Chapter 6 The Life Lines (1/2)
When Phillip, Anna's husband and Rassa's father, finally received the news and returned to the village, Anna was already waiting anxiously in the doctor's front room.
”What happened?” asked Phillip, stepping forward to comfort his pacing wife.
”I...I don't know,” Anna admitted, ”I just sent him off to play with the village children and...about an hour later Diggory came running saying that Rassa was trapped in a cave and needed help. We went to find him but...there was no cave, and Rassa, he was unconscious and barely alive on the ground, his shirt ripped off and his back...”
”What about his back?” asked Phillip.
Anna shook her head, ”I...I can't explain it. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. Phil...is he going to be okay?”
Phillip drew his worried wife in for a hug. Rassa was her only child, and she'd nearly died giving birth to him. They had not been able to conceive since, and had been told only a few months before that it was unlikely they ever would. It had pained Phillip to see his Anna so heartbroken. He had wanted to give her a peaceful and long life ever since he'd met her. He'd given up everything for Anna, and had never had any regrets about it despite the negative views of his family. In the end, Rassa had been their anchor. The one thing that confirmed for them that this life was possible, and that they could live peacefully together all their lives. To loose him...despite her inner strength, Phillip wasn't sure if Anna could take it. He wasn't even sure he could take it.
Just then, the doctor emerged from the back room, closing the door behind him. Anna turned expectantly, but the doctor's expression...he looked confused.
”How is he?” prompted Anna, ”How is Rassa?”
”Well...he's alive, though I have no idea how,” the doctor admitted, ”His heart rate is far too slow, and he is far too cold and pale, but there are no other signs of distress. He isn't sweating, his breathing isn't irregular, he even appears...healthier than before”.
”What about...that?”
The doctor shook his head, ”I've never seen anything like it in person”.
Anna turned to look up at Phillip, then back to the doctor, ”So he'll be okay?”
The doctor sighed, ”For the first time in my very long life, I have no idea. We can only wait and see if he wakes up”.
”Can we see him?” asked Phillip.
The doctor nodded, ushering them through to a back room where there were a few beds. Rassa was lying on one by the window, a sheet covering him. As they approached, he rolled over, and Phillip paused at the sight of his son's back.
Black lines curled and crossed from his lower back all the way up to his shoulders, at first glance there appeared to be no particular pattern or design, it was chaotic. But Phillip approached his son slowly, then ran his fingers over his son's skin. The lines seemed to be a part of his son's skin, as if they'd always been there, and as Phillip watched his son, he realised the longer his hands were on the mark, the more his son seemed disturbed. Phillip removed his hands, and the boy relaxed, continuing what looked to be a peaceful sleep.