Custom Sensor Solutions, Inc.Custom Sensor Solutions, Inc.Agatha rose from the ground after she had fallen. Although she'd hit her head hard, she felt no pain. She tried to gather her thoughts, to figure out what she had tripped on and how much time had gone by since she started out for the settlement. But she couldn't seem to grasp the concept of time clearly. She looked down to the spot where she had fallen and there lay the body of an old woman.
"Did I trip over her?" wondered Agatha as she leaned down to get a closer look. The remnants of a dress clung to the body. Because the dress was so badly torn, and mired by mud and rain, she was unable to determine its original color. "Poor woman, she must have lain here for days," thought Agatha, moving closer to see who this poor creature was. It was clear that the woman's body had been chewed by animals, but most of the flesh still remained. "She could not have been dead too long, though, or the animals would have cleaned all the meat off her bones," she said to herself. The thought of an animal attack made Agatha think about how careful she'd been, when burying Sarah, to place stones on top of the grave to protect her body from animals. As soon as Sarah entered her thoughts, Agatha found herself back at her hut, standing in front of Sarah's grave. This sudden change of scene confused her. She looked around the campsite, trying to figure out how she got there so quickly. As she looked around, Agatha was appalled at the chaos she had left behind. Bits of wood from the broken up barrels lay on the ground and close to the door of the hut lay the cross that she'd made to put on Sarah's grave. She walked over to the doorway and stooped down to pick the grave marker up off the ground.
"Strange. Bending down is not difficult anymore," she thought as she reached out to grasp the cross; but her hand went straight through it. She tried over and over again but her hand was unable to grip the wood. Agatha knelt on the ground and tried to make sense of what was happening. Each time she reached out for the cross, she tried to will it to appear in her hand. Night and day intermingled. Time meant nothing as she continued in her efforts to pick up the simple cross so she could place it on Sarah's grave.
Then Shattee appeared with Bear Hunter and other members of a hunting party. "They have returned at last!" Agatha said softly as she stood and hurried forward to greet her old friends. But Shattee ignored her and slowly walked around in front of the hut, examining the unkempt state of her camp. With a frown upon his face, Shattee stepped inside Agatha's hut uninvited. In a rage Agatha followed him, and stood before him, hands on her hips.
"Shattee," she said, indignantly, "how dare you come into my home without my permission!" But Shattee only looked about the room, his shoulders sagging slightly, as if in disappointment that he had not found whatever it was he was looking for.
Then she heard him say, "Left Alone Woman is gone. I hope she is safe." Having said that, he walked to the door and spoke to the others waiting outside.
"Who is this woman you are looking for?" demanded Agatha, hurrying after Shattee as he stepped outside. "And why are you ignoring me?" she added, but then she stopped as she realized that, although she had heard his words, Shattee had not opened his mouth to speak them.
Current May 26, 1998
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