The morning light had brought forth a frenzy of activities in the pine forest ranging from the illustrious dashing of birds in the skies to the piercing howls of wolves on the hills. The melodious chips of the Canneries would have sounded like music to the hearing of Amelia unless that it was now summer and the hummingbirds birds had returned from their winter vacation. They had a dozen lines to add to the unscripted musical notes, causing a noisy aura of chips and hoots. She could still not clear her head from the embarrassment she suffered at the hands of Gallagher and his men. Being just eighteen, she had already learned to survive alone in the pine forest, Knowing when to be indoors and knowing when to be out hunting with her daggers and arrows. Most morning, she went out to hunt for rabbits or hares as it was the only protein she could source to put in her mediocre stew.
She had a garden in her backyard where She planted various vegetables and berries in seasons, finding a way to survive them along with some potatoes which she planted and harvested herself. Her father had been a legislator in the Texas house of assembly when he was accused of conniving with bandits to rob the people of their cattle's. This accusation was made known to the locals of Texas and they turned against him and his family, chasing them Into the pine forest to meet their end. Amelia was fourteen when herself, her dad and her mother had to flee into the forest to keep their heads on their shoulders. News soon reached them that they were to be imprisoned when they were caught, thus they decided to take refuge in the abandoned cottage which was built by crusaders over a hundred years ago.
Things were going rather fine for the displaced family until Luck had ran out of her father when he fell from a tree while trying to harvest some fruits. Even though he didn't die on the spot. The impact of the fall led him to have a series of sickly health till he eventually succumbed to his injuries and lost his life. two months later, Heart break was inherent for Amelia's mother as living in a confined environment without the presence of her childhood lover, made her think and cry too much till her poor heart could take none of it any more, ceasing to beat. Poor Amelia found herself all alone with no one to fare for her. She had to learn to survive on her own.
She was now eighteen years old and had grown into a beautiful young woman who even without new clothes and adequate diet, still found a way to take care of her self in the hash forest. On dire occasions, she had managed to sneak out of the forest to scavenge for thrown away clothing materials which she fitted with the help of a scissors and a hand needle. She knew the dynamics of the forest very well and knew what time to travel to prevent a confrontation with the wild animals that reigned supreme.
The morning hour had came with an urgency of it's own. She wasn't going hunting for rabbits. There was something of great importance that screamed for her cognizance but she had to be sure that Gallagher and his men had left her vicinity. She headed straight for the hill and climbed to it's very summit, till she could see the surrounding acres that encircled her cottage. She hawked her gaze around the circumference till she was convinced that there was human present, before heading back to her cottage as fast as her legs could take her. Reaching her kitchen, she dragged away the giant table which carried all her pots , cutleries and stove. Cleared away the dried corn cobs that lay over the wooden floor till a window like lid was visible. It was the covering of a small compartment beneath the wooden floor which the first owners of the building had curated to hide from invaders. She raised it up very quickly and sighed in relief while her face was lit in a smile.
" You are alive . Thank goodness you made it through the night." She said as she reached for a towel dipped in hot water and began to clean the giant gash on the broad, hairy and Muscular chest of the young man who had ran into her house the night before and begged for solace.
" Thank you for saving my life. I heard what transpired the whole night." Said the young man in a rather weak voice that didn't suppress his deep baritone voice which she found to be rich and Charming till she digested his words on clearer light.
" Everything, you said?" She stuttered feeling embarrassed at the hysteria of the night before.
" Yes everything. Thank you." Said the Young Man and sighed in pain as she cleaned the deep parts of the cut across his chest.
" What is your name and why were those men after you. They wanted to kill you, that I can be certain about _ but why?" Said Amelia and took her gaze away from the cut on his chest to the screaming handsomeness of his face. She could not start to imagine, what on earth had given Gallagher the confidence to want to rid the world of such a beautiful fellow.
" Maximin. My name is Maximin. I was at bar when I noticed some men were actually crowding up around me. Thanks to my quick reaction , I managed to jump out of the window but tore my chest in the process. I can't believe they chased after me for hours." Said Maximin and tried to sit up right from where he had been lying down.
" Oh that sad. I'm glad your heart is intact." She said with a shy smile and continued. " now tell me why they wanted to kill you. '' She says and fetched some salt from a nearby jar before adding it up to the hot water.
" I don't know. Maybe cause I am different." Said Maximin as he managed to pull his back against the wall, bringing the stormy gaze of his smoky eyes directly to the view of her blue eyes. For a moment or two she was lost in the adventures of his commanding charm She could not tell what part of his body she loved the most ranging from his pointed nose , his chiseled jaw line, to perhaps , the thickness of his crimson lips.
" Maximin why would anyone want to kill you?" she asked with a lost smile and handed an old piece of clothing to him. Put this cloth in your mouth. The salt solution would hurt. Quite much to be honest. I will have to disinfect the wound before applying the olive oil." She says and smiled at his indifferent look towards her. "Down here, we use what we have to keep surviving." She said and placed the piece of clothing in his mouth as slowly as possible while maintaining eye contact with him as she did so. She reached for the old yet clean towel, dabbed it in the salt solution and amassed it on the deep cut on his chest. His energetic screams were caught in the cloth she had placed in his mouth, but the intensity of the pain he felt had somewhat vibrated the cottage and it made Amelia tremor in fear, wondering what monster she had saved from the knives.
" You are so strong." She stuttered and caught her composure. " Sorry about the pain. The salt should help your spleens to heal faster. Your wounds really need all the stitches they can get. But I'm not sure I know how to stitch a man's chest." She said with the absence of a smile.
" Thank you. I will be fine." Said Maximin and made a thumb gesture at Her. The magnanimity of his Rolex watch had caught her attention and she wasted no time to reach for his wrist.
" Your watch. It's beautiful." She said as she gazed at it in a reflective manner.
" Thank you. You like it? " Maximin asked as he panted in pain from the wriggly effect of the salt solution in his spleen.
" I have seen a similar watch like this before. It was worn by the governor himself. And he bragged about how expensive it was." Said Amelia almost lost in the beauty of the watch.
" it's expensive that's true. Here please, kindly Unstrap it for me. My other wrist is dislocated." Said Maximin and stretched forward his left wrist to Amelia. She gently unstrapped the watch from his wrist and brought it closer to her eyes.
" You seem to like it very much. Sadly it's a man's watch, you can have it if you want. It's now yours." He said and tried to shrug up."
" It's beautiful I definitely can wear this. Thank you very much Max." she said and wasted no time to strap it over her wrist.
I will have to be leave now. This place is no longer safe for me. Do you have a shirt or something I can wear." Said Maximin as he tried to stand up amidst the soreness in his whole body.
" What! Are you crazy. This isn't a zoo. It's a damn jungle. You won't last a minute out there in this condition. There are wolves, bears, cheetahs and cobras out there. You won't make it." Said Amelia as she held his dislocated wrist.
" I will be fine trust me." He said and staggered his way to his feet. He had barely stood for a second when he felt light headed and crashed to the ground, splattering the salt solution across the wall and almost crushing Amelia in the process. She screamed his name and rushed to him.
" Don't be stubborn please. I'm cooking you some tomatoes and peppers stew. It will give you some strength. Just rest for now." She said in tone full of concern. She had watched her father and mother die and she wasn't ready to watch anyone die Again. Maximin's fall only made his situation worse. It drained him off his last ounce of energy and all he could do was catch his breath while Amelia tended to his wounds. His body was drained off energy and he couldn't Even shout anymore.