Periwinkle's Arc

Chapter 15 of 17

The beds worked. The lost slept along the walls, and by morning most walked home. But one cold night showed Periwinkle the new danger. A young woman woke, ate, and rose too soon. She said she felt strong. She thanked Periwinkle and stepped out the door. An hour later the big bear found her collapsed in the snow, half a mile away. He carried her back. Her lips were blue. She had looked ready, but she was not. Periwinkle sat by the oven and watched the sleepers. Some would be strong enough to leave by dawn. Some would not. But she could not tell them apart. They all rose and said the same thing. They all thanked her and reached for the door. She had no way to know who could make the walk and who would fall. She tried counting their meals. She tried watching their steps. A tired man crossed the room without a stumble, then dropped at the threshold. A woman who could barely lift her spoon walked home fine. Her guesses failed. She kept a wanderer inside too long, and he grew restless and left angry. She let another go too soon, and the horse found him shivering by the stream. That night she stood in the doorway with no more ideas. The oven burned behind her. She had asked for help before. She lifted her eyes to the dark trees and asked again. The angel came. Her wings caught the oven light and threw it soft across the snow. She wore a long white robe, and her hair fell pale to her waist. She did not speak at first. She walked among the sleepers and held her hand above each one. Where her hand passed, a faint glow settled over the person, like a coal under ash. "When the glow fades," she said, "they are ready. While it holds, they must stay." Periwinkle knelt beside the young woman the bear had carried in. A dim light hung over her, weak as a dying ember. Beside her slept the old man from the night before. His glow was strong and bright. He could walk at dawn. "So I will know," Periwinkle said. "You will know." The angel folded her wings. "None will leave before their strength returns. None will fall in the cold again." She touched the doorframe, and the glow spread to every sleeper along the walls. Then she stepped back into the trees and was gone. By morning the old man's light had faded. He stood, steady, and walked out into the pale sun. The young woman's glow still held, dim but warm. Periwinkle set a fresh loaf by her bed and let her sleep. She had a house that fed the lost, warmed them, and let them rest. Now she could see when each was whole again. But the beds along the walls were full, and more sleepers came each night than left each morning.