Chapter 5: The Smurf has a name
FOUR DAYS LATER
Under Nursette's supervision, the Smurf seemed to have been making a slow recovery. Yet still, he lied unconscious. Every other day, Nursette cleaned and re-dressed the wounds on his body with fresh bandages. As she finished tying up the last bandage over his forearm, she began to really notice his tattoo on the upper part of his arm, near his shoulder.
It wasn't that she never noticed it before. The first day he had arrived to the village, she had seen it. But at that time, his whole body was covered with dirt, seaweed, and blood. Not to mention, his blue skin was a whole lot paler then too.
Nursette became mesmerized over the tattoo's appearance. She could tell that the arrow piercing through the heart had some sort of symbolic meaning. Curiously she pondered over it.
Her focus was so much on the tattoo that she jumped when her front door opened and Mama Smurf called out to her.
"Nursette?"
"Yes, Mama Smurf. I'm in here." Nursette called back to her elder.
"So how is our young stranger doing today?" Mama asked walking into the recovery room.
"Making a slow recovery. He should start waking up any day now… I hope." Nursette responded. She looked down to the tattoo again then peered over to Mama Smurf once more. "Mama Smurf, come here a moment."
"What is it?"
"Look at this, do you have any idea what this symbol could mean?" Nursette asked as she pointed at the tattoo.
"Hmm, I'm not too sure. Many males in human cultures perform rituals by painting tattoos on their bodies as a passage into adulthood. Perhaps where he came from his kind have a similar ritual?" Mama Smurf explained.
"But what kind of symbol is an arrow piercing through a heart mean?"
"I don't know, my young smurfette. We can only hope that when he wakes up, he will be able to tell us himself. Contact me the moment he is awake. I must go and check on the rest of smurfettes now. I'll come back later so you can have a rest, ok." Mama Smurf announced before making her way back out the door.
"Alright, Mama Smurf." Nursette lets out a deep sigh. She then leans close to the smurfs ear, "Who are you?" She whispers.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
THE NEXT DAY
Nursette started cleaning up some of her medical equipment when she heard a knock on her door. She looked over at the door suspiciously. It was obvious that another smurfette would try to sneak a peek at the Smurf.
She let out a little 'hmm' as she slowly opened the door. Not being surprised, Nursette sees a smurfette with red hair holding a pad of paper and a pencil in her hand.
"What do you want, Tattlerette?" Nursette sighed.
"My readers need the latest scoop on the condition of the Smurf. Is there any chance I can come in to have a look?" Tattlerette asked as she tried to squirm her way past Nursette. She even tried to look over her shoulder.
Nursette simply let out a sigh and rolled her eyes skyward.
"Look Tattlerette, as I tried to explain to you before, and to everyone else in this village that tries to come and see the Smurf, he isn't awake yet, and shouldn't have any visitors." Nursette said in a frustrated tone.
"But, Mama Smurf gets to see him." Tattlerette points out.
"Mama Smurf is also treating him with medicines. Of course she comes to see him." Nursette threw back with a growl.
"Well, you don't suppose I could come in for just a wee bit?" Tattlerette pleaded.
"No!" Nursette bluntly responded.
"I hope you know that you are denying my readers the knowledge of what is going on with this Smurf." Tattlerette angrily retorted.
"Is there a problem?" Toughette asked calmly as she walked up to the clinic. She is carrying a small basket in one hand, and looking very irritated towards the scene laid out in front of her.
"Oh, thank goodness. Toughette, would you please tell this inconsiderate smurfette that it isn't fair of her to hog the Smurf all to herself." Tattlerette complains.
"But, Tattlerette, I believe Nursette had already said 'no' to you. Now, if you are having troubles in understanding the word 'no', then allow me to spell it out for you." Toughette said as she moved the basket handle up her forearm, and slammed her fist into other hand.
"Alright, alright. I'm going. Smurf-alive, you two are difficult. And just for the record, my readers will be very disappointed." Tattlerette complained as she started to back off.
"I can't begin to tell you how sad that makes me feel." Toughette groans sarcastically.
"Thanks Toughette," Nursette said as Tattlerette finally leaves the scene. "Now, what do *you* want?"
"Who me? I come to relieve you from watching over the Smurf for a while, that's all." Toughette says while trying to sound like she'd rather be somewhere else. "Mama Smurf sent me. She feels that you could use a break to get something to eat and perhaps have a nap."
"Well, I am a bit tired." Nursette admits.
"Oh, almost forgot." Toughette says pulling out a little glass bottle no bigger then the palm of her hand from her basket. It is filled with some sort of liquid. "Mama Smurf told me to give you this. She said you would know what it was for."
"Ah, the Smurf's medicine." Nursette smiled as she takes the bottle from Toughette's hand. She turns and heads back into the clinic. "I should give him this before I go and take my nap."
"Whatever." Toughette shrugs her shoulders before following her inside. She goes into the room where the Smurf is still lying unconscious in the bed. This is the first time she has seen him since finding him on the beach. All the mud, seaweed, and stained blood have been removed. He is all bandaged up around his head, chest, and arms. His blue skin had also improved to a healthier shade. The only thing that concerned her was that he's showing no signs of coming out of the coma state he is in. Her face softened as she began to feel pity for him. She placed her little basket on the table beside the bed. Inside it was a sandwich and a few smurfberries for her to snack on later.
"Do you think he will ever wake up?" Toughette asks with her eyes still fixated on the sleeping Smurf.
"That all depends. He was pretty badly wounded before you found him." Nursette explained walking up behind Toughette while holding a syringe up in the air. She tapped the glass part to make sure there are no bubbles that could cause problems when ejecting the medicine.
Toughette turned her head slightly to see the object in Nursette's hand. "Whoa!" She quickly jumps away from Nursette and backs away towards the door. "W-what are you planning on doing with that?"
"I am planning on giving the Smurf his medicine." Nursette smirks.
"W-w-with that?" Toughette nervously points at the sharp tip of the syringe.
"Well, he is not able to swallow anything at the moment, so I have to give it to him this way."
"Ah, you know, I-I-I'll just wait out in the other room while you do that." Toughette stammered. She then ran out of the room off as fast as she could.
Nursette starts shaking her head as she stuck the needle into the Smurf's arm. "How could such a brave smurfette be afraid of one little needle?" She asks him as if he could respond.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
TWO DAYS LATER
Everything appeared dark, like a black void. All of a sudden he has feeling back in all his limbs. A sharp pain coming from his left ribcage which made breathing very difficult. One of his arms hurts, but he can't tell which one. He realized it was both of them that are hurting. Slowly he began to open his eyes with an enormous effort. Even they are hurting. Never the less, he forced himself to open them to see. Everything is blurred. He is unsure where he is. A sound, no, a voice is trying to talk to him. Only he can't make out where it is coming from, or who it was, or even what the person is saying. For all he knew it could be someone talking in a foreign language.
Finally his sight starts to clear up a little. A figure leaned forward closer to his face. The person is still so blurred that he couldn't tell who it was. Is this someone he knows? The figure almost looked familiar. Blue skin, blond hair… Could it be? Is it Smurfette? He tried to remember what had happened to him, but nothing is clear. The voice, which is now coming from this smurfette, is speaking to him once more. This time he can almost understand what she is saying.
"You are going to be alright, stranger. It's going to be ok." She said softly.
Little by little, the figure is looking less foggy. He is in shock. This is defiantly someone he hadn't seen before. He knew he was looking at a smurfette look-a-like, but where did she come from? Or was it that he that went somewhere? Again he tried to remember what happened. Something tells him that what ever happened had injured him so badly that he could barely move now without feeling such great pain.
"A-am I…dead?" He murmured. Now he's finding that even talking is a struggle. His throat is very sore, like he had swallowed a sharp dagger.
The strange smurfette grinned in a nurturing way. "No, you're not dead. You are alive. You're going to be fine."
"Where am I?" He asked weakly.
"You are in the smurfette village. You were found and brought here seven days ago after you washed up on our beach six smurf miles away." Nursette explained.
"Huh…?" The smurf fought the need to fall back asleep. He struggled so hard to focus on what the smurfette is saying to him. Another surging pain rushes through him. He starts groaning in agony.
"What is it?" The blond smurfette leans in to inspect what could be the matter.
"It hurts…" The smurf tried to explain.
"Where?"
His mind is foggy and so disoriented that even he can't figure out where the pain was coming from. "Don't know," he finally says in a raspy voice.
"Don't worry. When Mama Smurf gets here she'll give you medicine for the pain." She let him know while placing her hand tenderly on his forehead. "Look, my name is Nursette. Do you have a name?"
"I'm, um…ah…" He was having such a hard time concentrating through the pain. How difficult is it to say one's name? This question he should know, why can't he just answer it? His mind was finding it hard to maintain a single thought. Finally he was able to remember his name. He takes a deep breath so he can answer the smurfette.
"H-Hefty…Hefty…Smurf…" He managed to say before passing out again.
Nursette sits, speechless. She was relieved to now see this stranger awake, and most importantly, to now know his name. Nursette remembered Mama Smurf's orders and rushes up to the window. She throws open the shutters to look around. A smurfette with short orange-red hair just happened to be standing near by.
"Quickly, go get Mama Smurf. The smurf has awakened, and he has a name. It's Hefty, Hefty Smurf." Nursette called out to her.