In their village, light showers
that lasted a half hour were common anytime of the year. The bad storms were
rare. Every few years there would be a string of terrible storms that would
cause a lot of damage. The legend in their village was that the rain gods cried
when a child would die in the river. As the rain would pour it would flood the
river and there would be destruction done to the people near the river. The
main part of the village rested on top of the hill at the base of the ridge of
the mountain so most of the water would run down and cause little damage to the
houses and shops in the center of the village. Since the village was on a hill
the roads leading up to the village were dangerous during these storms.
As the sky turned dark, the baker
reached behind him into the carriage and grabbed his hood. He handed it to
Liberty and told her to put it on. Just as she finished putting on the hood,
the rain began to pour. It beat against them and the dirt road quickly turned
to mud. They were still five miles from their shop and another mile from their
home. The rain picked up and the baker could only see a couple feet in front of
the horse. He thought that if he hurried they could make it home before the
storm became dangerous, but he was beginning to think that that was a mistake.
“Slow down dad! We are going to
wreck!”
“We have to make it Libby, this
storm is going to be a bad one and it is only going to get worse the longer we
are out here.”
Just
then a streak of white hot light flashed across the sky and struck a large pine
tree near the road. It fell across the road right in front of their horse. The
tree spooked the horse and he tried to turn around. The baker gripped the
reigns with all of his might, but the horse’s fear overpowered him. As the
horse turned, the wheel of the carriage hit the tree. There was a loud crack
and Liberty was flown from the carriage over the tree. The baker maintained his
footing on the carriage. The trace holding the horse to the carriage snapped
and the baker lost his grip on the slick reigns and the horse fled down the
road. The baker jumped from the carriage just as it flipped.
“Liberty! Where are you?!” He cried.
He
searched frantically for his daughter. He found her lying in the mud unconscious,
but still breathing. As he picked her up, her eyes shot open and she screamed.
“My leg! Stop it! Stop! You’re
hurting my leg!”
As he
turned to look down at her leg, even though it was dark he could tell her leg
was bent in an unnatural direction at the knee. He persisted in carrying her to
the closest maple tree and laying her down. It was as dry as it was going to
get for her tonight. His thoughts were racing. He had to get her home, get the
doctor, get their horse, and make sure the carriage was safe! He froze as she
continued to scream.
“I am going to have to carry you
into to town! The doctor’s house is only 2 miles away!” He was yelling so that
she could hear him through the wind and the rain and her constant screams. “You
have to calm down! Breathe Liberty breathe.”
He
decided to wait until she calmed down before they began their journey again. Afraid
that she was going to pass out, he held her in his arms and told her that it
was going to be okay. Slowly she began to quiet her screams to a whimper. Her
tears were still flowing and the pain was only becoming worst. The baker knew
that he had to get her to the doctor soon.
“Alright,
on the count of three I am going to pick you up and I am going to carry you.
Okay? One, two…”
“NO!
Dad stop! I am not going anywhere! You get the doctor and bring him here!”
The baker looked into his little
girl’s eyes full of tears and felt lost. He could not just leave her out on the
side of the road during a storm, but if he didn’t do something quick he was
afraid… He got up and went to the carriage. There was still a small loaf of
bread and his canteen left. He looked in his pack and saw that his wife had
packed them some cheese and berries. He gathered them all quickly together.
Then rushed back to Liberty, he laid everything out that she would need while
he was gone.
“Are
you sure you will be fine out her all by yourself? I won’t be long maybe a half
hour.”
“Daddo
hurry! It hurts!”
With
that he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and then he was off running
at full speed.
*Check back next Monday
when Liberty meets a mysterious traveler who will help her in her time of need.*
No comments:
Post a Comment