Idy tried to sit up but she was unable to. Her head throbbed and her limbs burned. She wondered where she was. Slowly her heavy eyelids lifted. The light of the moon shone through the cracks in the roof. The attic she thought. Idy tried to push herself up from the mattress but she couldn’t. Her throat and lips were parched. She needed water.
“J-Jacob” she stammered but there was no answer.
“Ja-cob w-water.” And then she remembered; Jacob was gone. She was alone in the attic. Idy struggled to her elbow then slowly raised herself. A wave of dizziness hit her and she closed her eyes until it passed. Having missed her lunch and dinner she knew she had to drink. She crawled off the mattress and stopped to catch her breath. Then inch by inch Idy crept to the wooden bucket. Using all the power she could she lifted herself to her knees and tipped the bucket to her lips to drink. The cold water felt good. She dipped her hands in to wet her face and felt something smooth and cold at the bottom. Even in the dimness of the night Idy knew it was Jacob’s egg.
Idy lifted the egg from the water and held it to her heart. “Please” she whispered looking up through the cracks “wherever he is take care of him.” She wiped away her tears cracked the egg open and drank it. After stuffing the shells between the slats of the floor Idy crawled to Jacob’s side of the attic. She’d sleep on his mattress tonight.
