"But you have to eat. You have to maintain your strength."
"Cough, cough, cough... that's funny. I should be taking care of you. Not the other way around."
Lincoln put the plate on the table, then wet the cloth with water and placed it back on Albert's forehead. "Really. At least drink the medicine."
"Should I do this?" The old man sometimes acts like a child. Because he didn't like the taste of the medicine.
"Yes, Grandpa, I know it tastes bad. But you have to take it."
Lincoln fills the spoon and holds it out to his grandfather. The old man was initially reluctant to take it but then relented. At first, he had trouble swallowing it, but he succeeded with a little effort.
"Well done, Grandpa. Rest now." Lincoln tucked his grandfather in and then left the room with the bowl of soup.
After washing the dish, he sat on the sofa. The boy felt helpless. Just by touching his grandfather's forehead, he could feel his temperature increasing day by day. The combination medications didn't seem to work, and the storm was so bad that it knocked out phone lines, making it impossible to contact the doctors. But that won't stop Lincoln. He would never again allow his weakness to cost another member of his family, as it did to Lisa. "If we can't go, I'll bring them here."
Lincoln put on his thick coat and snow boots and headed into town with the help of his cane. Even though they lived far away from the town, Lincoln knew the way instinctively. He knew every number of steps he had to take and every curve he had to take in the city to get to the clinic, but the boy underestimated the storm.
It was so strong that the wind uprooted some trees. Lincoln buried his cane to keep his steps steady, so he wouldn't be pushed around by the force of the storm. But the wind grew stronger, and Lincoln was sent into the woods, where he hit his head on a tree and lost consciousness.
Slowly, Lincoln woke up to a warm fire in Edenshaw cabin. The old man was roasting a chicken in the fireplace when he heard the boy groaning in pain.
"Oh, you're awake, Lincoln."
"Mr. Edenshaw? What happened to me?"
"I found you behind my house. I think you hit your head. Here, drink something to warm you up." The Indian gives Lincoln a cup of tea, and the boy accepts it.
"It's the second time in my life I've been flying and crashing into a tree."
"Things happen for a reason. Perhaps spirits have a very great destiny planned for you."
"Well, I wish they were less painful to do that for. By the way, how long was I unconscious?"
"About an hour, more or less."
"An hour!?" Lincoln suddenly stood up from the couch where he was lying and said, "I have to get to town. I left my grandfather home alone."
"Why do you want to go into town in this storm, Lincoln?"
"My grandfather has a bad fever. He is barely eating, and the medicines we have are doing nothing for him. I am really worried."
"I'm afraid it won't do you any good to go into town, Lincoln."
"What? Why do you say that?"
"I went there a few days ago. The entrance bridge to the city was completely frozen. If you tried to cross it in this wind, you would slip and fall to one side. I almost fell that day."
"What? The bridge!? But it's the only way to get into town."
"I'm sorry, Lincoln. But under these circumstances, no one can enter or leave."
"Now what will I do? My grandfather is very sick."
"Okay. There's a way to help him."
"What? Really? Tell me which one, Master."
"I can prepare a potion of medicinal herbs that will cure your grandfather in a few days. But there is a problem."
"What is it, Master?"
"I'm missing an ingredient. I need sap from a very specific tree. This is the main ingredient of the medicine."
"Sap? With this climate, it would be impossible to extract it. The trees would have to be frozen."
"Not this tree. It's the only tree whose roots are so deep that it's fed by geothermal water sources, so it's always at a warm temperature."
"So it's a tree that likes hot water."
"That's right, Lincoln. It'll be easy to find because it gives off a nice temperature, and in this climate, you'll feel it more."
"What do we expect next? Let's go for this sap." Lincoln got up, but Edenshaw stopped him.
"Not so fast, Lincoln. You stay here."
"What? No, of course I won't."
"Lincoln, the place where the tree is is too dangerous for a child."
"It's my grandfather we're talking about. I don't care how serious it is; I won't sit by while others have a problem. I've already failed my sister. I won't let you down, Master. I don't care what you say. I'll go with you."
"You have a will that goes far beyond your age, Lincoln." Edenshaw gives Lincoln a thicker coat. Really warm. With freshly cooked and packed chicken, a sled, and a container for storing the sap, as well as a backpack with ropes, they set out in search of the tree and its valuable sap.
The wind was blowing stronger and stronger, and the snowflakes felt like icy shards of glass that sank to the bone. The wise old man and the albino boy entered the depths of the Devil's Forest, named for its great danger.