!Friday Snippet #2 from GeonnCannon
I went back and forth on what to use this week, but I finally decided to give people a quick peek at an original character that I introduced in the story. She plays a small but relatively important role in the story as the head of the Berlin Sanctuary, which is in a state of disarray and incompleteness due to the war. Hopefully I'll use Eva in another story at some point because she just seems too awesome not to (she's an archer!)
Enjoy!
She toyed with the hem of her jacket just to give her hands something to do as she walked back to the elevator. She was nearly there when the doors opened and the head of Sanctuary stepped out. Eva Marlene wore a thin white smock that hung around her slender frame like a curtain. The collar stretched into a bell-shaped hood that she wore over honey-blonde hair. In the dingy and unfinished halls of the Berlin Sanctuary, she seemed like an angelic vision sent to give hope to the forgotten.
Eva smiled when she saw Helen. "Tara told me you were back. I am pleased to see you are well." She lightly kissed Helen's cheeks and gripped her hands. "Have you been to see Dr. Bright yet?"
"I was on my way there now."
Eva nodded. "Good. I will walk with you." She reached into the pocket of her shawl. "You received a letter in your absence. I held it for you."
The envelope was faded ocher, with smudges and stains on the edges where it had been handled by dirty fingers. In contrast, the handwriting on the front of the envelope was precise and clean. Helen's name had been carefully spelled out with a talented hand. There was no return address. "Where did it come from?"
"Nearby." Eva cleared her throat. "The other side of Berlin."
Helen was overwhelmed by the thought. "On the other side of the Wall? How was it delivered?"
"The letter's provenance is a bit hard to pin down precisely. It would seem it was given to a soldier, who handed it to a young man he was assisting in his escape. When the attempt was successful, the escapee gave it to his brother, a nurse in the local clinic. The nurse handed it to Dr. Bright, who gave it to me. And now it has finally reached you."
"I'm humbled."
They arrived at the makeshift infirmary, where Dr. Bright was already waiting to give Helen a physical. "I'll leave you here." She kissed Helen's cheek again. "Be well."
"And you, Eva."
Helen went to the bed Dr. Bright indicated and sat down. Her exhaustion wrapped around her like a blanket, the adrenaline that had kept her going for the past few days finally giving up the fight. She struggled to keep her eyelids up as she opened the envelope and removed the carefully folded letter. As Dr. Bright began to check her out, Helen read the tiny printing on the missive. It was written in German, but she didn't have any trouble deciphering it.
"Dear Dr. Magnus,
I know you only as a legend, but I hope there is truth to the stories. If not, I hope this letter reaches someone, perhaps, who is the basis of the myth. My name is Lisbeth Winston. My sisters and I are in desperate need of your help..."
Enjoy!
She toyed with the hem of her jacket just to give her hands something to do as she walked back to the elevator. She was nearly there when the doors opened and the head of Sanctuary stepped out. Eva Marlene wore a thin white smock that hung around her slender frame like a curtain. The collar stretched into a bell-shaped hood that she wore over honey-blonde hair. In the dingy and unfinished halls of the Berlin Sanctuary, she seemed like an angelic vision sent to give hope to the forgotten.
Eva smiled when she saw Helen. "Tara told me you were back. I am pleased to see you are well." She lightly kissed Helen's cheeks and gripped her hands. "Have you been to see Dr. Bright yet?"
"I was on my way there now."
Eva nodded. "Good. I will walk with you." She reached into the pocket of her shawl. "You received a letter in your absence. I held it for you."
The envelope was faded ocher, with smudges and stains on the edges where it had been handled by dirty fingers. In contrast, the handwriting on the front of the envelope was precise and clean. Helen's name had been carefully spelled out with a talented hand. There was no return address. "Where did it come from?"
"Nearby." Eva cleared her throat. "The other side of Berlin."
Helen was overwhelmed by the thought. "On the other side of the Wall? How was it delivered?"
"The letter's provenance is a bit hard to pin down precisely. It would seem it was given to a soldier, who handed it to a young man he was assisting in his escape. When the attempt was successful, the escapee gave it to his brother, a nurse in the local clinic. The nurse handed it to Dr. Bright, who gave it to me. And now it has finally reached you."
"I'm humbled."
They arrived at the makeshift infirmary, where Dr. Bright was already waiting to give Helen a physical. "I'll leave you here." She kissed Helen's cheek again. "Be well."
"And you, Eva."
Helen went to the bed Dr. Bright indicated and sat down. Her exhaustion wrapped around her like a blanket, the adrenaline that had kept her going for the past few days finally giving up the fight. She struggled to keep her eyelids up as she opened the envelope and removed the carefully folded letter. As Dr. Bright began to check her out, Helen read the tiny printing on the missive. It was written in German, but she didn't have any trouble deciphering it.
"Dear Dr. Magnus,
I know you only as a legend, but I hope there is truth to the stories. If not, I hope this letter reaches someone, perhaps, who is the basis of the myth. My name is Lisbeth Winston. My sisters and I are in desperate need of your help..."