The next morning,I woke up to find myself alone in my hospital bed. I'd slept all night without once waking up and hadn't even noticed Mira get up and leave. The urge to piss started frantically pounding on my bladder, and I couldn't ignore it any longer. So, I sat up and stretched a bit to see if my shoulder was going to be a pain in the ass. It was slightly sore and stiff, but not really painful, and I once again had to admire the talents Talise
possessed.
My groaning and movement brought a young woman I'd never seen before into my room. Her light pink hair was cut in a short pixie hairdo,
with cute little ears poking out. She was a tiny thing, barely over five feet tall, and her skin was the soft beige color of coffee with a little extra cream in it. She had huge amber eyes that reminded me of a fawn, a heart-shaped face, and her rose-colored lips were in the shape of a perfect bow. Her
scales were also a burgundy color, and they complemented the shade of her lips perfectly. She wore one of the wraps in a deep purple color, and it was all enough to distract me momentarily from the fact that my bladder was on the verge of bursting.
"Good morning, Ben, my name is Careen," she said in a very soft voice. "I am going to help you get up and going. I imagine the first thing
you would like to do is relieve yourself."
She was probably one of the younger women on the island, but she also seemed to be mature beyond her years.
I guess living the way these women had been living would make you grow up fast.
"Yes, thankyou," Ireplied.
Careen handed me a pot with a lid on it and excused herself from the room. I took care of business and slid the pot under the bed like I'd seen
Talisedo before. I wanted to stand up, but thought I'd better wait for Careen to get back before I tried. I didn't want her to walkin and find me face
down on the floor, so I sat there and stretched all my different muscles to see if they were going to work for me. I was satisfied to find the only thing that really hurt was my shoulder, and it wasn't an unbearable pain.
Careen returned a few minutes later with a tray of breakfast for me. There was a bowl of sliced bananas and pineapple, along with several
chunks of flaky whitefish, and an herbal tea that smelled amazing.
"Would you like to stay in bed to eat?" she asked. "Or possibly try sitting at the table?"
"If you could make sure I don't fall on my face,I would like to see if I can get over to the table," Ianswered. "Me and my ass are really tired of
being in bed."
Careen giggled, and it honest to goodness sounded like those
handbells you see and hear people playing at themall during Christmas.
Then she set the tray down and came to help me get out of the bed. She bent down at the knees, nestled her shoulder into my right armpit, and put her arm around my waist.
"When you're ready, stand, and I will support you," she said.
She obviously had done this a time or two, so I took a deep breath
and stood up. I used her as a little support, but I mostly tried to do it myself. I couldn't stay dependent on anyone and get the things that needed my
attention done on the island.
Thankfully, I managed to make it up and over to the table with very little help from Careen. I was definitely glad for that.
"You are healing very well and have recovered quite a bit of strength, Ben," the tiny woman said. "Talise has once again outdone herself. She is the best healer this village has seen in many years."
"You're a healer, too, aren't you?" I asked as I poured a little honey- sweetened coconut milk into my tea.
"I am still in training, but I am happy to be learning from the best," Careen replied proudly.
"Talise has certainly amazed me several times since I have been here," I agreed as I started to take a drink of my tea, but Ipaused, looked into the cup, and wondered if I was about to get bamboozled again.
Then I heard that beautiful laugh and looked up to see Careen watching me.
"There is only bromelain in there today, it just reduces inflammation and doesn't have any mind-altering effects," she said and eased my concern. "Talise told me you would likely object to anymore ganjika and that you
probably didn't need it anyway."
"Thank you, I definitely don't need any more of the ganjika, not after last night," I said with a laugh.
"I am going to prepare your bath water while you eat, but please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything," she informed me. "Also, pleasedon't try to get up without me here to assist you."
"I promise to stay put," Itold her with a smile.
Careen returned my smile before she walked out the door and across the hallway. I could see her moving about in the room and knew she would hear me immediately if I needed help, or gods help me, started choking or something.
So,I dug into my breakfast, since I knew I needed the energy it
would give me, but frankly, I was tired of fish and fruit, and I hadn't even been here that long. My mind wandered to the thought of wild boars that overran the inland jungle and the birds I heard squawking in the trees at all hours of the day. Both of those animals meant a new variety of meat and eggs, plus feathers for the arrows and so many other potential things to
gather in the jungle. As soon as I was healed enough, hunting was going to the top of the list. There was also the need to strengthen defenses on the
eastern shoreline, bows and arrows to make, huts and storage buildings to fix or repair, coconuts to harvest, nets to make to help with fishing and
increasing the variety and amount of seafood caught, plus whatever this announcement the queen was going to make.
Careen returned to my room just as I finished up my tea, and she
smiled approvingly. I'd eaten everything on my plate while my mind was organizing everything that needed to be done and how to go about doing it.
"I am glad you have your appetite back," the cute pixie serpent-girl said. "That will go a long way to help in the healing process, though I must say, you are moving far better at this point than I thought you would be."
"I feel pretty good considering what I went through," Iadmitted.
"Let's get you bathed and change those bandages," she encouraged, "I would like to see with my own eyes how much you have healed."
She helped me stand up and just stayed close by while we made our way across the hall. I had more strength than I could believe and once again chalked it up to Talise and her magic medicine. I would kiss her again if she was standing in front of me.
When we entered the room, I was surprised to see the walls were actual stone and not more of the seashell and clay mixture I'd grown accustomed to. It was almost as if we'd entered a cave of sorts.
Careen pulled the sheer curtain back to display a sunken hot spring about six feet long, four feet wide, and surrounded by smooth stone that went all the way to the ceiling. I could see the steam rising off the water, and it beckoned me to climb in and let it washall my worries away.
"Have a seat here on this ledge, Ben," Careen said. "Iwill remove your bandages and let your wound air a bit while I gather the last of the supplies."
I took a seat on the ledge as she instructed and positioned myself so she could easily get to the bandages and injury on my shoulder. With her
tiny but deft hands, she gently removed the bandages and exposed the
wound to the air. I looked down to see there was still thick green paste on it, but the cut itself seemed much less red and angry. The stitches had grown a bit looser, which was a good indication the swelling was going down, and everything was healing with no sign of infection.