Chapter Seven

Angus POV

I could feel something in the air, stirring, it gave off an eery feeling. Like something bad was close by or something horrible was going to happen. I’ve been in hiding and moving around the country side with my grandmother since I was young, but it was never that was, I grew up in Salem Village with my family, but when people started to accuse people of witch craft and executing them, we fled. My whole family was accused, but my grandmother and I were gone before they could put us in jail, I lost my whole family to the accusations that flew around, like vultures to a carcass. I was only eleven at the time of the events, so my grandmother had to raise me, she lost everything that day too, her son and her grandchildren. Everyday we would move to a new location, but when it was springtime, we would travel to Portsmouth for the markets to get more supplies, for some foods we would either hunt for them or gather the wild fruits that would grow close.

I was shattered out of my head when I heard my grandmother coughing, she seemed to be getting frail and very ill lately, which worried me greatly. She’s all I have, and she taught me everything I know. I don’t know what I am going to do without her. *COUGH COUGH* I heard her go again, the cough seemed to be getting worse, which didn’t mean great things, but my grandmother just continued like it was another day. “How about we rest here Grandma, we need some rest” I say, with worry laced in my voice. She agreed, so I headed off to collect some firework to keep us warm and to cook up dinner, while she put blankets down on the dirt and sticks for us to lie on, as that will be where we sleep for the night. We don’t have much of anything just some blankets, a pot, plates, forks, and a cup. We do have a knife, but that’s used for hunting or skinning our prey, along with a makeshift fishing rod with old string we found and a piece of wood. I shook to clear my head and do the task that was needed to be done, I went ahead and collected wood for the fire and returned back to the camp to find that Grandmother had drifted off to sleep. So, I quietly lite the fire to keep her warm and wondered off again with the fishing rod to catch our meal and gather other foods to have with it too. When I returned back to the campsite with all the food that I gathered, I heard my grandma start to cough in her sleep. Trying not to get distracted by my worry, I grabbed the pot and started to cook up our dinner, when it was ready, I woke up my grandmother and gave her a serving. “Fish stew grandma” I said, she didn’t reply just started eating. After we ate, I decided it was best to talk to my grandmother about seeing someone for her cough, I know she won’t like it, but I can’t go loosing her. She’s all I have left, but it would be best to ask her about it in the morning, so I got up and headed to the creek to wash the dishes. When I returned my grandmother was fast asleep, still coughing in her sleep. Instead of staying up all night worrying, I decided it best to lie down next to her and get some sleep. Luckily, it was a warm night, but there was only a slight chill, meaning winter wasn’t that long due.

The next morning, I found that my grandmother wasn’t next to, I was about to start to panic when she arrived with some gatherings of herbs, fruit, and some honey. She made us both breakfast, that’s when I decided this will the best and maybe the only time to talk to her about my concerns. Trying to build up the courage, I didn’t notice that my grandmother was watching me, clearly knowing that I wanted to say something. “Dear, what is it that is making you pull those ridiculous faces for” My grandmother questioned me. Taking a deep breathe, I replied with a shaky voice, “Can you see a doctor in the next village that we pass, as your coughing is getting worse.” She looked at me for a few minutes before replying “There is no point, I am health s a beaver, anyways we can just collect a few herbs to make a cough syrup if that will make you feel a little better.” Knowing that she wouldn’t agree to seeing someone, I agreed to making a cough syrup. So, I got up and went looking for the ingredients that would be needed to make it. After I collected the ingredients, I returned to the campsite and put them into the boiling water. My grandmother must’ve started the fire and collected some water while I was gone. We waited about an hour, before pouring it into a cup for my grandmother to drink, she pulled a stank face, but finished it all off. It made me worry less, but I knew she should be seeing a doctor. Afterwards, we cleaned up the camp area and started on our journey again.