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Part of one of my stories: Reviews/Comments welcome!
Nakia rest in the bed in clothes drenched with sweat while her teeth chattered. Her fever was growing stronger and stronger, with her body losing the war. Each breath she took was icy and painful, but she knew she needed each one to live.
Next to her was Sadki. Worriedly, she sat in a chair holding a glass of water and a wet clothe. Every minute or so, she would pad away the sweat that grew upon the sick girl's forehead. Don't take her away from me, she begged the goddesses silently, you've taken my parents and the only man I've ever loved, but I beg of you, don't take Nakia as well.
At that moment, the girl opened her eyes weakly. A grin was plastered on her face, though there was nothing to smile about. "Sadki." she whispered in a weak voice. At the sound of her name, Sadki looked over at her, ready to give her the glass of water. "I don't think I'm going to last much longer, you know."
Sadki shook her head. "Yes you are." Her voice was confident and strong as if she had saw the future and Nakia was in it. But hope consumed her; she truly believed the girl would live while knowing that she was the sickest of the children. "You're the strongest woman I know; you will make it through."
A single laugh escaped Nakia's lips. The strongest girl? she asked herself. What about you, Sadki? With a trembling hand, she wiped her cheek to rid of either a tear or a stream of sweat: Sadki couldn't tell which. "I'm going to take a nap." She sighed in a shaky voice. "Go home and get some rest. You take care of me too much."
As she stood up, a small smile crossed Sadki's lips. "I just like being with you, that's all." She explained. After setting the glass of water and wet clothe on the chair, she started walking for the door. Before she walked out, she wanted to wish Nakia good night, but she was interupted.
"What do you think we did that angered them?"
The question didn't shock her, or even surprise her: she thought the same thing. But by living with the soul of a goddess, it wouldn't sound too right to say they were the one causing the deaths. Then again, she only lived with Adrianne inside of her. What was stopping Umika and Padma from killing the people?
She looked back at Nakia who had her back to her. "I don't know." Her reply was as honest as it could have been: she really didn't know.
When Sadki walked out of the room, she closed the door behind her, for she didn't want Nakia's sickness infecting the other children. At the sound, Father Mateo turned around from aiding a child, smiling to see his number one volunteer. He walked towards her, anxious to see how Nakia was doing.
"How is she?" He begged to know. Why he wanted to know so badly was unknown, but Sadki figured it was because she was the most ill, and he didn't want to lose her.
They continued to walk passed the children who were scattered across the room covered in blankets. A few adult volunteers smiled at the two, glad to see they were available if anyone needed extra help.
Sadki shook her head, "Her faith is fading, but she'll make it."
Mateo shook his head slowly disappointed in Sadki's high hopes towards the improbable. He stopped, waiting for her to notice. It only took four more steps before she turned around to see his head still shaking left and right.
"I know why you favor her." He let known. Though he kept his voice low so the other children wouldn't hear, Sadki heard perfectly.
She turned around with a both confused and angered look. "Excuse me, Father?"
Slowly, he walked over to her, not quite sure of how he was to take his suspision. "I don't favor Nakia over the next ill child." She argued, not sure of herself or her argument against his assumption.
He shook his head again. "She's not going to make it, no matter what you do. You know that just as well as I." His voice was sharp and it pierced Sadki. What was wrong with him? He was acting different.
"Father Mateo!" Sadki shouted, enraged with his words. The thing she believed in most was her surviving the illness, and she wasn't willing to give up her belief that easily. She walked over to him quickly, ignoring the stares she got from both the volunteers and the children. "What is wrong with you?! She will make it if she believes she will. I plan to make her believe."
She was furious with him. Never had she expected a priest to speak such hopeless words. Not wanting to hear anything more, she turned around and began walking out the enterance. Right as she almost walked through the opening, the priest called after her.
"She reminds you of yourself when you were her age."
The moon hung high that night, accomponied by the stars. Rain spilled from the monsterous clouds and seeped into the dry dirt. Thunder roared in the sky, echoing back to the village after bouncing against the cliffs and trees. Trying to avoid the rain, the soldiers who had finished their shift ran back to their homes holding their weapons above their heads, warding off the water. Others enjoyed the nice, cool wetness against their hott skin, and they simply walked through it. Adah and Dante were two of those people.
Adah walked with her arms held out, wanting all of the moisture she could gather. Working as a soldier by killing the fiends who attempted to get to the village was harder than it sounded. They had to keep sharp their entire shift, which lasted more than half a day, and they had to use their skills to at least wound the beasts so they would be warned. The rain was actually a gift to those who warded the fiends off, but an obsitcle for those who slacked.
Watching her with cheerful eyes was Dante. He too was a soldier who guarded the village, but he was put in the close ranged-division instead of the long-ranged. That day had gone by slow; the sun beat down upon them all day.
As they walked along the river, they came upon their home. After defending their village with all their strength, it wasn't just a home: it was rest.
Dante walked in first, the water dripping from his body. He set his sword down by the door, which was a thick blanket. As Adah walked in, she stretched and yawned, happy to know that another day was passed and she still remained healthy. Ignoring how wet she really was, she walked over to the bed which was on the right side of the room, and jumped onto it. After bouncing a few times, she lie still, exhausted.
"What a day that was." She sighed. Slowly she sat up and brought all of her hair over her shoulder, then began ringing it out on the stone floor. A river of water fell onto the ground and sat, ready to be evaporated in the air.
He nodded while he sat down on another bed on the opposite side of the room. Thunder found its way into their house, upsetting some of the cups on the table. Dante rubbed his eye, ready to sleep, but there was something on his mind. Like everyone else, he wanted to know what was happening.
She lie back on the bed, looking at Dante from the corner of her eye. "What's wrong with you?" He always seemed to pick her curiosity with his usual silence.
After another roar of thunder, he admitted "I'm just thinking about Sadki again." For a long time he had been thinking about her and Nakia. Nakia reminded him of Sadki when she was younger, and she seemed to care so much about her. Every day since Nakia grew ill, he had prayed that she would be okay. She was such a nice girl; noone would wish her to die.
Adah sighed, knowing that he needed to think about something else for a change. She closed her eyes, searching the back of her mind for one thing that would make him think of something else: anything else. After a moment of not being able to think of anything, she sat up and looked over at the enterance. The blanket waved from the wind and rain, and at the bottom were two boots.
Alarmed, she looked over at Dante, then back to the door. He looked and saw the boots. From the way things were lately, people were given an insecure feeling. Slowly, he stood up and grabbed his sword, ready to attack if he needed to. If whoever was out there did one thing wrong, he was more than willing to defend Adah.
He put his hand right in front of the blanket, slowly lifting it up. Then there was a hiccup from the other side. Dante looked back at Adah, wondering if she heard it as well, which she had. She gave him a confused look, so he continued lifting the blanket.
Rain poured down onto her hair, her clothes drenched in water. Her eyes were locked on the ground, her hands clenched. She seemed to be both angry and in shock.
"Sadki!" He dropped his sword and walked out into the rain, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. With a quick glance behind her, he brought her inside. "What's wrong?"
They sat down on his bed as Adah walked over.
She hiccuped again, but this time covered her mouth.
Adah put her hands on Sadki's cheeks, trying to make eye to eye contact. "What happened?" Usually she would already be at her own home, sleeping and dreaming. Rarely did she ever come over to visit Adah and Dante during the night.
Dante got up and walked through a small archway into a small kitchen. He grabbed a cup which had been on the table and brought it to a pot which had been filled with water. Dipping the cup in the water, he brought it back up with liquid filling the recent empty space. When he walked back to the two girls, he handed the cup to Sadki, who immediately took a sip.
"What's wrong?" Dante repeated as he sat on the other side of Sadki.
She looked at the ground, her front teeth biting her bottom lip. Her head shook slowly, and she looked up at Adah, debating on whether or not she would believe her. But a part of her didn't believe it herself.
"It's Father Mateo. He's acting different." She forced herself to say.
Adah cocked an eyebrow, wondering why he was different. People changed, but usually it was the priests and high believers that stayed the same.
OKAY. WELL. THAT'S IT FOR RIGHT NOW. THANKS FOR READING. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT SO I KNOW IF YOU LIKED IT OR NOT. THANKS
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