It was cold. The same thought ran through Aya's head over and over. Normally she wouldn't mind her daily chores, but on cold snowy days like this one , the water from the well was freezing and would occasionally spill onto her kimono as she hauled bucket after bucket to the small bath house where she would heat water for her master's son. If it wasn't the cold water, it was that the cold made her skin stiff and cracked. Not only did she find it unattractive, but the bucket would bang against her knees, causing them to bleed and bruise easy.
"Aya! Are you almost finished?" A voice called. Aya dumped a bucket into the wooden tub and looked over her shoujlder to see Shirasawa, the elderly maid of the household, and her direct superior approaching her.
"Yes Ma'm I'm just about done." She responded. The old woman examined the water level of the tub.
"Good. I'll get the bath heated up, you run along to the marketplace for me." The old woman said. Aya pulled her wavy black hair out of it's loose tail.
"Of course. Was there anything you needed me to find?" She asked witha smile. The old woman pondered for a bit.
"No just the usual things. "
The usual things included small rations that were usually split between the two of them, like extra vegatables for when the cooks of the household only had little extra to spare. The two were hardly paid for their services as it is. In Aya's case, she was workign for the sake of her debt broken family anywa.y She didn't expect to make a lot , but it was a living that left much to be desired.
"Oh and don't take the bridge back. I know it's a long way around but it's really dangerous this time of year. It would be bad if you slipped and fell into the river." Shirasawa said as she slowly coaxed emberes into a fire. Aya couldn't help but smile again. She and the old woman were hardly close, but she was greatful for what concern was given to her.
"I'll be careful. "
Aya liked going to the evening market a lot more then the morning one. Sure there were more thugs and bandits then vendors lounging around the street, but it was also easy to manuever through them all, and less people to compete prices with. She was able to obtain what she needed easily enough, and was soon on her way home, desparetly trying to ignore the constant chill that took her over. She wanted more then anything to take the bridge home, but just as Shirasawa said, it was icy. She could see that without even getting close to it. She let out a sigh that disappeared in a small cloud of fog not far from her lips.
"I guess I'm going to have to take the long way."
She turned away and prepared herself for more of the usual cold. It was somewhat depressing when light flakes of snow began to slowly falling from the sky. "Just look at how beautiful it is." Aya thought to herself. She was still trying to ignore the numbing feeling that overtook her body.
The streets were empty now, and this particular part of two wasn't very populated anyway, but Aya was surprised when she looked up from her feet, to see the man leaning against a gnarled tree, snow carefully pilled on his shoulders. She walked passed him like she did many, until she saw that small drops of blood had trailed towards him. She turned around and examined the stranger, sure enoguh, he was holding an injury on his side, it looked fresh, and was probably still bleeding, She couldn't tell by looking at it.
"A-are you alright?" She asked kneeling by him. She put her ear to his chest and listened carefully. His breaths were heavy, and hearbeat faint, and panic suddenly took her over.
"Someone! Anyone please help!" She called. She looked around , hoping to see someone running her way, but unfortunelty the streets were still empty. Even the footsteps from the busy day were erased by a fresh blanket of pure white snow that seemed to devour every sound that was made. She listened carefully, and but once again disappointed when she didn't even hear anything. "I can't leave him here like this, he'll die for sure" Aya thought. She made sure her small satchel of things was tied tightly across her back, before positioning herself next to the man and bringing his arm over her shoulder. Upon feeling his skin, she put it down and untied her jacket form her shoulders. "Bare arms in this weather! This man is crazy" She draped it over his shoulders, and tied the long hem around his waist to hopefully slowly any bleeding coming from his single wound. She saw the sword at his side, but paid it no mind. Again, she took his arm and somehow managed to hoist him to his feet. She stumbled at first , trying to balance their combined weight in a manner that wouldn't send her flying on the ice.
"If you can hear me, please try to walk a little, I don't think I can hadnle hauling both of us , please just hang on." She said. She was surpised, when the man took one small feeble step off sync with her own. She moved slowly to help him gain his footing, and after what seemed like forever, they finally made it back to the manor where Aya lived and worked. The members of the main house had gone to bed much earlier, btu Aya saw that the lamp in the servant's guest house was still on. "Please please don't let her be upset." Aya thought as Shirasawa came to mind. She hoped she would express relief at her safe return, rather then anger for getting the shoppping done so late. She had seen both before.
She set the man down on the roka and slowly opened the screen. Shirasawa was sitting at a small table, and she turned to look at Aya with a look of relief. "Am I in luck?"
"Goodness Child ! Where have you been! Everyone has been worreid about you! Goodness look at you there ies snow all over your hair!" Shirasawa scolded. She brushed off the top of Aya's head." Lucky"
"Shirasawa please listen to me, I brought someone with me, he's wounded, please help me get him inside." Aya begged. She slid the door open almost all the way to reveal the stranger. If it was one thing that Aya liked about the old women, is that she was compassionate and caring, despite her somewhat cranky personality. She helped move the man without questin even though both of them knew that letting a man into the woman's servant's house could merit severe punishment. If the master of the house found out, he would certainly be angered. Regardless of that though, both Aya and Shirasawa set to treating the man.
"Go fetch some warm water child, and we'll clean his wound. Hurry, be swift and silent!"
Aya did as she was told, easily. She was alweays curious as to why the old woman knew so much about healing , but it came in handy many times.
When she came back, the man was laying down on a futon, his bare chest exposed. Aya would have found herself blushing at the sight, if she wan't bothered by the gash on his abdomen. " So many he was a warrior" She thought. She watched as the old women cleaned the wound, then applied a salve to it. She was about to bandage it , but then saw that Aya was watching intently. She held the white cloth out to her.
"Your hands are clean right? You wrap it." She said sternly. Aya was taken back by the sudden gesture.
"I-I can't! I'm not a healer I hardly know how to wrap a foot!" She protested in loud whispers.
"I won't be around forever, it's time you start learning."
Aya was frozen for a bit, but then took the cltoh right away. She tied back her long hair then set out to finish the bandaging.
"Make sure you don't tie it to tightly, you'll cause the blood to stop flowing and it'll seep from the wound before it closes." The old woman lectured. When Aya tied it off, the man winced a little. .
"Ah! I'm sorry" She whispered.
"Leave him be Aya, let him rest." The old woman said. Aya turned to face her and bowed deeply.
"Thank you so much Shirasawa. "
"You don't need to thank me. If it's in one's power to save a life then it becomes their duty. Just don't let anyone know that you have a man in our room. "
By anyone, Aya knew she meant anyone outside of their servant's quarters. All of the tenants in the house were women, simply because both the master and his son were lechourous snakes. There was no doubt that out of the menial 4 servants ,they all despised the members of the main house, Aya and the old woman included. The other two, were the same age as Aya, twin sisters in fact, that Aya knew she could trust. They howeve,r would have been in bed for ahiwle now as well.
"I'll tell Ise and Ino tomorrow morning. You just watch over him and let me know if something is happens." The old woman said. She opened the door leading out of the room and watched as Aya bowed her head again.
"Thank you again."
The old woman was silent , but then turned away.
"I'm getting too old for this" She muttered. Aya looked up and swore she saw the old woman smiling.
It was quiet again, Aya watched the ma nas he slept, his breathing was still slow, but he was better off here than he was on the street. She pulled the thick blanket over him all the way to his chin. She was eager to talk to him ,to find out why he was passed out on the roadside with a terrible wound on his side. But all of that would have to wait. FOr now, she blew out the lantern and curled up in the corner of the room, not far from him. "It's cold"
I cannot stop watching this movie XD . Really puts me into a mood for samurai and stuff.
Hopefully I'll have some time to update soon, but this is actually still a work in progress. XD
btws, a Roka is the little wooden walk way on the outsides of Japanese homes.