ODYSSEY OF THE MIND
Chapter Two

One afternoon in early May, Catherine had entered Rose's room to find she had been ill. Catherine could not guess why, but Rose didn't seem agitated at all, outwardly. So the main thing at hand was to get her clean. But of course Catherine could not carry her to the bathroom herself. How thankful she was that she had taken in that gentleman boarder last week!

"James!" Catherine called from Rose's bedroom. When James had at last walked into the bedroom, Catherine expressed her wishes. "James, I need your help. Can you carry Rose into the bathroom?"

"I think so, Miss." James complied willingly. James was a tall, muscular man with blonde hair. He had been very understanding when learning about Rose and he seemed to be happy to help in any way.

James delicately picked Rose up into his arms, not wanting to cause her any physical harm. He brought her into the bathroom and set her down softly on the wicker chair. She was able to sit up herself, but just barely.

James stayed to watch over Rose while Catherine drew the bath. She seemed completely unaware of anything until Catherine turned to her and said, "All right, Rose, we're going to put you in the bath just as you are so you won't feel uncomfortable. I'll be right here, don't worry."

As James lifted Rose again, something completely unexpected began to happen. Catherine had seen Rose thrash in her sleep and dreams before, but never had she seen Rose act this way before. "Rose, what's wrong?" Rose said nothing. It was almost as if she had a terrible fear of the water--

'Oh my God.' Catherine realized that she WAS afraid of the water. She hadn't even thought about it. The poor girl.

Rose began mumbling something, but Catherine could make out none of the words. All she knew was that they had to get Rose out of here, away from the water. Her panic was growing with every passing second.

"Rose, it's all right. You won't have to go in the water, I promise." Catherine turned to the young man. "James, please take her back to her bed. I will think of another way to get her cleaned up."

James did as he was told and gently placed Rose back on the bed. He placed the covers back over her. She was so young. He wondered what could have happened to her to make her this way. She must have gone through something terrible.

"Will you still be needing me, Miss Tyler?"

"No, thank you, James."

James quietly left the bedroom, leaving Catherine to ponder on how to get Rose cleaned up. It was now apparent that Catherine could not completely bathe Rose, so the best she could do was take a damp cloth to her face. By now, Rose had calmed a bit, and her eyes took upon her far off gaze once again. Catherine sighed as she ran the cloth across Rose's cheek one last time.

Catherine then got up, closed the bedroom door, and took a clean nightgown from the dresser drawer. She had to do all the work in getting Rose changed, and it took quite some time. Once she was finished, Catherine sighed again, kissed Rose's cheek, then left the room. It seemed the young woman was asleep, but Catherine knew she wasn't.

It would be a long while before Rose would sleep peacefully. A very long time.

*****

As Catherine began to give Timothy simple instructions, he smiled at the old woman. Timothy had come to live in Catherine's house a few days earlier and Catherine saw in him a very clean cut, responsible young man. Rose's birthday was only a week off, now, and Catherine wanted to get Rose something special. So, she had no other choice but to leave Rose with Timothy, since James was off at work that afternoon.

"I shouldn't be long, Timothy. I'm sure you and Rose will be just fine. Now, if you'll just give me a minute to say good-bye to Rose, so she won't wonder where I've gone." As Catherine turned to speak to Rose, Timothy's smile turned to something like a scowl. All Rose did was lie there. Did Catherine really think she would hear a word she said?

"I'm going to go out for just a short while, Rose. Don't you worry. I'm sure Timothy will be very kind to you. I'll be back shortly." Catherine bent down and kissed Rose's forehead gently. She then looked back at Timothy and his smile returned.

"You're welcome to make yourself something for lunch, Timothy. Good afternoon." With that said, Catherine made her way for the stairs.

Timothy stayed up in Rose's room for some time after Catherine left, then grew tired of sitting there in the near pitch-darkness and decided to go and make his lunch. He was thankful Catherine had fed Rose before she left. He wouldn't want to be so close to that...person for such an extended period of time.

Timothy was finished with his lunch much sooner than he liked. Sighing, he returned upstairs. He sat there in the chair for a while with a look of disgust on his face. Then he took note of how dark the room actually was. The drapes were drawn closed and there were no lamps or candles lit anywhere. Angrily, Timothy stood and walked to the small table lamp. He tugged on the chain and the room came to light.

Instantly, he heard Rose moan, and turned to see her squeezing her eyes shut. He just ignored her, and went to sit down again. At least now he could read the book he'd brought with him. A few moments later, he heard Rose make a very strange sound, and reluctantly looked up.

"What's the matter? Don't like light? Too bad. Us people need light. Whatever you are will just have to live with it."

Rose's eyes showed fear and Timothy picked up on this. Seeing his expression turn to almost a gloating look, Rose looked away.

Rose tried her best to just be still and quiet, to keep her eyes turned away from the light. She knew Timothy did not like her. And now he was making her nervous.

After spending a few moments thinking, Rose felt herself about to be ill from the anxiety. But there was no way she could stop it. With a nauseating feeling overtaking her body, Rose was just barely able to turn her head before she felt her stomach turn upside down and come toppling down to the floor beneath her. Timothy looked up from his sitting place and a look of pure disgust came over his face.

After pausing to think what to do, Timothy decided he had no choice but to clean up the mess and put Rose into the bathtub to get her clean. Catherine had mentioned several times Rose was afraid of water, but how bad could it be in a bathtub? The worst thing for him was having to...to touch her, pick her up.

First things first, he said to himself. With a scowl and utter disgust, he cleaned up the mess Rose had created. He then walked down the hall and into the bathroom. He filled the tub with water and found a cloth in the linen closet. He draped it over the side of the tub and reluctantly returned to the bedroom. With the least contact he could manage, Timothy carried Rose into the bathroom.

As soon as she saw the tub filled with water, Rose began to panic, feeling as if she could barely breathe. She began frantically shaking her head.

"Yes, you have to go in there. Stop making trouble, now. It won't take long."

Even with Timothy trying to sound nice, Rose could still detect the severe harshness in his voice. She just kept on shaking her head and any other part of her body that would manage to move. When finally Timothy had been fed up with it, he just placed her in the tub.

Rose struggled a moment more, but became surprisingly still as Timothy cleaned her up. He did not say a word, but his mind was very active. As he went about his unpleasant task, Timothy realized how truly helpless Rose was. Or at least seemed to be. She made nothing but trouble, to his way of thinking. 'Her not being here would be a lot easier on everyone,' he thought. The next thing he knew, he had gripped Rose tightly by the hair and forced her head underwater.

Rose was not able to get in a clear breath. Her lungs had already started to ache without the oxygen. Her mind flashed back to another time when she had been submerged; not been able to breathe. Before Rose could get in another thought, she heard voices. But they were not in her head...they were really there.

An instant later, Rose felt the downward force on herself being released. She didn't know how, and she didn't care. All she wanted was to feel air in her lungs. Before she could lift her head out of the water, someone else did it for her. In that moment, she heard the one voice that could give her comfort.

She could hear Catherine speaking to her but she could not make out the words. She was in a state of shock. All too clearly, though, she could hear Catherine chasing Timothy out of the house with her sharp words.

The anger disappeared from Catherine's voice as she turned back to Rose. "Rose, I am so sorry! I never would have left you with him if I'd known he would...please, Rose, try to talk to me. Are you going to be all right now?"

Rose just coughed as she nodded her head slowly. Rose began to shiver and Catherine realized she needed to get Rose changed. She carefully brought Rose into her bedroom with a bit of a struggle.

As Catherine got Rose into some dry clothes, she talked to her constantly, still apologizing at first, but then just trying to comfort her. And to get her to say something. Right now the thing that would most assure Catherine Rose was all right would be to hear her voice. After several failed attempts, Catherine gave it just one more try.

"Everything is going to be all right now, Rose. Timothy is gone. Soon you'll be nice and warm. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. Please talk to me."

When Rose spoke at last, the single word she said was the last one Catherine could have possibly expected.

"Mommy," Rose moaned softly.

Catherine didn't know what to make of this. All she could do was get Rose into her warm bed and hope Rose could get some rest. Her body must have been extremely stressed.

Even after Rose was comfortably settled in bed, she kept repeating 'Mommy' over and over again. Catherine knelt by the bed, waiting to see what else Rose had to say. For she had to be speaking to her, calling her by that name.

Catherine had tears in her eyes as she spoke again. "What is it, Rose? What do you want to tell me?"

"I...I love you..." When finally Rose's words were spoken, her mind felt enough at ease to rest. She closed her eyes and reluctantly allowed herself to fall asleep. Catherine looked over her sadly. She just hoped that Rose would be all right when she awoke again.

Of course, as Rose slept, Catherine did not even think of leaving her. She still felt too guilty to be away from her for a single second. Rose's sleep was not disturbed by dreams, but she began to shiver violently soon after falling asleep. Catherine was instantly worried, and went to check on Rose more closely.

She placed her hand over Rose's forehead, which felt a bit warm. She became even more concerned, now. She took the extra blanket from the closet and placed it over Rose gently. Even the extra warmth did not seem to help Rose, at all. Catherine did not hesitate to sit close beside Rose on the bed, and to begin speaking soothingly to her.

"It's going to be all right, Rose. It's okay." Catherine knew Rose could sense her voice, but since she was sleeping, she knew Rose would not be able to make out the words.

Still, Rose seemed to be comforted a bit. She slept for hours after that, and Catherine hoped that meant she was just recovering from what she had been through. But as soon as Rose awoke, Catherine could see she had a raging fever. Rose seemed to realize it too, as fear leapt into her eyes.

"It's okay, Rose," came Catherine's gentle voice. "I know how hot you must feel. I'm going to get some ice, all right?" Rose's eyes showed concern at the thought of Catherine leaving her, but she nodded a 'yes.'

Catherine returned shortly with a few ice cubes gathered into a thin cloth. She placed the ice on Rose's forehead. Rose felt the sting of the ice even through the cloth, and she instinctively wanted to pull away. Catherine saw this immediately, and said, "Don't worry, I won't leave it there too long. You need it, Rose. It will help you feel better. I promise. I'm just going to stay here, for as long as you need me. James will be home soon. He can help too. Just close your eyes, rest. Would you like me to sing to you?"

Much to Catherine's surprise, Rose mumbled a 'no.' "Very well, then, dear. I'll just stay here with you for as long as you want." Rose smiled weakly up at her and once again felt the stinging of the ice. She winced slightly.

"Would you like me to take it off your forehead? Just for a minute?"

Rose whispered 'yes,' and Catherine removed it quickly. Seeing the fear and sickness reflected in Rose's eyes, Catherine felt she had to say something. Now, when Rose could answer her.

"Rose, I am so sorry about what happened today. I had no idea Timothy was that kind of person. I would never leave you with someone who I even imagined could hurt you. When I think what would have happened if I hadn't shown up in time..." Catherine could not help it. She began to cry silently.

"Catherine..." Rose whispered. "It wasn't your fault." Rose smiled weakly at her. Catherine knew Rose was being sincere, but she still felt awfully guilty. How could she have trusted Timothy?

"Thank you for saying that, Rose. Still, I absolutely promise I will stay with you every moment I can. And if someone else has to care for you a while, it will be no one other than James. All right?"

Rose's voice took on a childish tone as she spoke. "I like James." Rose smiled. "He's nice." Catherine smiled back at her and placed the ice very gently back on to Rose's forehead, but she still winced.

"How about I wrap this in another towel? Do you think that would make the pain a little less?"

"I think so. Thank you." Rose waited anxiously as Catherine went to get the towel. She did not want to admit it, but she did not want Catherine out of her sight at all right now. When Catherine returned, Rose grasped her hand and wouldn't let go. Catherine was surprised to see Rose even had the strength for that. It told her how afraid she must have been today.

"Everything's going to be all right, dear," Catherine said contentedly. "Fevers go away fairly quickly." They both knew why Rose was so afraid, though. Rose just simply did not want to be alone.

"I'm staying right here, darling. Please try to sleep. It will help you recover faster. And by the time you wake up, James should be home. We can all have dinner up here together. Would you like that?"

Rose nodded and heard the thunder crack outside. For the first time she noticed it was raining. More water, she thought. Just what she needed to hear. Rose sighed and reverted her attention back to Catherine. Rose wanted to distract her mind, try to relax before falling asleep. Slowly, she asked, "Catherine, what...what did you go shopping for today? It seems like you were gone so long."

Catherine all of a sudden felt very guilty. She had gone out today to make Rose's birthday special. It would definitely be memorable, that's for sure. "I...I went to get you a gift, dear," Catherine explained. She thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to let Rose have it ahead of time.

"I know your birthday is still a week away, but I'll go get your gift right now. I'll only be gone a moment. It's right across the hall." Rose just nodded and waited patiently.

Catherine returned shortly with a small box in her hands. She only hoped that Rose would understand the significance of the gift. Catherine sat on the bed next to Rose and placed the box in her hands.

"Open it," Catherine urged softly. Rose smiled slightly and tried to lift the top off the small box. Her hands fumbled and she was unable to lift it. Without a word, Catherine simply removed the lid and revealed the necklace. It was a thin gold chain with a delicately etched comedy-tragedy charm dangling from the bottom.

"I hope you like it, Rose. It certainly took me long enough to pick it out. It reminded me of you. Do you like it?"

Rose nodded enthusiastically, then gestured for Catherine to put it around her neck. Once she was wearing it, Rose reached up and clumsily held the charm in her fingers. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but it took her more than a minute to even get her voice to cooperate.

"Th...thank...y-you," Rose said shakily. She wanted to say how she would always cherish it, and to speak of the emotions it held, but she knew it was no use. Her voice was slipping further and further away each day.

Catherine smiled at Rose and held her hand up to Rose's cheek. "You best be getting some sleep, dear. You're still awfully hot."

Rose just nodded and laid back against her pillows, closing her eyes in the process. Catherine stayed there at her bedside, keeping cool cloths on her forehead. Rose was a bit restless, but for the most part her sleep was peaceful for once.

At last, James came home, calling Catherine's name as he entered. He, of course, knew to come straight upstairs. He was not, however, prepared for what he found.

"Miss Tyler, what happened?" James asked, confused.

"It's a rather disturbing story. I'll tell you later." Catherine looked down at Rose, and noticed a small smile on the young woman's face. She diverted her attention back to James, who was still standing in the room. "I think I'll stay with Rose this evening, James. Feel free to fix yourself something to eat."

"All right, I'll do that. If you'd like the company, I can have dinner here with you."

"Yes, please do," Catherine said, smiling warmly. "In fact, I've already told Rose we might do that. And she certainly seems happy to see you." Rose now opened her eyes and smiled directly at James.

James smiled back at her. "Yes, she does. I'll be back as fast as I can. I'll make something for all of us."

James went back downstairs, and returned about a half an hour later with dinner. They ate slowly, with Catherine needing to take time to feed Rose. Then Catherine took the young man aside to explain what had happened.

"I went out this afternoon to buy Rose that gift I told you about. I left her in the care of Timothy. He...he tried to...to drown her." Catherine could see the rage starting to build in James' eyes. It was apparent that James had become somewhat of a protective brother over Rose.

"How could he do that?" All of James' anger came out in his voice. "She couldn't have done anything to deserve that! I wish I hadn't had to work today. She would have been safe while you were out. Where is he now? I ought to try drowning HIM!"

"James, calm down. He's not here, but when he comes back for his things I don't want you doing that. It would frighten Rose if she heard you. She just needs us to take care of her."

James, gaining his composure, reluctantly nodded. "Yeah," he said simply. James looked through the doorway at Rose. She had obviously heard his yelling, for she looked at him with such sad eyes, he thought he might cry. He lipped her an 'it's okay,' and she seemed to understand.

After their discussion was finished, Catherine and James returned to Rose's room. Her fever had gone down, and she seemed very at ease, but James sat right at her bedside, talking to her, though she rarely answered back at all.

Eventually she fell asleep, and still he stayed. He remained awake even when Catherine slept, and so was the first to see when Rose's fever had spiked again.

James did not want to wake Catherine, so the best he knew to do was to gather some cool, damp cloths. He hoped, if he placed them gently enough on Rose's forehead, she would not wake. Much to his pleasure, she did indeed sleep through it.

James tended to Rose the rest of the night, and by morning her fever had broken again. Rose woke up even before Catherine. James talked softly to her, very pleased to find her quite responsive.

"How do you feel this morning, Rose?"

Through a hoarse voice, Rose spoke. "A bit better, I think. Thank you," she smiled slightly up at him and he returned her smile.

"Are you feeling hungry? I could fix us a little something to eat if you'd like," James offered politely.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble."

"Of course not. I know what you can and can't eat. I'll go right down and fix up some oatmeal." Rose just smiled again as he left. Just a moment later, Catherine woke up and said good morning. She was rather surprised to hear Rose say good morning back.

"Goodness, you must really be feeling better today..." Catherine trailed off as she heard the front door open then close. Immediately she knew who it was. Though she had no clue what to do about it. But she did know that she would not let Rose see his face again.

"I'll be right back, dear." Catherine stood as calmly as possible and walked into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. She walked halfway down the stairs to be met by none other than Timothy himself.

"Get your things and leave." Catherine heard James' stern voice from the bottom of the stairs.

Now it was Catherine's turn to say her piece. "I suggest you take his advice. As soon as you are finished, leave your key and get out of my house." She was angry, but her voice was calm so Rose would not hear. Timothy just glared at her, then pushed past her, went into his room and shut the door.

A bit flustered, Catherine immediately went back to Rose. She forced herself to calm down, but Rose still asked, "Who is here?"

"Never you mind, dear," Catherine said as gently as possible. Rose could see the stiffness in Catherine's face and she knew immediately who it was.

"Oh," Rose muttered, knowingly. She pulled the covers up to her chin and lay back in the pillows nervously. She curled up and closed her eyes, wanting to be asleep.

After waiting patiently for a long time, with sleep refusing to come, Rose turned back to Catherine. "Why has he come back?" Rose's voice was getting weaker again, she didn't know how long it would hold out, but she resolved to keep talking as long as she could.

"He's just gathering his things, then he's leaving. James is out there watching him. He won't be coming in here. I promise."

Rose nodded and sighed silently. She listened intently until she heard footsteps reach down the stairs and heard the door open...then close with a loud slam. Relieved, Rose turned her head once again, but continued on with her conversation as best she could.

"James will come back here, won't he? I'm so tired, but I...I want to wait for him. I want to thank him. I know I've been so hard on both you. I don't mean to be, but...I just feel worse and worse all the time."

"Shh, we're here for you, dear. Now, try and get some sleep." Rose nodded and closed her eyes just as James entered the room. Rose smiled when she heard him talk softly to Catherine, but she did not reopen her eyes. She just enjoyed his presence.

Chapter Three
Stories