Chapter Four, TOUR [POV CHANGE]
A nudge and the soft whisper of my name made me open my eyes slightly. Through the sliver of vision I made sight of my savior. "Wake up sleepy head. We've got a big day ahead of us" her voice was soft, a whisper and then she moved out of my line of sight. Her footsteps were soft but fading quickly, her voice calling back to me "you've got five minutes, then breakfast's done" her voice was soft sounding, a quietness that held some sort of power.
Slowly I sat up, wincing in pain as the sharp zap of pain from my upper right arm. A hound bite. At the foot of the bed I found supplies to redress the wound and new clothes. A roll of cloth and a shiny safety pin.
I sighed as my socked feet meet the floor, the tattered cloth providing little to no protection against the chilled wood. As I stood I carefully shed the shirt, folding it as I placed it on the chair left here since yesterday. It was a faded red color, the front had a print that I couldn't make out.
As I took off the soiled bandages I noted the look, red stained the off white fabric turning brown already with age. The would itself looked terrible but not as bad as when I had first seen got it. Black thread was embedded into the flesh, holding it together. The smell of iron and disinfectant. Alcohol. Something I had not smelt in years.
The stinging stench of stereilness seemed almost too unfamiliar for my taste.
Miss Roni was sitting on her haunches next to the fire pit, poking the small flame with a short stick. The smell of eggs was faint but noticeable, in any case, I thought it smelled heavenly. "Morning Wilson" she didn't even turn to me as she spoke, pushing the eggs into another wooden bowl with a knife. A fork already rested in the bowl and she stood, turning to me and holding the wooden dish. I took it, thanking her which she waved off again.
She was wearing a different outfit than last night, her shoulders covered by a large red sweater, her legs covered by sweatpants. The sweater held loosely on her frame, her collar bones pressed against her skin. Her frame- I cast my gaze up to her face once more. Mentally slapping myself for objectifying my very own savior.
I found myself eating quickly, trying to avert my gaze as she poured water onto the flame in the pit. The eggs were good, very good. Every bite allowed my taste buds to tingle, making me salivate.
"How's it?" her question made me stop and swallow, clearing my mouth to talk. "They're delicious!" I beamed at her and then took my last bite. "Well that's good, now eat up. We've got things to do" her accent rang in my ears as I gulped down the eggs.
The sun hung low above the trees as I followed miss Roni around the meadow. Berry bushes and other vegetable is the fenced yard, a rabbit hutch in a far corner. Currently she was rambling about how she handles the produce over the winter, a smile gracing her face.
We had toured the meadow and now we were taking our time to mozy back to the cabin, I couldn't help but listen to the tones of her voice as I followed beside her. They were soft and tender, sweet and devout but most of all soft. Her voice was so soft. Rounded vowels and a quietness that he admired. Calmness. Her voice moved in pitch as she spoke. Like whispers in the breeze.
Turning onto the path I had followed only yesterday, we ventured into the forest. The soft crunch of the dead pine needles and dead under our feet sounded as we moved forward. The soft chatter of wildlife in the trees were quiet, groggy still from the night. Miss Roni silenced as we ventured down the path, listening to the creatures in the distance.
Her hair is pulled up into a messy bun held together with twine. Light reflected off of it slightly but not by much. It reminded me of my mother's hair whenever she would chase me and my sister around the yard.
I found myself smiling fondly at the memory and I made a note to hold onto it. For sanity's sake. A peaceful person is bound to create peaceful memories and miss Roni was a peaceful person.
Stepping carefully down the small hill after the shorter lady we met the bubbling waters of a brook. She moved to a tree stump and I stood near the hill. I watched as she took off her shoes, wadding her socks and pushing them into the shoes. She turned to me, a lopsided smile across her face "Come on bud, I've gotta show ya' how to set these traps."