Chapter 21: Awaken
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"He should be fine." Stear and Candy concluded. "We take him inside."
"Stear, what about the horses?" sobbed Ella desperately pulling his shirt. "We just bought them using all our saving. We can't afford to buy more horses. We can't work without horses!"
Ella started to cry. Stear hugged her to calm her down.
"Ella, don't worry. They will come back…," consoled Stear. "If not, I have Neal replace them with ten new horses. How does that sound?"
Lightning and thunder stroke again…
"Dear sister, see that?" asked Stear. "You secure the stable, I fix the roof. Forget about the horses. Trust me, it doesn't matter anymore."
Ella nodded hopelessly. She went back to the stable to secure the door for their last remaining horse. Meanwhile, Stear hurriedly ran back to the roof and Neal carried unconscious Anthony into the house to put him in bed.
Candy expertly displayed her nurse skill as she attended Anthony. Worried, but not sure how to be more helpful, Neal could only openmouthedly watch her.
"Honey, cook some chicken soup," said Candy to Neal. "He'll need that when he gets up."
"I don't know how," said Neal. His throat tightened.
"Cook hot water," said Candy.
"I don't know how either, honey…," Neal said through a very tight and dry throat.
He used to regard these as little tasks for someone else to execute. But now, there's no one else to order but himself.
Neal stared at his cousin's unresponsive body whose face was as white as paper with equally pale lips for the second time in his life. It left him hollow, overwhelmed. Panic! What if Anthony died because of his incompetence?
"Turn on the stove, ask Stear how," ordered Candy.
Neal scrambled to look for Stear. Stear was already back in the roof fixing damages.
"Stear!" called Neal, his voice almost broke into a high-pitched voice.
"Wait… I am busy," ignored Stear.
Neal cleared his throat.
"Stear! Now! Anthony's life depends hugely on this," ordered Neal trying to sound manly and calmly.
As soon as he heard that, Stear didn't merely climb downstairs, he slid downstairs.
"How's Anthony? He's awake?"
"Not yet," Neal swallowed, checking his pride. "Stear… Show me how to turn on the stove."
Stear whistled, in awe.
"Just do it and don't make comments!" Neal snapped. "Remember, your brother is not any better than me!"
Stear took his cousin to the kitchen and gave him a brief introduction on how to operate things there. In the middle of his lecture, lightning stroke followed by a heavy rain and big wind.
"I get to go Neal or our house will collapse. Remember the basic, wash all the meat and vegetable before you cook them."
Stear looked around and grabbed a book.
"Anthony said he learned to cook using this book. Let's see if you can find some use of that, too," said Stear.
He threw the book to Neal. "The rest… just use your own imagination…"
Stear left the kitchen. He ran back briefly to throw a dead chicken to Neal.
"You should be grateful that you don't need to kill and scald it," teased Stear with a wink.
Soon Stear left leaving Neal in charge of the whole kitchen.
Calmly, Neal rolled his sleeves, opened the book, and started to experiment.
oOoo
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Riding a horse! The blonde girl is laughing and happy. Me too!
A big fox coming… Chase it! Faster!
Argh what happened? Aaah!
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Ian's eyelids fluttered open. "Anthony?" he murmured.
He got up and sat bolt uprights in the bed right away.
"Anthony Brown!" shouted Ian. His heart race fast and his whole body was soaked in sweat. "My name is Anthony brown," he mumbled. Just like had just woken up from a long dream, suddenly everything became clear.
"Easy…," he heard a soft voice said worriedly.
He jerked his head to where the voice came from and saw… a woman. Golden hair, green eyes... Just like the girl who had been appearing in his dreams but she's a woman here.
"Anthony…," the woman said gently.
Ian fixed his gaze at her."You are…," he whispered.
"Candy. Anthony… I'm Candy!"
"Candy?" Anthony breathed her name.
He observed her face intently. He extended her hand to touch her face to convince himself that this wasn't a dream. She welcomed his hand with a strong grip.
"I'm Candy," her lips quivered with emotions. "Anthony, you're riding a horse with me…"
Ella who was also in the room caring for Ian pricked at the sentence.
Riding a horse… with her? Ella remembered her father told them about the blonde girl before he passed away. The blonde girl Ian has been talking about is Candy?
Ella then heard Ian said gently, "Candy, you're all grown up…!"
Ella never heard Ian speak that gently to anyone before. Not only that, she witnessed how gentle his face was when he's looking at Candy's. They hugged each other tightly, tearfully.
Fuck! Ian could be gentle and emotional too after all!, thought Ella, feeling beaten.
"Anthony, wait… I call the others," said Candy, wiping her face that's wet of tears. "Don't move too much…"
Candy dashed outside and screamed, "Neal! Stear! Anthony remembers… Anthony!"
Feeling outcast, Ella stood quietly at the corner of the room witnessing it all.
In seconds the two men appeared, surrounding Anthony.
"Cous, I'm Neal!" Hugged Neal.
"Now you know who Stear is, don't you?" said Stear. Impatient to wait for his turn, he just hugged the two men together.
"Ian…," said Ella timidly. She wanted to show she's happy too but no one heard her.
"Neal… Wow, Stear!" said Anthony loudly leaving Ella's voice unheard of at the background. "Where's Archie?"
"He does remember," said Neal and Stear loudly. Both pumped their fist to the air in excitement, patted Anthony's back.
"Easy… We need to make sure that he has no broken bones!" said Candy, alarmed. "He also has a fever. Could we get a doctor? He has to be examined first before partying!"
Stear wiped some drop of tears from his eyes.
"Yes, from a nearby village," sniffed Stear.
"We can't use my car. The road is flooded," added Neal.
"We still have one horse," said Ella, timidly. She felt so outcast by the strong bonds between the four together.
"Good! Someone can pick up the doctor!" said Neal jubilantly.
"There are so many fixing emergency needs to be done here," murmured Stear, thoughtfully.
"Would you go, Neal?" asked Candy glanced sharply at Neal. "I'm a nurse. I should stay here. Ella is busy too."
All eyes automatically stopped at Neal.
Me?, thought Neal. All of a sudden his stomach flipped. Why? She wants to have a private time with Anthony? His heart trembled realizing the horrid truth. Anthony gets his memory back! He remembers who Candy is!
Seeing her sharp decisive green eyes though, Neal could only nod.
"You still know how to ride a horse, Neal?" asked Stear.
Neal nodded again.
"Take Wind," said Stear confidently. "He's the best of the best. With him, you will make it."
Stear took Neal outside to show him which direction he had to go.
"The lightning and thunder have stopped but not the rain. Are you sure you can go, Neal?" confirmed Stear seeing his moody face.
Stear… I don't have a problem with the rain… add hail and thunderbolts to it... But, I have a problem to leave Candy alone with Anthony…, Neal tsk-ed silently.
"Yeah, I can," Neal replied stiffly.
Stear hugged and patted his cousin's back encouragingly.
Neal went to the stable. He found that the best of the best Stear was referring to didn't look at all like a stallion he's imagining. Wind was just an old horse.
Neal heaved a long sigh and stared at the animal. Wind stared back with his dark large eyes. Neal started to grin. It's impossible not to like Wind's smart look.
"Hi Wind!" Neal talked to the horse, tossed a saddle on its back.
Wind neighed.
"My wife is the air I breathe to stay alive. We gotta come back quickly before she's taken by somebody else. Got that?"
Wind neighed.
Neal patted Wind. Together, they made a journey to look for a doctor for Anthony…
oOoOo
After the two men left, Candy went to the kitchen to pick up the hot water Neal had successfully boiled for Anthony. Finally, Ella had the opportunity to be alone with her Ian. But to her, he seemed so out there, didn't pay much attention to her.
"I have a family!" said Anthony with a big smile to Ella. "I will go back with Candy, Neal, and also Stear to Chicago! We are cousins. There's one more cousin, you heard just now, Archie."
Anthony laughed cheerfully.
Ella started to be nervous. Ian said "I" not "we", he didn't include her at all in the plan.
"You will go to Chicago?" asked Ella carefully, hoping that Anthony got the hint and invited her to come with him.
"I will go to Chicago," repeated Anthony, cluelessly.
Without me?, thought Ella heartbrokenly.
"Remember you father's story about me riding a horse with a girl before I fell? That girl is Candy. Can you believe it?" Anthony kept talking excitedly, obliviously. He looked so happy which cut Ella's heart even more.
"Ian, do you want to have lunch now?" asked Ella trying to be sweet to attract his attention.
"That's okay, Candy is preparing it for me, she…," said Anthony.
It's annoying how much Candy meant to him - how much she could comfort him, calm him, and make him happy. Always be outspoken and to the point, Ella burst out.
"Candy… Candy… I'm glad for you!" interrupted Ella. She couldn't keep it to herself anymore.
"Ella?" asked Anthony, dumbfounded.
"You have Candy and your cousins. You don't need me anymore!" said Ella dryly.
"No way...! Let me explain…," said Anthony.
"Explain to yourself!" rejected Ella bitterly. "I'm leaving! Happy?"
"Don't leave, Ella," said Anthony. He grabbed the tip of her skirt.
"Why not?" challenged Ella.
"Because… er…," Anthony fumbled. "T-the weather is bad outside! And er… your dad said…"
That's done it. So, to him she's just a duty to fulfill for the sake of her father.
"Dad said he wants us to be together?*" cut Ella cynically. "Don't bother!"
"Bye Ia… Anthony!" Ella said acidly fighting back the tears from falling for the sake of dignity.
I love you, Ian. Can't you tell?
She jerked her dress free from his hand and flung herself out of the room.
Oh no... , thought Anthony without making any effort to call her back. Normally he would, but his legs hurt today. In addition, knowing her well, he didn't think she would really go anywhere. She'd come back by herself in no time. I'll talk to her when she's back.
He heard someone knock at the door.
"Lunch time, Anthony." Candy came back with her friendly smile delivering lunch...
-To Be Continued-
NOTE:
*Chapter 1: Mr. Boyt, Ella's father said it before he died, chapter 1.
oOo
Thanks for reading