decided it was worth to try. He could die. But he’d rather die trying and join his wife in the afterlife than let her die alone. The old woman certainly did know it would be okay, she was the wife of a healer, and certainly a bit of a witch herself. But could he trust a witch ? He was the only witness of her son’s last crime, and his death would remove any threat to him. It was worth to try anyway.
He arrived near the lake, drank the potion, and saw a shape form in the mist that was floating over the lake. The mist took the shape of a woman, softly shining a blue light that reflected on the water of the lake. “I know why you came…” said the lady in a soft voice…
When the sun has risen this morning, Jonie woke up with a strange feeling. A feeling she had forgotten for a long time. She was feeling good, and felt an energy that she didn’t have for years, maybe she was cured ? She got up and searched her husband in the house to tell him the good news, but he was nowhere to be found. She dressed up and prepared to look outside. Normally he would be sleeping while waiting for the call to work on the farm after breakfast, maybe he was smoking the pipe on the bench in front of the house. But when she touched the knob, someone was knocking on the other side side of the door. She opened to face a couple of guards, standing with serious faces in front of him. Her husband had been found dead, floating on the lake…
She wears a black veil ever since that day, and a waterlily on the heart to remember. Some say the lady of the lake killed him. Some say the order discovered all the story and threw him in the lake for treason. But what nobody really knows, is why Jonie’s illness miraculously got cured that night.
(a great problem to have!!!)
