Shau'i - Chapter 3 – Lost T-Shirt
#3 of Shau'i
Next day Tom woke up with a strange hot feeling around his shoulder and arm. Someone was blowing hot air onto him. He already wanted to jerk his arm in response but realized that his hand was locked tightly with a furry paw.
His eyes flew open wide as the memories of the previous day came back to his still foggy mind. Then he looked sideways concernedly. She had cuddled her head against his shoulder, looking very peaceful and sweet. He smiled slightly at the sight, but as his mind moved on the smile slid right off his face. His previous day seemed so surreal and even her existence seemed impossible.
He pinched himself hard with his free hand, feeling a sharp pain.
<Well, at least I'm not dreaming,> he thought.
He lifted up his right hand and began to stroke her lightly on her head.
<She seems real enough,> he thought, smiling again. He decided to put his doubts aside for now and make the best of this situation.
A few minutes later she began to stir. When she opened her eyes at last, she gave a frightened jerk backwards.
"It's alright, it's me," Tom whispered, and he cupped her cheek gently with his hand.
As soon as she remembered the previous day her expression relaxed and she snuggled her head more into his caressing hand. But after a few glorious moments her initial adrenaline rush ebbed away and it came back to her in full measure.
PAIN!
Every single particle in her body screamed as if on fire, and every little movement came at the cost of more torment. Her breathing became fast and ragged. Tom could feel her tense up and tremble beside him and felt really bad that he was unable to help her. But still, he tried his best to make her comfortable. He stood up and shifted her gently so that she lay on her back, then checked on her bandages.
Luckily all of her cuts had stopped bleeding and looked much better already. Tom had to do all of this with just one hand, as his other one was still tightly locked with her paw, reassuring and calming her. But now it was a bit of a problem, as he wanted to make breakfast. He was very hungry, and by the sound of her rumbling stomach, she was as well. Bending down he whispered into her ear, "Could I please have my hand back?" smiling warmly.
She just stared at him, not understanding a single word. Tom raised their intertwined hands and she finally realized what he wanted. As Tom's hand was free he stroked her cheek a few times and whispered, "Thanks."
Then he went to the small kitchen, fixing breakfast.
Twenty minutes later he was back, carrying a tray laden with hot tea, milk and toast. Tom set the tablet down on the living room table and motioned her to come over. As she tried to get up she nearly fell out of the bed. They had both underestimated how weak she still was. Only adrenaline had kept her on her feet the day before. He hurried over and helped her back into a more comfortable position, muttering "I'm sorry," then he brought the tablet and set it down on the bed beside her. He offered her some toast but she wasn't even able to raise her arm anymore. In the end Tom had one hand on her back, propping her up, and feeding her with his other hand. It was a very slow procedure.
After about half an hour she finally had enough and Tom eased her back on the bed. She wanted to thank him, but didn't manage more than a grateful look towards him. Tom watched her closely and somehow got the message. He smiled kindly and said, "You're welcome," and stroked once over her right cheek. Now that she had her fill, Tom's stomach announced itself again.
After Tom had eaten too, silence fell.
A few thoughtful minutes later Tom spoke, "You know what? I think it's finally time for a proper introduction ... I'm Tom."
Of course, she didn't understand a single word but that didn't matter to him. She just stared at him.
He smiled and repeated, "Tom," and gestured at himself, "Tom."
Then he gestured at her expectantly, waiting. Her eyes widened in comprehension when she finally got his meaning.
"Shau'i," she replied weakly, the corners of her lips twitching upwards.
"Shau'i," Tom muttered, "What a wonderful name." Now he was smiling too.
Then Tom began to teach her the name of every object his eyes fell on in his house. It was incredible how fast Shau'i memorized everything. She mostly even got the pronunciation right on her first try, leaving Tom perplexed. Soon he could be heard muttering "Incredible ... just incredible".
When there was nothing left to see in his cottage, Tom got his laptop, sat on the bed beside her, and continued, searching the Internet for pictures and video clips to show her. This went on for another half an hour, until Shau'i suddenly didn't respond anymore. She had dozed off, leaning her head against his side.
Tom watched her for a few minutes and then opened his project on the laptop, continuing the design of the new electronic circuit for his work.
He was very lucky, he had a job at a small but important electronics company, engineering support systems for firefighters and civil defense. He worked mostly at home and only had to check in at the company to hand in his work or coordinate himself with his fellow engineers.
*
The rest of the day passed quickly, Tom only left his work to prepare lunch and dinner while Shau'i either rested, observed his work, or was being fed by him.
From time to time they also went on with the English lessons.
The biggest problem throughout the day was when Shau'i needed to go to the bathroom.
He carried her in his arms because she still couldn't stand herself. And in the end he even had to to guide her hand as she wiped herself off with a trembling paw, making him look away and blush furiously. Shau'i on the other hand was just grateful that he was so kind to her and didn't take advantage of her.
After lunch, at which Tom outdid himself, bringing up Goulash and Rice, Shau'i thanked him with a few words of her newly learned English and a radiant smile. She even looked a bit healthier after the meal. Tom, then, helped her back to the bed, feeling happier than he could remember for a long time.
But his happy feelings didn't last very long. After Shau'i was asleep he went to finally unpack his rucksack. After pulling out the last item he suddenly realized something:
"SHIT!!" Tome swore loudly.
His radio was missing. And what was worse, it had his callsign engraved on it's side. What if someone found it near the crash site ...
But Tom regretted his outburst immediately as he heard a loud creak from his bedroom. Putting his backpack hastily away he went over to find Shau'i sitting bolt upright in the bed, her eyes wide and frightened.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Tom began, trying to calm her, but it was no good.
He seemed to have triggered the memory of a deep trauma. Shau'i just sat there, with dilated pupils, breathing heavily and obviously reliving some wanted-to-forgotten horror. After a few more moments she even began to twitch slightly with her head, and Tom became very worried. She didn't respond to his voice nor when he waved his hand in front of her. As he gripped both her arms, shaking her slightly she finally turned her her eyes on him with a violent jerk.
Tom could see immediately that this wasn't over yet. There was a cold gleam stirring behind her still dilated and fearful pupils. Then she lunged, right on top of him, scratching and slashing every part of him she could reach with her claws.
Tom barely managed to scream "SHAU'I! STOP!"
To his amazement she did. Hearing her name seemed to have snapped her out of the trance. After cautiously lowering his arms Tom saw that she was kneeling beside him, her gaze on her open paws and still extended claws. Feeling his eyes on her, she glanced up for a moment. Then she jumped up and bolted for the door.
"Hey!" Tom shouted after her, "What was that?!".
He was angry that she was gone without explanation and wanted to run after her. But as he got up he noticed his shredded T-shirt and, what was worse, his left arm with three deep, bleeding gashes. Tom ripped off the remains of his T-shirt and wound it tightly around his bleeding arm. "Great. Now the carpet matches the bed," he grumbled in angry sarcasm, thinking about his and her, not yet healed, injuries from her crash. Then he stomped over to the front door and pulled it open, looking into the darkness outside. Shau'i was nowhere to be seen.
An instant later Tom noticed a faint sniffling coming from below. Looking down he saw Shau'i sitting at the wall just beside the door with her head on her knees, crying. She didn't notice his presence at first, her crying still building, giving off miserable howls and moans.
Tom couldn't stand it. His anger draining away instantly, he sat down beside her and put his less injured arm around her shoulders. Shau'i flinched horribly at his touch but didn't throw him off. She just continued sobbing.
It took almost twenty minutes until she hiccuped herself into silence.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"No, It's okay! I think it was my fault," Tom encountered, "I'm sorry you had to go through this because of me."
"It is not your fault."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She shook her head slightly, new tears sparkling in her eyes.