The woman in shock, still looking over her shoulder, was ready to give her answer. But before she did, another choked scream erupted from her throat. Monica, alarmed by the situation, began to notice her belly, where the baby was apparently kicking with uncommon force. The reveal of the belly was getting larger, showing the shapes of the baby.
Monica, still very frightened by her condition, slowly tried to get closer.
When she got closer it was possible to see the situation she was in, but this time with clarity.
Her dark circles under her eyes are deep, and her skin looks quite dirty. "- Maybe it's been days since she has eaten.-"
The woman then looked the nun in the eye, showing a cry for help, and weakly began to speak once more, in a position where her legs bent over her belly. - Can I have some - some water, please? Please. - amidst coughing she concluded her sentence, and Monica nodded and ran outside, with a clay dish she had noticed on the table earlier in hand.
The nun went as quickly as possible to the edge of the creek, in the dim light before dark, and ran back inside with the plate. By the time she returned, the woman was trying to sit down, though unsuccessfully. Monica, seeing the situation, left the plate on the table and went back into the room to help her support herself.
-
Lady, don't make such an effort. Let me try to help. - With her consent, Mônica's arms slightly bent down to lift her amidst the straw pillow and her head. Unsurprisingly, this was not a difficult task, as the woman should not weigh the amount of two large building stones.
After being supported, the blonde made a face of discontent due to the pain in her lower limbs.
Monica then went to the kitchen and returned with the plate of water in hand, sitting down next to her and giving it to her in her mouth. With great euphoria the woman drank all the liquid in a matter of seconds. It was possible to notice her green eyes shining with the satisfaction of not being thirsty at that moment.
- Are you feeling better? Can you speak now? -
She raised her head towards the nun, her hair falling down her face
:- Yes, good nun. The thirst was killing me inside, it's a miracle you made it to this place at the end of the world.- Monica breathed a sigh of relief, was silent for a minute, and then remembered her original question:
- Now that you can talk, what do you bring you in this penury at the end of the Valley, where there is nothing but trees? We need to call someone who knows you, it's not possible for a woman in your condition to live here alone - Monica turned to her protruding belly:- Your belly carries a child, and he is about to be born. What you have, it looks like strong contractions, we need to get out of here-.
The woman nervously turned away, with a sad and bitter face.
: - I can't leave, because listen to me, I have no home to wait for me, no husband to take care of me, and I'm not even from this place. The winds have brought me here, and I have lived in the shadow of my own death. - Such a beautiful face, at that moment showing so much pain. Monica calmed her own elation and was ready to try to understand the situation:
- A woman alone and pregnant cannot live in a place like this. I could take you with me, since I don't understand how you grace ended up in this deserted place.
- Please, let me take you to the monastery where I live, so that you can feed yourself and clean yourself with warm water-. Monica's eyes sparkled in anticipation, but the reaction was different than expected. The woman turned her head and slowly denied it.
- There is a reason why I can't leave this place.- She lowered her gaze to her own belly, which now seemed to have a calmer baby. - We were here to die, because our destiny is death, and it counts the days until it finally arrives. Honestly, I thought it would come today for both of us. With no water, no strength to feed ourselves, and fear of the night, this is how we have lived for days, at such risk. - She turned her face towards the nun and continued :- I cannot give you the exact reason why I am here, for that is beyond my understanding. But know this, we are destined to die.
In deep astonishment the nun looked at the woman, unable to comprehend what she was hearing, and whether she was hearing it well. Maybe this woman had been affected by some hysteria, and that was why she had such morbid ideas in her own head. But something sounded really strange in that situation, because eyes, they don't lie.
Monica could read when someone was being untruthful, and there was only desperation there, but no lies. Not even the expected madness stamped her face.
Noticing the woman's profound resistance to getting out of there, and seeing that perhaps she was hiding a grave, far-reaching secret, Monica found herself in thoughts of what to do. For leaving her in the breath with that child, or children to be worse, did not seem an option for a nun from the monastery of Henbeg, who was taught there about outcry and compassion to those in such a precarious state. Monica, in her Catholic mind, thought it would be an extreme sin to leave at that moment without a solution.
Thinking for a few minutes a small light went on in her head.
The nun turned to the woman, still a little confused, but suggested something that she saw as the only option.
- Since you insistently refuse to be taken to the monastery, at least let me visit you during the days, under daylight until sunset. And look, don't deny me this condition. I can't abandon you and your baby like this, even if you don't want to explain to me why. At least let me bring food, water, and take care of you. -
The woman was speechless at the nun's persistence. She really wouldn't give up until one of her solutions was met.
The blonde turned once again and looked at her belly, concluding her thought: "If we are both going to die, let it be with dignity, or let it be me who suffers in the arms of death. For this pain takes over my body. It will not pass until my eyes finally close.
- I accept your condition.-
