Chapter Sixteen: The Crossing
Therese
He takes me along the road that leads back towards Geneva and the Lake. Although I know we are going north rather than west to France, I do not question Michael on this.
He holds my hand in the darkness, leading me through the drifts of snow until we reach what feels like ice under my feet. He warns me it is slick in some spots and to hang on to him. There is a sliver of moon to light the night, and the stars as I glance up seem to crowd closer to the earth. It is so hushed here; it feels as if the world is holding its breath.
We arrive at a fissure in the side of a ravine. Michael has me pause outside the opening until he returns for me. Inside is a cave walled with ice. He makes a fire for us, and has pulled in some straw that he has tossed furs upon. I drop the bundle I have carried with me. Pulling my shoes off, I place them by the fire to dry out with my socks, and retrieve dry ones from my bundle.
Michael
"Tomorrow we will ascend up to the top of the tree line," I tell Therese. "Up there are the last of the huts left by the shepherds that move the stock up to the high pastures during the summer. They will be empty now."
I bank the fire so that it will continue to give off some heat. Therese has lain down upon the furs. Taking off my inner coat I spread it over her and lay down by her side.
"When do you think Victor will know we are gone?"
I wrap an arm around her; I can feel her voice through her body. "If we are fortunate, he will leave for that trip with Elisabeth and not notice until he returns. Time may not be a friend to us. I wish to be cautious, and I don't want to push you beyond your endurance." She is about to protest, but I tell her, "We will take a different route from what he might expect."
"What route is that?"
"I'll explain it tomorrow. You need to sleep and so do I."
Victor
Coming back to the sanitarium, I look at the abbey. Its dark upper windows look like the empty sockets in a skull of stone. Are you watching me you devil? Or are you busy with that little whore I made for you. She's not as lovely as Astrid, but you can't take your pick can you?
I marvel to think he has not come to me on his knees thanking me for his woman. I want to be quit of him soon before something happens between them. If she were to come to her senses and flee from him, his tenuous control of his rage would snap. With that every living being here would be in mortal danger.
Therese
Morning comes quickly. We take care of dressing and repacking our supplies. My shoes are warm but stiff from drying next to the fire.
We start walking in the early morning light. Michael tells me to tie my scarf close around my face until the sun comes up. As we walk I watch the rope that stretches from my waist to his drag in the snow.
He points to the line where the trees stop up the side of the mountain. They seem close, and if we cut across the terrain we could climb to them quickly. Instead, he takes us along an old path that winds in a back and forth ascent. When I ask if it wouldn't be quicker to climb, he turns and tells me this will be slower, but will use up less of my strength.
"Aren't you being overcautious? I worked on a farm you know."
He turns to me and I see the speculation in his eyes. "I know you are no stranger to hard work. But we need to save that strength and use it when it is needed the most."
Michael
We take our first break when the sun nears its zenith.
Up the old paths that shepherds and tinkers have traveled since the soldiers of Rome came through the mountains, we are in the trees and I feel safer now. While we walked along the ravine, we were in plain sight. As we move among the trees, I know of places where I can get a clear view of anyone coming up behind us.
We eat from a small bag of nuts and cheese that we prepared this morning. Living in the mountains, I had learned how much to eat and what types of foods the mountaineers relied upon for strength. I make sure Therese eats her share. She has not been prepared for the journey up on the high ice.
Therese
He insists on checking my feet. He isn't satisfied until I can prove there are no spots where my shoes have rubbed. He tells me to get used to walking heels down first, it will help when we actually start climbing.
As we resume our trek, I can hear the shrill warning whistle of the little marmots. Somewhere in the forest the beasts have spied a Peregrine riding a high current. They'll scurry into their burrows until the danger is passed. Standing over us are the Larch, the Beech, and the Pines.
The air is very crisp, it chills my nose and makes my mouth dry. An over laden branch snaps, dumping its white burden down from on high. I dodge most of the snow, and Michael comes back to help brush it from my shoulders.
As the light begins to wane, I see that he is taking me up to a small hut. They are used in the summer by the herders who bring up the cattle to the high pastures. In winter they huddle, covered by the thick blanket of snow on their roofs.
Michael
I check around the hut first. There are no tracks, and I saw no signs of smoke. Going in, it looks to have been empty for a while. I leave Therese to rest while I get fire wood. Lighting a fire here will be safe. If it is observed, someone will believe it is a hunter or trader on their way up the mountain.
I get a pot and go out to scoop up some of the snow. Putting the pot of the fire, we can have some hot tea to go with our meal. We brought salt, but sugar was too much of a luxury to carry with us.
Therese
I sit with my hands wrapped around my hot tea. I reach out and run one under Michael's collar, teasing his neck. He rewards me with his lopsided smile. It is the first one I have seen today from him.
In the warmth of the hut, I begin to feel how tired my body is. My limbs heavy, I put up my shoes once more to dry and cast off my coat. Someone has driven pegs in the walls, and we stretch out our wet things to dry over night.
I look at Michael in the glow of the fire. He seems ready to get up and leave, as if the walking today has taken none of his strength. The hut is small for a man of his height. He stretches out in the center on the old straw that someone has left behind.
Michael
She looks tired now that she has had the chance to relax. The hut is warm. It will help her recoup her strength for tomorrow. I watch her comb her hair. Her presence brings me the first moments of peace I have had in over nine years.
Lying down on her side she closes her eyes and asks, "Tell me how you found me."
"I used to keep moving. I had several spots that proved to be the safest for me. When I was north of here, I decided to go farther into France." I stop and push the coals around in the fire.
"I was near the edge of a village, and there was a small group of people walking to the church yard. They carried a shroud. There was a man, tall and graying with a woman by his side. Oddly, she wasn't crying the way the other people were. She just stared at the ground as her husband lead her to the church."
"I watched them say words over you. They stayed together in a group and left the grave digger with you."
"I remember him," she says. "He did odd jobs in town and dug the graves when he could for more money for drink."
"He was drunk as your mourners left. He'd made the hole, but sat back with his bottle and fell asleep." I glance at Therese; she has a faint smile on her face. "When it got dark, I went into the graveyard. I pulled open the shroud and saw your face."
She is wearing an impish look as she reaches forward and pinches my arm. "What? Didn't look at my breasts while you had the chance?"
I try to look scandalized, but she giggles at me. "I did," I finally admit and she lays back and laughs out loud. "I carried you away after filling in the hole. I pulled the shroud off and looked at you, right down to your toes."
Therese
I had asked myself numerous times if I was falling in love with Michael or whether our connection was based on our reanimation. I am surer now than I ever have been in my life that there are people who are destined to find each other. This man found me, and God sent me back to be with him.
I roll over close to him. "Would you like to see my toes again?"
He didn't get that far. He was busy with other parts of me.
Thomas
With the noon meal over, I stop Frau Radmacher in the hall. "We need to tell Herr Dirnegg and Elisabeth that Michael and Therese have gone."
She gives me one of her curt nods. "I've already told the Herr. Elisabeth is packing to leave with Victor."
"Can you get to her?"
"Not without Victor knowing. I'd hoped," she pauses, watching one of the other staff going by. "I'd hope that he and Elisabeth would have left by now."
I raise my book from my lap. "I'll stay out here." The sun is shining through the glass of the conservatory. Despite the warmth it offers, my worry for Therese and Michael leaves me cold.
Victor
I leave the last patient I need to check in on before I go. Frau Radmacher stopped by the room twice with questions. She is beginning to annoy me. She has been a capable nurse; I do not understand why I have had to repeat my instructions to her twice.
Going through the conservatory, I see Thomas Wetherden. I ask, "Taking in the sun?"
He glances up, "Yes, actually. I'm tired of being stuck in my room."
"Frau Radmacher will work with you while I'm gone."
"That's fine, Victor. Therese told me she'd come to collect me when it was time."
"I'll be back in three days."
"Take your time. I'm sure you and your wife deserve a rest."
Departing, I go to fetch Elisabeth.
