Rewritten 07/27/18

Lutz was the first to find her. Sitting in the waiting room of Marian's office, the pale-faced boy wrung his hands as his best friend, Melanie comforted him. She rested her head on his shoulder, looping her arm through his, and gave it a squeeze. It will be okay.

Veronica knelt in front of his chair after finally emerging from the little office where Marian did his work. They had been waiting for so long, Lutz was afraid that they'd never come back.

He was more afraid that he had dreamt the whole thing.

"Tell me again what happened, Lutz." Veronica said, keeping her voice soft and and quiet, barely above a whisper. She rested a hand on his shoulder as Lutz removed his glasses from his face and began to wipe them with the hem of his sweater.

"Melanie and I were playing on the mountain path," his voice wavered. "We were playing hide-and-seek. Melanie was hiding." Veronica nodded her head, urging him to continue. "I began looking for her in one of the clearings on the mountain path. The one with the big tree near the path that leads to the leafy crop fields was where I found her."

"Did you hear any screams? Did she cry for help? It's important that we know all the details of the accident, Lutz." Veronica said, her voice sounding almost harsh. She winced. The case was time sensitive, but she didn't want to worry the children. She just needed answers.

Lutz inhaled again, glancing towards Melanie, who nodded in encouragement.

"She was lying by the tree unconscious. I ran up to help her, but there was nothing … There was nothing I could do. There was so much blood …" Lutz shook Melanie's arm off and ran a hand through his short, brown hair. "I yelled for Melanie to come out, but she was too far away. That's when I saw Mr. Klaus walking up the path. He helped carry her to town."

The door to the small office slammed open just as Lutz finished his story. Fritz, the red-headed farmer, sprinted into the room, his freckled face as pale as the mood.

"Where is she?!" He yelled, voice hoarse and cracking, as if he had been crying. Elise followed soon after him, panting as she clutched her chest. She grabbed his arm and pulled him close,

"You're not going to get anywhere with that loud mouth of yours," She hissed. "If you were concerned for her well being at all, you'd shut up and listen to what Veronica has to say."

Veronica stood up and dusted off her grey dress.

"You're late," she said, voice biting and cold. Now that, she meant to do. "Melanie, will you make sure Lutz gets home? I will notify you as soon as we know what's going on. And, please, don't let him worry too much," she sighed, dismissing the young children and turned to the two farmers.

"I'm sorry, I came as quickly as I could, but there was still so much to do on the farm," Elise sighed, and looked at Fritz as if to say 'what's your excuse?'

"I was looking for Eda, but I couldn't find her anywhere." Fritz looked down at his feet, "I thought she should know."

"Eda is already here. Her and Giorgio both saw Klaus as he was bringing Minori into town," Veronica glanced over her shoulder, face contorting in a mixture of worry and frustration. "You can have a seat next to them while I brief you on what's going on."

Elise and Fritz nodded as they took their respective places next to the other farmers of the town, waiting for the doctor to come back.

"She's going to be okay, Fritz. She's a strong one." Eda said, patting Fritz on the head as he sat on the floor in front of her. Of course, she knew that there were no guarantees, but she would say anything to put the boy's mind at ease.

"As you know, this afternoon there was an accident involving Minori. After having lunch at Raeger's, she headed up the mountain to gather some flowers for Eda's birthday," Veronica said, pacing the length of there room with her hands clasped behind her back. "We are still unsure of what happened while she was up there, but we're not ruling out any leads. The case is fresh, but we're hoping that when she comes to … if she comes to, she will be able to remember what happened."

"But she's alright, right?" Fritz furrowed his brow, looking up at the guild master.

"She is suffering from minor injuries to the front temple … but she's stabilized. Marian and Angela are still trying to figure out what hit her." Veronica turned her back to the group, hoping she was masking how truly worried she was. As she knew, there wasn't just one injury. There were two. Two head injuries, and Marian was still unsure of what kind of damage that could have done. Blood loss and and patching the young woman up was the priority.

"What are we going to do about her farm?" Elise asked, forcing Veronica to turn back around. She feigned a smile for the group,

"Well, Eda and I have been discussing some options," Veronica replied. Her words hung in the air as everyone fell silent. Were they seriously going to discuss what would happen — goddess forbid — what might happen if Minori … died?

Eda pushed herself up from her seat and turned to face the group.

"We're going to take turns taking care of the farm while she recovers. Until she's ready to continue, it will be up to us to keep the trading business booming," Eda scanned the room, making eye contact with each of them.

"We just started the new fields, though, and on top of that we have our own farms to think about …" Giorgio shook his head. "I don't know if we can pull this off."

"C'mon man, it's only going to be for a little while …" Fritz, said feigning a smile. "Minori will be up and ready to farm in no time."

Giorgio bit his lip, and looked down at his lap while Elise covered her petit mouth with a hand.

"What if she's not? What if she doesn't get better or … worse, what if she doesn't wake up?" Elise asked as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"We can't think like that," Fritz stood up and grabbed Elise by her shoulders. "Minori wouldn't want you to think like that." He said, eyes red from holding back tears. Elise sighed as she stood up and pulled him into a hug.

"You idiot … " she choked. "You know I hate to admit when you're right."

Frtiz smiled and released her from the embrace just as Marian and Angela opened the door to the waiting room. Angela removed her gloves and face mask while Marian did the same. They were quite.

"Is she…" Veronica's eyes widened,

"No, she's stabilized. For now, at least," Marian said as he looked down,

"Oh, thank the goddess," Veronica said, sighing in relief. "Do you have any idea of what happened?"

"We think there was something that spooked her horse while she was picking flowers. It must have kicked her in the head, and as she stumbled backward, she hit it again on either a tree or some rocks." Angela explained, trying to keep her emotions out of her voice. "We are positive that she will wake up, but we don't know how long it will take."

"It could be a few days, weeks, or months," Marian said, nodding towards his assistant. "But she is getting the best care and treatment we can offer."

"Can we see her?" Fritz asked, stepping forward,

"At this moment we ask that you all head home and get some rest. It's been a long day, and she's in rough shape right now. You can come visit her in the morning," Angela said as she began to reach out to pat Fritz on the shoulder, but hesitated and decided not to.

The farmers shuffled out of the guild with their heads hung low.

"I'll take first shift," Fritz said, clearing his voice. Knowing taking the first shifts could mean losing visiting hours, the red-head gave an encouraging smile. "It's going to be okay. She's going to be okay."

"Fritz … you don't have to do that. I would be more than willing to take care of it tomorrow," Elise said, sighing as she ran a hand through her blond, curly locks. "You will want to see her in the morning."

Fritz shook his head, "You can do it the next day, Elise. I want to do this for her."

"…Fine. Giorgio, you can have the third day. Eda, I don't want you to have to worry about this, so the three of us will handle it," Elise decided and began making a mental list of assignments and tasks that everyone would need to keep track of.

"I want to help; she means as much to me as she does to you." Eda objected, knowing well enough she wouldn't have the energy to take care of two farms.

"Eda, please, we don't need you to end up in the clinic as well…" Giorgio sighed.

"I will do what I can, then," Eda agreed and turned towards the door. "Let's go home, kids."

…

Angela sighed as she refilled the IV drip in Minori's arm. Three days had passed and the young woman had barely moved from her unconscious position on the bed, and the waiting was starting to take a toll on the friends that patiently waited on her return. Angela shook her head and finished what she had come to do just as Minori began to stir.

"Minori…?" Angela said, furrowing her brow as the bedridden woman began to make her first movements.

"Ugh…" Minori groaned, rolling over onto her side. "My…head…" Her eyes sprung open as she covered her mouth with her hand, face turning a slight shade of green.

"AH! Please, into the trashcan! Here, here, here, here!" Angela shouted in surprise, frantically grabbing the nearest trashcan for her to throw up in.

"Angela, honey, please keep it down in there!" Marian called out to her from the other side of the curtain that separated them.

"Dr! Minori is waking up!" Angela yelled, just as Marian whipped open the curtain door.

"Minori," He said, kneeling next to the bed. "Honey, look at me!" he snapped his fingers in front of her face, trying to keep her attention. Minori rolled onto her back covered her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"Wha-what's going on?" She asked, groaning as she tried to sit up. The overwhelming urge to puke took over again, and she was soon leaning off the edge of the bed once more.

"Honey, please, take it easy," Marian murmured, gently helping her sit up in the small hospital bed. "Do you remember what happened?"

"No, why am I here?" Minori frowned, clutching her head, "Why is my head bandaged? Ugh … it hurts so bad! What's going on?!"

"You had an accident," Angela said, keeping her voice as low and soothing as possible as she walked around to the other edge of Minori's bed. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Uh … going to bed," Minori squinted upwards. "That light is too bright can we turn it off?"

"Do you remember anything that happened the day of fall 13th?" Angela asked, unable to hid the worry on her face. Her stomach was already churning at they way Minori was answering questions. It was as if the farmer couldn't remember anything that had happened the day of the accident which was … concerning. The nurse shook her head, trying to rid her mind of such terrible thoughts, and wrote a few notes on her clipboard.

"No, it was fall 12th when I went to bed. The light. Please turn it off … ugh, it's so hot in here …" Minori said, panting and pulling at the neck of her hospital neck gown. She swung her legs off the edge of the bed in an attempt to stand up, but Angela grabbed her.

"Please sit still," Angela ordered, forcing her to lie back down.

"Why am I here?" Minori asked, swatting Angela's hands away and attempting to regain some control of her bodily functions.

"Minori, please —" Angela began, but was interrupted by Marian,

"You had an accident … and you don't remember anything about it?" he questioned, writing notes onto his own clipboard.

"An accident …?" Minori asked, frowning as she lightly touched the bandages wrapped around her forehead, "I hurt my head…?"

Minori attempted to stand up again, but Angela grabbed her by the shoulders forcibly.

"Yes, do you remember anything that happened on fall 13th?" The nurse asked, wondering how many times the farmer was going to try to stand before they had to take drastic measures.

"I need to turn off that light," Minori said as she pushed Angela off of her and finally felt ground beneath her feet. She swayed as she took a step forward,

"Minori, honey, I need you to sit back down now," Marian sighed as he swept her up and into his arms.

"And I need you to turn off that light! Ugh … I can't think straight," Minori whined, covering her eyes with her hands and frantically kicking the air like a child.

"Angela, darling, would you be a dear and get your mother for me?" Marian asked as he laid Minori back down in her bed. "Also, please turn off the light so I can get some answers from our patient."

Angela nodded her head as she scurried out the door to retrieve her mother.

"Hmmm, I see, I see," Marian muttered as he began checking Minori for any other problems aside from the obvious head trauma. "You don't remember anything, but you remember going to bed the night before. Your memories of the day prior to the accident are perfectly intact."

"Angela forgot to turn off the light," Minori inhaled sharply as Marian flashed a small light in her eye,

"You're extremely disoriented and have a light sensitivity," Marian grabbed his clipboard and began to jot more notes down. "But, other than that, you seem to be fine."

"Oh, Minori, thank the goddess you're awake!" Veronica smiled as she entered the room, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling like I want that light turned off! My head hurts," Minori grumbled and crossed her arms. "I don't remember anything and I just want to go home now."

"Other than that you're okay, right?" Veronica asked, more so towards Marian than Minori, who shrugged in response.

"She's a little disoriented and has a headache, but overall she's fine," Marian said as he stood up. "I think it's typical for these types of head trauma to cause memory loss, but I think they should come back to her in time. However, I would like to continue to check up on her, so have her come back tomorrow morning."

"Do you think it's okay for her to go home now?" Veronica asked, furrowing her brow. After seeing what Minori looked like just a few days ago, the guild master was unsure of how anyone could bounce back so quickly. There was so much blood loss that the guild had to contact neighboring towns for extra infusions.

"Well, she seems to be acting like she's fine. A mild headache is nothing, and she's getting over being disoriented," Marian sighed, tapping his pen as he looked over at Minori. "I think it would be best if she was at home. Maybe something there will jog her memory and it's certainly more comfortable than sleeping on a hospital bed."

"Mother, why don't you call Fritz to take her home? He's usually at the guild by now," Angela attempted a feigning an encouraging smile as she rested her hand on her mother's shoulder. "Minori will be good as new in no time."

"Okay, I'll go—"

Fritz flung the door open, causing it to slam into the wall and nearly knock Marian's coffee off of his desk.

"I'm already here, I heard everything," Fritz grinned as he bounded towards Minori. "Minori! I'm so glad you're okay!" he squeeled, sweeping her into a bone crushing hug.

"Ah- Fr-i-tz! Can't … breathe!" Minori gasped as he let go of her, "Geez, you act like you weren't ever going to see me again." She laughed as the room fell silent.

"Was it that bad?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Nori, you lost a lot of blood …" Fritz looked away from her, rubbing the back of his neck. "We thought — well … it was a terrible accident."

"Oh, I don't remember anything from it," Minori said and somehow managed to smile through her weakness. "I'm okay now, though. Let's go home, yeah?"

Fritz nodded and looped his arm through hers.

"Thanks for taking care of her," he said, nodding towards Marian and Angela.

"It's my job, Honey. You should check on her in the morning and don't you dare let her touch any of those heavy tools! She's grounded from heavy lifting. Watering crops is okay, but no harvesting crops with scythe or taking care of the animals," Marian ordered, a smirk growing on his face at Minori's exasperation and small shouts of protest. "And, here, keep some of these stashed in the house so she can change her bandages herself," he said, tossing a role of white gauze and other bandages to the redhead.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her," Fritz grinned as he helped Minori outside.

"Ah, the sun is setting," Minori murmured as they finally exited the guild building.

Fritz glanced over at her nervously. For the past three days he had worried himself to death over her and now they were walking home together. The only thing was she doesn't remember anything. She doesn't remember getting hit on the head, or what she did before that. This is crazy, Fritz thought to himself. I'm never going to forget these past three days, but she doesn't even know what happened. She doesn't know how Klaus carried her lifeless body down the mountain, she doesn't know how pale she looked laying in the hospital bed and she certainly doesn't know how worried everyone was.

It took awhile, but the two finally made it to the mountain path. Fritz hoped maybe walking up it would help her remember something, anything. He just wanted to know what happened.

"Is something wrong?" Minori glanced up at him, clutching his arm as she gingerly walked up the path. "I'm sorry if I'm holding onto you too tightly, I'm still really tired," She sighed.

"No, no, everything's fine," Fritz feigned yet another smile, but he knew better. Everything was not fine. This is too strange — it's like nothing even happened …

"We'll have to have a celebration when you start to feel better," he said, changing the subject. "Everyone is going to be so relieved that you're okay."

"How can we have a celebration when I don't even know why we're celebrating? I know I had an accident, and it must've been bad, but to me it's like nothing even happened," Minori groaned out of frustration. "My head really does hurt, though. I've never had a headache migraine quite like this."

"I know, but to us it's like you've come back to life. Klaus thought you were dead when he found you," Fritz said, frowning.

"Klaus found me? He thought I was dead?"

"Well, Lutz found you first, and yes, they both thought you were dead," Fritz said, shifting his arm, which Minori was still clutching as if she would fall to the ground if she weren't holding onto something. "I think you woke up quicker than Marian thought you would."

"How long did he think it would take?" Minori asked, eyes wide and confused.

"He said it could be days, weeks, or even months before you woke up," Fritz said, shaking his head. "Elise, Giorgio and I have been taking care of your farm in the meantime. We had to make a plan in case you didn't … never mind."

"In case I didn't what, Fritz?"

"In case you never woke up," Fritz said and coughed, clearing his throat. "Look, we're home now," He said, avoiding eye contact. I can't handle the way she keeps looking me … like I'm being dramatic.

"I'm awake now, so don't worry so much, okay?" Minori said, shaking her head as he helped her through the door of her house.

She went to the bathroom to change into her nightgown and Fritz took a seat at her little coffee table. When she finally came back out and sat on her bed, they were both silent.

"So, I'll be over tomorrow morning, okay? I'm going to help you with the farm," Fritz said.

"You don't have to do that," Minori replied awkwardly. "Marian said I should be fine, I just have to go in for checkups, right?"

"He also said I should help you out in the morning."

More awkward silence followed until Fritz finally stood up and stretched his arms over his head.

"Well, I guess I'll go now," he said with a yawn. "Goodnight, sleep tight."

"Goodnight, see you in the morning," Minori said, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair and watched the farmer run out of the house.

It's going to be fine, I promise. I'm going to be fine.

Minori touched her hand to her forehead one more time before shutting off the lights and lying down on her bed. Tomorrow it will be like none of this ever happened.

…

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Minori woke up, groaning at the obnoxiously loud banging on her front door. Who the heck is here at this hour? She thought to herself as she got up from her bed and combed her fingers through her unruly hair.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Hold on just a second, please!" She called out, grabbing her farming duds from her dresser and changing out of her nightgown. The door creaked open just as she finished dressed,

"Ah, you're awake! How are you feeling?" Fritz asked, smiling with cheerfulness as he stepped inside the small house. He sat a basket of bread, coffee, and eggs on the table as Minori raised a brow.

"Of course I'm awake?" She said, smiling in confusion as she reached for a loaf of bread. "What are you doing here so early?"

Fritz frowned. "What are you talking about, Nori? I told you last night I would come over to help you out around the farm. I woke up extra early to get my chores done just so I could get her faster."

Minori's smile began to fade, "No, what are you talking about? We didn't talk about anything last night." She whipped around, keeping her back towards him. "Thanks for the bread and coffee. Do you want me to fix some of these eggs? I also have stuff for pancakes."

"Uh, Minori, I walked you home from the clinic yesterday evening, don't you remember?" Fritz asked, taking a seat at the coffee table. His head was already spinning with questions.

"I wasn't at the clinic yesterday. Did you hit your head on something, silly goose?" Minori glanced over her shoulder and stuck out her tongue as she began to fix some pancakes.

"No, but you did," Fritz said. "You don't remember anything that happened yesterday?"

"Of course I remember! I took care of my farm, visited Eda, and went to the trade depot. It was a long day, and I forgot to get Eda her birthday present while I was shopping," Minori finished the pancakes and handed a plate to Fritz, motioning for him to eat. "Which reminds me, I think I'm going to get some flowers for Eda today when I'm done working. What do you think? Do you think she will like that"

Fritz's jaw dropped. "Minori, what is today's date?" He asked her, panic rising in his voice,

"It's fall 13th, Eda's birthday. Don't tell me you forgot!" Minori shook her head, "Gosh, Fritz, I didn't know you were so bad at remembering things."

"Oh, my goddess," Fritz whispered, feeling the color drain from his face. "We need to get you to Marian, right now!" He nearly shouted, grabbing her by the arm, but Minori swatted him away.

"Ah! Fritz! What are you doing?!"

"Minori, you had an accident on fall 13th, four days ago. You woke up yesterday, but couldn't remember what happened. Today is fall 17th! We have —"

"Is this some kind of joke? Ugh, you're so — I don't know what you are! Let go! I'm not going to the clinic to fulfill some kind of joke. Some of us actually have work to do today," Minori yelled, yanking her arm out of Fritz's grip.

He looked at her, panic spreading even further across his face.

"Please leave, I have stuff to do," Minori said, her voice sounding more than slightly annoyed.

"Minori, please," Fritz begged, but she just shook her head at him until he finally left.

"What has gotten into that boy?" She asked herself, looking out her window as she watched him run down the path. "Today is fall 13th … I just know it."

Minori reached up to her head as her eyes widened in shock. Oh no, no, no, what is this? What is this bandage around my head for? She thought frantaclly as she sprinted to her tiny bathroom to look in the mirror.

An accident? He said I had an accident? Minori began to slowly remove the white gauze that was covering her forehead. Where did this gauze come from? Why can't I remember anything?