STRANGER

Episode 2

Dawning Eyes

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The day that followed had a grey sky, a persistent drizzling of steady snow and an unconscious man at Grace's care. Nothing but his nerves had improved and the cut on his chest had become somewhat less vigorous.

It was the next day, that came up with a sun dawned morning. Bright and brighter. The snow clad town had amplified the sunlight tenfold making it all luminous enough to enlighten a hell.

Outside, the town was swarming with noisy life.

Inside, Grace was stirring the vegetable soup in the fireplace of her kitchen. A freshly baked loaf of bread was there upon the centre table infusing a sweet aroma in the early winter air.

She didn't have a maid. An unnecessary expenditure, as she placed it, she also liked to keep herself busy by accomplishing her own tasks.

She liked to live life at her own cost.

The stranger from two nights ago was sleeping right now. He was improving. In the morning today, when Grace had entered his room for a quick look, he had stirred from the slightest noise, woke up though semi asleep and had asked for water. Thereafter, he fell asleep again, probably weak and restless.

Grace arranged a tray of bread and soup for the stranger and carried it to his room. Then, placing the tray on the bedside table, she seated herself on the nearby stool. Now was the most difficult part.

To actually wake him up.

"Good Morning, Mr..."she started and instantly realized that she didn't even know his name but she continued anyway,

"Good Morning Sir.........err...am Grace. Do you think you can tell me your name?"

To herself, she sounded stupid. "I shall be pleased to know your name." She scowled to herself. It would be best if she was more straightforward.

"Wake up, Sir!" Slowly, very slowly, two most beautiful blue eyes parted open. So blue.

Grace was stuck by the fact that those eyes reminded her of frozen snowflakes at the same time as they reflected blue of fire edges. Nor did it pass unwondered that such light colored eyes even existed.

His eyes wandered a minute or two around in the room and as soon as they landed on Grace, there formed a light wrinkle on the brows of the man.

"You are....."He whispered weakly as if he was trying to contemplate a fact, his brows still creased.

"I am Grace. Grace Ellard. I am a healer and nights ago, when you were outside and injured, I took you in."

"You are..real?"He whispered again, this time mostly to himself, but loud.

Now, that was something unlooked for and Grace got tended off guard. Of course she was real! What was that question supposed to mean?

But before she could push further on her point of view over her reality, the man spoke,

"I saw you... I thought, I saw you in my dreams. "He then paused a moment, "you are the same girl...from my dream."

Grace chuckled at that.

"It is rather like; I am a girl from your subconscious reality."She said, a bit amused by the scheme.

The man however didn't chuckle nor did he appear to sharing Grace's amusement. Instead, he kept studying her with a perplexed vividness that made her nervous on the inside.

To avert her gaze, she picked up the tray from the table. "Your breakfast, Sir."

The man with unknown name closed his eyes in an effort to sit up by his elbow but failed miserably, ended crashing back on the pillow with a groan.

"I am sorry."Grace apologized readily, "It's those stitches."

"I realized."He muttered, "Help me sit."

While Grace supported him up, his eyes again seeked her's out and fixed the same curious intense gaze on her.

Though this time even she could feel a subtle desire to read him the way he was reading her. Before handing him his tray, Grace ensured that he was comfortable with his position, though one fact came in view. He was still shirtless as she had left him and it was a fig embarrassing now, since he was up and sober.

Grace wanted to ask him how he had obtained that big deep stab but then she dismissed the fact for afterwards.

However, when she looked up again, the young man was already watching her with those dark eyes of his. "Your family?" He asked plainly, though curiously. "I mean, I have seen no one else over here just yet."

"I live here on my own."Grace answered with a shrug. "I don't have much of a family. Or connections of any kind."

He just nodded. And looked away. Why could he not smile at her?