Hearts' Remedy
Chapter 7
A new girl, by the name Serena walked about the tight village. People eyed her curiously, wondering where she came from. Serena, walking alone, fiddled with her fingers as she smiled hesitantly up at the kind strangers who stared.
Serena had on a flimsy dress that hung to her body loosely. Ikuko went out and bought her many dresses, but Serena chose the plainest one of them all. That was what she wore out
She had promised to visit Gor once she had recuperated. Shingo had showed her the way around the village the day before. She remembered seeing a big white wooden house where outside, young children in shabby clothing played. As they walked past the building Serena had asked, 'Shingo, what is that place?'
His reply was, 'Oh, that's the village orphanage. That's where all the children without guardians go to.'
'Why would they not have guardians?'
With a sigh he said, 'Not everyone is as fortunate as I.'
There was a moment of silence as Serena contemplated her situation.
'Shingo, why did Mama Ikuko and Papa Kenji—can I call them that?'
'I don't see why not.'
'Why did they adopt me… I do have a mother, too.'
'Maybe you should ask them that… But…'
'But what?' Serena whispered shakily.
'I know if I found you I would certainly take you in.'
'Why wouldn't you just leave me in the orphanage?'
'I don't know… Probably because of how you came to us.'
Serena blinked as she remembered those words. She had only arrived here three months ago and already Shingo, Ikuko, and Kenji were treating her like their own even though they know she has a family. Or did they forget that? Anyway it had been many weeks since she told them her story. She was so glad they weren't forcing her to go back.
With a dreamy smile Serena jumped gleefully and prepared to run. As she ran she did not see a man turning the corner. She collided, full force into him unintentionally. Serena let out a small 'oof' as she fell face down, while the man who had been casually strolling fell over with a thud.
Serena, sprawled on the floor, looked over at the man. The man had his head bowed and his hand over his aching head.
"I'm sooooooo sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to…"
His head snapped up and he gave her a glower unforgettable. His sapphire eyes clashed with her summer blue gaze. And if Serena had to guess his age he was probably no older than Shingo. His disheveled navy blue hair was tied back in a ponytail that came all the way down to his hip. His mouth was turned upside down as he continued to glare at her.
"Watch where you're going, Dimwit! You could kill someone!"
Serena swallowed her apology at his tone of voice, but even more for what he called her. Changing her apologetic face to one of fury she huffed. "What did you call me?"
"Don't tell me you're deaf, too!"
Serena's throat closed as the meaning of his words hit her and triggered something in the depths of her mind. Nobody, in her whole entire life, ever called her a 'Dimwit.' If they did they would have to work up a good reason or it would be the death penalty for them.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, kid. I said watch. Where. You' re. Going."
Fuming, Serena stood up. The man slowly stood up to meet her. However, he was a good feet taller than her. In which case, it did not intimidate the girl one bit.
"You annoying, jerk of the universe! Say that again! I dare you to say that again!"
The man rolled his eyes and put on a smirk that would have melted any girl's heart, with the exception of Serena's.
"Forget it, I wouldn't waste my breath on an air-head like you."
"What?!"
He grinned at her red face as he walked in the opposite direction. With his back still facing her he had his hand up in a farewell salute. "Yeah, see you, kid."
Serena clenched and unclenched her fists as she watched him walk away. 'Who did he think he was, the prince of Terra?' She growled something causing the people around her to stare. 'Did they see the battle?'
Taking a deep breath she walked towards the village healer's cabin again. Reaching the cabin she opened the door and walked in still annoyed at the man she had bumped into. Gor, seeing the girl, looked up from what he was doing behind the counter. "Well, hello, there, Serena. How are you feeling?"
Serena pulled a stool over to the counter and sat down grumpily. At first she did not say anything. Her attention was drawn to her surroundings.
The oak counter split the room in half or more like split the room. From the doorway to the counter was a good seven square feet area. On the other side of the counter, where Gor inhabited, was an area of seven by twenty feet. In the far right hand corner she saw a sink. Beside and above the sink were glass cabinets containing herbs and roots. On the right side were shelves of medicines contained in jars. Behind where Gor sat was a doorway, but in place of a door was a curtain. The curtain was drawn slightly, displaying a storage room with shelves of other herbs and medicines.
Following Serena's gaze Gor spoke out, "Would you like a tour?"
Serena nodded eagerly as Gor stood up to open a side door that allowed entry pass the counter that divided the room. Once on the other side Serena watched as Gor drew the curtain fully back ushering her in with a wave of his hand. Serena looked about her.
Yes, shelves and shelves of remedies surrounded her. Further down was a shelf of books. A desk was set to the side. This room seemed more for the studious than for a healer. Serena examined the books on the shelf before pulling one out to read. She set it down on the desk as she skimmed through the pages.
She was so into the images and the words in the book that she did not even notice that Gor stood right behind her with a smile on his face. His short navy hair shaded his grey-blue eyes. "I noticed you in the local book place. You were perusing through books about medicine."
Serena finally looked up at him. Waving her arms up she said, "I can't help that all 'this' intrigues me."
"You are so strange sometimes, but I don't think you realize it."
"Strange? What do you mean by that?" Anger was rising in her eyes again.
"No, no, no, it's not a bad thing at all. What I'm trying to say is that…"
"I know, I know." Serena sighed, her shoulders slumping, disappointed at herself for being so easily angered by the things that people say to her. "Nothing you ever say is meant in a bad way."
"What's bothering you, Serena?"
"It's this guy I bumped into. I apologized, but he only made fun of me," she said darkly.
Gor smiled warmly at her as he placed a hand over her shoulder. "Don't let him get to you."
Serena smiled back, "I'm not."
The bell on the counter rang. Gor and Serena broke their eye contact to stare at the red curtain that hung over the opening.
Gor mumbled an 'excuse me' as he disappeared behind the curtain, leaving Serena standing there alone. She picked up the book and placed it back on the shelf with care. Noticing a door that stood opposite the shelf she decided to steal a peek at what was inside. Behind this door though, was just Gor's room, which was where he slept, and ate. This room consisted of a fireplace, a bed, and desk. 'So he lived where he worked.' Serena thought in wonder.
Closing the door she decided to go see who Gor was talking to. Just as she reached the curtain she heard a familiar voice. "…Well you see there was this girl, a clumsy one at that, she knocked me off my feet. Do you have anything to get rid of this head ache?"
Serena gasped as she pulled the curtain back with a little too much enthusiasm. She pulled so hard the material tore in her grasp.
"You!" Serena and the same man she met earlier shouted at the same time. There eyes flamed when they caught sight of one another. Gor eyed the torn curtain rather than the girl, and said with amusement in his eyes, "I see you've met my brother."
"You're brother?" Serena screeched. Then she mentally slapped herself on the forehead. Why, of course! The resemblance was uncanny. The same hair color, the same nose…
"Yes, my younger brother, Seiya," Gor sighed.
"That's the thing that ran into me!" Seiya shouted, pointing at Serena.
"What? You mean Serena?" Gor was scratching his head now as he tried to clear his mind.
"I am not a 'thing,' I am a human being, you moron!" Serena shouted back.
"It talks?!"
"You galoot! Of course I talk!"
Serena stepped forward and Gor willingly moved away. Standing a distance away from them he could almost see them both radiating with a fire. Gor looks over at the curtain trying to think up an excuse to leave them alone. He cleared his throat, "I'm going to fix up the curtain, to leave you two alone so that the both of you can be better acquainted."
"You're going to leave me with this, imbecile?"
"You're going to leave me with this, klutz?"
Gor rolled his eyes and left. His ears could not take so much shouting, he had to leave or else. After what seemed like five minutes in his room, Serena and Seiya barged in. "Have you ever heard of knocking first?!" Gor shouted in outrage at the two intruders.
"But Gor, there is a woman here to see you!" Serena yelled frantically
"What's wrong?"
Seiya quickly explained, "Nora said one of the orphans got bitten by a poisonous snake when he went into the woods to play with the others."
"Poisoned?"
"Yes, he has fallen fatally ill."
Serena nodded in agreement. The trio left the room with Gor in the lead. "Serena grab my bag by the sink, Seiya get the rat poison."
"You're going to fight poison with poison?" Serena asked in shock.
"Yes, I just hope it works."
The three arrived at the big white, wooden building. Entering Serena cast her eyes on the children who stood by the doorway of the sickroom while Seiya and Gor went directly into the room. Serena balked, absolutely stunned by how many children there were.
"Will Sammy be okay?" One of them whimpered.
"It's okay," said an elderly woman coming up behind the children. "Sammy will be alright now that the healer is here."
Serena turned from them and walked into the room that Seiya and Gor disappeared in. She gasped when she saw a boy lying on the bed, looking half dead. He was turning purple and his pupils behind his closed eye lids seemed to be twitching in its sockets. She quickly closed the door and looked at a grim Seiya standing by the bedside. Gor, who sat on a stool at the head of the bed had his face buried in his hands.
"Gor, can you heal him?" Serena squeaked.
Gor quickly pulled his hands away from his face. "No…"
"But…"
Seiya looked at her with a fire in his eyes… and tears? "Are you deaf, Serena? There's nothing he can do!"
Serena recoiled as her own eyes brimmed with tears. She walked weakly up to the foot of the bed to get a closer look at the child. His cherub face, twisted in pain and beads of sweat dripped down to his chin. His lips were white and he was shivering uncontrollably. Suddenly Serena stood up straight feeling a power surging through her. She looked at her hands and witnessed a glow. The warm feeling was sensational. Maybe she could use this strange light to heal this poisoned child.
She groped the sheets, pulling them violently away. Then, she bent down, reached out, and cupped the boy's face softly. The world around her was so silent and still that Serena did not even hear the noise the spectators made. 'Sammy, you can wake up now.' Slowly the little boy smiled. His nose twitched and his eyes flashed open. Sammy stared up at the girl that he thought was an angel. 'Welcome back to the living, Sammy. I'm Serena.'
_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:
Seiya had bowed his head after shouting at the girl. He had not meant to lash his anger out on the girl because of his frustration. Blinking back tears, he cursed himself mentally.
His brother was a well known healer. Almost everyone in the kingdom knew him for his 'magic' in healing. Sometimes people paid him a large sum just to get him to travel all the way to the opposite end of the kingdom just for a check-up. He did it all for money, yet he does not waste his talent only for the rich. He also does his 'magic' to heal the sick, even if they had no money to repay him. Evidently, now the proud Gor sat with his face covered in… shame?
Seiya knew that something like this would someday happen. Their parents had warned Gor not to leave the farm. Being the oldest, they had expected him to stay and take over the farm after them. Gor was ambitious, and instead, decided to move out on a pursuit of his love for medicine. At the age of fifteen he left his family to study. He returned five years later to his home village. Not soon after his return did their parents pass away. Gor never had the chance to reconcile with his folks. His younger brother was left to tend the farm with two other hired hands.
So Seiya never got the chance to leave the farm as his brother did. Of course he had to hire two men to work for him. Tom and John were handy, but it wasn't the same. To maintain the family farm was his purpose, which was hard enough work. Nonetheless, he understood the pain that Gor was undoubtedly going through.
Just as these thoughts rolled in Seiya's mind, he felt gentle warmth reach his body. Slowly the warmth reached his soul, lulling him with its soothing touch. He felt drowsiness taking over his façade.
"Ah! What the?!" He heard Gor roar. He looked up and there he saw a glowing Serena sitting by the little boy's bedside. The door slammed open as terrified children rushed in, to see what had happened to their friend.
Nora gasped, "Dear Lord…"
"It's an angel! It's an angel!" One of the children yelped.
_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:
Serena sat on a stool behind the counter of Gor's cabin. Gor stood beside her, while Seiya stood across from her, the counter between them.
Nora, a woman in her late sixties with silver curls, stood a foot behind Seiya. Her face was wrinkled and her shinning brown eyes stared only at the girl. Serena could tell that once upon a time the woman would have been lovely.
Nora was in charge of the orphanage. The funds for the children's meals and clothes came directly from charity and Nora organized everything. She had a light heart and rarely raised her voice at anyone.
Even so, discomfort fell upon Serena's heart in realization. Everyone was 'staring' at her. The scene had replayed over and over again in their minds. Was it all a dream?
The door opened, but no one turned to see who had entered. "Serena! You had us worried sick. We thought you ran off again!"
"Shingo!" Serena looked at the young man.
"Serena, you can at least tell us where you go when you decide to disappear. We've been so worried. Ma looks like she's going to blow a gasket. It's really late, your supper's cold."
Serena blushed in embarrassment. Nora smiled warmly at each of them, breaking her gaze from Serena's face. "Yes, it's getting late, and the children are waiting for me. Good night, Dearies."
Seiya reached out to pat Serena on the head before he left. "You're such a good girl, Klutz." Serena swatted his hand away in irritation.
"Good bye, Nora. I'll visit the orphanage sometime," Serena said with a wave.
"That would be so nice, Serena."
"Sere, come on, it's time to go," Shingo urged the beaming girl.
"Shingo, how about you wait outside," Gor chimed in, "I would like a word with Serena."
"Anything you have to say to her you can say in front of me." Shingo crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Ah, Shingo, are you still angry at me for calling you crazy?"
"Ah ha! So you thought I was crazy."
Gor shook his head impatiently. "Do you want an apology? Well, I'm sorry, I didn't believe you in the beginning. However, after tonight I doubt you or your parents are crazy. If you really are, that would make me one, too. I witnessed her powers and for the first time I have seen a miracle. Her power in healing is true magic and her interest in medicine makes her special. With me she will become a practiced Healer like me, if you or your parents permit me to take her in as my apprentice."
Serena's eyes widened in astonishment. "You want me to be your apprentice?"
"You are qualified in my eyes…"
"You can't take Serena away from us!" Shingo hollered.
"Oh no!" Gor raised his arms up in peace. "I can never have her living with me. There's not enough room. What I mean is, I just want to teach her everything I know."
"Oh, thank you, Gor!" Serena flung her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"Wait, wait, we haven't even gotten Shingo's permission, yet!"
Shingo grumbled something. "Whatever…"
"Oh thank you, Shingo!" Serena hugged him fiercely as well.
"You still need Ma and Pa's consent first!"
Serena was running out the door shouting, "I'll ask Mama Ikuko and Papa Kenji right away!" Shingo followed her. "Slow down, Serena."
Chapter 7
A new girl, by the name Serena walked about the tight village. People eyed her curiously, wondering where she came from. Serena, walking alone, fiddled with her fingers as she smiled hesitantly up at the kind strangers who stared.
Serena had on a flimsy dress that hung to her body loosely. Ikuko went out and bought her many dresses, but Serena chose the plainest one of them all. That was what she wore out
She had promised to visit Gor once she had recuperated. Shingo had showed her the way around the village the day before. She remembered seeing a big white wooden house where outside, young children in shabby clothing played. As they walked past the building Serena had asked, 'Shingo, what is that place?'
His reply was, 'Oh, that's the village orphanage. That's where all the children without guardians go to.'
'Why would they not have guardians?'
With a sigh he said, 'Not everyone is as fortunate as I.'
There was a moment of silence as Serena contemplated her situation.
'Shingo, why did Mama Ikuko and Papa Kenji—can I call them that?'
'I don't see why not.'
'Why did they adopt me… I do have a mother, too.'
'Maybe you should ask them that… But…'
'But what?' Serena whispered shakily.
'I know if I found you I would certainly take you in.'
'Why wouldn't you just leave me in the orphanage?'
'I don't know… Probably because of how you came to us.'
Serena blinked as she remembered those words. She had only arrived here three months ago and already Shingo, Ikuko, and Kenji were treating her like their own even though they know she has a family. Or did they forget that? Anyway it had been many weeks since she told them her story. She was so glad they weren't forcing her to go back.
With a dreamy smile Serena jumped gleefully and prepared to run. As she ran she did not see a man turning the corner. She collided, full force into him unintentionally. Serena let out a small 'oof' as she fell face down, while the man who had been casually strolling fell over with a thud.
Serena, sprawled on the floor, looked over at the man. The man had his head bowed and his hand over his aching head.
"I'm sooooooo sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to…"
His head snapped up and he gave her a glower unforgettable. His sapphire eyes clashed with her summer blue gaze. And if Serena had to guess his age he was probably no older than Shingo. His disheveled navy blue hair was tied back in a ponytail that came all the way down to his hip. His mouth was turned upside down as he continued to glare at her.
"Watch where you're going, Dimwit! You could kill someone!"
Serena swallowed her apology at his tone of voice, but even more for what he called her. Changing her apologetic face to one of fury she huffed. "What did you call me?"
"Don't tell me you're deaf, too!"
Serena's throat closed as the meaning of his words hit her and triggered something in the depths of her mind. Nobody, in her whole entire life, ever called her a 'Dimwit.' If they did they would have to work up a good reason or it would be the death penalty for them.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, kid. I said watch. Where. You' re. Going."
Fuming, Serena stood up. The man slowly stood up to meet her. However, he was a good feet taller than her. In which case, it did not intimidate the girl one bit.
"You annoying, jerk of the universe! Say that again! I dare you to say that again!"
The man rolled his eyes and put on a smirk that would have melted any girl's heart, with the exception of Serena's.
"Forget it, I wouldn't waste my breath on an air-head like you."
"What?!"
He grinned at her red face as he walked in the opposite direction. With his back still facing her he had his hand up in a farewell salute. "Yeah, see you, kid."
Serena clenched and unclenched her fists as she watched him walk away. 'Who did he think he was, the prince of Terra?' She growled something causing the people around her to stare. 'Did they see the battle?'
Taking a deep breath she walked towards the village healer's cabin again. Reaching the cabin she opened the door and walked in still annoyed at the man she had bumped into. Gor, seeing the girl, looked up from what he was doing behind the counter. "Well, hello, there, Serena. How are you feeling?"
Serena pulled a stool over to the counter and sat down grumpily. At first she did not say anything. Her attention was drawn to her surroundings.
The oak counter split the room in half or more like split the room. From the doorway to the counter was a good seven square feet area. On the other side of the counter, where Gor inhabited, was an area of seven by twenty feet. In the far right hand corner she saw a sink. Beside and above the sink were glass cabinets containing herbs and roots. On the right side were shelves of medicines contained in jars. Behind where Gor sat was a doorway, but in place of a door was a curtain. The curtain was drawn slightly, displaying a storage room with shelves of other herbs and medicines.
Following Serena's gaze Gor spoke out, "Would you like a tour?"
Serena nodded eagerly as Gor stood up to open a side door that allowed entry pass the counter that divided the room. Once on the other side Serena watched as Gor drew the curtain fully back ushering her in with a wave of his hand. Serena looked about her.
Yes, shelves and shelves of remedies surrounded her. Further down was a shelf of books. A desk was set to the side. This room seemed more for the studious than for a healer. Serena examined the books on the shelf before pulling one out to read. She set it down on the desk as she skimmed through the pages.
She was so into the images and the words in the book that she did not even notice that Gor stood right behind her with a smile on his face. His short navy hair shaded his grey-blue eyes. "I noticed you in the local book place. You were perusing through books about medicine."
Serena finally looked up at him. Waving her arms up she said, "I can't help that all 'this' intrigues me."
"You are so strange sometimes, but I don't think you realize it."
"Strange? What do you mean by that?" Anger was rising in her eyes again.
"No, no, no, it's not a bad thing at all. What I'm trying to say is that…"
"I know, I know." Serena sighed, her shoulders slumping, disappointed at herself for being so easily angered by the things that people say to her. "Nothing you ever say is meant in a bad way."
"What's bothering you, Serena?"
"It's this guy I bumped into. I apologized, but he only made fun of me," she said darkly.
Gor smiled warmly at her as he placed a hand over her shoulder. "Don't let him get to you."
Serena smiled back, "I'm not."
The bell on the counter rang. Gor and Serena broke their eye contact to stare at the red curtain that hung over the opening.
Gor mumbled an 'excuse me' as he disappeared behind the curtain, leaving Serena standing there alone. She picked up the book and placed it back on the shelf with care. Noticing a door that stood opposite the shelf she decided to steal a peek at what was inside. Behind this door though, was just Gor's room, which was where he slept, and ate. This room consisted of a fireplace, a bed, and desk. 'So he lived where he worked.' Serena thought in wonder.
Closing the door she decided to go see who Gor was talking to. Just as she reached the curtain she heard a familiar voice. "…Well you see there was this girl, a clumsy one at that, she knocked me off my feet. Do you have anything to get rid of this head ache?"
Serena gasped as she pulled the curtain back with a little too much enthusiasm. She pulled so hard the material tore in her grasp.
"You!" Serena and the same man she met earlier shouted at the same time. There eyes flamed when they caught sight of one another. Gor eyed the torn curtain rather than the girl, and said with amusement in his eyes, "I see you've met my brother."
"You're brother?" Serena screeched. Then she mentally slapped herself on the forehead. Why, of course! The resemblance was uncanny. The same hair color, the same nose…
"Yes, my younger brother, Seiya," Gor sighed.
"That's the thing that ran into me!" Seiya shouted, pointing at Serena.
"What? You mean Serena?" Gor was scratching his head now as he tried to clear his mind.
"I am not a 'thing,' I am a human being, you moron!" Serena shouted back.
"It talks?!"
"You galoot! Of course I talk!"
Serena stepped forward and Gor willingly moved away. Standing a distance away from them he could almost see them both radiating with a fire. Gor looks over at the curtain trying to think up an excuse to leave them alone. He cleared his throat, "I'm going to fix up the curtain, to leave you two alone so that the both of you can be better acquainted."
"You're going to leave me with this, imbecile?"
"You're going to leave me with this, klutz?"
Gor rolled his eyes and left. His ears could not take so much shouting, he had to leave or else. After what seemed like five minutes in his room, Serena and Seiya barged in. "Have you ever heard of knocking first?!" Gor shouted in outrage at the two intruders.
"But Gor, there is a woman here to see you!" Serena yelled frantically
"What's wrong?"
Seiya quickly explained, "Nora said one of the orphans got bitten by a poisonous snake when he went into the woods to play with the others."
"Poisoned?"
"Yes, he has fallen fatally ill."
Serena nodded in agreement. The trio left the room with Gor in the lead. "Serena grab my bag by the sink, Seiya get the rat poison."
"You're going to fight poison with poison?" Serena asked in shock.
"Yes, I just hope it works."
The three arrived at the big white, wooden building. Entering Serena cast her eyes on the children who stood by the doorway of the sickroom while Seiya and Gor went directly into the room. Serena balked, absolutely stunned by how many children there were.
"Will Sammy be okay?" One of them whimpered.
"It's okay," said an elderly woman coming up behind the children. "Sammy will be alright now that the healer is here."
Serena turned from them and walked into the room that Seiya and Gor disappeared in. She gasped when she saw a boy lying on the bed, looking half dead. He was turning purple and his pupils behind his closed eye lids seemed to be twitching in its sockets. She quickly closed the door and looked at a grim Seiya standing by the bedside. Gor, who sat on a stool at the head of the bed had his face buried in his hands.
"Gor, can you heal him?" Serena squeaked.
Gor quickly pulled his hands away from his face. "No…"
"But…"
Seiya looked at her with a fire in his eyes… and tears? "Are you deaf, Serena? There's nothing he can do!"
Serena recoiled as her own eyes brimmed with tears. She walked weakly up to the foot of the bed to get a closer look at the child. His cherub face, twisted in pain and beads of sweat dripped down to his chin. His lips were white and he was shivering uncontrollably. Suddenly Serena stood up straight feeling a power surging through her. She looked at her hands and witnessed a glow. The warm feeling was sensational. Maybe she could use this strange light to heal this poisoned child.
She groped the sheets, pulling them violently away. Then, she bent down, reached out, and cupped the boy's face softly. The world around her was so silent and still that Serena did not even hear the noise the spectators made. 'Sammy, you can wake up now.' Slowly the little boy smiled. His nose twitched and his eyes flashed open. Sammy stared up at the girl that he thought was an angel. 'Welcome back to the living, Sammy. I'm Serena.'
_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:
Seiya had bowed his head after shouting at the girl. He had not meant to lash his anger out on the girl because of his frustration. Blinking back tears, he cursed himself mentally.
His brother was a well known healer. Almost everyone in the kingdom knew him for his 'magic' in healing. Sometimes people paid him a large sum just to get him to travel all the way to the opposite end of the kingdom just for a check-up. He did it all for money, yet he does not waste his talent only for the rich. He also does his 'magic' to heal the sick, even if they had no money to repay him. Evidently, now the proud Gor sat with his face covered in… shame?
Seiya knew that something like this would someday happen. Their parents had warned Gor not to leave the farm. Being the oldest, they had expected him to stay and take over the farm after them. Gor was ambitious, and instead, decided to move out on a pursuit of his love for medicine. At the age of fifteen he left his family to study. He returned five years later to his home village. Not soon after his return did their parents pass away. Gor never had the chance to reconcile with his folks. His younger brother was left to tend the farm with two other hired hands.
So Seiya never got the chance to leave the farm as his brother did. Of course he had to hire two men to work for him. Tom and John were handy, but it wasn't the same. To maintain the family farm was his purpose, which was hard enough work. Nonetheless, he understood the pain that Gor was undoubtedly going through.
Just as these thoughts rolled in Seiya's mind, he felt gentle warmth reach his body. Slowly the warmth reached his soul, lulling him with its soothing touch. He felt drowsiness taking over his façade.
"Ah! What the?!" He heard Gor roar. He looked up and there he saw a glowing Serena sitting by the little boy's bedside. The door slammed open as terrified children rushed in, to see what had happened to their friend.
Nora gasped, "Dear Lord…"
"It's an angel! It's an angel!" One of the children yelped.
_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:_:~:
Serena sat on a stool behind the counter of Gor's cabin. Gor stood beside her, while Seiya stood across from her, the counter between them.
Nora, a woman in her late sixties with silver curls, stood a foot behind Seiya. Her face was wrinkled and her shinning brown eyes stared only at the girl. Serena could tell that once upon a time the woman would have been lovely.
Nora was in charge of the orphanage. The funds for the children's meals and clothes came directly from charity and Nora organized everything. She had a light heart and rarely raised her voice at anyone.
Even so, discomfort fell upon Serena's heart in realization. Everyone was 'staring' at her. The scene had replayed over and over again in their minds. Was it all a dream?
The door opened, but no one turned to see who had entered. "Serena! You had us worried sick. We thought you ran off again!"
"Shingo!" Serena looked at the young man.
"Serena, you can at least tell us where you go when you decide to disappear. We've been so worried. Ma looks like she's going to blow a gasket. It's really late, your supper's cold."
Serena blushed in embarrassment. Nora smiled warmly at each of them, breaking her gaze from Serena's face. "Yes, it's getting late, and the children are waiting for me. Good night, Dearies."
Seiya reached out to pat Serena on the head before he left. "You're such a good girl, Klutz." Serena swatted his hand away in irritation.
"Good bye, Nora. I'll visit the orphanage sometime," Serena said with a wave.
"That would be so nice, Serena."
"Sere, come on, it's time to go," Shingo urged the beaming girl.
"Shingo, how about you wait outside," Gor chimed in, "I would like a word with Serena."
"Anything you have to say to her you can say in front of me." Shingo crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Ah, Shingo, are you still angry at me for calling you crazy?"
"Ah ha! So you thought I was crazy."
Gor shook his head impatiently. "Do you want an apology? Well, I'm sorry, I didn't believe you in the beginning. However, after tonight I doubt you or your parents are crazy. If you really are, that would make me one, too. I witnessed her powers and for the first time I have seen a miracle. Her power in healing is true magic and her interest in medicine makes her special. With me she will become a practiced Healer like me, if you or your parents permit me to take her in as my apprentice."
Serena's eyes widened in astonishment. "You want me to be your apprentice?"
"You are qualified in my eyes…"
"You can't take Serena away from us!" Shingo hollered.
"Oh no!" Gor raised his arms up in peace. "I can never have her living with me. There's not enough room. What I mean is, I just want to teach her everything I know."
"Oh, thank you, Gor!" Serena flung her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"Wait, wait, we haven't even gotten Shingo's permission, yet!"
Shingo grumbled something. "Whatever…"
"Oh thank you, Shingo!" Serena hugged him fiercely as well.
"You still need Ma and Pa's consent first!"
Serena was running out the door shouting, "I'll ask Mama Ikuko and Papa Kenji right away!" Shingo followed her. "Slow down, Serena."