Chapter 40

Havila.

"Whooshh!!"

The signal sent by the clapping waves collided with the whooshing winds, and all met on the lone hut. The hut, beaten by the wiles of nature, had all its wooden covering faded. But twas still very much intact. There was no loophole, even for a snake to crawl in, if there was anything as such by the shore.

There was a wooden bench before the hut, few meters away from its creaking door. The fact that the door looked like what would fall at the slightest push didn't give its content away.

Surrounding the hut were several roots and leaves; you couldn't be sure where they came from. A thought might toss you the idea of the waves sweeping them by, but the position of the hut was very much far away from the wings of the waves.

Only if the borders of the sea were broken would the waves swallow the hut up.

Inside the hut was a man lying on a bed made from bamboo stalks but covered with the woven skins of an animal. The man had scars all over his body and some enormous but covered wounds. A darkish blue fluid dripped from him, obviously from before he was stitched and treated. A stench filled the atmosphere.

There was a small stool lapping the bedside on which there were different types of roots and a damped napkin, which had some of the fluids of the gores on it.

The view was that of a finished operation, and both the atmosphere and the room could testify to that.

Opposite the bed and the unconscious man lying on it was a raven with a dirty beak. Some of the fluids from the gores decked both its beaks and rough claws. The Raven was perched on a cupboard.

One of the likely questions to be asked was if the raven treated the man.

The Raven had its brown-toned dark eyes on the unconscious man. Probably the bird was expecting something.

Aside from the bed, the cupboard, and of course, the stool, there was no other thing of significance in the room. It definitely was no place for a sane human. More of the nest of a bird, if birds lived in huts.

Suddenly the man coughed. His deep voice seemed to drag phlegm which he wouldn't puke or say, spit.

He moved on the bed, the aged wood creaking under his weight. He coughed again, eyes still closed.

The Raven had screeched at the first cough. But had kept its usual gaze on the man.

The man flipped the pages of his eyes open. His weak pupils lagged, responding to the rays littering the ceiling of the room, donated by the neighboring sun. The rays could fight their way in through the small opening at the roof.

He opened his eyes again, and this time he could withstand the rage. It seemed to him like his eyes had been closed since forever. Twas hard to tell.

He tried to look down his body, but pain coursed through his spine like blood. His veins were weak, and there seemed to be nothing left in his stomach.

He tried to sit up, but he was way too weak to support himself. He groaned and sighed intermittently.

"What the fuck is this place?"

Ja Lia complained bitterly. The last thing he remembered was that he was tied to some pillars outside the palace and was stabbed to death by a psycho who wasn't supported by his mate. And then he felt gloom gulped him. And after several minutes, he felt waters crashing against his body. And that was all.

He died. He had convinced himself. But where was he? Was he in the afterlife? He needed to confirm.

He tried to sit up again. He remembered that he had heard the screeching of a bird. Though twas quite an inconvenience, he sat up and tried to lean on the wooden corner of the room, but he couldn't. Around his left backbone, there was pain. He sat the best way he could.

"Shit."

He cussed. Not sure of who he meant that for. There was a bird sitting before him. Its eyes glued on him. That was creepy, but he knew too well to freak out.

Plus, at that moment, aside from pain, there was nothing he could feel anymore.

"B-bird wh-what are y-you d-doing here?"

The pain swelling in every part of his hormones dictated how he was supposed to use his words too. He didn't know what other thing to say to the bird.

The bird said nothing. Of course! What was he expecting? A talking bird? Though he wished the bird could talk to him. But what if it did? Wouldn't he run for his life? Well, if he had the strength to. He was all fucked up.

He couldn't remain in that state forever. He needed to figure out where he was.

"Where is y-your m-master?"

He stood up after several attempts. His breathing pace was very much severed. He was famished; he needed something to eat. Though he had no idea how to get it, what was better than thanking goodness for life?

He tottered towards the door, the pain in his ribs almost made him crash, but that was a bad idea. If he crashed, he would cause more harm than good.

He reached for the door and pulled it. He was glad it opened. He stepped out and sighed, breathing heavily.

"This place?"

He murmured, staggering towards the bench. He knew that place. That was the place where he had met the weird man when he had chased the bird.

He sat, breathing through every hole in his body. His nostrils and mouth.

The bird also flew out and flew towards the village. It went on screeching for a while till it got to the village. It started peering above as it hovered and changed its direction. Soon it noticed a woman at the market square eating from a bowl. It considered for a while then charged immediately.

The edges of the bowl in its claws, it flew off and headed back to the hut. Its sole duty was making Ja Lia well.