A Child's Dream

Chapter 4 Goodbyes are forever

She wasn\'t sure how long she was asleep, nor how long she\'d been in the room she\'d woken in. She turned slightly to her left to see a young man enter the room with a tray. On it was a bowl, its contents steaming, a cup, its contents doing the same. Several small bottles dotted across the outer edge, ones she recognized would carry medicine. He also had a towel draped over his left arm, and as he stepped into the room, a little girl with long black hair quickly followed him. She carried a pitcher, obviously full of something, for it took her great effort to carry it. She hefted the jug onto a sideboard, pulling a small cloth from tucked in her shirt collar. That\'s when Kale noticed the girl wore a mask over her face, concealing her appearance from the middle of the bridge of her nose, clear down passed her chin. She turned to see that the woman was watching her. \"Peter! She\'s awake!\" she practically schedched, hopping onto the chair and pressing her hand to the woman\'s brow.

\"I see that,\" replied the man. \"Come now Aceline. Don\'t go poking and prodding her. The doctor did enough of that yesterday I\'m sure.\"

\"Doc...tor?\" she tried to say, but her voice choked over raw sand that had lodged in her throat, and she found she could not breath through her nose at all.

\"Easy miss,\" the man soothed, as Aceline made way for him to give her a spoon of the medicine. \"The doctor said you were lucky we\'d found you. You had borderline pneumonia. He gave you quite a dose of penicillin and other antibiotics. He said any longer without treatment and you wouldn\'t have made it at all.\"

\"But you\'ll be ok now,\" Aceline said appearing on the other side of the bed. \"Won\'t she Peter?\"

He nodded to her. \"You\'ve got a severe cold, with a lot of congestion in your chest and sinuses. But you\'ve been responding well to cold medicine, and your chest sounds clearer, so the doctor says. It\'s just your sinuses that don\'t seem to want to let go.\"

\"I\'ve always had bad sinuses,\" she said nasally, her throat feeling better from the medicine she had little choice but to take, as Peter pressed the spoon between her lips. \"Where am I?\"

\"You\'re in Portsland, a little town just north of Louiston. Which way are you headed?\"

\"North East.\"

\"How far?\"

\"Till I get there.\"

\"Cryptic. Ok. Are you alone?\"

\"My horse?\"

\"In the barn.\"

\"Then there\'s no one else.\"

Aceline\'s heart jumped. Where was the man she\'d seen her with? Did they break up? was he killed? What happened to him?

\"Why are you wearing that?\" the woman asked Aceline, pointing to her chin.

\"Scars,\" she said, which was mildly true. There were a couple of tiny marks from her passed ordeal, but they were all on the inside of her mouth, and they were fading.

\"She was taken by purists last year. She was lucky, she got away. Though not unscathed. We found her near Airomat, in a small town just east of it.\"

\"They wont have purist problems anymore.\"

\"You sound so sure.\"

She flinched as she remembered those few weeks she was a prisoner, and turned away from them as she thought of what followed. \"They were caught, and exiled to an island, ruled by vampires. At least that\'s what I was told. The vampires are theistsists\' guards now. From there they will never leave.\"

\"Wow,\" the little girl sighed. \"You know vampires?\"

\"I\'d rather not talk about it.\"

\"Does it have anything to do with the marks on your neck?\" Peter asked.

She pulled her had to her neck, only to find her hand had been bandaged. \"What is this?\"

\"You had frostbite over your hands, your feet as well. You\'re hood was drawn tightly around your face, so there wasn\'t as much damage.\"

\"I have to get to Max.\"

\"Oh no. You can\'t go anywhere. When you fell from your horse, you twisted your ankle. It\'s badly swollen, and I don\'t want you putting any weight on it.\"

\"You\'re saddlebags are here, along with you\'re clothes. But dad stored your weapons away.\"

\"What I need isn\'t in my saddlebags. It\'s in his security compartment.\"

\"What is it?\" Aceline asked. \"I\'ll get it.\"

\"You can\'t. He\'ll hurt you if you try. Please.\"

\"Max won\'t hurt me!\" she insisted. \"He likes me. Really he does.\"

\"No kid. Don\'t. Just let it be.\"

\"In your current state, I wouldn\'t want you outside. The chill could kill you.\"

\"It doesn\'t matter.\"

\"Yes it does! I don\'t want you to die!\" screamed the little girl. \"Peter, please! Don\'t let her die!!!\" Before either of them could say anything, Aceline lay across the bed, her little arms wrapped around Kale\'s neck, crying.\"

\"Hey, hey. No one saidsaid anything about me dieing while I\'m here.\"

\"Come on now Aceline, calm down. Sorry miss, she\'s never been like this.\"

\"It\'s alright. She\'s young. She\'ll grow out of it as she gets older.\" \'Unfortunately the heart gets harder with age.\'

\"Aceline, why don\'t you go out and make sure that Brian isn\'t trying to ride her horse again.\"

\"Ok.\"

They watched the little girl leave, and he turned back to her. \"Sorry. Sense she\'s been back, she\'s been a bit emotional. She sometimes sits in her room, just staring out the window. Almost to the point of tears.\"

\"She have any friends?\"

\"No. The kids around here aren\'t what you would want your kid to hang around with. This is a hard place. I don\'t think she\'ll stay here when she grows up. I just hope she doesn\'t become as cold and heartless as some of the kids already are.\"

\"You\'re not. I can see it in your eyes.\"

\"I know. I think it takes too much to hate. Aceline\'s the same way. She\'d rather love someone than hate them. Which is why, I\'m afraid to say, she\'s kind of adopted you. I\'ve found her down here sometimes at night, or in the morning, watching over you, asleep in the chair.\"

\"She hasn\'t fallen asleep in her classes?\"

\"No. She\'s good. Doesn\'t like homework, but then what kid doesn\'t.\" He tucked the blankets around her as she yawned. \"I\'m sorry. I\'ve tired you out. I\'ll get your soup into you, then leave you be.\"

\"Thanks.\" It took about an hour for her to drink the soup he spooned out for her, but finally he left her to rest.

\"I don\'t understand,\" she said crouched in the stall beneath the feed bucket. The large silver horse above her. \"She isn\'t with him. She doesn\'t mention him, and when Peter asked about anyone with her, she didn\'t even seemed fazed that he was missing.\" The horse lowered its head, nickering softly at the little girl\'s drawn up knees. \"You know what happened to him don\'t you?\" The horse nodded its head. \"You can\'t tell me can you?\" He just looked at her sideways. \"I didn\'t think so,\" she laughed. \"He didn\'t die did he?\" The horse shook his head. \"Then they had an argument and broke up?\" The horse nodded. \"Does she still love him, and he her?\" Again he nodded. \"Is he looking for her?\" The horse remained still. \"Maybe?\" He nodded. \"Then they\'ll need help. Ooo speaking of help. She said that you had something she needed. In your compartments. She\'d come and get it herself, but her ankle is hurt real bad, and she\'s got an awful chill. Can I take it to her?\" The horse lowered his head, the panel on the right of his neck falling open. She parted his main and found only two things inside the soft walls of his neck. A round cylindrical thing, bigger than her fist, and a small satchel of money. She left the money, know that wasn\'t what she\'d riettietting sick over, and took out the device. \"I guess its this she wants,\" she said closing the panel, and smoothing the main. \"Thank you.\" The horse gently nuzzled her cheek. \"You\'re a very smart horse. You know that?\" He nodded. Of course he was smart. Kale spent months working with, and programming him.

\"Hello?\" She turned quickly to see Mr. Colaros standing at the stall door.

\"Mr. C! Hi!\"

\"Hello Aceline. Is this the horse your dadays ays is crazy?\"

\"He\'s not crazy, Mr. C. He just doesn\'t like anyone else be me. Oh and his rider.\"

\"I see that.\"

\"Is he one of yours?\"

\"Oh no. He\'s a Far Shore design. Beautiful work though. Will he let you bring him out for me to see him better?\"

\"I don\'t know.\" She took the lead he\'d handed her and opened the door. \"Come on boy. We go for a little walk.\"

Calmly the horse left the stall, the little girl barely leading him. She walked him in a circle, and then stopped in the middle of the floor. \"He is indeed very nice. Your dad wano seo sell him to me.\"

\"Sell him!! But he\'s not dad\'s to sell!!!\"

\"Darn straight!\" All eyes turned to the door as a heavily blanketed figure limped in.

\"Miss, are you alright?\"

\"I\'m fine. Little one, could you go find your daddy please?\"

\"Yes miss. Oh, your horse let me get this for you.\" Aceline handed her the metal device as she passed.

\"Thanks. Max really does like you. He\'s got good taste. Off you go.\" She made sure the door had closed, then limped over to a stack of hay bails to sit.

\"I was under the impression you were going to die, miss,\" said Mr. Colaros, as Max made his way over to inspect his mistress\'s wounds for himself.

\"I\'ve too far to go to give up now,\" she stated, wincing as she glide the healing beam over her badly swollen ankle.

\"Do you need a hand?\"

She carefully looked him up and down. She\'d not met Aceline\'s father yet, but from what she\'d over heard of the family arguments and debates about her as she slipped out a while ago, she could tell she wouldn\'t like him very much. But this man didn\'t have the air of underhandedness about him. Strong features and determination in his eyes yes, but he seemed a bit trustworthier than Aceline\'s father at the time. Perhaps one true test was to see what Max thought of him. \"Could you tie Max to that post? He sometimes doesn\'t understand that some healing hurts.\"

\"Sure.\" Gently, but firmly he took hold oe lie line, spoke the horse\'s name gently, and lead him to the tie point. Once secured, he returned to find her trying to sooth her ankle. \"May I?\" Well, Max seemed to think he was all right, and if he did try something, the horse was there to put him in his place if need be. She nodded, and he sat down, and began massaging her ankle. The pain was indeed subsiding, the regenerator had finished its work, and the swelling would go down over time. It was just really uncomfortable. \"My daughter, Doreen, sprained her ankle once while playing. Though not this bad. As it healed, she found it vary stiff. So we\'d rub down her ankle, as we\'d done a pony from time to time, and it seemed to help. There, how\'s that?\"

\"Much better thanks, Mr....?\"

\"Colaros, Hutton Colaros. And you are?\"

\"Just passing through.\"

\"I see. Not many wonderers mention names where they stop,\" he said, helping her remove the bandages from her hands. \"Not till they find where they wish to put down roots.\"

\"Thank you,\" she ran the device over her left hand. The skin over all her fingers and most of her hand was red, and badly scabbed. Some areas were bleeding where the bandages had stuck. Slowly the skin healed, and turned normal. Though their shading was a bit pink, her hands were once more flawless, but felt like rubber. \'Oh well,\' she thought. \'The sensation will need extra time to grow back. But for now I\'ll live with it.\'

Once again the barn door opened, and little Aceline tumbled inside. \"I told you before!\" yelled a gruff older man, closing the door behind him. \"Stay away from that horse!!\" He\'d tried to kick the child, only she proved too quick, and ran to Max, crouching under his midsection. Max anxiously stomped his feet and tossed his head, but never once trod on the child sitting between his legs. \"GET OUT OF THERE!!\"

\"Leave her alone!!\" Kale shouted, stopping the man with her words, before Max had a chance to bite or kick him, not that he wouldn\'t have deserved it. \"Your quarrel is with me!\"

\"You\'re supposed to be in bed!\"

\"I don\'t stay down for long. Mr. Colaros here, says you were to sell him MY horse? An interesting offer, but not likely. He\'s still mine!\"

\"I have the right! To pay the doctor for your care!\"

\"Interesting,\" said Colaros. \"The physician tacked his bill for this young lady, to the bill he gave me for coming to see Rhonda. I will speak to him.\"

\"The medicine we had to pay for!\"

\"Which I will reimburse you for,\" Kale stated. \"Max, release.\" Instantly the line to his chin released, the pin it was attached to withdrawn. Then, with Aceline at his left shoulder, he passed her father to his right shoulder, and met with his rider. Kale reached into his other compartment, and pulled out an even larger satchel of money. \"500 should cover it. If so, the rest is for your trouble.\" She tossed the coins across the floor. \"Aceline. I\'m a bit cold. Would you be so kind as to run inside and gather my clothes. My cloak especially.\"

\"Yes ma\'am.\"

\"Thank you.\"

As the door closed once more, Aceline\'s farther reared his voice again. \"This is hardly...!!\"

\"You\'ll take it! Or I\'ll keep it! The choice is yours. I just sent the child away so she wouldn\'t see you get your ass kicked!\"

\"I\'d like to see you try! You can\'t even stand without support!\"

Gently she pushed Max away, and confidently strode over to him. No hint of a limp. His chubby face became stoic with surprise. \"Monster!\"

\"No,\" said Colaros, quite pleased. \"Her own medical treatments. I watched. Quite amazing actually.\"

\"You will gather your coins, sir. And I will be out of your hair before nightfall. And if I ever hear of you harming a hair on that little girl\'s head, I\'ll come back here and make sure you\'ll never get it up again to make another. Do we understand one another?\"

\"You wouldn\'t dare!\"

She drew her hand to his throat, lightning fast, digging her fingers into either side of his esophagus. \"Yes. I would.\" She let him go and he left the barn, the coins still on the floor. As he passed, Aceline once again, slipped in, slightly out of breath, her arms ladened with Kale\'s clothes. \"I didn\'t mean for you to run Aceline,\" she said to her cheerfully.

\"That\'s ok,\" she gasped. \"I didn\'t...want you...to get too...cold.\"

\"Thank you.\" She took her clothes and kissed her head, beneath her mask Aceline smiled broadly.

\'She likes me!\' she thought happily. Then she decided to put her plan in motion. \"Mr. C? Can I ask you something?\" Kale slipped into the feed room to change. Though the walls were solid, and the door closed, there was no ceiling, so Kale would hear every word. Maybe then she\'d want to talk about her man, and maybe seek their help in finding him. \"Peter had a fight with his girlfriend...\"

\"I didn\'t know he was seeing someone.\"

\"He is. Really big too. I think they\'ll marry but...\"

\"What happened?\"

\"I think, she thinks, he likes the lady we found. But he\'s only with her to help her. But she doesn\'t understand. What can I do to help?\"

\"Aceline, you\'re barely 6 years old, and already you\'re trying to marry off your brothers. Peter is 16. If he and his lady rea really meant to be together, they\'ll work things out.\" He looked up to see Kale had not only dressed, but found her weapons in the feed room and had strapped them on. She wiped her eyes absently, perhaps the stirred up dust bothered her, as she placed the folded blankets on the hay bale.

During her discussion with Mr. Colaros, Aceline had gone around and picked up all the coins Kale had thrown. She handed them to Kale, only she refused to take them. \"You keep them,\" she said. \"I meant them for your father, but he won\'t take them.\"

\"Ok. I took the tack off your horse, and I saw your blanket was all worn out. Hope you don\'t mind, but I replaced it with one of mine.\"

\"That\'s very sweet but...\"

\"I won\'t take it back.\"

\"...Ok... Thank you.\"

\"One more thing. When I picked up your clothes, this was on the floor,\" she handed the lady a tied cloth package. \"I don\'t know if it belongs to you or to Linda, but I had a feeling it might be yours.\"

Carefully, she took the packet, holding it like a newborn kitten. \"Yes...its mine. Thank you. I don\'t know what I would have done if I had lost this. It means more to me than anyone will ever know. Thank you.\"

\"You\'re welcome. Glad I could help.\"

\"You know, that device that Max let you get. That heals skin really fast, and it does it without leaving scars. How would you like for me to use it on you, it wont hurt, it\'ll just feel funny. Then you can stop covering your pretty face.\"

\"No. Please don\'t. I like wearing this. I can stick my tongue out and no one will know I did. Please, thank you for the offer, but no.\"

\"Ok. Then can you get your brother for me, ah, Peter I think his name is. I\'d like to talk to him about Max.\"

\"Sure!\" And she was off again.

\"Is something wrong?\" asked Mr. Colaros, as she carefully stored the packet into her belt pockets. Securing the ties tight, and again wiping a stray tear from her eye, that he did not see.

\"Hardly,\" she said, as she gathered her distinctive black tack and started saddling her horse. \"But she\'s a little attached to me. I\'d rather be gone before she comes back. I was hoping to be closer to the shore by now, but I wasn\'t expecting such severe and sudden weather changes.\"

\"Its usually not this bad,\" he said, securing the bridle and saddlebags for her. \"But the weather control stations for this area have been having some problems of late. They\'re old you see. In order to make the repairs they had to shut them down. Happened last year too. But they say this should be the last year they\'ll be off line. There you are my dear. All set. You sure you don\'t want to say goodbye?\"

\"Thanks, and no. Goodbyes are forever. And I don\'t believe that people never meet up again. In any life time.\"

He stood aside, holding the reins as she climbed into the saddle. \"She\'s going to miss you.\" \"I know. But I can\'t stay. I\'ve got far to go, and not a lot of time to get there. Can you get the door please?\" The door securely closed once more, Kale\'s cloak pulled close and secured around her, she turned one last time to the man. \"How can you employ a man like Aceline\'s father? Can\'t you report his treatment of Aceline to the authorities?\"

\"Out this far, the sheriff has no jurisdiction. But his contract is up for renewal in the summer. I\'ll sign his son, Peter, who I\'m sure will remain with Aceline, but the rest of the family I want as far away from here as possible.\"

\"Its hard to believe a person can be so cruel to his own child.\"

\"She\'s not his child, I think that\'s part of it.\" Kale returned a questioning look. \"Six years ago, we found his wife raped not far from town. No one was ever charged for it. Shortly there after she found she was pregnant, but she and her husband were together not long before the attack, so there\'s always been that question. I\'m afraid that little Aceline is baring all the doubt and hatred of that night.\"

\"Still, they could have given her up for adoption when she was born. Even an adopted child has got to have a better life, than what she has now.\"

\"They did. But no one would take her. As far as I know, her file is still open with the local orphanage, but when it burned down, the kids were placed with temporary families. Aceline was naturally forced to live with her natural parents. I\'d adopt her myself in a heartbeat, but I\'ve got three girls of my own now, and my wife isn\'t that well. I do what I can. But there\'s a strict rule here. No one interferes with the upbringing of each other\'s families. I\'ve made sure that was well understood when people are hired under their 15-year contracts. Now I wish I never thought of the damn rule.\"

\"Well keep an eye on her, and make sure Peter is well employed later on. I\'d like to see him get her away from that man. Be well Mr. Colaros. Thanks for your assistance. And I hope your wife will get better soon.\" She urged Max on, and they quickly disappeared down the newly plowed road. Once more heading east, and then eventually north.

\"Wait!!\" Aceline called, running from the house. \"COME BACK!!\"

\"Aceline, she has to go,\" said Mr. Colaros, catching the running child as she passed him by. \"She has to make up for lost time. She needs to be somewhere. Soon.\"

\"But she\'s not well!\"

\"She\'ll be ok Aceline,\" said her brother, who\'d followed from the house. \"Who knows, maybe you\'ll see her again some day. Did she tell you her name?\"

\"No,\" she cried. \"I forgot to ask...\"

\"I did, but she only told me she was just passing through. Next time Aceline. You can ask her next time.\"

\"Yeah, next time.\" \'And there WILL be a next time. I know there will.\'