Disaster Strikes

Only a few days after the baby's birth, Malak was released from the clinic. He then decided to try and impress Agrias once more. Alma and Rafa, wanting to see what exactly he would do, followed close behind. Malak was carrying a box of chocolates, and wearing his second best suit, as his first best had been practically destroyed after scraping it on bark and splashing it in mud.

But the boy caught his foot on a hole in the ground, and fell backwards down the hill, knocking into his sister and her friend. The trio began to roll over and over, and finally landed on a raft that Sage had used to cross the river without getting her good clothing all messed up. The rope that attached it to the land then snapped, and they were all propelled down the river by the current.

"Malak! Now look what you've done this time!" screamed Rafa, "You should have watched where you were going! Now we're going to get thrown all the way downstream. And who knows how or if we're ever going to be able to get back again. Stop this crazy thing!" Clearly, she was scared.

Alma was screaming at the top of her lungs. The rapids were strong at this time of the day, no one knew why. Some say that a monster lay at the other side of the river, and made it go faster when he was hungry. For there was no waterfall anywhere on the other side of the river. She was probably the only person on this crazy ride who was more scared than Rafa at the moment.

Malak was trying not to scream, but he wasn't doing a good job. Although not as upset as Rafa and Alma, he was practically horrified. If those rumors of the monster were true, then the three of them might just be throwing their lives away at the very moment. He grabbed the oar, and tried to use it to brace the raft. But it was only made of wood, and it shattered the second it hit the ground.

"We are in so much trouble. Brother, what are we going to do?" Rafa inquired of Malak. He was at a loss, though, he'd seen how strong the current was. And that was their only oar, as well as the last object on the ship that could reach the ground. Rafa and Alma were both equipped with bags, while Malak had left his pole at camp. He was counting on the girls to be able to protect him, should any monsters come around while he was bringing Agrias her present. After all, Alma had told him that it was a little rude to be carrying weapons when you are going out to romance a girl.

Suddenly, fortune came to them, somewhat. They hit a rock, were thrown through the air, and landed on top of a large tree. But now the next problem, how to get down. No one had any ropes. However, Alma had experience climbing trees in the past, she and Teta used to do it all of the time in order to hide from their brothers as a joke, or for a game of hide-and-seek.

Alma jumped out of the tree, and signaled for Rafa. Then, the young Heaven Knight jumped down as well, Alma waiting to catch her if she fell. Luckily, it didn't come to that. The Cleric called out, "Ok Malak, you can come down now. Don't worry, we'll catch you if you slip."

Malak tried to jump as well like his sister and Alma. But suddenly, he lost his footing on the thin branch, and fell. Alma and Rafa tried to catch him, but he ended up landing on top of them. Both girls were face down in the mud, and Malak had hurt his back from all of the force that had been expended. It took some time to push him off of them, and then the girls had to help him to stand.

* * *

It was late by the time the group entered the camp once more. Malak had his left arm around Rafa's shoulder, and his right one around Alma's. His legs weren't the problem this time, his back hadn't recovered from his fall. Everyone who saw them stared for a moment, then looked away once more. Not like they hadn't seen Malak getting hurt by something like this a million times before.

Malak was muttering the whole way back. "Why me, why me? Why do all of these things happen to me? What have I done in my life to deserve this? Ok, besides the whole mess with the Grand Duke, but how could I know he had burned our village? I was grateful for someone who would be taking care of us after the deaths of our parents. And I was worried about Rafa, I didn't want her to be hunted and killed like some wild animal. She's the only flesh and blood I have left." He winced in pain.

"Don't worry, Malak," Alma assured him, "We're taking you to Sage and Leon right away. They'll be able to fix you up, and then you can try again with your plan. This time, though, please look before you step. If you try not to hurry so much, you won't have as many accidents, right?"


"I guess you're right Alma. Ouch, by God this thing hurts! And it's always me who gets into these messes. You and Rafa are only in it because you were helping me out with my problems. All I wanted was to tell a certain girl how I felt, not put the two of you in the hospital," lamented Malak.

Rafa told him, "Our injuries are minor, just a few bruises. Probably won't need any healing at all. But you will, brother. And remember to listen to the doctor's orders this time."

Soon, they arrived at the clinic. Sage and Leon looked at one another, as if saying something to the extent of, "Here we go again, Malak got hurt. Wonder what it is this time." Then, the duo helped him to lay down on a pallet, and began to cast healing spells on his wound.

Sage looked at the youth. "Well, we're going to have to ask that you be our guest for at least a day or two longer, that back is pretty badly strained. If we think you're better in that time, we'll let you go. But healing spells can only do so much, so if we say to stay, then you'll have to sit here for some time more. It amazes me how one person can get so many injuries like you can, Malak."

"Don't rub it in," he said under his breath, "It's bad enough that I do get injured like this."

Rafa and Alma escaped the first chance they got. They reported to Ramza, telling him that Malak was back on the disabled list. Ramza wondered how many times this year the boy would get hurt. He had the worst luck over anyone in the whole camp. But nothing ever seemed to remedy it.

- - - -

You know who Malak reminds me of? The background character in all of those cartoons where someone is rushing by for whatever reason, and then he is knocked over.