Hope in Deep Waters (an AtE story) Ch. 12

Slowly, the realization of what she had said began to sink in for Leeli. She stared at the crutch in her hand. Then at the clump of wildflowers she had been sitting next to. And then at the spot where her crutch had been lying.

“I- I… walked?” She goggled at her foot. It was no longer twisted. Her crutch dropped onto the mossy ground with a soft thump as she let its worn wood slip from her fingers.

“I WALKED!!” she squealed.

First she jumped up and down, dress flapping against her knees. And then she skipped over to squeeze her mother, whose face was wet with tears. “Mama! I can walk! My leg is healed! It must have happened when I ran into the Well!

“That's so wonderful, dear! It makes me so happy to see you able to walk and run and dance and jump…” overcome with emotion, Nia found herself unable to speak any more. Deep down, she had felt partially responsible for Leeli's crippled leg all these years because she had been holding her when it had been injured. Little Leeli had cried and cried and cried for much of the boat ride as if she was both in pain and grieving that she would never be able to walk normally.

Often, the sight of Leeli's crutch or the sound of it tapping across the floor sent a pang of sorrow through Nia and she would think to herself, Why couldn't I have dodged that fang? Why couldn't I stop him from hurting my child?

She knew it wasn't really her fault- it was the fang's fault. She probably wouldn't have been able to dodge because they had been completely swarmed by the evil creatures. But that didn't stop Nia from feeling a bit guilty anyway. Seeing Leeli's proficiency and speed with a crutch did help a little, but Nia thought it still wasn't fair for her daughter.

So seeing Leeli take her first normal steps released a deep sorrow from her heart that had been dwelling there so long she had begun to get used to it, and she was filled with inexpressible joy and gratitude toward the Maker. She was amazed at His generosity as she watched Leeli pull out her whistleharp and dance around as she played, tapping her feet and twirling and then yanking her thrilled yet reluctant brothers into the dance as well.

Oskar could not contain his glee. “How stupendous! How incredible! I've seen so many impossible things today, I think I'm going to explode!”

He barreled over toward the jewels, who had all tripped over each other's feet simultaneously and fallen to the ground in a merry, breathless heap. He swept Leeli up into his arms and spun her around.

“Dear Leeli, you must teach me how to dance to this song!”

Leeli giggled and jumped down. “Ok, Mr. Oskar!” She raised her whistleharp to her lips once more, but before she could play the first note, she noticed that though her Uncle Artham was beaming, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes and he fiddled with his talons. Leeli lowered her whistleharp and took a step toward him, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“It's ok, Leeli. Have fun with Oskar. I'll go talk to Uncle Artham,” said Janner softly.

As she watched him go, he called over his shoulder, “Don't let him step on your toes!”

“What did he say about me?!” said Oskar, pretending to be offended. “I am as graceful as a sweeft darting in the breeze!”

Janner just laughed and continued on his way.

“The cheeky little gunkee! We'll show him,” said Oskar to Leeli, who held in a giggle and raised her whistleharp once more.