“But why not?”
“How do you think she was injured?”
“I don’t know… I figured it was an accident maybe.”
“Well it wasn’t. She did that on purpose, okay? So if you heal her, who’s to say she won’t just go and do it again? You can heal her physical wounds but you can’t heal…” I let my words trail off. For some reason, it just feels like something I shouldn’t say to her.
She doesn’t reply.
We reach the Main House and go inside. We walk down the hall to the door labeled “Infirmary” and enter. The infirmary is a small but long room fitted with three beds and two chairs facing each bed. In between each bed, is a small square table up against the wall. Everything in the room is white.
Valeria is in the bed in front of the door, her upper back and head propped up with pillows. She has thick white bandages around her eyes. Remington is in one of the chairs, upper body slumped onto Valeria’s bed, head face down in crossed arms.
We go to Valeria’s bed. On the table next to Remington is a sealed envelope, the flap side facing up.
“Valeria?” I say quietly.
“Chrys?” she says.
I sit down in the chair across from Remington. “Are you okay?”
“I’m on some pretty heavy painkillers so yeah.”
“I can heal you,” Ana Maria says, standing next to the chair I’m in.
But Valeria ignores her and asks, “What’s on my bed?”
“It’s Remington,” I say. “I think he’s asleep.”
Valeria purses her lips.
“Why don’t you want to be healed?” Ana Maria says.
“What’s your name again?” Valeria says.
“Ana Maria.”
“Can you leave the room, Ana Maria?”
Ana Maria grips the edge of the bed. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you here.”
“I just want to help you feel better.”
“You just want to ease your conscience. I don’t need your help. I’ve told you that already. So why are you still asking?”
“Because—”
“You’ll feel guilty if you don’t, right? You’re just helping yourself.”
Ana Maria stares at Valeria with a frown.
Remington sits up slowly and massages his shoulder, blinking at us, confused.
“I’m not trying to help myself,” Ana Maria answers finally. “If I heal you, then I’d take on your wound and I’d be in pain. How is that helping me? Clearly, I’m trying to help you because I’m worried about you.”
Valeria chuckles dryly. “Oh, sure. Little Ana Maria the Saint, selflessly suffering to save others.”
“Valeria, please stop,” I say. “She’s just a kid.”
I look over at Ana Maria. Tears run down her cheeks silently, but she’s looking at Valeria steely-eyed.
Remington stands up. “What is going on here?”
“Remington,” I say. “Can you take Ana Maria to the lounge?”
He passes a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Fine, I guess.”
He starts to walk around the bed but then doubles back and takes the envelope from the table.
“Chrys, you’re still going into town today, right?” he says.
I nod.
He holds out the envelope over the bed. “Can you give this to my sister?”
I take the envelope and turn it over. On the front, the name “Giselle” is written in beautiful calligraphy.
“That’s her name,” he says. “But if you can’t manage it, that’s fine too. Just don’t give it to her in person.” He walks around the bed and hugs Ana Maria to his side with one arm. “If you could, like, put it in her mailbox or something, I’d appreciate that.”
“How am I supposed to know who she is?”
“Uh, well the town is pretty small so maybe you’ll see her around.” He points at his widow’s peak. “She has this kind of hairline too, and we have a lot of the same features I guess. Plus, she has burn scars on her thighs. She doesn’t try to hide them, so you’d probably notice them easily.”
“Are you sure she’s in Bluewater though?” I say.
“Yes, she is,” Valeria says. “I’ve seen her many times during the scouting missions.”
“Like I said, if you can’t do it or you forget or something, it’s fine,” Remington says. “I don’t want you to put yourself in danger to get it to her, but if you see an opportunity to…”
I rest the envelope on my lap. “Sure, I’ll see what I can do.”
He nods with a smile and then leaves the room with Ana Maria pressed into his side.
“Valeria,” I say, “why were being like that to Ana Maria?”
“I just,” she touches her eyes lightly, “was afraid. I was afraid she’d heal me. I figured I had to be harsh if I wanted to get the message across.”
I sigh. “Well I think she got the message now.”
“Good.”
“But why did you do this to yourself so suddenly?”
Valeria hugs herself loosely. “I had a dream.”
“What kind of dream?”
“It was the best dream I’ve ever had. I was with my parents and my brothers, and we were living happily together and my mind was quiet and my shoulders were so light. I was normal. And then…” Her voice breaks. “Suddenly I wasn’t normal anymore. My gift just came into me, and I saw everything, so I blabbed and blabbed like I did when I was young. And I watched my parents and brothers die gruesome deaths. And the noise pounded in my head. My head felt like it was going to explode.”
She breathes in sharply. “But then, two knives materialized in my hands. ‘End it,’ I heard. It was like a voice all around me. And right before I plunged the knives into my eyes, I saw…”
She sits up quickly, hands gripping the bed. “Chrys, I woke up like this.”
I furrow my brows. “What do you mean?”
“When I woke up, I was laying in my bed and my eyes were bleeding. I started screaming because of the pain and woke everyone else in the cabin up, I think. I managed to climb down the ladder—I could do that in my sleep—but the pain became too much so I just stayed there until you guys came. But the thing is, when Shikoba looked at my eyes earlier, he said they were pierced with something sharp. How
