When the incident had happened, and her father told her that Michael had saved her, she had been excited to see him. But they wouldn’t let her because she was so weak. They told her when she was stronger she could thank him. And she had held on, wanting to see her angel again. She held on that horrible day when they removed her thumb and part of her forefinger. Frostbite had killed them, they told her. She had cried. But now, she saw it as her penance, for Eden.
Part of you is with the angel.
Eve didn’t reply. She had grown used to Eden knowing her thoughts. She hung on then to see her angel, and she grew stronger. And then she had learned that her father had betrothed her to Michael. She was his, after all, he had saved her. And still, she was excited. Then, they let her meet him.
She would never forget that day. Ever. He didn’t have the blue eyes of her angel. He had brown eyes. She had screamed and cried. Her father chastised her. But it was her mother who told her that she must be mistaken. Michael had brought her back. Michael had saved her.
Over time, she had come to terms with marrying him. He would visit every summer and sometimes more. And it was only occasionally that she saw his repulsion with her hand. Usually, she could keep it tucked beneath her sleeve, hidden from all.
I don’t like Michael.
Eve looked at Eden, shocked. “Why? He is kind to me. He –”
Because he looks at you as if you are not whole.
“Eden, please. He is right.”
Show it to me.
Repulsed and horrified, Eve shook her head and tucked her hand behind her back. “No.”
There’s nothing wrong with it. You are whole, Eve.
Eve slowly moved her hand in front of her and looked down at the green velvet sleeve covering her hand. She insisted that all her dresses be made with a very long sleeve to cover her hand. She wasn’t whole. People looked at her differently.
That is in your head. Let me see how ugly it is.
Eve hesitated a moment, but she knew Eden would continue to ask until she showed her. Slowly, she pushed her arm forward, out of the sleeve and lifted the stump before her. Her thumb was gone, as was part of her first finger. It was horrible, a deformity. Ugly.
You can still wear a ring.
“Never. I would never call attention to it. It’s monstrous.”
No. It’s a battle scar. You should be proud of it.
“What?!”
You had the courage to track an angel. And all you lost was a thumb.
Courage? Foolishness. She looked at Eden. She had lost so much more than just a thumb. She had lost her best friend.
Eve tucked her hand back inside the sleeve and quickly approached her tree. The branches were barren of its leaves which had fallen to the ground and lay scattered beneath it. Her slippered feet crunched on them as she drew near. She ran her hand against the bark in greeting and sat, leaning against the trunk. The snow would be here soon. She always imagined that the tree was going to sleep to keep warm in the winter.
I know. It’s going to get cold. You will come to visit me for as long as you can.
“I don’t like to leave you alone.”
Eden smiled.I’ve told you before. I’m always with you.
Eve was so afraid that one day she would come to the pond and Eden would not be here.
I’ll be here with you until you find your angel.
Good. Since she no longer believed in angels, that should be forever. And then, she heard a musical whistling. It was so off key that it made her smile.
Eden giggled.
At first, Eve thought it might be someone strolling by, cutting through the forest on the way home from the castle. A merchant perchance, or a farmer. “Shh,” she told Eden.
