Chapter 242 - Best Intentions
Yuzu sat in silence in the small clearing, watching the ten year old’s silver string drift away as he escaped back to his village. She shook her head, a self deprecating smirk tugging at her lips.
To the boy the mysterious peddler had vanished the moment the lantern went out, disappearing into the darkness. But the truth was, she had simply extinguished the lantern and then sat silently, letting his imagination fill in the gaps. Nilya had disappeared from Yuzu’s sight too, since it took her eyes just as long to adjust to the sudden darkness.
The boy was absolutely spooked, but from Yuzu’s perspective she was playing with cheap tricks to properly set the mood.
When Nilya was far out of sight, Yuzu used her spirituality to light the lantern again. She looked down at the collection of items on the rug. They were all random pieces that she had scavenged from the abandoned buildings outside the town. In any other situation they’d clearly be worthless junk, but as a shopkeeper she knew the importance of having a full ‘storefront window’.
A girl in the marsh with the exact potion Nilya needed would be suspicious and require explanation. But an enigmatic peddler that appears in the swamp? That sparked the imagination and answered all the important questions without losing any of the mystery.
Yuzu quietly packed away the items in the basket, then rolled up the tattered rug. She did a careful check around the small clearing, making sure that it looked undisturbed. Nilya was sure to check out the place in the day, it would be best if she didn’t leave a trace.
Satisfied, she tucked the rug under her arm, slung the basket across her shoulders and set out into the swamp back to her ‘home’ on the village’s western outskirts.
The stories and fairytales about witches in the woods never talk about their mundane tasks. Yuzu ruminated with amusement. When the Baba Naga finishes eating the children she caught, does she do the dishes? Does she get on her hands and knees to scrub the blood off the floor?
If Nilya saw Yuzu carrying her items and rug through the swamp, the image of the mysterious peddler would instantly be shattered. Lugging everything through the swamp during the daylight had been less than glamorous as well.
But even so, this hasn’t exhausted me at all… And also, my hands aren’t cold anymore like they used to be.
Yuzu had lived her whole teenage life with weakness and fainting episodes. She had gotten used to constantly having ice-cold hands that caused people to shiver on contact. But ever since she arrived in Fuha she hadn’t felt that all-too-familiar exhaustion. It seemed safe to conclude that the entity behind the door at the bottom of the white world had really healed her.
Though that raises other questions… Yuzu frowned.
A little ways through the swamp Yuzu’s intuition triggered as she noticed a tiny tremble in the golden tapestry that peacefully floated around the village. She looked out toward the village, though in the darkness of the new moon she couldn’t see beyond the pool of light from her lantern.
A end of a golden string wafted through the string toward her, which Yuzu immediately recognized as the string of Taylor, one of the boys in Nilya’s group. He was standing alone on the edge of the village, looking out into the dark.
Far in the distance, the skinny boy spotted the orange glow of a lantern, too far away for him to make out anything but the light. It walked at a slow pace for just enough time for him to confirm that he wasn’t just imagining things - and then it disappeared.
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Taylor’s hands grew clammy as he stared out at the last position of the lantern, but the light never reappeared.
In the darkness, the edge of Yuzu’s lip curled up as she used the fate threads to make it the rest of the way back to shelter.
~
The final rays of twilight faded into the night as Nilya reached his home. The village houses were quiet and still, a soft cool breeze played across his skin which was moist with sweat.
He approached slowly, taking care not to make noise as he climbed through his bedroom window. The main room was quiet beyond the curtain-blocked doorway, a dull orange light tinged the motionless shadows beyond.
The glass bottle was unnaturally cold in Nilya’s hand, chilled by the mysterious liquid in it. He grasped it firmly as he crept into the main room, wondering how he’d explain the bottle to his family. He knew that neither his mother nor uncle would accept the simple explanation of where he’d gotten the potion. They were likely to throw it away instantly - There were too many folk tales of bad things happening due to strange items. But something in Nilya’s gut told him that this potion was what Anya needed to get better.
A small pool of light came from the dying embers in the stove which had been kept lit to keep the room warm. The light gently brushed the silhouettes of his sister and his mother who had fallen asleep beside her. The walls and corners of the room were draped in deep, dark shadows.
Nilya crept forward, ears picking up on the soft crackle from the stove and the quiet snores of his uncle in the next room. He knelt next to his sister, taking a spot opposite his mother. He watched the two feeling as if this moment, this dark place, had been plucked out of time and space. He felt an inexplicable feeling that he was meant to be here.
He held up the bottle and observed it. The stove light played off the thin layer of liquid at the bottom of the glass.
He uncorked the bottle and tilted it over his sister’s lips.
Drip. Drip. The liquid from the bottle was barely was enough to wet her lips.
“Nilya?” His mother mumbled as she stirred, eyes flickering open. Her gaze landed on the small bottle, expression instantly turning to worry, “Nilya what is that?”
Nilya froze out of panic, looking at his mother with large saucer eyes.
His mother’s voice rose as she reached out and grabbed the bottle out of his hands, “Where did you get this?”
“I- I bought it… To help Anya.” He stammered.
“Bought what? What is in this?”
“I had a dream, there was a person in the marsh.” Nilya explained, heat flushing his cheeks as he suddenly felt guilty under his mother’s questions, “I bought the potion, it’s going to heal her.”
A heavy hand squeezed his shoulder as his uncle passed him from behind, “What happened?”
“Nilya, where did you get this bottle?” His mother asked again.
“I told you, ma! I bought it!” Nilya repeated.
“From a person in the marsh?” His uncle asked calmly. He lit a candle from the stove embers and then used it to light several candle holders in the room, chasing away the darkness.
“Yes.”
“It wasn’t someone from the village?” His uncle asked, “How did you meet this person?”
“I-“ Nilya hesitated as he felt like he was going to be in a lot of trouble explaining himself. He could see the furious concern in his mother’s eyes, heard the strain in his uncle’s voice.
Just as he was about to explain Anya moaned, stirring for the first time in days.
“Anya!” His mother instantly shifted to cradle Anya’s head.
Nilya felt a moment of elation as he realized that the potion actually was having an effect. However that hope quickly changed as he saw that Anya’s face was contorted in pain.
“Anya, it’s okay, mama is here.” His mother cooed, grasping onto Anya’s arm and squeezing.
The frail girl suddenly gave out a squealing cry as she writhed in pain. Her mother gasped as she let go of Anya’s arms, looking down at the black swollen sores that were now squirming and bulging out. Blood began dribbling down her tanned skin as the skin began to break.
“Nilya, what was in that bottle?!” His uncle demanded, holding onto Anya as she convulsed.
“I don’t know!” Nilya grabbed the sides of his head as he retreated backward, eyes wide with horror, “I don’t know! I’m sorry!”
His mother gave out a wail as the sores on Anya’s arms broke, and long dark tendrils unfurled, revealing a number of fern-like fronds.
“Deka save us!” His mother cried.
“Nilya-“ His uncle yelled, looking into Nilya’s eyes with a look of desperation that the young boy had never seen. “Nilya go find the guru-chi! Bring the guru-chi here before it’s too late!”
“O-okay!” Nilya held back a sob as he immediately dashed out the door.
The guru-chi was staying in the village healer’s home, near the center of the village. It was only a few minutes run away. Nilya’s eyes were filled with tears as he ran desperately with the wails of his mother trailing on the breeze behind him.
The dark night began to twinkle with candle light as the houses around him began to wake up.