VIII - The Return

The small cart rattled across Caladium, away from the small farming town of Brackenridge toward Canden. The trip had been longer than Richard Cassia had expected, with flooding across the plains between the towns. Instead of approaching Canden around mid-afternoon, the farmer saw the village over the horizon near late evening. The storms had caused much destruction around his home, and Richard noticed that Canden seemed to be in a similar way. 

Richard Cassia turned around, checking on the young man secured to the cart. The tall, muscular man had shown no signs of regaining consciousness, continuing to lie on his stomach the way Adriana had placed him. Richard's wife had thought that with the extensive wounds on his back, it would be best to place the man face-down, turning his head to the side in case he were to get sick when, or if, he regained consciousness. 

The middle-aged farmer continued on his journey to Canden, the village drawing nearer. He led the horse to the village center, looking around for anyone who could help him get to the healer women he had heard of. A tall, burly man emerged from what appeared to be a forge, and Richard called out to him.

"Excuse me! Sir!" The man from the forge turned, looking at Richard. "My name is Richard Cassia, and I come from Brackenridge. I am looking for the healer women of Canden. I found a man injured on my farm, and I have heard the Hackthorne women are the best chance he has if he is going to survive."

The man approached Richard, and offered his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr Cassia. I am Robert, owner of the forge here. The women you look for…the elder woman Anne, she has passed on recently. The younger, Ravenna, she has been missing for weeks. I am sorry you came all this way in hopes of their help, but it takes a good man to do the right thing like you have."

Richard looked forlorn at the man who called himself Robert. "I see…"

An older man made his way around the village center fountain, and Robert called out to the man. "Good evening, Oliver! How have you been?"

Richard noticed the toddler that followed the man named Oliver, who had a large smile and chubby cheeks beneath his helmet of golden curls. The young child looked at Richard's horse, and grinned wider. "I like your horse-y, mistah! Does he always get to pull big carts?"

The child's innocence brought a smile to the Brackenridge man's face. "He does work hard. Would you like to pet him?" The blacksmith saw the child's grin, and picked up the toddler, allowing him to gently pat the horse's soft nose. 

"Very gentle, Thomas, your mother would be proud of you," the older man, Oliver, told the child. He then turned to Richard and Robert, who stood next to the horse. "I probably should not say anything, but my wife and I are watching little Thomas here for his mother. Ravenna has returned, gentlemen. Thomas' mother asked us to watch her son while she went to the infirmary with Ravenna to help her settle in. Teresa wanted to keep Ravenna's return a secret until she was ready to come to the village herself, something seems to have spooked that young girl. But if this man has come all the way from Brackenridge to find her, we can consider it to be an emergency."

Taking notice of the young man strapped to the cart, Oliver gasped. "Dear Ruler, what happened to him?" 

Richard turned, looking at the cart. "I don't know. I went to the barn to check on the animals during the storm, and heard a loud crash. I assumed it was lightning striking a tree or something similar, but when I left the barn, I found my hay bales on fire. I doused the flames, and found this man lying on his side in the hay. I don't know who he is or how he got there. I guess the Ruler only knows what happened to him."

Robert pressed his lips together, hearing the farmer's story. "You made the effort to come all this way for a stranger, and we won't let your effort go to waste. If what Oliver says is true, Miss Hawthorne has returned, and we can take you to her. We will respect her privacy, I can take you to her home but I will stay back. She is not ready to return to the village, and it was not meant for me to know that Ravenna is home."

Oliver led little Thomas back toward the fountain to watch the small goldfish that lived in the fountain, and Robert and Richard headed toward the Hawthorne infirmary, the young man on the cart still unconscious.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Ravenna, you're actually serious! You said that the angel man saved you, and you actually started to feel for him?" Teresa shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around the things Ravenna had told her. "But nobody has ever seen an angel before. Are you sure you…I'm sorry, but are you sure that your mind isn't just trying to block out what happened to you?"

"I promise you, he was real. He did say he was risking punishment from the Ruler to help me, though. We found another angel that had been cast from the Kingdom, and he rules in another realm, over the Lost. The ruler of the Lost, Lucifer, he wants Michael to fight against the Ruler with him, demand change for us, the humans. They both want a better world for us. But then the Ruler found out Michael had saved me, and He sent His warriors after Michael. Lucifer kept me safe in his realm, that's why I've been gone for so long."

Teresa's face showed pure bewilderment. She wasn't sure that Ravenna was still of sound mind, considering all the things that her friend had told her. –But Ravenna seems so sure of everything she said…maybe she is right, that there is something else out there with us…–

Ravenna poured more tea for herself, and refilled Teresa's cup. "I know it sounds unreal, it took a while to get used to myself. But I wish you could have met Michael. You used to tell me how warm and safe your husband made you feel; I think I got to experience exactly what you described. The way he would wrap his wing around me, the way his arms felt around me…" Ravenna trailed off, taking a moment to add the sugar to her tea. "It doesn't matter. I'll never feel his wings around me again. Not if Lucifer was right."

The women heard a knock at the door, and Teresa watched as Ravenna shrank back from the sound. "Is everything okay, Ravenna?"

"I'm sorry, I need to get used to that sound not being one that will harm me. Peter Jones had knocked on the door before he stole me, and now I get a little nervous when I hear knocking."

Teresa stood, and smiled at her friend. "I'll join you, together we can overcome your anxieties." 

Ravenna, reassured, gave a soft smile. The women made their way to the door, where an unfamiliar man waited outside. "H-hello, is there anything I can do to help you, sir?" Her voice shook, but with Teresa by her side, Ravenna was confident enough to address the stranger.

"Good evening, ladies. I am Richard Cassia; I am a farmer from Brackenridge. I have come looking for the healer women of Canden, I have a bit of an emergency on my hands." The man gestured toward his horse and cart, worry on his face. "I found this man outside my barn in the storm. He has yet to wake up, and I'm starting to worry if he will. But from the things I have heard, the Canden women were the best chance he had at survival. Are you able to take him in?" The farmer had been so busy reciting the rehearsed speech, he had forgotten to even make sure that he had the right cottage.

Ravenna took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes, I can take in anyone who requires my assistance. I am Ravenna Hawthorne, and I'm pleased to meet you. Let's get this man inside, and we can get to work on fixing him up. Are you able to help me get him inside, if he is not able to do so himself?"

Richard looked relieved; he had found the Hawthorne healer, and surely the Ruler would bless his harvest come autumn. He led Ravenna and her friend to his cart, where the young man still lay tethered to the planks. 

Ravenna tried her best not to scream as she saw the unconscious man on the Brackenridge man's cart. Michael lay on his stomach, his back showing large open wounds, exactly where his wings used to be.