Messenger - Lois Lowry [29]
"I had no choice. I was brought here when they found me in Forest with my eyes gone."
"Well, I did it. Many have."
"Yes. That's true. But I hope it won't be hard for her."
Matty glanced over. "Don't put those beets in. I hate beets."
"They're good for you."
"Not if they're thrown on the ground. And that's what they'll be if you put them in."
The blind man chuckled and dropped the beets into the sink. "Well," he said, "they're heavy anyway. They'd weigh you down. But I'm putting carrots in."
"Anything but beets."
There was a knock on the door, and it was Jean, her hair curlier than usual from the dampness that remained after the rain. "Are you still going, Matty, in this weather?"
Matty laughed at her concern. "I've gone through Forest in snow," he boasted. "This weather is nothing. Yes, I'm about to leave. I'm just packing food."
"I've brought you some bread," she said, and took the wrapped loaf from the basket she carried. He noticed that she had decorated it with a leafy sprig and a yellow chrysanthemum blossom.
Matty took the loaf and thanked her, though secretly he wondered how he would ever fit it in. Finally the blind man found a way to tuck it inside the rolled blanket.
"I want to stop on my way out of Village and see Ramon," Matty said. "I'd better hurry or I'll never get started."
"Oh, Matty," Jean said. "You don't know? Ramon's very sick. His sister, too. They've put a sign on the door to their house. No one can enter."
Troubling though the news was, Matty was not surprised. Ramon had been coughing, feverish-looking, and increasingly unwell for days now. "What does Herbalist say?"
"That's why they put the sign up. Herbalist is afraid it may be contagious. That an epidemic could come."
What was happening to Village? Matty felt a terrible unease. There had never been an epidemic here. He remembered the place he had come from, where many had died, from time to time, and all of their belongings had been burned, after, in hopes of destroying the illnesses carried by filth or fleas or, some thought, sorcery. But it had never happened here. People had always been so careful here, so clean.
He could see that the blind man's face had taken on a worried look, too, at the news.
For a moment, Matty stood there thinking while Seer arranged his pack on his back and attached the rolled blanket below it. He thought of the frog first, then the puppy, and wondered if his gift could save his friend. He could go to Ramon's house now, and place his hands upon the feverish body. He knew it would be indescribably hard, would take all of his strength, but he thought there might be a chance.
But what then? If he himself survived such an attempt, he would be desperately weakened, he knew, and would have to recover. He could not possibly make the journey through Forest if he first weakened himself on Ramon's behalf. Forest was already thickening, he knew, whatever that meant. It would soon become impassable. The blind man's daughter would be lost to them forever.
And, most important, Leader had told him to save his gift. Don't spend it, Leader had said.
So Matty decided with regret that he would have to leave Ramon to his illness.
"Look," Jean said suddenly. "Look at this. It's different. "
Matty glanced over and saw that she was standing in front of the tapestry Kira had made for her father. Even from where he stood, he could see what Jean meant. The entire forest area, the hundreds of tiny stitches in shades of green, had darkened, and the threads had knotted and twisted in odd ways. The peaceful scene had changed into something no longer beautiful. It had an ominous feel to it, a feel of impenetrability.
He went near to it and stared at it, puzzled and alarmed.
"What is it, Matty?" Jean asked.
"Nothing. It's all right." He indicated with his eyes that she should not speak aloud of the odd change in the tapestry. Matty did not want Seer to know.
It was time to go.
He wriggled his shoulders to adjust the pack comfortably on his back, and leaned forward to hug the blind man, who murmured to