Promise: The Scarred Girl Read Online Free Page A

calling, “Hey, wait up, don’t go, come back and sit with us by the fire!”
    Under any other circumstance, Nea would have never accepted such an offer due to her fear of strangers. But with her strength nearly depleted, she agrees. The snow continued to fall relentlessly and her stomach growled so loud it could be mistaken for a bear’s growl. Nea stopped and anxiously turned to face the strangers across the river. The two figures approached and could be seen clearer now. The first figure turned out to be a man, while the thicker of the two turned out to be an impressively large and strong woman. They too look at her anxiously.
    “Sit down with us next to the fire; you’ll catch your death out here,“ the woman said worriedly as she raised her hand, as if to reach out to Nea.
    “We have some hot soup you can have,” the man yelled against the strong wind.
    Nea hesitates for a moment, but then wades into the icy water without first taking off her boots and moves toward the strangers. The water comes past her knees and the flow is different than she expected, but still very strong. She soon has the feeling that she can no longer withstand the water and tries to somehow keep her balance. Soon she tips over and her entire body submerges under the water.
    Cold water penetrates her throat so she can barely get air in her lungs. Suddenly, she feels strong arms pick her up from under her armpits and drag her to the surface. Nea’s feet are unable to move alone, they just hang useless. One of the strangers supports her and pulls her through the raging water. When they reach the shore together, it’s colder. The cold wind whips the wet clothes against Nea’s body. It’s enough to rob her of consciousness. Everything fades to black.

Three
    Q uiet voices and the cozy crackle of a fire penetrate Nea’s consciousness. The smell of cooked vegetables rises into her nose, her mouth begins to water. She is warm and feels that she is wrapped in a soft, fluffy blanket. It has been years since she felt so comfortable and safe. At that time, she really had pneumonia.
    A loud cough came from Nea’s chest; it hurt so bad she had tears in her eyes. She was ice cold, although sweat beads stood on her forehead. Under her were two sleeping bags and under her head was Miro’s folded jacket, it smelled of him, a smell that always reminded Nea of juicy oranges. The smell was comforting. She closed her eyes and breathed it in deeply, which immediately caused a renewed coughing attack. On her cheek, she felt his hand, which was unusually soft for a boy. She opened her eyes and looked right into Miro’s bright blue eyes. Concerned, he looked down at her as he felt her temperature on her forehead with his hand. The coldness of his skin was pleasant on her glowing face.
    Sleepily she blinked at him and saw that he was only wearing his black knit sweater, this was winter, it was cold. Of course, his jacket was under her head.
    But when she made a move to return his jacket, he held her hands and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it; I’m not as girly as you.”
    Because she was too ill to speak, she was only able to angrily wrinkle her forehead at him.
    Miro understood without words. “The main thing for you to worry about is getting well.”
    He bent down to her and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. This tiny touch caused a pleasant shiver to run down Nea’s entire body. Previously, only her parents kissed her in this way, but with Miro it was different. Although she had known him since they were young, she both hated and loved him. Her feelings for him were changing lately.
    Drowsily, Nea opens her eyes and looks at the ceiling of a tent, illuminated with the light of a small fire. Her gaze wanders further and she sees that the tent is open and is wrapped in blankets and furs. On the fire a pot sizzles with some kind of food. In addition to the bed, there is a storage bin with her shoes and coat. On the opposite side of the tent