CHAPTER 4: Confessions, Confrontations, and Cows

I sat there dazed, wondering how many times I would meet Teagan under unexpected circumstances. It was astonishing how our paths kept crossing.

   From behind the bush, I could see Teagan dismounting her horse and moving towards a grave. It was on the richer, more wealthy side of the cemetery, where the councilmen and their families and such were buried.

   The tombstone was simple, carved out of white marble. It was the flowers that were planted around it that stood out to me. Brilliant hues of purples, yellows, reds, and blues were blended in such a way, it was almost like a painting.

   Teagan, who looked somber yet still angry, because she was Teagan, had knelt down by the grave, staring quietly into space.

   I longed to see the name on the grave. Who was it? It was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

   Buried in my thoughts, I had fallen against the bush I was hiding behind, and with a rustle of leaves and branches, I hit the ground.

   I froze and checked to see if Teagan had seen or heard me. Her eyes were closed as if she was talking to the grave’s owner.

   Then she opened her eyes and began talking. I scrambled as quietly as I could behind a nearby tombstone.

   “Mother…” her voice trembled, filled with grief. “I wish I hadn’t let you go,” Teagan continued. “Then maybe you wouldn’t have died, and maybe you could’ve trained me.”

   So it was her mother. I immediately felt sympathy for her. I knew what losing a parent felt like. At least I would unless I found a cure for my dad.
   
   “I won’t let you down. I will finish what you started,” she swallowed. “I’m leaving town and heading towards the west to get the cure. People are dying all over town, and I’m not sure I can handle the guilt of knowing about a cure. I trust that you were right. Let’s just hope I can do it.”

   I nearly fell over again when I heard this. What? A cure? How?

Teagan was getting all choked up now. “I just-wait what was that?”
   
   I groaned inwardly. Lost in my shock, I had dropped the medicine bag onto a rock, and its contents had spilled onto the ground, right in front of Teagan!

“Who’s there?” Teagan stood up, her face red. “I swear I-”

“It’s me!” I jumped up, hands held in the air. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I was already here, and I saw you, and I heard you talking about a cure! Is there a cure?” My voice broke, and I feel myself beginning to tear up. “Please, I need a cure! My father means everything to me!”

I feel Teagan hesitate. “Listen, it’s complicated. If I had a cure, then I would have told the town months ago.”

“Can you at least tell me what it is?” I begged, looking at her pleadingly.

She looked around to see if anyone else was listening.

“Fine, but you must not repeat this to another soul,” Teagan relentlessly gave in.

“I swear on my life,” I promised.

“My mother,” she took a shaky breath. “My mother was the village healer. When I was a child, she took me to a meadow and told me to stay until she came back. She was gone for too long, so I went to look for her,” Teagan fidgeted with her hands.

She looked down at her lap, and stayed quiet for a moment, trying to compose herself.

“And then what happened?” I quietly asked. “I…” Teagan drew in a sharp breath. “I found her body.”

“Teagan, I want you to have this,”  an attractive blonde woman knelt beside an eight-year-old girl. She handed a hardcover notebook to the small child. “I’ve been writing in it for some time now, it’s mostly my cures, but I’ve also recorded some important information in it, so don’t lose it, okay?” the woman asked. Teagan nodded eagerly, for she could soon have all the knowledge her mother has, and perhaps even write down some of her discoveries too.

   The lovely lady stood up and brushed a loose strand of hair from behind her ear. “Just stay here and collect some of these poppy flowers, can you do that? I might need some of them for my remedies,” she said, staring off into the distance.

“Okay, mom!” the bright child cheerfully exclaimed. The woman smiled and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

“Goodbye, Teagan,” she whispered, and just like that, the mother walked away.

   It was noon now, and Teagan had collected a wheelbarrow full of poppies. It had been hours since the cool morning and Teagan wanted nothing more than to go home and play checkers with her dad.

Even though mother told her to stay where she was, the child grew restless and ventured out to seek her, taking the wheelbarrow, notebook, and picnic blanket with her. Ten minutes passed, then ten more, and thirty, but Teagan still didn’t find her mother.

   Soon, she came to a huge pasture, where many cows grazed. And to her shock, in the middle of the field laid a familiar crumpled figure. Suddenly a million thoughts came rushing up at once.  

“No!” Teagan screamed and dropped the wheelbarrow. She ran to her dead mother, spattered with blood, her body twisted at odd angles. “Please don’t leave me,” she begged. Teagan couldn’t understand why her mother was dead. Did someone murder her?

   She cried there until the tears ran dry. The child sobered up and went to get the wheelbarrow. She dumped the poppies out and put the body in the wheelbarrow. Then, she draped the picnic cloth over her mother and wheeled her back to the village.

   The mayor cried out in pain as his daughter revealed his motionless wife. “Elizabeth!” he grasped her hands. “Who did this?” he turned to Teagan.

Tears were threatening to fall again, but she shook her head, “I don’t know, but she gave me this.” She produced the notebook and flipped to the latest entry. It read:

Teagan, my daughter, when you are reading this, you will either be reading it with me or… in grief. Today, I am going to find the Saevus Taurus, a violent species whose milk can cure just about anything! If everything goes according to plan, the villagers with the plague will be cured by this milk. If not, I’ll be dead by noon.

Don’t despair, my darling, if I die, it will hopefully not be in vain. Listen, do not let the cows die off or let your father kill them, for I know he can be rash at times. Be strong and forever do good in your life.

Love, Mom