The throbbing pain in my side was nothing compared to the blood-soaked gash running down my right leg. As I ran, the humid air stung the ragged flesh and caused the blood to pour down into my shoe and saturate my sock even quicker. The numbness I held onto when it happened had faded, replaced with a burning sensation that was quickly crawling up my leg and making my whole body hurt. I wouldn’t be able to run much farther. I had a find a place to sit down.
As I rounded the seventh block from our house, I spotted the neighborhood playground and made a beeline for the jungle gym. I climbed the wooden ladder, crossed the chain bridge and climbed into a plastic tunnel. The world turned watery and numb as I allowed myself to cry. For several minutes the pain in my leg was trumped by the pain inside my heart. That type of pain was worse than any physical pain. Physical pain healed eventually; it closed up and stopped bleeding. But the emotional pain could bleed for years. No amount of band-aids could stop the hemorrhaging of a little girl’s heart.
I almost got away from him. I almost slipped away unharmed. But I wasn’t quite fast enough. I pulled my leg back one second too late and the knife had dragged across my calf before I was able to make it out the back door and into the neighbor’s yard. That’s when I started running. I couldn’t go back there right away. Not until he passed out. I’d give it an hour or so, and then I could sneak back in and crawl in bed. Having a plan helped me feel a little bit safer. It wasn’t much, but if all I had was a tiny thread to hold onto, I’d hold on as tight as I could. I wiped my nose on my sleeve and decided to take a good look at my wound.
The knife hadn’t gone in too far except where it had started; the rest was just one long slit. I didn’t think I needed stitches, but it sure needed something. In a mountain of agony, I climbed out of the tunnel and scooted down the slide. I limped over to the communal water fountain and did my best to throw my leg on top of it and under the water pouring out, failing miserably and scraping the underside of my leg in the process. I turned on the water again and used my hand to collect and pour it over the gash. I gritted my teeth as the burning intensified from mildly hot to erupting volcano.
“You’ll need to stop the bleeding,” an endearing voice instructed. I looked up into the eyes of a stunning woman with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes that were lined with unmistakable kindness. As my eyes flitted back down, I remembered thinking how familiar those eyes seemed, but I dismissed the thought just as quickly as it had come.
“Thanks,” I muttered and did my best to limp away as fast as possible. I didn’t get far.
“What kind of knife was it?” she asked conversationally. I spun around and inspected her further with guarded eyes. She wore a simple light yellow sundress and a beautiful yellow stone pendant around her neck. She waited for me to size her up and decide if I wanted to trust her. “The sharp ones are usually not as bad, they cut clean through. It’s those butter knives you have to watch out for.” She grinned and raised an eyebrow. Her casual confidence blew over me like a fresh breeze, and the mischief in her eyes reeled me in. She still gave me an odd feeling of deja vu, although I couldn’t figure out why that would be. I had no reason to run into grown-ups as put together as she was.
“I think it was a steak knife,” I admitted quietly. “It had ridges on it. It really hurt.”
“I happen to have something we can wrap it up with, if you’d like?” she asked, holding up something white in her hand while still keeping her distance. She held out her hand and waited. I shifted to my working leg and considered my options. I could either let her help me or bleed to death.
I figured bleeding to death wouldn’t be a very good way to go, so I took her hand.
“Okay,” I agreed timidly. She allowed me to lean on her until we got to a wooden bench a couple yards away. I watched and tried not to cry out as she slowly wrapped my leg in a piece of fabric. She secured it with a pin and smiled warmly up at me.
“There - all better.” Somehow her words made me feel safer. Or maybe it was the new experience of having someone take care of me. “What’s your name?”
“Hannah,” I told her.
“I’m Charlotte,” she said, and peered up at the sky thoughtfully. “Have you ever seen a live oak tree, Hannah?”
“The ones with the crazy branches?”
“Yes, those are the ones,” she chuckled. “When a live oak tree grows near the shore, the constant battering of the sand, wind, and water start to take its toll. However, instead of the branches breaking, they adapt. They twist and turn, eventually growing into a completely unique and beautiful tree. Once full grown, those twisted and mangled branches give that same tree the strength and courage to weather any storm.”
“That’s kind of cool.”
“So when things get bad and you start feeling all twisted inside, just remember that’s what will give you the strength and courage to weather any storm.”
“But, what if I do break?” I asked quietly.
“That won’t happen,” she said confidently.
“How do you know?”
“I have a very special talent for seeing who you truly are,” she winked at me and smiled widely. “And you, my dear, are plenty twisted. No storm could ever break you.”
For the first time in a long time, I laughed and forgot about my pain - not only the pain in my leg, but the pain in my heart as well.
* * * As I found my way back to the glaring reality of consciousness, the haze around my mind was almost as comforting as the strong arms around me. My entire body was wrapped in a world of soft sheets and feathery pillows, while a light breeze on my cheek tickled my skin. Wait. Breeze? Strong arms? My mind instantly focused, and all of my senses sharpened as I underwent a quick inspection of my surroundings. Where was I, and most importantly - who the hell was lying behind me?
I realized with a start that the breeze I felt was the mystery person’s light breathing. I lifted the sheets ever so slightly to peek under and look at the arm that was wrapped securely around me. I blinked. Then I blinked again. It couldn’t be! But after another blink I realized it was really there. A black skull and crossbones covered the forearm.
“Good morning Pasha,” a magical voice whispered in my ear.
“Finn?!” I twisted around so fast I almost fell off the bed. My heart jumped into overtime as I took in his handsome face and the strands of dark hair that skirted his piercing blue eyes. “It’s you!”
“Were you expecting someone else?” Those deep blue eyes danced with mischief as his mouth curled into a crooked grin, and I almost fell apart right there beside him. That’s when I noticed his warm darkness wrapped around us. A feeling I had missed so much it made me ache inside.
“How did you..? When did I…? You’re okay!” There were so many frantic thoughts going through my mind I
