The Visitor

by Barbara Svetlick

  Meeks mounted his horse and cautiously started across the opening. Matthew asked if he could go and Meeks turned telling him to just keep searching for her. Matthew closed his eyes then opened them again.

  “Meeks…” Meeks turned again and looked at Matthew who looked so lost. Meeks nodded and worked slowly across the ravine. He spent an hour going back and forth looking for anything that would indicate where the caves were. He came back to the camp and dismounted. Matthew was sitting next to the fire but didn’t seem to be responding to anyone.

  Mirisa stirred slightly and squeezed Garnett’s hand. He pulled her up closer removing her gloves to determine her body temperature. “How do you feel?”

  “Like the day I was shot. What happened?”

  “Avalanche. We’re inside some type of cave and covered in obviously a mountainside of snow.”

  “Where is everyone else?”

  “I don’t know. They were all north of our position. I don’t know if they got out of the way or not.” She turned to him and he pulled her up and held her. “Do you think you could give me sex since it appears we may not make it out of this situation?”

  Mirisa laughed then grimaced as she touched the bandage. “Can we do it without taking off our clothes?”

  “Probably.” He rubbed her arms allowing the wool of her long johns to cause heat against her skin.

  “Can we get out?”

  “We’ll have to or next spring they will find us in probably a very questionable embrace.”

  Mirisa realized that this was what both she and Matthew had been seeing in their dreams. She kissed Garnett and told him he could have anything he wanted. She touched her head and whined again. “Don’t touch it if you don’t want it to hurt. It appears to be superficial but you have been unresponsive.”

  “I’m cold.”

  “That’s because your body temperature is dropping to the temperature of the cave but fortunately the snow will actually keep it from dropping too fast.” He took off his glove and touched her cheek which was cold to the touch. “Unwrap your scarf and pull it higher around your face so it gives some warmth to your face.”

  “Can we light a fire?”

  “Not unless we can find an air source otherwise it will put us to sleep killing us.”

  “Well honestly I would rather die warm than freeze to death.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. Right now I am hoping someone is looking for us otherwise I have to find a way to dig us out.” Garnett handed her a cookie and her canteen of water. “You need to stay hydrated but I appreciate your packing my favorite cookies.”

  Mirisa turned so that she was sitting up against Garnett and closed her eyes. She reached out for Matthew and slowly brought the drums in the distance. It hurt her head a lot and she wasn’t getting anything but the distant drums. Garnett gave her a sip of whisky. Mirisa tried again and when she did Matthew stood straight up. His movement startled all of them.

  Matthew closed his eyes and brought her image into his mind. He turned his palms in as if he were touching her face which they all had seen him do so many times. Matthew stood very motionless.

  Meeks stood and Dominic put his hand on his arm so he wouldn’t say anything. Matthew asked if she were alone and if she was hurt. Matthew put his hands down and opened his eyes.

  “She’s hurt and they are somewhere very dark and can’t get out or tell me where except it is above the trail.”

  “Garnett’s with her?”

  “Yes. She says it’s cold and dark and they have no air.”

  Mirisa told Garnett that they were all fine but she would have to figure out a way to get them to the cave. She closed her eyes and the drums became louder as Jonathan closed his eyes providing her with the calling voice. Dominic felt her and Jonathan instantly and Matthew sat down and bowed his head to listen. Jonathan was calling the totem. Dominic was so confused at the power of his youngest son.

  “Dad, we have to find the mountain lion. He’ll lead us to her.”

  Dominic told them all to mount up but to stay close together. They worked slowly across the open area and Matthew pointed to something moving in from the opposite direction about a hundred feet below their position. James stopped and watched as the mountain lion moved slowly across the fresh snow as though he was stalking a rabbit. The animal turned and looked at them before it continued to travel further down the mountain until he got to an overturned tree that was lying in the new snow. The mountain lion climbed up on the trunk and crouched down watching them.

  Matthew turned to his mother who was still talking to the mountain lion. The lion let out a very deep rumbling growl and all of them reined in and stopped as it echoed through the trees. Matthew asked his mother if Garnett could hear the mountain lion and she said that it sounded like it was somewhere above them but near the back of the cave not the front.

  Matthew broke away from them before his father could stop him and worked down to the mountain lion continuing another thirty feet before getting off his horse. The mountain lion watched him and suddenly sat up on his haunches as if ready to spring. Meeks took out his rifle and beaded it on the largest mountain lion he had ever seen in his life. He was over 130 pounds and had a thick dark winter coat. The mountain lion let out a warning as Dominic and James both unsheathed their rifles and zeroed in on him. The mountain lion kept his attention on Matthew who they all knew was close enough that if he attacked it would be a tossup if they could take him out before he gravely wounded Matthew. The mountain lion let out a cry that ran down the spine turning the blood bitter cold before he turned on the trunk jumping a good ten feet as he took off across the snow disappearing in the thick forest.

  Matthew stood still not knowing what to do. Dominic rode down and dismounted. “Are you alright?”

  “He scared me.” Matthew’s lip came out quivering and Dominic smiled because there was just that tiny little bit of Mirisa in him. “The cave is buried below the tree.”

  They broke several long branches off of the fallen tree and slowly started sticking it in the snow in a pattern. After about thirty minutes, Meeks branch seemed to fall through into open space. They pulled out the branch and slowly started digging. They cleared enough to know that the top of the rock ledge only had about two feet of snow on it but there was a lot of snow if you stepped off toward the trail.

  “James, untie the trees and we’ll see if we can get the packhorse to pull the log across the front.”

  “I don’t know if the snow will hold his weight but it will be faster than digging with our hands.”

  After a few passes, they cleared enough snow that the branch went through without effort. Garnett put Mirisa up against the saddle and he took the candle up to the snow wall and tried to reach the branch but it was too high. He brought his horse to the front of the cave, mounted him and reached up grabbing the end tugging on it.

  James didn’t expect the movement and almost lost his balance as he pulled it and Garnett pulled it back in. James started moving the branch in circular motions until it was bigger than the branch as he slowly moved it hoping it wouldn’t collapse but it did.

  “Matt, I need a thicker branch and your help.”

  Matthew drug down a bigger branch and squatted next to James as Meeks made sure the bonfire was going well enough to keep the horses warm. Dominic tied up the pack horse and worked up the slope as James inserted the larger branch and Dominic helped him to make a larger hole. Dominic turned to Matthew and told him to climb back up onto the ledge with Meeks when the hole began to collapse and took Matthew with it as he fell through the snow wall. James reached out grabbing Matthew by the back of his coat and Dominic moved to avoid falling through as James slid down the snow pulling Matthew with him. Meeks leaned over the ledge and started laughing. Garnett was sitting on his horse and both were covered in snow.

  Garnett brushed himself off and dismounted as his horse expressed his disapproval. Garnett stepped away from the wall to restart the fire in the cave and told Mi
risa to move closer to the fire as he helped open the hole giving them fresh air.

  Garnett started gathering up kindling and yelled out that he needed more wood. Meeks and Matthew gathered larger limbs dropping them into the cave. The cave was starting to warm up which was starting to melt the wall of snow to the point that it was causing water to pool on the rock.

  The temperature began to plummet with each minute as the sun started to drop below the horizon. James finally made Matthew stay near the fire with the horses. His contact with his mother drifted in and out and he assumed she was sleeping or she was becoming weak. They finally cleared the cave entrance. Matthew was down the side of the ledge so fast that he almost fell on the thin layer of ice that had started to form on the snow drifts.

  Meeks checked on Mirisa who was lying close to the fire. They built the fire large enough to sufficiently warm the inside of the cave. Even though they needed to get them out of the elements as soon as possible they didn’t chance moving them until they had warmed them up as much as they could. Dominic handed Garnett the whisky and lit a cigar handing it to him. They tried to get a little whisky down Mirisa who started coughing and opened her eyes. She immediately put her hands under her husband’s jacket and he drew her up close to him.

  It took them an hour to get back to the lodge and a few hours of hot blankets and rub downs before either of them felt like they would ever be warm again. Mirisa didn't understand why it hurt more as she warmed up.

  Mirisa woke in the middle of the night to find James sitting next to her on the bed. He put a cold cloth on her forehead which she didn’t grasp because she was literally shaking all over. James was talking to someone but he seemed so far away. Mirisa closed her eyes and slowly the music filled her ears. It was so light as though it was riding on the wind as it went around her.

  Mirisa turned and looked out over the horizon and thought how beautiful the sunrise was when it mirrored off of the deep blue of the river. She could smell the blooming jasmine which meant that summer was almost upon them. Mirisa was so grateful for her life and for her children but especially for Alexander and wondered where he was since he should be with her. Mirisa turned in a circle but she was alone.

  “Alexander?” She said his name softly and it seemed to echo down the canyon and rise on the other side like a song bird. Mirisa turned again but still couldn’t find her husband. The sun rose higher spreading warmth across her as she faced the east. It felt good after a long cold winter. Peace seemed to fill her until she realized that she couldn’t find her husband. Mirisa turned to the mountains and the sun covered them with colors of reds and oranges on the snow covered tops.

  Meeks picked up her hand and kissed her fingers. Mirisa turned and looked up at him and smiled. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “I haven’t gone anywhere.” He wrapped both hands around hers. “How are you feeling?”

  “I have been watching the sun rise but I wanted you there with me and I couldn’t find you.”

  “You’ve been delirious for two days now but your fever has finally broken.” Meeks took the cloth off of her head and put it in the bowl on the table next to the bed. “Do you think you can drink something?”

  “I’m not thirsty.”

  “I know but you need to drink something anyway.” James walked in with a pot of warm tea and set it down next to the bowl.

  “You’re awake.” James put his hand on her head and she just watched him. “Can you sit up so we can prop some pillows behind you?”

  “I can get out of bed by myself.” Mirisa thought she had attempted to move but she hadn’t. Meeks reached around her and James put several pillows behind her as Meeks gently lowered her back into them. “Why can’t I get out of bed?”

  “Because you have been very sick from exposure and you have no strength.” James poured half a cup of tea and put it to her lips. Mirisa pulled away and put her hand on her lips which were chapped and cracked. James put it back up to her lips and she drank it before she asked for more. They got two cups of tea in her urging her to go back to sleep and she curled up and slid back down in the blanket.

  Meeks hadn’t slept soundly in two days and looked worse than James. “You need to go clean up because if she realizes how bad you look it will scare her.” James pulled the chair closer to the bed. “I’ll watch her.”

  Meeks went into the bathroom and shaved before he climbed into the tub to just soak. He’d been in a lot of situations before but never had his heart sunk so far and so fast as when she disappeared in the clouds of snow. The only hope he had at that moment was that she was with Garnett and if anyone had the ability to survive it was him. Garnett had fared far better than her but he was also very used to being in the elements and had a lot more meat on his body to hold in the heat. Meeks dressed in clean jeans and put on a fresh shirt. He was still tired but at least he didn’t feel as grungy. When he came out, Garnett and Matthew were sitting on the end of the bed talking to James.

  “How are you two feeling?” Meeks worried more about Matthew being out in the mountains for so long but he seemed to have handled the physical rigors a lot better than the psychological trauma. The first night he listened as Matthew told the story of the avalanche and the mountain lion. Both he and Jonathan were good story tellers where Maggie made up stories about little creatures and fairy tales.

  “Matt and I feel alright, just worried.” Meeks nodded because they had all been very worried. “James said her fever is broken.”

  “She woke up for a while but wasn’t making a lot of sense.” Meeks looked at James who looked worse than he did. “James, why don’t you get a few hours sleep?”

  Garnett agreed that he really needed to take a break. “Matt and I will sit with her if both of you want to get some sleep.”

  James went to bed and Meeks went down to the library and fell asleep on the couch. Garnett and Matthew sat at the end of the bed and played cards. She woke up a few hours later and Matthew crawled up next to her and hugged her. Mirisa talked to him for a few minutes as he put his head on her shoulder. Garnett told her he was going to heat up some tea for her. He came back up with a fresh pot of tea and biscuits. Garnett no sooner set the tray down when the twins came bounding in the room and climbed up on the bed before he could catch them. Mirisa laughed as they wrapped around her.

  James gathered up the children to fix dinner closing the library door so that Meeks could sleep longer. Dominic came in from the pens and relieved Garnett who went down to help with the children. James put the soup and fresh bread on the table before he went up to see if she wanted to come downstairs or stay in bed. Mirisa told him she wanted to take a bath first but she wanted to come downstairs.

  “Do you want me to get your husband because I don’t think you are strong enough to be left in the tub alone?”

  “Where is he?”

  “Sleeping.”

  “No, I think I can do it by myself.” Dominic told her she was too weak as he helped her sit up and James ran warm water in the tub. Jasmine came upstairs and sent them out of the room. Mirisa leaned back against the tub closing her eyes as Jasmine helped her wash her hair.

  “I don’t know whether I appreciate you more because you care for the children or because you care for me.”

  “All of you are important.”

  “Jasmine, do you ever miss your family?”

  “I am never without my family.”

  “Jasmine…”

  Meeks found Mirisa curled up in her robe next to the fire. He squatted down in front of her and she leaned forward and kissed him. “They’ll heal in a few days but you might want to knock off kissing everyone until they do.” Meeks got out clothes and helped her get dressed though it was obvious that she was making him do most of the work even though she probably could have done it by herself.

  Mirisa lay back on the bed as he tried to pull on her jeans and she wrapped her legs around him. Meeks kissed her neck whispering that she needed to save her energy as he massaged her
shoulder and before he knew it they were having ‘it’s been too long’ great sex. Meeks finally decided to just slip a gown over her before he helped her down the stairs. Mirisa sat down at the table and the smell of the soup immediately filled her with such hunger.

  James walked over and put a bowl of soup in front of her. “I can’t believe that you just had sex.”

  “I know but it felt so good.”

  “And you didn’t think either Dominic or I would accommodate you?”

  “I needed my husband.” Meeks looked at her and thought it was the little things she said that meant so much. She looked around the living room and realized they had put up the tree next to the fireplace but hadn’t decorated it. “When did you get more trees?”

  “Those are the ones we cut down the other day.”

  “I didn’t realize that you brought them home.” She slowly ate her soup trying not to get it on her lips. “When are you going to decorate them?”

  “When you feel strong enough to do it.”

  Mirisa rose slowly and made her way to the couch. Meeks put the blanket on her before he reached down and checked her feet and toes. “Where are my toe rings?”

  “I took them off in case your feet swelled from the frostbite. They are upstairs with the rest of your jewelry.” She looked at her hands and put her hand on her chest looking for her charms. “They’re all upstairs.”

  “Are my feet alright?” He was massaging them but they no longer tingled like they had when they were first warming her up. That had hurt so bad that she wanted to make them stop but she knew they wouldn’t listen to her.

  “They seem to be fine.”

  The children kept her company when she was awake and by the end of the week she had most of her strength back. James and Garnett decided to spend time at Dominic’s house around his birthday giving Mirisa three days home alone with her husband and the children. Meeks spent all the time pampering her.