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I realized she was right. The monster was pulling Brigid to the shore where I was, and its teeth were dug into her clothes, not her skin. As I clapped my mouth shut and watched the scene in awe, the monster gently carried Brigid to land.
Her eyes were closed. Her short blonde hair was wet, and blood started to drip down her forehead as soon as her head got out of the water.
I was breathing rapidly as I waited for the monster to bring Brigid to me. When they were close enough, I reached to grab Brigid, but the monster did not let go until they were both safely on the grass.
“Thank you,” I whispered as I checked Brigid’s pulse. It was slower than normal, but she was alive.
You should be thanking me, the girl said.
The monster growled. I looked to meet its eyes and felt like I was seeing someone behind those glaring reds. But that feeling disappeared quickly. The monster’s nostrils flared up as it pushed away air. She shook her body, and droplets fell to all sides.
The girl ordered it to leave, and the monster turned and disappeared into the forest without giving us a second look.
I focused on Brigid again. Her chest was moving up and down slowly, but when I put my hands on her, I knew that she had taken in water. Her breath was gurgling. That was not good.
You might be able to heal her, the girl suggested. You’ve been drinking that tea for a week now.
I don’t know how, I replied.
The girl didn’t bother to respond. Instead, she showed me images, images that I’d remembered only when she had forced them out of me during our first conversation. The little girl eating the mushrooms, Kalyden forcing the potion down my throat to take away my magic. The memory of seeing the poison in the little girl’s veins and pushing it out...
But remembering I’d done something before was not enough to do it again. I did not see the water in Brigid’s lungs. I could not feel the way to push it away.
I did not trust myself to heal my friend.
All I could feel was fear.
Fear that my friend’s life was slipping away...
Fear that I would not be able to do anything to stop it...
Help me, I whispered. Make me believe I can do it.
Are you sure?The girl asked.
She wasn’t saying that it was impossible. She was just asking because the last time she had messed with my mind, she had received a rebuke never to do that again.
But this was different. Having complete autonomy over my thoughts was not as important as my friend’s life.
Yes.
I felt her reaching into me, but I did not see where she touched. All I knew was that I now believed I could heal Brigid. I’d done it before to someone else. Why not my friend?
My hands were warm as I put them on her chest and went searching within her limp body. It did not take me long to find it.
The water was there, filling her lungs. There was only one spot it could use to get out. I pushed the water toward that spot. Brigid coughed, water coming out of her mouth as I helped her turn around so that she would be facing the ground.
She was breathing now. She would live.
Brigid coughed again and again. With each breath, the wheezing sounds slowed down.
My hand was still on her.
I focused on the wound on her head next. It had touched a spot that was dangerously close to her eyes. It would mess with her vision and perhaps prevent her from waking up.
But I was here. I was a healer. It would be easy.
I connected the parts that were breached. The swelling of her brain stopped and reversed as I mended the broken pieces. The complete form of her skull was the natural form that I sought. I did not think about it as I made her right.
