THE CHOSEN ONES ( PART FORTY NINE )

As Bella waited calmly in the tree...looking on at
the scene below, she wondered what would happen to
her, if hunters came now, 'I will be all alone,'
she thought, 'what will I do?'

Mean while Arvid was still interested in why the old lady was out here alone. "I promise I will leave, if you want me to, but please tell me what's
happened here? perhaps I can help you."

The old lady turned to him, "I want to die, nothing
else to live for, everything is gone." Her wrinkled
face was wet with tears. "Why didn't they take me,
I'm so old and tired of running, please let me die!" she cried.

"You should not talk like that old woman." said
Arvid, he had a feeling bad hunters had been there.

He looked at the bundle on the old ladies lap,
blood still dripping. He knelt down beside the old
woman and put a hand on her shoulder, "please let
me help you!"

"There's nothing you can do," she replied, "all my
family are dead, every single one...look what they
did to my Great Grandchild."

The old woman unfolded the bundle, there laying on
the old woman's lap...was a tiny body of a baby,
Arvid froze, he had thought the old woman had a
dead animal wrapped up, never imagining it would
be a baby.

He felt sick to the stomach, at the thought that
anyone could do such a thing. This was most definitely the worst experience he'd had so far,
tears almost filled his eyes, as he rubbed them
away quickly.

The old woman covered the tiny body again, as Arvid
remembered that Bella was still up in the tree, he
called out to her. "Bella it's okay, you can come
down now." He turned to the old woman, "please tell
me your name."

The old lady still clutching the bundle, looked up
at Arvid with such sad eyes, "my name is Bess, so
who are you?"

Arvid turned to see Bella approaching, then he
turned back to the old woman. "My name is Arvid and
this is my young friend Bella."

Arvid could see the woman was not really listening.
He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he sensed her coldness.

Bella enquired what was going on? she saw the ashes
and the sadness in the old woman's face.

Suddenly Bess looked up, looking at Bella, she cried, "Summer! you're alive, you're not dead!"
Bess became very excited...she looked at Bella with
a sudden smile, her eyes lighting up. "Oh! Summer,
come and give your Great Granny a kiss."

Bella was confused, she looked at Arvid for support, then at Bess. "My name is Bella, I'm sorry, but I'm not your Grandchild."

Bess looked away, she was even more confused, then she began to rock again, staring at nothing, she became distant...her mind wandering, she thought to herself, 'oh why, oh why, didn't the hunters
take me aswell?'

To be continued .........THE CHOSEN ONES ( PART FIFTY ) | ABCtales