Estel's Encounter in the Woods 7
Nearly morning, the Dunedain woke Estel to check the health of his patient. Most of his deep wounds and scars were nearly healed.
"How much pain do you have, now? You look very well. Did anything even happen to you, young Estel? Are you ready for the trip home now?"
"Well," Estel replied, " I feel great. No lingering pain," he said to Kin. They both grinned at each other. " Please stop asking me how I feel, Kin..you know how I feel!"
"And of course I want to go home, now! You know that, too," he said with a big grin.
"I'm going out to catch dinner. Getting Hungry?"
"Im starving, Kin! famished!"
"All right." He gave him his water skin and some waybread to stave that excrutiating hunger off until dinner.
"Thanks." He sat on the blankets, enjoying his snack, waiting for Kin to leave. Then he found himself contemplating his situation.
He never should have gone out alone into the woods in the first place. He knew there could be danger, but he really had not thought anything would happen. But it did. The worst kind of danger he could think of. Attacked in the dark and torn to pieces by those cursed wolves. How he hated them, now, which went without saying. A horrid memory he would never forget. This was the worst he had ever been injured, and just the thought of the whole episode made him freeze.
How he hated pain, being imprisoned in a bed for days; And detested being unable to go out because of the impenetrable, black darkness outside. But he was so grateful for his new friend, without whom, he would definitely not have survived.
But at this time he was so bored and frustrated being in that cave, that he decided to take a short walk on his own. He was sure that his friend would not be back for a while, and so he should have time, just to be outside, and explore as he was able. He crawled out of the cave, looked around in the pitch black. The air was cool and humid, the grass fresh and dewy. He walked a ways, then looked back at the cave, to keep track of where it was . It was there at a distance. He wandered off a different direction. He knew he would still be able to see the fire in the cave. He looked around. Nothing. He looked towards the cave...nothing! He knew he had not gone very far.. Estel started panicking. He knew how Irresponsible he had been to not have taken his sword nor a torch for light. How could he have forgotten them? Now he was angry at himself. He looked for the light in the cave, again, but he was all turned around, so he slowly walked around looking for signs of the fire. He had mud on his boots, climbed over some boulders,and immediately slipped and fell. "Oh, great! What should I do now?" he asked himself, as he contemplated his present situation. So he put his arms out, seeking a tree to lean against and get a little reality, a little security from it. It definitely felt unreal out here. It felt as if he was blind, and it would never get lighter. He was stuck, so he believed. This situation reminded him so much of when he was out alone before: owls, swishing trees, freezing fog, and terrifying fear...and the wolves. He stood there for a while, glancing around him then he heard a sound. He started sweating and shaking in fear. He couldn't move, he was frozen on the spot.
"Oh, Elbereth, help me, please. I don't want to get in serious trouble again. Please!"
Then he heard another noise, closer, and another in a different direction. He thought he was going to die a frightful death. Suddenly, someone grabbed him, and slung him over their shoulder. The man was tall and had a very deep voice, and quickly walked through lots of forest trees and bushes. He was in a hurry, and obviously knew where he was going. How terrifying it was for Estel. He tugged, pulled, hit and kicked so hard to get away, but the man was too strong for him. He did not want to be killed in the dark by strangers. He was absolutely terrified at that thought.
"Please let me go. Please!" He was paralyzed with fear and could not do any thing about it. "Kin, help me, please! I'm over here!" He prayed that Kin was back from hunting and heard him.
"You be quiet young one, or I will slit your throat. There are lots of men waiting for me and will be anxious to meet you when we get there. No food for you there, you may be the meal..."
At that moment, Estel got dumped in the cave by Kin.
He gave a huge sigh of relief. "Why did you do that Kin, that was cruel!"
"I'll tell you, but I want you to think about it for awhile as I finish making dinner. Still hungry?"
"Angry is more like it..but yes I am still hungry."
So Estel ate his meal in silence, and glared at his friend, " So am I supposed to be afraid of you, now, or what?" he asked bitterly.
"Estel, you know better than that. Don't I get some credit for saving your life?"
"Kin, something happened to me when I was very young. I was on a trip with my Adar and brothers and I ran off. I was captured by a group of orcs...one threw me over his shoulder and I was hauled off, afraid I'd never see my family again. I was so scared, Kin...but I was rescued. This brought up a few memories of that." He turned away, suddenly hearing thunder off in the distance. I don't suppose you can magically make it stop raining?"
"That's not fair, Estel. I am so sorry for what happened to you, then. For that and for the way I treated you. Please forgive me, I did not know."
Estel looked at him, and sighed. "I'm sorry,too, Kin. I didn't really mean to hurt you. It's alright, really." There was another clap of rumbling thunder, and the rain started pouring down. He looked outside, and could see the rain which was closest to the fire. It sparkled and was lovely; and Estel loved it.
"Thank you, Estel. I wanted to open your eyes to a few things, and I thought this was the best way to get your attention. You went out in the dark, with no sword and no torch. How did you expect to protect yourself? I know you're blind out there, but you do not seem aware of it, or do not care."
"You must strengthen yourself, become a good fighter, and excel on all your weapons. You should always carry an extra unseen weapon on yourself. It could save your life one day. . Always think ahead and be prepared. Be quick and never be off-guard , think through every situation before you act. Always have your weapons ready against your opponents and be aware of what's around you. Be trustful and loyal to your friends and suspicious of those who don't deserve your respect. You'll get along just wonderfully in this life if you can follow this advise; or some of it, at least. Oh, and by the way...always carry a torch and sword out with you in the dark," he grinned.
Estel did not know what to say. He felt so guilty about the mild scolding he had just been given. But he knew everything Kin said was true.
"Don't be sorry, be careful, alright?" Kin said sweetly, reading Estel's face and mood.
"Alright. I'll do the best I can."
...
"Can we go now, or very soon? I'm sure my family are looking everywhere for me. They all worry so much. And I am tired of this cursed constant black world I am living in, even though you told me it would eventually GO AWAY!"
"It will Estel, I promise; honestly."
" Alright then. I'll clean up the campsite and put out the fire and we can go. Oh, by the way, it is still raining outside," he grinned at his young friend.
"I know that, already, Kin. I am blind, not deaf."
So he grabbed everything in the cave, that was worth keeping, and burned the rest, including all the bloody rags, except for Estel's cloak. Well, whatever was left of it. It was Estel's favorite one, so the young man decided to clean it up as best he could. Then he would sew up the rips and tears with his mother. She would help, he knew. His mother made it for him, so that made it very special to him.
As soon as the campfire was put out and taken care of, and the light went out, Estel went outside and still could not see a thing. The thick fog was there as always , so he could not really move in any direction until his friend showed up to help him. There was not anything to look at, anyway, so he held on to Kin's horse for security and comfort.
...
"So you still cannot see, young Estel?" The Dunedain asked as he left the pitch-black cave. I'll lead the way. You could take a walk, if you please. Would you like some exercise? You could probably use it."
"Yes I really would. But please dont let me fall, alright?"
"All right; that's a deal. If that happens, you're joining me on Shea. I wish you could see right now, that must be very frightening and make you feel very insecure. It must be a horrible feeling for you. Oh, here's your sword and a torch." They both laughed.
"Who is Shea?"
"He's my horse. He's a beauty, isn't he?. Oh, sorry."
They walked for a short while, through the chilly forest, then, of course, Estel tripped over a large tree root. and grabbed the horse quickly for balance. "Sorry, about that," Estel apologized, embarrassed. He was so jittery, now. Wishing he was with his family. But at least Kin was here, and he felt very safe around him.
"Absolutely no problem at all," the Dunedain replied, lightly laughing. You just couldnt resist falling, could you? You even have a torch, what happened with that?"
"Well, I was not looking down at the time, so it did not do me any good," he said as he climbed on the horse.
"We should be there in a few hours. We could get there today or wait for tomorrow."
"Today, please, if I have the choice. I can't wait to see them all."
"That's fine. Just let me know when you're hungry and thirsty, then we can stop for a break."
"What about you..Kin..er."
"That's good enough," he smiled.
"What about you? I'm not sure I've ever seen you eat."
"I just don't get really hungry and don't eat a lot. I'll eat when you do, of course, I'm just not hungry at this time."
So they mounted Shea and continued their journey to Rivendell. Estel was getting excited at the thought of arriving there.
Estel was carrying the torch, yet, but could still only see a very short distance. And, of course, it was really annoying him. "So could tell me what's on the right side of us?"
" you cannot even see with the torch?"
"Not very well, Sir."
"Alright, to the right there are big pine trees; which I am sure you can smell; big boulders, tall grass, a few flowers here and there, and warm sunshine all around us."
"You'll have that all back, when we get there. Don't be envious, just be happy that you are getting close to home and it will be light there, again."
"How do you know that?"
"I just do. I don't know why, really.
" Well, it is about the same on the left side. Not much more to see."
"You know, you are using a torch and still can't see. You should see what you look like; swishing your torch around to see, and it's almost noon. You are a very unique blind person...blind people would not do that. Think about that!" He grinned at him.
"I know it must look very ridiculous,"he laughed at his friend.
So in about a couple of hours, they stopped for lunch, definitely a little on the sore side. It was delicious. They had rabbit, fresh fruit and the common cheese, and some let-over cakes for Estel. So, he handed each item to Estel to eat.
"Thank you, Sir."
"I still did not hear you eat, again."
"Well, I ate a little earlier, don't worry about me, I'm fine."
"Should we continue down the road, now? I know how anxious you are to get home."
"I would really like to get there by evening. Do you think we can manage that?"
He threw out the perishables and put the well-kept goods in their packs, as they chatted.
Estel looked around at the non-existent scenery, so depressed at being blind, and feeling sorry for those who really were. He was so happy that his wouldn't last forever.
So they continued with Estel's companion grabbing him by the hand and pulling him up in the saddle on Shea.
. "We sure can try, my young friend..."