Rain Glade (2 page)

Tonia smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Rain.
You have a good day.”

“You too, Tonia.” Rain waved again and headed
into Cothbern. The buildings in the village were pink granite with
straw roofs. Over two centuries earlier, a fire had destroyed
Cothbern. The lord at the time had come with his men and a squad of
prisoners to rebuild the village, using stone from the granite
quarry.

In the middle of Cothbern was a small inn
with four rooms and a large common area where locals went to drink
and socialize. That was where Rain’s father spent most of his time.
Across from the inn was a circular park where festivities were held
after harvest, at the planting season and numerous other times.

Unoccupied buildings littered the outskirts
of the village, which used to have a sizable population. Men once
mined gorgeous pink granite from the quarry, but business slowed
over the centuries because no one wanted to pay for the stone to be
transported through war-torn provinces of Paruth. Only four people
worked at the quarry now and they were all drunks like her
father.

Rain turned right at the park and made her
way down one of the two side roads in the village. She waved at the
smithy who was lazily banging on a piece of copper. Iron was in
short supply and rarely used for anything other than the
military.

Soon after that was the tanner’s shop with
its terrible odors. Rain held her nose as she dashed past, thankful
no one was outside to talk.

Trees closed in alongside the road and birds
sang to each other from the branches. Mossy logs gave off an earthy
fragrance that blended with dew-covered leaves. Rain did a spin,
reveling in the lively sounds of the forest. Nature was waking
after the hard winter.

***

Everyone in the village called Verna
Thanthlim crazy. They said she spoke to trees and even danced naked
when the moons were full. Rain knew that Verna was perfectly sane
and that it was natural to dance naked under the moonlight. They
were best friends and Verna had told her so.

Rain turned down a small path to Verna’s
house. Before long, she came into view of the unusual house crafted
from clay and sand. Trees, flowers and animals were carved into the
curving walls. The roof was made of wood shingles supported by
long, curving branches. There wasn’t a straight line anywhere on
the house.

Rain’s favorite part was the wind chimes
hanging from everywhere, including the trees surrounding it. They
produced sweet music in the breeze. Rain helped make a few, but the
one time she had taken a wind chime home, her father had broken it
for making too much of a racket.

Intricately carved forest scenes decorated
the rounded double doors that opened just as Rain walked up the
wooden step to the porch. Verna was the most beautiful woman Rain
had ever met. The lively woman kept her blonde hair short and died
strands of it various colors using berries and herbs from the
forest. Dark-blue eyes appeared purple as they peered from her
pixie-like face. Rainbow patterns, made with the same dye used in
her hair, decorated her long, flowing dress. Trailing up her arms
and legs were tattoos of brown vines and green leaves. Another
tattoo of vines trailed along her left cheek and around her ear,
which had multiple piercings.

“Rain! I’m so glad you’re here to brighten
the day with your smile.” Verna’s rich voice filled the air with
its charming sound.

Rain smiled and blushed at the compliment.
“Hello, Verna. How are you?”

Verna wrapped Rain up in a hug and then
twirled her away. “I am
wonderful
! What a fine spring day.
The forest opens its arms to the season and welcomes it to its
bosom.” She clasped both hands to her chest in dramatic
fashion.

Rain couldn’t help but laugh, matching her
friend’s enthusiasm. She twirled again. “Has there ever been a day
when things weren’t wonderful for you?”

“Yes.” Verna became serious and looked around
to see if anyone was listening. Rain did too, but didn’t understand
why since they were alone. Verna whispered, “But only one day and I
have decided it shall
never
happen again.” Then she winked,
grabbed Rain’s hand and sent her spinning across the porch.

Rain laughed merrily as she fell into a
sturdy chair crafted from branches. “So what plans do you have for
us today? Shall we make more wind chimes, gather herbs, or dance
through the trees?”

“That is an excellent question.” Verna patted
a large bag slung over her shoulder. “You’re just in time. There is
one who needs our attention.” She grabbed Rain’s hand and pulled
her to her feet.

They went through the airy house and onto a
trail behind it. Trees with massive trunks reached their branches
high into the air. Many were thicker than Rain’s home and she
occasionally imagined what it would be like to live inside one.
“Who needs our attention, Verna?”

They strolled hand in hand, cheerfully
swinging their arms. Verna waved at a brightly colored bird
chirping at them from a nearby bush as it whistled a song to her.
“That is another excellent question. You’ll find out when we get
there. For now, just enjoy the warm air, the gentle breeze, the
melody of the animals and the delightful fragrance of the trees and
earth tickling your nose.” She spread her arms and inhaled
deeply.

Rain stretched and inhaled too. She felt
alive.

Verna laughed. “Let’s run!” She dashed off,
her bare feet speeding along the ground.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Rain ran as fast as she
could after her friend.

***

They slowed to a walk after a few minutes,
laughing and catching their breaths. After that, they spent over an
hour delving into parts of the forest Rain had never seen
before.

A sparkling creek provided pure water for
drinking and Verna shared some flatbread that filled both their
bellies. Every once in a while, Verna would turn down a new animal
path and they would follow it past clearings or through verdant
underbrush that had never seen direct sunlight because the leaves
were so thick above.

At one point during their journey, a shaft of
sunlight broke through the trees and shone on a small pond where a
family of swans lazily swam. Rain tripped over a root while gawking
at the spectacular sight, but Verna caught her and they traveled
on.

The trail passed between two enormous trees
into a clearing. A large, scaly creature lay on the ground a short
distance away. Rain pulled up short at the sight, and Verna, who
was holding her hand, jerked to a stop as well. She turned and
raised her eyebrows innocently. “Why ever have you stopped?”

Rain raised an arm and pointed at the
creature. “What is that?”

“That is a wyvern. It needs our help.” Verna
tugged Rain. “Come on.”

Brilliant green scales glimmered in the
sunlight as the wyvern breathed shallowly. It was thin with
leathery wings folded across its back and a long tail stretched out
far behind it.

As they came close, it lifted its snout and
sniffed the air. It abruptly turned its head and hissed at them,
showing rows of vicious teeth. Rain latched onto Verna’s arm and
tried to back away as the wyvern flicked the barbed end of its tail
toward them.

“I
know
you’re not hissing at
me
,” Verna told the wyvern with a hand on her hip and
attitude in her voice. Rain looked at her in shock.

The wyvern stopped hissing immediately. It
flopped to the ground and managed to look embarrassed.

“That’s better.” Verna dragged Rain forward.
“Now tell me all about it.”

The wyvern got back to its feet and wailed
plaintively. It stretched out a wing, which fell to the ground,
broken. The ripple of pain that rolled along its body made it clear
that it was suffering.

“Well now, that
is
a terrible injury.
We’ll just have to fix it right up, won’t we, Rain?” Verna turned
to her as they approached the dangerous creature.

Rain stared at her with wide eyes, but
allowed Verna to continue dragging her forward. When they reached
the wyvern, it wailed at them plaintively, giving them a whiff of
its carnivorous breath. Rain was certain her eyes crossed as she
plugged her nose from the odor.

“Yes, yes. I know you hurt.” Verna patted its
nose. “We’ll make it all better. This is my friend Rain. She’s
going to help me, so say hello.”

The wyvern flicked Rain’s face with a forked
tongue. Then it did it a few more times while Rain tried to protect
her face with her arms.

Verna laughed and patted the snout. “I want
you to eat this leaf. It’ll help take care of the pain.” She pulled
a large frond out of her bag and shoved it at the wyvern.

The creature’s eyelids half-lowered over the
catlike eyes. Rain marveled at how the eyes were the exact same
green as its scales.

Verna bonked the wyvern on its snout. “Don’t
give me that look. You’ll do as I say.”

It whimpered and opened its mouth for the
leaf, giving them another excellent view of its sharp teeth. Verna
tossed the leaf in and watched as the wyvern chomped it. The look
of distaste on the wyvern’s face caused Rain to giggle. That earned
her a glare from the creature. Rain stopped immediately and was
grateful when the wyvern decided to let the matter pass.

A moment later, its eyelids drooped with
sleepiness. Much of the pain seemed to ease as it relaxed on the
ground with the broken wing still spread out.

Verna pulled Rain over to the wound. “I’m
going to need your help with this. Once I have the herbs and
wrappings ready, you’re going to hold it straight while I apply
them.”

“Why are we helping it?” Rain asked even
though she would do whatever Verna wanted anyway. “I know you heal
rabbits and other animals, even wolves, but why a dangerous
creature such as this?”

“Because I heal all creatures in need, except
for humans. I don’t like them as much.” Verna pulled long strips of
cloth along with herbs out of her bag.

“Oh.” Rain didn’t know how to feel about
that.

Verna glanced at her. “I like
you
,
just not anyone else.”

“Oh.” That made Rain feel better. “What is a
wyvern anyway? I’ve never heard of them.” She knelt next to the
wing.

“No one knows for certain.” Verna opened a
jar of paste and dipped a brush in it. She began spreading it on
the cracked bone and the tear in the wing. The wyvern whimpered in
pain. “Wyverns are rare. They stay away from civilization. It’s
said that they’re distantly related to dragons.”

“Dragons are real?” Rain asked in amazement.
“I’ve only heard of them once.”

Verna smiled at her while setting aside the
brush and paste. “Yes. They’re real. They avoid humans as well,
which is good since they could destroy Cothbern with a sneeze.”

Rain imagined a dragon sneezing on the
village and didn’t know whether to laugh or be afraid.

“I’m going to need you to hold up this side
of the wing with your shoulder. It’s going to take a while, so get
a good grip and be steady.” Verna motioned for Rain to get under
the side of the break away from the body.

Rain did so and was surprised at how light
the wing was. The wyvern cried out in pain as they moved the wing
up into position. Verna began applying red leaves, which stuck to
the paste. When that was done, she put her hands on the top and
bottom of the break. Then she began chanting in a language Rain had
never heard before.

Wind whipped Verna’s hair and dress, but Rain
couldn’t feel it. Brown mists appeared around the woman’s hands and
soaked into the wing. The tear disappeared and the bone knitted
right before Rain’s wide eyes. She had seen Verna heal smaller
animals, but this was vastly different.

The mist dissipated and the mysterious wind
faded. Verna fell back in a swoon. Rain wanted to catch her, but
the wing was still on her shoulder and she didn’t know if she could
let go. Verna leaned on one elbow, covered her face with the other
and moaned.

Rain carefully set the wing down to the
ground. There was a long scar around the bone and down the wing,
but it appeared healthy again. Then she went to Verna’s side. “Are
you alright? What happened?”

Verna smiled weakly. “I’m fine. I just need
to regain my strength. Put a light layer of paste on the wound and
lay the cloths over it, please.”

Rain grabbed the brush and spread paste over
the scar as evenly as possible. She marveled at the way the muddy
green wing had a metallic shimmer to it. When she was done, she
placed the strips of cloth. They stuck to the paste.

“Very good, now do the bottom too.” Verna was
sitting up and eating another flatbread.

Covering the bottom was more difficult, but
Rain finished in a short time. Some of the paste got on her hands
causing them to tingle numbly where it touched.

“Perfect,” Verna said as she checked the
wing. She stood and swayed, but steadied herself with Rain’s help.
“The strips of cloth will help the paste stay on, but all of it
will come off in a few days. By then, the wyvern should be able to
support its weight on it.”

“That’s amazing, Verna. How did you do
that?”

Verna ignored the question and went to the
wyvern’s snout. It opened a sleepy eye at her. “You’re going to
sleep for a while. That’s good. You need to stay off the wing for a
day or two and let it become solid again. That’s an order.”

The wyvern gave a single nod, which seemed to
satisfy Verna. She patted the snout and began walking out of the
clearing. Rain grabbed the brush and bowl of paste, put them in the
bag and then followed.

As they walked between the trees, Rain looked
back at the magnificent creature. It gingerly folded the wing over
its back and went to sleep.

They reached Verna’s home after a quiet,
two-hour journey. Verna was exhausted and fell into her soft bed
immediately. Rain covered her up and kissed her cheek. Then she
tidied the house and cleaned off the brush they had used to apply
the paste.