When the sun first light Mox wake up. He woke up Maria too, whispering in her ear and caressing her hair. She wanted to sleep a little bit more and, like a little child, turned to the other side of their improvised bed. Mox didn’t let her have her way.
“Come on, Maria, don’t be a child” he said, pinching her cheeks.
“Alright, alright. I’m up!” she said, throwing her fist toward Mox.
Because they didn’t have any food to prepare, breakfast was skipped. Mox dismantled their improvised bed, trying his best to erase any trace of their stay there.
The sun started his climb. His rays broke through the armor of the forest, lighting up the day.
The wind and the trees carried a faint noise made by dogs and horses. Mox managed to pick up some clues from what he heard.
“It seems that our friends woke up as well,” he said to Maria, with a small smile on his lips.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, looking at him with big eyes.
“Listen carefully!”
Maria listened to the forest, frowning her eyebrows, looking really cute in the process. She heard as well the faint sound of dogs and horses.
“Let’s go” Mox picked up his improvised crutch and started to walk. Maria followed him.
They didn’t talk. Mox had barely any strength left for walking. But he clenched his teeth and continued to walk. Maria looked at him with concern. She knew that he couldn’t be stopped, so she could only hope that he will be ok.
Around midday they arrived at a creek. Mox stopped to wash his wound and change the bandage. The wound looked worse. He should be in a bed, resting. Not walking through a forest, on harsh terrain, dogging chasers. But he didn’t have any other choice right now.
There were a few times on their way, when Mox almost collapsed. His crutch broke so he had to make another one. Helped by Maria, he got back on his feet and continued to walk until their reached the hidden valley where Mox had his hideout.
Rosa gave a small neigh when she saw Mox. She was all alone for the last couple of days and she was bored.
Mox played with her mane a little bit and then went into the small shack.
“Look Maria. This is the painting” he said, showing her the thing he looked for such a long time. He tried to smile, but couldn’t find the strength anymore.
Maria looked at the painting, but she couldn’t enjoy this moment. Mox was on the verge of collapse. His face was all white and he was barely breathing.
“We have to close the wound. I need you to help me” he said then with a serious face.
“How?”
“Make a fire first.” Mox said, before dropping like a sack of potatoes on the bed.
Maria listened to him and made the fire. There wasn’t any danger of being found out anymore. After the fire was made, Mox told her to pick up a knife and to heat it up. He wanted to cauterize the wound.
“You’re crazy. You still have a bullet inside you!” Maria shouted at him.
“I’ll try to get it out. First, let’s close the other one.” he said “Either you’ll do it or I will. I lost already too much blood.”
Maria clenched her jaw and approached the bed with the hot knife. Mox poured some whiskey on the wound. He took a shot from the bottle as well and gave the bottle to Maria. She needed a drink too.
The hot knife was pressed on the wound. Mox let out a groan because of the pain. The smell of burned skin filled in the room.
After the wound was closed, it was time for the other operation. Mox washed his hands with whiskey and dug his fingers into the other hole from his body, looking for the bullet. He couldn’t find it. He had to take a knife and cut into his skin, making the wound bigger. Blood fell all over the place, making it look like a slaughterhouse.
In the end, the little bullet was found. Maria had tears in her eyes. Looking at how Mox operated on himself, without making a sound, made her want to cry. But she wiped out the tears and closed the wound with the hot knife once again.
After the operation, Mox fell asleep. He slept for two days and two nights. Maria stayed near him all the time, changing cold bandages on his forehead.
“We have to go back home.” Maria said, when Mox opened his eyes.
“I know.”
In the last two days, beside taking care of Mox, Maria prepared their leave. She prepared food and water, packed the painting and prepared spare bandages for Mox. All neatly prepared in two bags of supplies and the painting placed near them.
Both of them hopped on Rosa and left the small valley, the forest. They left the prairie with the first train they found.Mox returned home for the first time in the last couple of years.
His adventure on the small prairie has come to an end.
Yes. You have read it right. Mox has reached an end to his crazy adventure. Now he, and I, will take a rest till next year.
I've begun this little story back in June. I never dreamed that I will transform it into a long story or even that I will decide to make it a book in the end.
The last couple of days were a little bit hard. I didn't want to end it. But I had to. Now I have to go on the long job of editing the story. Taking out the bad part. Keep the good one. And in the end, make it a book and have it see the light.
In the meanwhile, I will keep writing. I will still keep posting a poem each day. And I will try some new stuff. Till next year, Mox will have a deserved rest