Chapter 153

Chapter 153 Water from the lake
BECKY
Dic kson and I stepped into the woman’s home, and the moment we did, the strong scent of herbs tickled my nose even through my mask. The scent was pleasant but erring on the side of too potent, and winced slightly.
The woman led us to her parlor, and as we stepped through the kitchen, I was reminded of my home back in Anemond. Her house was cozy and simple, and my heart ached a little as I thought of my mother.
Once we entered the other room, the woman stared at me for a second. Though her eyes were bright, the rest of her looked exhausted. Her skin was deathly pale, and though she wore a top with a high collar, I could see a prominent back mark that spanned from her n*eck to her ear.
“Please, take a seat,” she said, and she gestured at the round white dining room table. “Can I make you some teap
Dic kson and I glanced at one another as we took a seat.
“No thank you,” I said as I shook my head politely. “I appreciate your hospitality, but we’re here to ask you a few questions. We won’t take up much of your time, ma’am, I promise.”
The woman’s expression sank even further and her l*ps curled down slightly.
“I don’t have any answers for you,” she whispered.
“Anything can help,” I tried to coax it out of her. “Angela sent us. She said you might be able to help us. We’re on your side here. We just want to help.”
At the mention of Angela’s name, the woman’s l*ps parted in surprise and then she took a long, deep breath.
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“You can’t help us, miss,” she replied, and she gripped the back of one of the dining room chairs tightly as she stared at the floor. “We’re cursed. No one can help
us.”
“How do you know that?” I asked, and I leaned forward in my seat and rested my hands on the table.
The woman’s chest heaved up and down and her lower l*p trembled..
“D-d-d-don’t you see h-healer?” she asked as she gestured at her n*eck, and her voice grew louder as she began to emotionally break down. “Everyone here was infected with this…thing. It’s been so long and no one has been able to cure the disease. People have been dying left and right. There are so few of us left now.”
As she dissolved into tears, I started to stand, but Dic kson gripped my arm and shook his head. I wanted nothing more than to soothe the poor woman, but if the disease was really as rampant in this part of the country as she was making it seem, then we couldn’t get too close.
We remained silent until the woman calmed down a bit. She took long, deep breaths until finally, she was able to raise her head and look at us again.
“Whatever questions you have, I’m not sure if I can help you,” she said. “I know very grew little. No one knows how the disease got started so no one knows why it
more severe.”
I was about to ask a follow-up question, but before the words could escape my mouth, the woman spoke again.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I need to take care of my husband. He’s far iller than I am. If your hand is better, miss, you should leave.”
Dic kson and I shared another look and then I nodded. We rose from our seats and just as we prepared to follow the woman out, another question escaped me.
“Why are people taking water from the lake?” I wondered. “When we arrived, we saw women there filling up containers. As far as we know, the whole village has tap water. So why draw from the lake?”
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The woman didn’t appear as if she were going to answer, and then finally, she
sighed.
“By taking the water, we can slow the progress of the disease.”
“How?” I asked.
The woman huffed impatiently and gestured toward the door. She glared at me
angrily.
“Please leave,” she demanded. “Immediately.”
Dic kson and I wasted no time and nodded. We scrambled out of the house quickly and once we reached the lawn, I released a heavy sigh.
“Well, that didn’t go how I thought it would,” I murmured.
I stared back at the house and my mind began to spin. I hadn’t intended Angela’s friend to give us all of the answers we required, but I’d expected far more than she’d given. At the very least, at least we got to witness the disease. It was obvious that the people of the mountain really were sick.
Had Angela been correct?
Had the disease originated from here?
“Are you okay?” Dic kson asked as he gestured at my still-red hand.
I nodded. “I’m alright. I appreciate you asking.”
“Of course,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go to the village and see if we can find someone else to help us.”
After we shared a nod, we walked further into the residential area. As we meandered through the village, it seemed obvious that everyone was trying to avoid us. I wasn’t sure if it could be attributed to our masks or the fact that we were outsiders, but either way, we couldn’t get much information.
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“Dic kson, what do you think about what the woman said?” I asked after a while.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, and he took off his gla*ses and wiped the fog from the lenses on the hem of his shirt. “But I doubt the water from the lake could be
effective.”
I nodded. “I figured as much. But there’s no reason for the woman to lie. Since there are villagers taking water from the lake, we should try to collect a sample. We can test it in the lab and make sure there aren’t any properties we weren’t aware of.”
We decided that since we weren’t making good progress with the villagers and it was unlikely anyone would give us information, we should head back to the clinic. On the way out, we asked the driver to take us back to the lake.
When we arrived, I was surprised to see another group of women collecting water in buckets.
I grabbed a test tube from my medical kit and Dic kson and I approached the lake, but when we got closer, the women rushed away. I fought back a sigh. I wished we could speak to them, but I wasn’t going to force them into a conversation.
So, I took a sample of the water, and once it was collected, we returned to the car and headed back to the clinic.
Our drive was silent but short.
When we arrived back at the clinic, I wanted to go to sleep, but before I retired to the office’s couch, I decided to check in with Angela.
Thankfully, she and Marina were still awake, and they offered me smiles as! approached.
“Healer Becky,” Angela said. “You’re back.”
“I am,” I said with a small smile. “I went to the mountain area. I tried to speak with your friend but she didn’t want to answer any questions.”
ΕΠ