Promise: The Scarred Girl by Maya Shepherd Page B

her. Very carefully and cautiously, they carried her away from the cave and back to their old resting place by the lake. They tore her habit to make bandages for Nea’s injured calf and shoulder. Following Nea’s instructions, Faith managed to not only make a fire, but also roast the three fish herself. They do not have to worry about their next meal, it was probably luck more than anything else, but the bear is dead. Nea managed to sever the bear’s windpipe, then he collapsed on her and twitched for a few minutes before he stopped moving. Of this, Nea knows nothing; she had already lost consciousness by that time.
    Faith and Hope were afraid that Nea would have suffocated under the weight of the bear. But Nea is more impressed with the sisters, because they slaughtered the bear without any squeamishness so they can fry up the bear’s meat gradually. Nea thought they would balk in disgust, but they just laughed and said that a bear was just larger than a goat or a sheep, which they slaughter regularly.
    Since then, the dog spends more time with Nea than before. He snuggles up to her so she can scratch him behind his ears, loving on her as though he were the one who almost died. Actually, Nea has determined that the dog is not really a he , but is really a she .
    Smiling, Nea sits wrapped in her sleeping bag waiting for food. On cue, Hope walks up with bloodied arms again. She has taken her habit off to work, so now her short auburn hair can be seen. Without her habit, Nea can see her full face and how narrow it is. Her face is very slim and is reminiscent of a delicate and rather frail ballerina. Under her habit she wears a simple black top and black pants.
    “You must be hungry, right?” I’m sorry that we took so long, but we’re ready now.” She goes to the lake shore and washes her arms.
    “Yes, but it’s not bad, we have enough food to eat for days.”
    When Hope returns from the lake, Faith also comes back. Faith’s hair is so long that it ends just above her butt. She wears the same simple clothes like her sister. Now it is easy to tell the two apart. Nea was surprised when she noticed it. But when they noticed Nea looking at them, they both ran their right hand through their hair at the same time.
    “With the habits, it is hard to tell us apart, but it is not too difficult. Earlier, it was important to us that everyone perceive us as independent personalities and not always speak of the twins , but when the plague broke out, we only had each other and wanted to be one again.”
    Nea nods understandingly and thinks that the two used to play pranks on other people.
    Faith gives Nea a fried fish and places at least a dozen skewers of bear meat on the fire. Nea again shares her fish with the dog. When she looks up, she notices the twins staring at her with tears in their eyes.
    As the first tear tumbles down Faith’s cheek, she says to Nea: “I really do not know how I can ever thank you for what you have done for me. You saved my life.”
    “No one else could have done such a thing for us. I was stupid and all I could do was yell hysterically, almost as though you had already died.” Hope says as a tear rolls down her thin cheeks.
    Nea feels uncomfortable because she does not feel like a hero. She acted with stupidity and carelessness. She realizes that throwing the stone at the bear was a stupid choice and would have reversed it if she could. Now that she only has a few painful injuries, she does not regret her rash behavior, but at the moment the bear was running toward her, it was definitely a harrowing moment.
    “And how you even saved the dog, it was just incredible,” Hope praises her further.
    “It was like something from television,” Faith adds sadly, but still manages to smile.
    Nea says nothing, but looks at the two of them in front of her so full of enthusiasm and tries in vain to ignore the lump in her throat. Tears form in her eyes because she feels bad about lying to them and her