vibrant and lush and full of life. My heart felt dead and lifeless in contrast. I feared I was coming too close to wanting this life to be over with. Was I ready to move on to the next? Would I find any love or acceptance there? Would I ever?
I was distracted from my dark thoughts by the movement below me. Just where the path down to the village crested the hill, a young man had appeared, breathing hard and covered in sweat as he jogged up the steep path.
I hesitated as I watched him approach. I knew it would be better to withdraw within the safety of the temple’s walls and call one of my Sisters to assist him. It would be expected of me – one as powerful as I was not typically involved in the villagers’ trivial problems and I had no desire to change that. But still… there was something about this boy that made me pause. His dark head was down, his whole body radiating his determination to reach his goal. He was close enough now that I could hear the rhythm of his feet beating against the path. And despite myself, I was curious. I was overwhelmed by the sudden desire to speak to him, to know why he was in such a rush to reach the temple though there was no reason why I should care.
Without any further hesitation, I stepped forward through the temple’s gates and walked to meet him on the path.
He glanced up as we neared one another, his gray eyes steadily meeting mine. I couldn’t imagine how I looked to him, stepping forward from the temple with my long, white blonde hair and dark robes swirling in the breeze around me. His eyes were bright and sharp, the intelligence and kindness in them obvious in just one glance. He stood before me boldly with his shoulders pushed back, his stance straight and tall. He didn’t speak immediately; he looked surprised and was obviously too out-of-breath to form words. I knew he must recognize me but he didn’t look afraid or intimidated as I had expected. The look in his eyes was one of steady determination and hesitant wariness. I waited patiently for him to speak, studying him all the while.
“Priestess.” He somehow managed to get the word out between ragged breaths. He dropped his gaze as he spoke and made the slightest of bows with his head. He immediately straightened up, his eyes snapping back to my face as he rushed to continue. “Please, I beg your assistance. The Gods have truly favored me today by bringing me before you, for you are the only one who can possibly save my mother.”
I should have turned and walked away right then and there. But by the will of the Gods, I didn’t. “What ails her?” I calmly asked.
“My mother births a child as we speak but the midwife fears she is too old and the babe too big. She says they are both lost to us.” His voice caught as he spoke, the emotion flaring in his eyes. His breathing was slowing and steadying now. I noticed he was trembling slightly despite the hot day and the sweat on his brow.
“The midwife knows more of childbirth than I,” I readily admitted. It was true, living in a temple with a group of women sworn to chastity, I had never even witnessed a birth and had only the vaguest idea of what the process was about. “If the midwife has pronounced the situation hopeless, I am sorry to say that it must be so.”
“No.” His eyes flared once more and flooded with unshed tears. The way he spoke to me so defiantly, so fearlessly, made me reconsider him. “I refuse to accept that. She is my mother, she is dying, she’s afraid and in pain, and her babe is dying inside of her. You must help. Please. I beg you. Please.” Tears spilled down his cheeks as he spoke, leaving clear trails through the dusty grime that coated his face. His eyes shone with the tears, so bright and sparkling that I was unable to immediately look away. My heart stirred within my chest, the sudden empathy I felt for this young man powerful and unexpected. I knew in that moment that I would not be able to refuse him though I
I was distracted from my dark thoughts by the movement below me. Just where the path down to the village crested the hill, a young man had appeared, breathing hard and covered in sweat as he jogged up the steep path.
I hesitated as I watched him approach. I knew it would be better to withdraw within the safety of the temple’s walls and call one of my Sisters to assist him. It would be expected of me – one as powerful as I was not typically involved in the villagers’ trivial problems and I had no desire to change that. But still… there was something about this boy that made me pause. His dark head was down, his whole body radiating his determination to reach his goal. He was close enough now that I could hear the rhythm of his feet beating against the path. And despite myself, I was curious. I was overwhelmed by the sudden desire to speak to him, to know why he was in such a rush to reach the temple though there was no reason why I should care.
Without any further hesitation, I stepped forward through the temple’s gates and walked to meet him on the path.
He glanced up as we neared one another, his gray eyes steadily meeting mine. I couldn’t imagine how I looked to him, stepping forward from the temple with my long, white blonde hair and dark robes swirling in the breeze around me. His eyes were bright and sharp, the intelligence and kindness in them obvious in just one glance. He stood before me boldly with his shoulders pushed back, his stance straight and tall. He didn’t speak immediately; he looked surprised and was obviously too out-of-breath to form words. I knew he must recognize me but he didn’t look afraid or intimidated as I had expected. The look in his eyes was one of steady determination and hesitant wariness. I waited patiently for him to speak, studying him all the while.
“Priestess.” He somehow managed to get the word out between ragged breaths. He dropped his gaze as he spoke and made the slightest of bows with his head. He immediately straightened up, his eyes snapping back to my face as he rushed to continue. “Please, I beg your assistance. The Gods have truly favored me today by bringing me before you, for you are the only one who can possibly save my mother.”
I should have turned and walked away right then and there. But by the will of the Gods, I didn’t. “What ails her?” I calmly asked.
“My mother births a child as we speak but the midwife fears she is too old and the babe too big. She says they are both lost to us.” His voice caught as he spoke, the emotion flaring in his eyes. His breathing was slowing and steadying now. I noticed he was trembling slightly despite the hot day and the sweat on his brow.
“The midwife knows more of childbirth than I,” I readily admitted. It was true, living in a temple with a group of women sworn to chastity, I had never even witnessed a birth and had only the vaguest idea of what the process was about. “If the midwife has pronounced the situation hopeless, I am sorry to say that it must be so.”
“No.” His eyes flared once more and flooded with unshed tears. The way he spoke to me so defiantly, so fearlessly, made me reconsider him. “I refuse to accept that. She is my mother, she is dying, she’s afraid and in pain, and her babe is dying inside of her. You must help. Please. I beg you. Please.” Tears spilled down his cheeks as he spoke, leaving clear trails through the dusty grime that coated his face. His eyes shone with the tears, so bright and sparkling that I was unable to immediately look away. My heart stirred within my chest, the sudden empathy I felt for this young man powerful and unexpected. I knew in that moment that I would not be able to refuse him though I
Similar Books
