Chapter 5:
The market was the most fascinating place ever! I've never heard so many people try and negotiate with other people. I couldn't tell between a great deal and a scam on a purchase, so I knew I couldn't really trust anyone. My cloak was extremely heavy and itchy, the color of it made myself look suspicious and mysterious.
"Wool! Wool! Freshly woven wool!"
"Fresh fish! We got out fish here!"
The merchants advertisement did me no good, but there was huge boxes of fish being hauled by big men. There was long thick rope that latched to the port and the ship, with rats crawling on it, boarding the ship themselves. Maybe with my own strength, I could crawl on the ropes myself, but I couldn't get myself wet, I had my stuff in my bag that was fragile. Then there was the boxes.
By the time the ship made port, with me on it, we were at a rocky shore. I didn't know how many miles we sailed, but luckily I didn't hurl or draw any attention to myself. I wasn't found out, but I didn't sleep the whole way, the ship swayed back and forth too much for me to stay in one place. But the smell was repulsive beyond all belief, it was stinky, smelly, sticky, grimy, and scarring.
How I could tell that the ship had stopped was that the men yelled to drop anchor, there was more movement up on deck, and they began to move the nets and boxes of fish. I crawled out of my box, made my way up these steep stairs, and into a dark room. The room was dark, filled with fish hooks and extra nets. I moved again, finding myself in what appears to be in an empty captains room. Voices were heard.
"Move it! Move it! Go!"
"This is the first village and we're already runnin' late!"
"Keep it up! Move it! Move it!"
"Get the fish! People are dying!"
This was a delivery ship. Behind the door, light flickered, there was foot movement, the men were coming in!
"Shit!" I panicked and opened the window. I wrapped up my bag pretty tightly, so tight it felt like a round rock.
This was the stupidest idea ever, but I jumped! My arms clawing at the air, trying to grab onto something, panicking at the same time. I splashed into the water! The cold salt water gulped me, and my dress puffed up and went down. My arms began to reform and circle, then I swam to shore. I spit out salt water, pulled back my hair, and swung back my bag.
"I'm home free…!" I laughed out loud to myself.
I ran for the trees before the sea men could spot me. My clothes were sticking to me, so I took off my shoes and dress. I still had my t-shirt and pants, so I quickly changed. Luckily I still had the long shawl that came with the dress, it was a beautiful white one, long and big enough to cover my shoulders and waist. For an 30 minutes, I was almost completely dry. The stuff in my bag wasn't at all damaged, so that made me happy.
Then I heard something very indistinct, almost like the sound of running, panting, and small children. There was children. There was 6 of them, all dressed in short rags, with bandages on their head, arms, knees, and necks. An adult appeared with a long stick in hand, with the smell of fish and a look of desperation on his face.
"Quick! Come with us!"
The children gathered around me, took my arms and pulled me with them. What the hell!
"Wait. Where are we going?"
"To the village!"
"What village!"
"We need your help!"
"What can I do!"
"Please help us!"
Faster than I knew it, there was a village. It was better than the first village I've been to, but the people looked worse here. All the other houses were empty, but there was a huge house in the middle of the village that had smoke coming from the roof windows. Women with rags and buckets of water were running in and out of there, and when they saw me, they bowed and went on their way. The children pushed open the doors and a foul smell hit my nose.
"What is this place?"
"We need you over here!" the man said.
They pulled me over to a woman who laid on a wooden cot, coughing and had a bad runny nose. The man put a rag over her forehead.
"We need your help. Our people have been getting sick, but our gardens haven't come back yet. The winter was too cruel this year. The only source we have useful is the fish the fishermen bring."
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"Can you help heal her? She's my wife and with child. We already lost a child not long ago and we don't want to risk anything…" the man petted her stomach, and yes, there was a big bump on her stomach.
"Ok. Ok. But why me?:
"She's waking!" a child pointed to the woman on the cot.
She was a rather pretty woman, with red hair and perfect blue eyes. Her hand rose to her husband, and they locked hands. The man was shaken, dropping off sweat, and he put his forehead on her hand. I narrowed my eyes.
"Well, first of all, you can't touch her. How many people are sick?"
"Half of the village."
"Ok, well, if there's enough physical contact, the infection will spread. And from what I see, it's how it spread so fast."
"Oh," the man whimpered," My wife…"
This spark flickered inside of me, and I just had to help. This spark, this feeling of wanting to be useful was slowly burning.
"Ok, get the children out of here. I need clean cloths to be made into masks. If you can, I need some hot water, and it has to be clean water. Ask other people if they can participate, because we're going to need a lot of blankets in here. Give me whatever you have as medicine and bring them to me. Pronto!"
The man and children leapt up, and I got on my knees and looked at the woman's face. She was sweating, coughing, and shivering. There was a runny nose and her skin was cold. Her symptoms were bad.
I turned around on my knees and there was perhaps 30 more people laying on cots, coughing and aching. There was a big rock stove thing in the middle of the room, and everything was illuminated in orange. I got up, closed all the windows and the doors, making sure no cold air was getting in. The man came back in the hut with multiple cloths in his hand and gave me one. I straightened it out and put it over my mouth and nose, he did the same. We stood over his wife.
"I'm Evey by the way…" my voice was muffled.
"I'm Adelio, son of Adriano…."
"Nice to meet you. And your wife."
"Her name is Andra…"
I saw his face shift, meaning he was smiling.
"Andra. A pretty name…"
"As you are, pure one. Tell me, does Poseidon grace us this day with the fish he brings?"
"Um, how would I know?"
"Well, we saw you…"
"Saw me what?"
"The children saw you walk out of the ocean… They said that a beautiful woman came from the ocean, wearing a white shawl. Pure and true, you are the one that heals anything she touches…"
"So?"
"So, that means you come to help us. Poseidon must be very kind this season. You are his servant are you not?"
"No, I'm not."
"But you are draped in jewels. You're beautiful. You wear the shawl of the ocean. of the healing waters. You came the same time as the fish did. You are the nourishment the village needs."
My eyes were wide open with shock and disbelief.
"Really?"