Risha jumped out of the bed she had been lying in and was immediately confronted with her own reflection, staring back at her from a mirror which hung on the wall.
Upon studying herself, the first thing Risha noticed was the bandage around her head. Puzzled, she reached up and touched it lightly. A decision she immediately regret as the gesture caused her to wince in pain. The second thing which caught her attention, was the fact that she was not wearing her ordinary clothes. Instead, she was dressed only in a pink nightshirt, which ended at the waist. This discovery caused the lynx to frown; it wasn't that she wanted to appear ungrateful to her rescuer, whoever that was, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy over the fact that someone had apparently undressed her while she was unconscious.
Looking around the room, Risha noticed a chair on which someone had placed a green dress. She picked the dress up and studied it.
This must have been left here for me, she thought to herself. Its quite pretty. Hopefully, its the right size.
Having dressed, Risha decided that it was time to meet her mysterious rescuer and hopefully, get some answers. She was just about to leave the room, when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The next moment, the door opened and a small female otter, wearing a blue dress, appeared in the doorway.
The two girls stared at each other, surprise stamped across both their faces. The otter-girl was the first one to speak:
"You are awake", she said.
Risha was not sure what to say. Thankfully, she did not have to, as the newcomer repeated her statement, albeit much louder this time around.
"You! Are Awake!" This was followed by a torrent of words pouring out of her mouth:
"ThisissogreatJustwaittilluncleseesthishesaidyou'dneedatleastadaymoreorso..."She paused to catch her breath.
"Come with me", she urged, eagerly grabbing Risha's sleeve.
"Wait a minute", the lynx said, having finally regained the ability to speak. "Who are you and what is this place?"
"Oh, my name is Amelia and this is my uncle's house. He's the one who fixed you up. Well, I helped a little. For example, I bought you that dress. Well, not with my own money. Do you like it? Your old clothes were completely ruined."
"Its lovely", Risha said and meant every word. "Thank you, so much."
"So, will you come and meet my uncle now?"
"Of course."
"Then let's go!"
Amelia led Risha to a glass door, which opened up to a terrace, from which a stairway made out of stone, led down into a lush, well-kept garden. Not too far away, a figure, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and gardening gloves, was busy trimming a rosebush. The girls stopped on the lowest step and Amelia called out:
"Uncle! Yohoo!"
Upon hearing this sound, the figure turned around and called back.
"What is it, Amelia?"
"Come and see who's with me!"
The Uncle's features were obscured by his head-wear and so, Risha had not been able to make them out, until she was face to face with him. She was surprised to discover that he was not an otter, but a platypus. He seemed to be the same age as her father, give or take a few years and on the tip of his flat beak sat a pair of glasses, which he now removed and proceeded to polish with a piece of cloth, produced from his pocket.Having done so, he put them back on and gave a satisfied nod.
"That's better", he said and turned to Risha. "So, our convalescent is up and about? How are you feeling?"
"Mostly confused. The last thing I can recall was being in a lifeboat. Who are you and what is this place?
"Oh?" The platypus said, raising an eyebrow. "Hasn't Amelia told you?"
"Well, she sort of did, but it all went by really fast.."
"I understand. You must excuse her, she gets excited easily. Although, in this case, I can't say I blame her, we did not expect you to be on your feet for at least another day. To answer your questions, Risha; my name is Dr. Hieronymus and this place is known as Calopeia Island. Some of the local children found you washed up on the beach, they alerted me and, with the help of some of the adults, I brought you to my house. There, I took care of your head-wound and applied a healing salve to the bruises on your body, that's really all I can tell."
"So, that's what happened. Thank you, Doctor, for saving my life. If there's anything I can do..."
Hieronymus held up a webbed-hand.
"Let me stop you right there, Risha. It is my calling to save lives, you owe me nothing."
"Nonetheless..." Risha began and stopped. She had just realized something: "My name", she said."You said my name before. How could you know? I never told it to you."
"No, you didn't", said the doctor and paused for dramatic effect. "But your brother did", he finished.
The doctor's revelation was met with stunned silence. Risha felt a wave of relief, bigger than any of those that had brought her to this island, wash over her. Spontaneously, she wrapped her arms around the doctor's neck and gave him a small peck on the cheek.
"He's alive", she said. "Oh, thank you, Doctor. Nothing could have made me happier." She looked around, half-expecting Leorin to pop out of a bush, like a jack-in-the-box. "Where is he?" She asked.
"I must go to him."
"The others are alive too", Amelia revealed. "Come, I'll take you them."
"Prepared for another defeat?" He asked jokingly, while tossing the ball in his right paw. "Here it comes..."
It never did. Instead, Leorin found himself staring wide-eyed at a spot a few steps behind his fellow player, the racket slipped out of his grip, but he paid it no attention. Instead, all he could do was stare, while a joyous grin spread across his face.
"Risha! You're awake!" He called out, running towards his sister. Seconds later, the two siblings embraced each other and were soon joined by Merees and Luke and although not a single tear was dry, the tears that were shed were not tears of sorrow, but of relief and happiness.
"You! Are Awake!" This was followed by a torrent of words pouring out of her mouth:
"ThisissogreatJustwaittilluncleseesthishesaidyou'dneedatleastadaymoreorso..."She paused to catch her breath.
"Come with me", she urged, eagerly grabbing Risha's sleeve.
"Wait a minute", the lynx said, having finally regained the ability to speak. "Who are you and what is this place?"
"Oh, my name is Amelia and this is my uncle's house. He's the one who fixed you up. Well, I helped a little. For example, I bought you that dress. Well, not with my own money. Do you like it? Your old clothes were completely ruined."
"Its lovely", Risha said and meant every word. "Thank you, so much."
"So, will you come and meet my uncle now?"
"Of course."
"Then let's go!"
Amelia led Risha to a glass door, which opened up to a terrace, from which a stairway made out of stone, led down into a lush, well-kept garden. Not too far away, a figure, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and gardening gloves, was busy trimming a rosebush. The girls stopped on the lowest step and Amelia called out:
"Uncle! Yohoo!"
Upon hearing this sound, the figure turned around and called back.
"What is it, Amelia?"
"Come and see who's with me!"
The Uncle's features were obscured by his head-wear and so, Risha had not been able to make them out, until she was face to face with him. She was surprised to discover that he was not an otter, but a platypus. He seemed to be the same age as her father, give or take a few years and on the tip of his flat beak sat a pair of glasses, which he now removed and proceeded to polish with a piece of cloth, produced from his pocket.Having done so, he put them back on and gave a satisfied nod.
"That's better", he said and turned to Risha. "So, our convalescent is up and about? How are you feeling?"
"Mostly confused. The last thing I can recall was being in a lifeboat. Who are you and what is this place?
"Oh?" The platypus said, raising an eyebrow. "Hasn't Amelia told you?"
"Well, she sort of did, but it all went by really fast.."
"I understand. You must excuse her, she gets excited easily. Although, in this case, I can't say I blame her, we did not expect you to be on your feet for at least another day. To answer your questions, Risha; my name is Dr. Hieronymus and this place is known as Calopeia Island. Some of the local children found you washed up on the beach, they alerted me and, with the help of some of the adults, I brought you to my house. There, I took care of your head-wound and applied a healing salve to the bruises on your body, that's really all I can tell."
"So, that's what happened. Thank you, Doctor, for saving my life. If there's anything I can do..."
Hieronymus held up a webbed-hand.
"Let me stop you right there, Risha. It is my calling to save lives, you owe me nothing."
"Nonetheless..." Risha began and stopped. She had just realized something: "My name", she said."You said my name before. How could you know? I never told it to you."
"No, you didn't", said the doctor and paused for dramatic effect. "But your brother did", he finished.
The doctor's revelation was met with stunned silence. Risha felt a wave of relief, bigger than any of those that had brought her to this island, wash over her. Spontaneously, she wrapped her arms around the doctor's neck and gave him a small peck on the cheek.
"He's alive", she said. "Oh, thank you, Doctor. Nothing could have made me happier." She looked around, half-expecting Leorin to pop out of a bush, like a jack-in-the-box. "Where is he?" She asked.
"I must go to him."
"The others are alive too", Amelia revealed. "Come, I'll take you them."
*****
In another part of the garden, Merees and Leorin was entertaining themselves by playing a game of badminton, while Luke acted as the referee. Currently, Leorin had the lead and it was his turn to serve:
"Prepared for another defeat?" He asked jokingly, while tossing the ball in his right paw. "Here it comes..."
It never did. Instead, Leorin found himself staring wide-eyed at a spot a few steps behind his fellow player, the racket slipped out of his grip, but he paid it no attention. Instead, all he could do was stare, while a joyous grin spread across his face.
"Risha! You're awake!" He called out, running towards his sister. Seconds later, the two siblings embraced each other and were soon joined by Merees and Luke and although not a single tear was dry, the tears that were shed were not tears of sorrow, but of relief and happiness.
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