chapter 129

word count: 1368

as the two plainly dressed good samaritans ushered trudy into what turned out to be the kitchen door,,  she was somewhat surprised to see three other women,, all with close cropped hair and similar plain dark clothing,, having what could easily have been mistaken as afternoon tea at an over sized wooden bench style table,, had there been any teacups in sight.. 

“sisters,” the gray haired woman that had rescued her on the side of the road started, “this young lady has been injured.. sister rebecca and i found her crawling through a clearing just off the side of the main road,, and thought it best that we bring her here and at least access her injuries..”

“please,” one of the women at the table entreated her,, “come sit down. you look as if you’re going to fall down if you don’t.”

with the help of the two women that had rescued her,, trudy hobbled toward the huge wooden table and took a seat on one of the long hard wood benches.. she found it difficult to hold herself upright as there was no back on the bench on which to lean,, so instead she slumped on her elbows over the table.. 

“maybe it would be better if you laid down.” one of the women at the table suggested, as trudy felt cool hands on her neck and shoulders guiding her into a prone position on the stark wooden bench..  

“there, there now,” the red haired woman that had earlier been identified as sister rebecca  said as she gently stroked trudy’s frazzled hair from her forehead,, “you just relax, while we have a good look at your injuries..”

although trudy was quite unsure as to who these women were,, or why they had taken such a special interest in her,, at the moment,, all she could think about was how good it felt to lie down.. any questions she may have had about them quickly slipped to the wayside,, as she felt warm compresses being applied to her face and extremities simultaneously,,  gently wiping away the dirt and sweat  so that her wounds could be better assessed.

“ugh!!” she moaned aloud as one of the warm soft cloths got too close to the gunshot wound.

“sister ruth,, could you bring me a pitcher of warm water and a basin.. i think this area would be better off irrigated,, it seems as if it is too painful to the touch to clean it properly with this cloth.”

trudy heard a scampering of footfalls,, followed by a gentle rush of warm water being poured over the tear in her arm where that mad man’s bullet had grazed her.. the warm water burned slightly as it gently flooded her wound, rinsing away the accumulation of debris and dried blood..  

“it looks as if a stitch or two is in order here.” trudy heard one of the women say,, as she passed in and out of consciousness.

“sister martha,, could you bring the suture kit?? and sister terese, could you bring out the medicinal spirits?”

it wasn’t until she felt two sets of warm, soft, arms around her bringing her up into a half sitting position that she came too enough to realize the women were entreating her to drink from a short glass of clear liquid.. 

“this is a medicinal spirit we make here ourselves.. it will be a bit harsh going down,, but it will help ease your pain,, and allow us to put a few necessary stitches in this arm of yours..” a dark haired woman was admonishing her as she raised the glass to trudy’s lips.. 

“sip it slowly now..” she heard yet another woman chime in from somewhere behind her. 

obediently,, trudy took a small sip.. almost instantly the clear liquid cut off her breath and she began to cough..

“take it slow..” the dark haired woman admonished her, “ it really isn’t as caustic as it tastes,, and we need to get a good measure of it into you before we can get started here..”

with that, she once again raised the glass to trudy’s lips.. trudy was more prepared for it this time,, and allowed the vile tasting liquid to slide down her throat.. it warmed her instantly.. she felt a flush come over her as a gentle calm begin to set in.. without further ado,, she finished off the remaining clear liquid in the glass,, and the women laid her back down on the bench.. almost instantly trudy drifted off to a warm safe place.. 

as soon as the sisters agreed upon the fact that she would no longer be feeling any pain, sister esther,, the gray haired woman that had rescued her on the side of the road,  went about putting in a few expertly executed stiches in the soft flesh of trudy’s arm.. 

once they were convinced that her wounds had been thoroughly cleansed and properly dressed, the sisters then went about the difficult task of moving trudy’s near lifeless body from the wooden bench in the kitchen to a soft feather bed in room just down the hall.. 

it took all five of them to gather her up,, and seat her in a chair that had been placed on a soft quilt so as not to scratch the beautifully polished hard wood floors,, and slide her down the hall.. getting her from the chair into the bed was no easy task either,, but they did so without complaint.. as soon as they had her settled in,, they covered her with a soft down comforter,, turned out the light, and silently left the room.. 

sister ruth put the kettle on,, as the rest of them gathered around the kitchen table.. 

“i would imagine there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the tear in the young lady’s arm was the result of a gunshot..” sister rebecca started off the conversation,, as all the other sisters nodded in agreement.

“that being said,, i think we need to consider what, if any further danger she is in,, and how it will affect us.. whereas it was clearly our christian duty to take her in and see to it that she was properly cared for and taken out of harm’s way,, we have to consider the fact that whomever it was that saw fit to shoot at her,, might still be after her for whatever reason,, and even though i am relatively sure no one saw us bring her here, we do not want to invite a violent confrontation here on our beloved cloister’s soil.”

“well i for one, “ sister esther interjected, “can reaffirm sister rebecca’s assumption that no one followed us.. and since we are located quite off the beaten track,, i would have to say that had we been followed,, one of us would surely have noticed..”

“i cannot help but wonder,” pondered sister ruth from her place in front of the now whistling kettle, “why she was dressed in such a fashion in the middle of the day?”

“i think we will know more about all of this come morning. once the effects of the spirits have worn off,, and she has had a hearty breakfast i think she will be able to tell us more about the situation that brought her to us.. in the interim i suggest we gather together in prayer and seek guidance in this matter,, as all of this is truly in god’s hands,, not ours.”

following a chorus of affirmations,, the sisters settled in around the table as the brewing tea steeped in its cozy,, joined hands and in silence each offered up a prayer for the health and safety not only for their newly acquired charge,, but also for the cloister itself.. 

as if on cue they said their “amens” and joined together in praying aloud the glory be:

glory be to the father,

and to the son,

and to the holy spirit.

as it was in the beginning,

is now,

and ever shall be,

world without end.

amen.