The next day came and went with the stranger sleeping most of the day. He would periodically wake up, take a sip of water from either Miguel or Teresa, but was not strong enough to eat yet. Teresa was very worried, he needed to drink more water and was in desperate need of nourishment. Miguel balked and doing his daily chores, but frequently took a break to peek in to see if the man had woken up yet. Between the chores of both Miguel and Teresa, there always seemed to be someone inside the house to be near him. As Teresa and Miguel were eating a late dinner, he awoke for more than a couple of minutes. Miguel was on the floor in an instant providing water. The stranger drank about half a cup. Teresa offered some of the stew she had made for herself and her son. He was able to eat three spoonfuls before succumbing to sleep again. When the meal was over and everything done for the day Miguel settled back down on the bed he had made for himself next to the injured man. It seemed a long time before sleep would overtake him.
Miguel and the stranger were sound asleep on the floor. Teresa sat at the table drinking a cup of tea. She was contemplating the events of the past several days. She was worried about the stranger who couldn't remember his name. But she was more worried at the prospect of what would happen if Jorge returned home when the stranger was still here. She knows he will kill the stranger. But she was more afraid that he would kill her son because he brought that man to the house. In the morning, she will have to have Miguel bring the injured man back to the town. He will be well enough to travel back in the morning.
Miguel woke up very early, before the sunrise. He was still anxious about the man sleeping next to him. It was too dark to see much, so he quietly got up and started the fire going again. In the firelight, he got a good look at the stranger. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. His face was marred by many cuts and scratches and bruises were starting to show up. Miguel looked up and was surprised to see his mother sitting at the table. She had her head down on her folded arms. Apparently she fell asleep there. He looked at the water bucket and saw that it was half-empty, so he grabbed it and slipped out the door. He went to get fresh water.
A soft moan coming from the stranger woke Teresa up. She saw that Miguel was already up. When she went to get a cup of water to offer the injured man, she noticed the bucket was gone as well. She knew that Miguel was getting fresh water. She went over to the man laying next to the fire, "Senor, are you awake?"
Virgil opened his eyes and for the first time they were clear and alert. He looked up at Teresa, and croaked, "Good morning, Teresa." Hearing how dry he sounded Teresa said, "Miguel is getting fresh water. He will be back soon." Not knowing when he left, she looked around and saw that she had a cup of water left out for the stranger from the night before. He didn't drink it all. So she offered him what was left. He took it gratefully and drank it all. "Thank you." She noticed already that his voice was not so dry.
Virgil stiffly got up off the floor and hobbled over to the table and sat down on one of the chairs. He looked around taking in his surroundings. "Where am I? How did I get here?" he asked.
Teresa answered, "My son found you in the ravine near the town and brought you here. You must have been there two days as you were very cold. I think you were caught in the mortar attack on the village, you have shrapnel wounds on your back. You must be hungry, you haven't eaten much in over 36 hrs."
He answered, "I'm more thirsty right now. Uh, where is 'here'?"
"We live near the town of San Pablo de los Angeles." She said. When she saw that he still had a puzzled look on his face, she continued, "In Cumaguay."
"Do you know me?" he asked.
Teresa showing concern answered, "No, we did not meet until 2 days ago. Don't you remember who you are or where you came from?"
He just shook his head 'no'. "Two days ago?" he questioned.
"Yes, you slept all of yesterday. Do you know you name?" she asked.
He sat there concentrating, slowly shaking his head 'no' and saying. "V….V….uh, …" She offered, "Is it Vincent? Victor? I know they are American names."
"I don't know, it could be either. Are you sure I'm American?"
Teresa answered, "Yes, we are almost sure you are American. You have an American accent." She went to the corner and pulled what was left of his blue uniform over to him. "Do you recognize these? You were wearing them when we found you."
Again, he shook his head 'no'.
"Well Senor, I cannot keep calling you Senor. What shall I call you for now until you remember your real name?"
Virgil tossed around the two names beginning with V in his head. Neither seemed to be his name, but Victor seemed to feel more comfortable. Virgil said, "Victor, that is just as good as any name." He looked around some more and said, "Where did you say Miguel went?"
Teresa, with a sudden look of worry on her face said, "He went to get water, but he should have been back by now."
Victor looked at her, then at the water pump inside the house, next to a sink. "Why did he go out for water, when you have a pump here?"
She quickly looked over at the old pump and said, "It hasn't worked for almost a year. I am worried about Miguel." And she started to leave. Victor got up concerned and asked, "Where does he get the water from?"
As she reached the door, she answered, "A well around back." She opened the door and proceeded to leave when Victor said, "Wait, I'm coming with you." He used the table to help him stand up, but realizing that he won't be able to walk unassisted he looked around. He saw in the corner, a wooden handle. The head of a hoe that had obviously broken off sat on the floor next to it. He grabbed the handle and hobbled after Teresa who was already headed out the door.
She had hurried around the side of the house so fast that Victor lost sight of her. But he heard her scream. He headed as quickly as he could to the sound. He rounded the back of the house to see her leaning over the wall of a well. The log over the well that had supported the water bucket on its journey down into the well was broken. There was no sign of Miguel or the water bucket. She looked up, pleading to Victor, "He is down there. Miguel has fallen into the well." Victor seemed to know exactly what to do. He ordered, "Go get the burro, with his blanket and more ropes or harnesses, whatever you have." He then looked at the surrounding forest around him. From where he was standing he saw a branch that would work perfectly but was still attached to the tree. As Teresa came back dragging the burro, he asked, "Do you have a saw or ax? Something to cut wood with?" She pointed to a good size ax leaning against the house next to a small pile of firewood. Victor quickly hobbled over to the house and grabbed the ax. He then headed to the branch that he spotted. At about 5 feet from where the branch was attached to the trunk of the tree, Victor started hacking at it. He was balanced precariously on his one good leg, so he wasn't able to go through the 4 inch branch as fast as he thought he could. But it still took only moments. He removed the twigs still left on this larger branch then started at the base, where it attached to the trunk. A few solid swings and Victor was through the branch. He dropped the ax and picked up the thick log and hobbled back to the well. He placed the log onto the two forked supports. He turned to the burro and placed the blanket around his neck and shoulders for cushion. He then fashioned the rope about the donkey's neck and chest like a harness. He said to Teresa, "When I give you the signal pull the burro forward." She just nodded. He threw the length of rope over the top of the newly chopped log. Victor then took a small piece of leather that Teresa had brought over to possibly use as a harness on the burro and used it to make a harness around his own waist and legs. He threaded the end of the rope that was hanging over the log through his makeshift harness and then threw it down the well. He climbed over the wall. Just before he started his descent he told Teresa to hold the burro still. He put pressure on the rope, saw that the burro did not move then rappelled down into the well.
On a ledge just feet above the water, hung an unconscious Miguel. Victor straddled the boy putting most of his weight on his good leg. With the rope that he just rappelled down, he tied a harness around Miguel, then yelled up to Teresa, "Ok Teresa, take us up slowly."
As Teresa pulled the little burro forward, he stopped when he felt the pressure around his chest. Teresa picked up a stick and tapped the little fella on the rump. After several annoying taps he started to move forward, pulling up his charges. When Victor could grab the top of the wall, he called for Teresa to stop.
She stopped the burro, but was afraid to leave him in case he were to either move forward or worse, back up. She watched as Victor pushed Miguel up onto the wall, then hoisted himself up and over the wall. Balancing on one leg again, he pulled Miguel onto the ground. It was only then that Teresa left the donkey and ran over to her son. Within minutes Miguel opened his eyes and with a start sat up. Teresa asked, "Are you ok, Miguel, what happened?"
Miguel thought for a minute then said, "The water bucket got hung up on the ledge, and as I leaned over to try to undo it, I must have been leaning on the rope when the support broke. I remember falling into the well, but not landing." He felt down at his clothing and asked, "I didn't fall into the water?" Victor said, "No, the same ledge that caught the bucket, also caught you." Miguel looked up at Victor, "You saved me?" He nodded, 'yes' and answered, "I just did what anyone would do, I only climbed down and got you out. It was nothing, really." Miguel studied the face of the man who just saved his life, noticing that he was turning pale. "Senor, are you ok? You don't look so good." With that Victor collapsed. It was too much exertion so soon after the trauma he had been through recently, especially without having any food in over 3 days.