Ella Awakened (3 page)

As soon as
Burke made the necessary calls, he headed out the back door and down another
slate path to his pride and joy - the greenhouse.  He had made it himself,
mostly out of vintage salvaged windows.  The single room was about fifteen by
twenty feet, making it the perfect size for one caretaker.  Plants on shelves
of various heights lined three walls.  The fourth wall was centered with the
door Burke now entered through.  On either side of the door were workstations
with stone countertops displaying a variety of equipment that would make any
chemist proud.  In the center of the room was a well-worn chair with a small
table next to it.  If a botanist ever happened to enter the room, the chair
would come in handy as a place to collapse and catch his or her breath after
glimpsing the extraordinary vegetation.  Mixed in with the easily recognizable
plants, were incredibly intricate flowers in colors never before seen by the
human eye.  Some of them almost seemed to vibrate they were so bright.  The
yellow and brown spotted blossoms of a Tiger Orchid looked relatively plain and
indistinct as it sat on a shelf next to a pot full of electric blue and pink
striated trumpet-like flowers with glowing yellow specks scattered down their
tubular centers.  Savory aromas that could calm or entice unlike anything known
to man emanated not only from the diverse blooms, but also from the potted
herbs nestled here and there throughout the room.

It was toward
a section of herbs that Burke now headed after grabbing a mortar off one of the
counters.  He pinched a few small sprigs of soft needle-like leaves from a
blush pink woody perennial.  After placing them into the mortar, he crossed the
room to a small bluish green plant with broad flat leaves.  He picked several
leaves and tore them into tiny pieces before dropping them into the mortar. 
Next, he slowly headed toward a beautiful hibiscus tree in a large pot in the
corner.  Burke wasn’t interested in the large yellow hibiscus blossoms today;
it was the flowers on the lime green cascading tendrils sharing the hibiscus pot
that he needed.  He held out his hand and sang softly.  The tendrils lifted and
lay themselves across his palm.  After resting the mortar on the floor, Burke
picked a small handful of the tiny lavender and white blooms as he continued to
sing to the aromatic plant.  When he had collected the required amount he
stopped singing and pulled his hand away, allowing the tendrils to float back
to their resting place against the hibiscus pot.  Burke stood and surveyed the
room.  He proceeded to a squat bright green bush and shook one of its deep
purplish black panicles over the mortar allowing the tiny crepe paper like
flowers to rain down.  After making a final stop at an orange tufted plant to
add some of the silky fibers to his mixture, he seemed satisfied with his
selections and returned to the workstation.  Picking up the pestle, he lightly
ground the herbs.  He transferred his treasure to a small bowl, cleaned the
mortar and pestle, and then returned to the house.

In the
kitchen Burke added about half of his herbal mixture to the water in a
humidifier and saved the rest to make tea for Ella when she woke up.  Breathing
the steam from the humidifier would help her sleep peacefully.  Drinking the tea
would dull the headache and settle her stomach.  He wished he could make the
headaches go away altogether, but he was lacking an ingredient.  There was
nothing he could do about that; he would have to do the best he could with what
he had.  He walked into the bedroom, plugged the humidifier in, and set it on
his bedside table pointing the mist toward Ella.  Burke stood for a minute
looking down at her.  She was so beautiful; such a beautiful mess.  In a few
days she’d be able to kill him with her bare hands.  But still, he felt this
uncontrollable urge to protect her.  He was afraid nothing could protect her. 
He reached down, smoothed a strand of her hair from her face, and then left the
room to watch the evening news.  Hopefully there wouldn’t be anything else added
to his list of concerns.

~~

The evening
news was happily void of anything Burke needed to worry about.  He turned off
the television, peeked at Ella who was still sleeping, then went to the
bathroom to clean himself up.  As he showered he wished he had some things here
for Ella.  Of course he had soaps and shampoos, but if she felt up to a shower
she’d want clean clothes.  He wasn’t thrilled about the idea of leaving her, but
he supposed he could sneak into her dorm room and grab a few things.  It
wouldn’t be hard to get in there tomorrow.  He knew Sarah worked at a little
shop downtown on Saturdays.  He could run over there, get in and get out, and
be back here in less than an hour.

Thinking of
Sarah, he remembered she’d be expecting to hear from Ella soon or she said
she’d call Rachel.  Ella wasn’t going to be in any condition to see Sarah, Rachel,
or anyone else for a few more days. 

Thank God
text messages have taken over the world
he thought, as he stepped out of the shower and dried himself
off. 

He put on
comfortable shorts and a t-shirt and took Ella’s cell phone out of the back
pocket of his discarded jeans.  He scrolled through the contact list in Ella’s
phone until he found Sarah, then sent her a text saying:
Went to the doctor,
have the flu, got drugs, should feel better in a few days
.  Hopefully that
would buy him some time with Sarah.  He wasn’t sure when, or even if, Rachel
was expecting Ella to return home from school for summer break.  He’d have to
remember to ask Ella so they could text her Aunt if necessary.  Feeling like
he’d covered his bases, Burke got an extra pillow and blanket out of the linen
closet and made his way to the couch.  He got comfortable and opened the novel
he’d been reading.  All he could do now was sit and wait.

He wasn’t
sure what time he had actually dozed off, but it was just after two o’clock in
the morning when he woke to Ella screaming.  He ran into the bedroom and sat
next to her on the bed.

“Ella,
you’re okay!  It’s me Burke.  You’re here at my house,” he told her as he
pulled her into his arms.

“My head
feels like it’s going to explode and my whole body aches!  What is happening to
me?  Please do something!” she desperately grabbed hold of his shirt.  “Make it
stop!”

“Ella,
you’ve got to listen to me.  Everything is going to be okay,
you’re
going to be okay.  I tried to tell you yesterday; you’re changing.  You are
awakening.  Our people - your people - reach maturity at twenty years old. 
It’s like a second kind of puberty.  Your father went through exactly what
you’re going through just before his twentieth birthday.  Please honey, he was
my best friend.  I know you don’t really know me, but I promise I will help you
get through this.  I
will
explain everything to you, but right now I’m
going to go to the kitchen so I can get you something to take away the pain and
help you rest.”

Ella just
sat staring at him.  Tears of pain were streaming down her face.  Of everything
he had just said, she was focusing on the
something to take away the pain
part. 
She let go of his shirt.  Burke ran to the kitchen and put a cup of water in
the microwave.  While it spun he put some of the herbs he had collected earlier
into a tea infuser ball.  As soon as the little buzzer went off, he grabbed the
mug and dropped the ball in.  He opened a cabinet and rummaged around until he
found a bottle of Demerol.  He shook a pill into his hand, removed the infuser
from the tea, and returned to the bedroom.  He held the pill out to Ella.  She
took it without asking any questions and drank the tea.  At this point she
didn’t care what it was.  Hell, if it was poison and she was dead within a few
seconds that’d be A-Okay.  Burke took the cup from her and set it on the
bedside table.  He gently pushed her over a little and sat next to her, leaning
against the headboard with his legs stretched out across the bed.  He pulled
her close.  Ella lay with her head on his chest while he softly rubbed her back
and hummed some kind of lullaby she had never heard before.  The tea worked
quickly.  Within a few minutes she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. 
Mixed with the Demerol she would sleep through the rest of the night and most
likely well into tomorrow afternoon.  Burke would be able to make the trip to her
room in the morning to get her things.  Right now he thought he would just sit
here for a while and hold her.

~~

Burke woke
up just after seven o’clock the next morning.  He’d fallen asleep holding
Ella.  Taking a deep breath, he edged out from under her.  The weight of her
across his chest was pretty amazing, but he had things to do.  If he was going
to run over to her room and get back here before she woke up, he needed to get
moving.  He pulled some jeans on and ran his hands through his hair.  After
grabbing his wallet and keys he scribbled Ella a quick note saying he’d gone to
get a few things for her, and he would be back in less than an hour.  More than
likely he would be back before she woke up to read it anyway.

A few
minutes later, Burke was sitting in the school parking lot looking around.  It
wasn’t that he felt he had time to kill; he just liked to be aware of his
surroundings.  Besides, he’d made it here even faster than he had hoped.  As he
expected, the campus grounds were almost entirely deserted.  He got out of his
car and walked to Ella’s room.  He stood outside the door with his ear against
it.  It only took him a second to confirm that no one was inside.  His hearing
was very good.  He quickly picked the lock and let himself in.  Almost
immediately, his eye fell on the bag Ella had packed just before he had picked
her up the previous day.  He walked over to it and opened it up.  Everything she’d
need was right here and ready to go.  This was going a lot easier than he could
have hoped for.  Burke slung the bag over his shoulder and stepped to the door,
quietly listening.  Satisfied the hallway was clear, he let himself out and
locked the door behind him.  Burke’s return to the front seat of his SUV
prompted a smile –
mission accomplished. 
He started his truck, turned
out of the parking lot, and headed home.

~~

The first
thing Burke did when he got home was check on Ella.  As he walked into the
bedroom she opened her eyes.  “How are you feeling?” he asked her.

“Well,” she
replied, “I’ve definitely felt better.”

Burke
crossed the room and touched Ella’s forehead with the back of his hand. 
“You’re a little warm; tell me your symptoms.”

“My head still
hurts, but not as bad as it did last night.  I feel weak.”

“I just went
to your dorm room and picked up the bag you had packed.  How about we pour you
a bath and let you change clothes?  You need to eat something, and I’ll make
you some more medicine.  Afterwards, if you’re up to it, we can talk for a
little while.”

“A bath
sounds wonderful.”  When Ella tried to stand her legs gave out and she began to
fall.  Burke caught her just before she hit the floor.  He lifted her back to
the bed.

“Just sit
tight a minute.  I’ll start the water and be right back.  Your cell phone is
right there on the bedside table.  You should probably text Sarah and your
Aunt.  I already sent Sarah one text, check the history.”

He left Ella
waiting and went to start the bath water.  She picked up her cell phone, sent a
couple of text messages, and then sat looking around the room.  Her head felt
clearer than it had since he had brought her here.  She still had no idea who
Burke was or what was going on, but last night she had been pretty sure she was
going to die, and he had helped her.  He seemed sincerely concerned about her,
anyway.  She didn’t really see what choice she had but to trust him; at least
for the time being.

Burke walked
back into the bedroom carrying a fluffy blue plaid bathrobe. 
His apparently
. 
“Do you think you can undress and put this on by yourself?” he asked.

“I’ll
manage,” she said sarcastically.

“Give me a
break, Ella,” he rolled his eyes.  “If I was going to take advantage of you,
don’t you think I’ve had plenty of opportunity?”

“I guess
you’ve got a point, sorry.  Anyway, I’m all right.  I was just a little dizzy
before.”

Burke tossed
the robe onto the bed and turned his back towards Ella.  She pulled off her
shirt and bra.  Leaning back on the bed, she squirmed out of her jeans and
panties.  She put on his robe, then quickly folded her dirty clothes, tucking
the bra and panties between her shirt and pants.

“Okay,” Ella
said.  But before she could stand, he had turned and picked her up.  Leaning
into him, she gave in to the whole prince charming act.  She couldn’t help but
smile to herself as she noticed the rate of his heartbeat against her cheek.

Once in the
bathroom, he placed her gently on a small bench beside the bathtub.  Ella
gasped as she looked around.  Fortunately he didn’t seem to notice.  “I’ll give
you a minute,” he said and left her sitting alone.

The light
was turned off, but the bathroom was lit by several candles of differing
heights on a tray on the back of the toilet.  The claw foot tub was filled almost
to the top and colorful aromatic herbs were floating in the water.  Ella had
never smelled anything quite like it.  It was breathtaking.  This guy sure knew
how to charm a girl.  She let the robe fall from her shoulders and cautiously
slid from the bench into the water.  Reaching over, she pulled the shower
curtain half way closed in case Burke came back to check on her.