Pink October

10/1/72

Shona cut fiercely at the rootworm. Her morning was a complete bitch! Toji-san messed up everyone’s schedules again! The staff had to take a census by hand. That was a complete nightmare. Finally the crew got a break. So Shona decided to slip out and take Kili out for some herb collecting in the woods behind the school.

“Come on, cut damnit!” the Portuguese siren hissed as she wrestled with the clippers on the thick root. Kili stood quietly. She knew to stay away from a TZA girl when she was pissed. The results were deadly! Finally, the root separated from the plant and fell into Shona’s hand. “At last!” she said relived. Then she put her yellowish-brown prize into her green plastic bag. Shona looked up at her child companion. “You’ve been quiet the entire time.” she spoke up. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing, nothing.” the Italian girl replied. Shona just shrugged and continued her hobby. Kili followed behind.

The girls came near a creek a few miles down. Kili froze in panic. “Ava Maria!!!” she cried. Shona stopped cold in her tracks. “What’s wrong Angie?” the siren asked. Kili was too pale to speak. Instead, she pointed below near the bank. Shona looked down and saw the horror.

A young soldier was lying near the river dying. His wounds were ghastly. His forehead was gashed; gunshot wounds were on his chest and arms, and cuts and burns did the rest. But the worst thing aside from his wounds and tore uniform was the snakebite on his right leg.

Shona was sick with worry. “We’ve got to help him!” she cried out. Then, Shona slid down the slope to the dying soldier. Kili watched from above. Shona examined her patient closely. The snakebite was fresh. She checked his pulse in his wrist. It was very weak. Shona sighed relief. He was still. But she had to act quickly. Shona crushed up her herbs against a few stones she found and pressed them against the soldier’s wounds. “Angie!” Shona called. “Help me carry him to Mina!” The young intern nodded and slid down to them. Shona picked the soldier up by the arms and shoulders and Kili grabbed him by the ankles. The ladies carried their patient through a shortcut back to the academy.

Despite the stench, lice, and weight that was crushing them, the trip was pretty easy. Shona and Kili went through the back way of the Main Hall. They took the stairs because waiting for the lift would kill the precious time slipping away. They found Mina outside of the nurse’s office folding sheets. “Mina!” Shona called as they caught her. The nurse looked up. Shona, Kili, and the wounded soldier were in front of her. “Holy crap!!! What the hell happened?!?” she yelled. “Long story!” Shona called. “Just help! He’s dying!” Mina nodded and assisted the girls with the soldier.

While at her work, Shona told Mina about how she found the soldier near the river dying while she was out collecting herbs. Mina was intrigued by her story. “Any hope?” Shona asked as her heart raced. Mina kept a serious look on her face. “I’ll see what I can do. I can’t make any promises.” she said strongly. Shona just nodded and went outside the room.

Shona sat in a chair in the hall. Her heart felt heavy. She felt close to the young soldier already. Pity was the emotion in her soul. If one took away the uniform, the young soldier would be just a young man left to die by a river in the woods. This war was a bastard.

Shona didn’t even feel hungry for lunch or return to the census counting. Her mind was on the soldier slowly losing his life. She hoped he would do a one-eighty and bounce back. Kili said on the way back to the school that she felt the chill of death pass over them. The Portuguese siren thought that death had another friend to play with.

In the late afternoon, Mina came back out. Shona rushed to her quickly. Despair was in her eyes. Mina smiled. Shona relaxed.

“He will be recovering for weeks.” the nurse said. “But you have to take care of him now.” Shona nodded. “I will,” she said. “I will.”

Thus, the bloom of sweet romance.