Chapter 3 - The Stranger Part 2.

“Alex…” Sam said, almost freaking out inside. – Calm down, let me have a look. - He said and pulled Alex's face in a way that she could look into his eyes.

Sam can't decide which is more amazing, the deep blue present in the iris, or the redness around it. All she can think of is one word "damn."

– Do you know what happened to me? - Alex asked, distressed and trying to stay as calm as possible at the moment, which was not much.

– Did you squint your eyes? – Asked Sam, looking into the young man's eyes and trying to discover anything.

– Hm. - The young man agreed, which did not relieve Sam's anxiety much.

– So that must be it. – Sam said, trying to convey confidence. “If this doesn't go away until I finish bandaging you up, let's go to a friend, he should be able to sort this out…but now, let's wash his eyes. – He spoke as he took a large bottle of fresh water from his bag.

Sam helped Alex wash his eyes. Even though she tried not to show it, she really was very tense. She had never blinded anyone, even if it was unintentionally. It is possible that she is more anxious for him to see again than Alex is.

After washing his eyes, Sam gave Alex some water to drink. Still freaked out by the amount of blood that was on her hand as she supported the boy, Sam hurried to see the situation around her waist.

– Sam?

- Hi?

– Why are you helping me? – Alex asked, confused. After all, Sam was a girl, a lady, and she was helping him, a strange man she'd never seen before.

Sam stopped what she was doing for the moment, looked at the man, and for a moment, didn't know how to respond. She herself was confused by this. How to explain such behavior? Should she say “I saw I needed help and decided to help”? She herself knows that she shouldn't deal with a stranger in such a way. But not what could she do? She just felt like she should.

- Because I am. And why did you accept my help? I can be a forest monster.

– I don't think so. - Alex said shrugging his shoulders. “And anyway, it's not like I really have a choice. In the condition I'm in, I'd die easily. And you haven't killed me so far, so I don't think you would.

Since Alex stopped talking, which made Sam thank heavens, she decided it would be best to continue what she had started, to see the boy's injuries.

As she imagined, the bears hit Alex, as he has deep marks from his claws, marks that go from his belly to the middle of the coast. It really hurt just looking at it. Which made Sam think that this young man has a lot of resistance to pain, as it really is awful.

“I'm going to need you to stay seated, Alex. – Sam said as she carefully pulled the man up.

- You live far away? – asked Sam.

– Not much, why?

- Well, I'm going to clean and make a simple dressing only. And we don't have doctors in the nearest places.

– How not? Alex asked, clearly confused.

– You are clearly not from the region. - Sam said looking at Alex with curiosity. – We had a doctor in the area, but he left last year. So he doesn't have a doctor available in the next five villages. And even last year, he wouldn't be able to do much for you.

Alex was silent and seemed to get lost in some thoughts. Sam, taking advantage of the moment of silence, started digging through his bag for something that could be used. And Mel forgive her, but she would have to use the cloth she gave him, it's the only one available.

Sam ripped a piece of his cloth and rubbed it carefully over Alex's skin, drying the wounds.

“Now I need you to stay put. – Sam said, wrapping the thin cloth around Alex's abdomen.

– How is your vision? – Sam asked as he finished making a simple bandage.

“It's not very good, but at least I'm not blind. - Alex replied with a dry laugh.

Sam really felt helpless, she couldn't take strangers with her, but she couldn't leave him in the middle of the woods either.

Alex's vision was supposed to be back to normal, but that obviously hadn't happened yet, and Sam couldn't tell if he'd be back in a few minutes or hours. But she was getting ready to spend the night in the woods.

How could she abandon the person she'd even accidentally left blind? And how could she explain the boy to any of her friends? It's not like she can say, "Look what I found in the woods. Cute, right? I got it to create."

So all she could do was wait, even if waiting wasn't something she liked to do. She just couldn't do more than that. And if the young man's eyesight doesn't recover at least 70% or 80%, enough for him to go home, he might just think about doing something else, maybe dying.

Let's wait a little longer... - Sam said as he handed Alex's shirt back.

Alex put on his shirt and lay down so the cloth wouldn't come loose,

– Sam? - She called Alex.

– Hm?

- Where do you live?

– Close by. Is that you?

– A little farther.

And the silence was present again, which did not put either of them at ease.

– What were you doing in the forest? – asked Sam.

– I was hunting. - Alex replied, after a few seconds of silence. - Is that you?

– I was also hunting.

- I've never seen you around this region. – Said Sam, she was really curious about it. It's not as if the region is even touristy, or as if people move there often.

– It's because I'm not from the region. - Said Alex. - I'm from the capital.

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