“Do you want to hear the story or not?” she said.

“What story?”

“The story of a child born between the walls of the convent, and who never crossed beyond those walls either. Maybe it’s just village gossip—maybe, yes—but my husband did say to me that he heard that newborn soul’s first cries loud and clear and the screams of the woman who bore it.”

-77-

-77-

Teresa opened her eyes and wondered for a moment whether it was daytime. The snow was so white that it was painful to look at. She had to blink several times before she managed to focus on her surroundings, and at that point she realized that the whiteness actually belonged to a neon-lit ceiling and a set of laminated furniture. She was lying on a bed in what appeared to be a medical clinic. There was a photograph on a desk, next to a computer, of a man she knew. Looking younger, and lean, the person in the image watched her from the summit of a mountain, his hair ruffled by the wind.

Teresa tried to sit up, but her muscles refused to cooperate. She fell wearily back onto the pillow.

“I believe you’ve had a hyperglycemic seizure,” someone announced.

Teresa turned her head. Doctor Ian was watching her from the door, smiling.

“Will I die?” she asked him gravely.

He laughed and moved closer. He held her wrist and counted her heartbeats.

“Not today,” he replied. “Your colleagues told me you are diabetic. I imagine you must have forgotten your insulin.”

Teresa closed her eyes once more. She couldn’t remember. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d injected herself.

“Perhaps,” she said.

“Don’t worry. I sorted it out. Your blood sugar levels were rather worrying. But please, lie down now. You’ve only been here fifteen minutes. I’ve sent your colleagues away. You need to rest for at least two hours.”

Teresa felt confused, but mostly foolish.

“Thank you,” she said sheepishly. “Doctor Ian?”

“Yes?”

“Did they catch him?”

She was afraid of the response but couldn’t bear not knowing.

He nodded.

“Yes. He’s unharmed,” he replied.

Teresa sighed with relief.

“And the child?”

“He’s been taken to the hospital in the city as a precaution, but he’s fine. You’re the only one who actually needed an ambulance. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Teresa stared at the ceiling. In his own way, Andreas had taken care of his child. She wondered what he must be feeling like now, surrounded by strangers, and far from his forest.

Scared. Disoriented. Desperate.