After hours of searching, May is yet to be found. We have, however, came across a ribbon she wore in her hair up on Mother's Hill. If that is a good sign or not, we're unsure.

It's late now, but not yet midnight. I'm tense; I have to keep reminding myself the legend is nothing but a tale told at night to scare little children into going to bed. That's all it is. Or so I hope.

My heart goes out to Barley. He feels it is his fault for losing his only grandchild, his only companion. I took some soup to the weak and feverishly worried old man, reassuring him by telling him May would be home soon. But that was two and a half hours ago.

May, where are you?

Chapter 4

I told myself to stay reasonable, to keep thinking. You've done this a hundred times, I reassured myself. But this time it wasn't the same.

"Hand me the gloves, Elle," Tim commanded, but I hesitated. "Elli, now!" he screamed. I handed them to him, still not completely with it. He snapped them on, and gingerly pressed a cloth against the forehead of the small, weak figure before us.

Doc worked quickly yet flawlessly. Another thing I loved about him. Under the circumstances, I was hardly able to keep my concentration, not to mention a steady hand. My fingers fumbled with the surgical instruments as I grabbed and handed them to the doctor as he called for them.

It had always been hard enough for me to watch when someone was hurting, someone was struggling. Even if I didn't know them, I could always feel their pain. I just couldn't help it. But now it seemed ten times worse. I was feeling the hurt of someone I loved, someone I protected. My little brother.

"He'll be all right," Tim kept reassuring me. "Please, Elli, you need to act as if this were a normal patient. You need to keep calm." But how could I? Stu was in pain, suffering from a burst appendix. I was confident the doctor knew how to manage and had done so several times before, yet I couldn't keep myself from worrying. It only seemed moments ago I was tucking him in for bed.

Screams had flooded throughout the house, waking my grandmother and I, along with half of the villagers. I had rushed into his room, fully alert despite the state of deep sleep I was in seconds earlier. "Stu, what is it? What's wrong?" I asked him, terrified. The child kept screaming, holding his stomach. "Oh, no.." I mumbled, realizing exactly what had happened. I grabbed my coat and wrapped it around the trembling child, picking him up to rush him toward the clinic. Even though the freezing chill of winter had overtaken the village, I didn't feel nor take notice of it as I ran barefoot down the road. Fortunately the doctor had been alerted, and met us at the operating table. I set the child down gingerly, tears already catching in my eyes.

I had never seen Tim quite as serious. He had always been a serious man— that was just his nature— but tonight he was focused, not letting the slightest hint of worry escape. I knew he had to be, however, for he loved Stu almost as much as myself. But he kept on working as if the boy was an ordinary patient, a stranger.

As soon as he had finished, I heard him sigh in relief. I hugged him, tears trickling from my eyes, knowing that the boy would be perfectly fine. He would have to stay in the clinic to recover for a few days of course, but the hard part was over. For me, anyway.

I looked at the now peacefully sleeping child before me. He had several stitches running along his stomach, and I knew I'd have to keep reminding him to stop picking at them in a few days. But it'd all be okay. I ventured over to the doctor, who was now washing his hands, and thanked him again. "I don't know what I'd do without you," I told him. He smiled, but didn't look up from the running water before him.

"It's okay, Elli. I would have acted the same if it were my brother who was lying before me. You did fine," he said, drying his hands and then placing them on my shoulders. I smiled. I knew come spring I would be married to the man before me, and I was now more ready than ever. He had proved to me that he could act calmly and keep his head in any situation. And with that I felt an enormous sense of security.

Before I knew it, tears were rolling down my cheeks again, and he put up a hand to brush them off. "Don't worry," he said, kissing me softly on the forehead, "everything's going to be fine." And I knew he was right.

Ten minutes later I grabbed my coat and hurried back toward my grandmother's house. I now felt the biting cold of the night, and wished to return to the warm comfort of my bed as soon as I could. I walked into the house to meet Grandma Ellen at the kitchen table, absently stirring a cup of tea. At the sound of the door closing, she looked up, lines of worry across her already creased features. I smiled and nodded, telling her everything would be all right. I immediately saw the sense of relief cross her face as she heard this. After sitting down to tell her the specifics, I helped her into bed, then sought my own.

I looked at the clock— 3:30 a.m. Tomorrow would be a long day, I knew, as I would have to explain the night's events to each of the residents of Mineral Town. I still felt a sadness and anguish for Stu, of course, but I was happy that it had passed swiftly.

My little brother was strong, and he would be all right.