Three days passed since Emily treated the fevered woman The sun rose every morning over the small valley and each day she woke to the sound of roosters and running feet The villagers had started to look at her with a mix of respect and distance The woman she saved was still alive weak but improving The swelling in her leg was smaller the fever lower The girl who had first called her came to the barn every morning bringing her a bowl of thin soup and whispering words Emily was starting to learn

The language came slowly but human faces told her enough Pain was pain Fear was fear Gratitude was easy to read

Emily had made the barn into something like a small clinic She cleaned it as best she could sweeping out dust hanging cloth to keep the wind away and arranging what few tools she had A broken wooden table became her workbench She had convinced two men to build a fire pit outside for boiling water Her gestures had been wild but clear Boil everything before using it She showed them how dirt on hands could make wounds worse rubbing mud on one cut and showing how it turned red a day later Then she showed how washing made the next one heal faster

They had laughed first then stared when it worked

Word spread fast Children peered through the gaps in the wood walls Women whispered that the strange woman from the field could cure sickness that no one else could cure The village leader a gray bearded man named Hart came on the fourth morning to see for himself He watched her wrap a wound on a shepherd’s arm and asked through gestures and broken words how she learned these things

Emily pointed to her head and said Learning School Medicine He did not understand the words but he seemed to understand the pride in her tone

That night she was allowed to move from the barn to a small empty hut near the well It was dry and had a door that closed It felt almost like home

But with comfort came attention The next day two men arrived carrying another patient A boy maybe ten years old He had fallen from a horse and his arm bent wrong The bone bulged beneath the skin Emily’s stomach twisted The break was clean but bad In her time this was a routine ER job splint pain control X ray cast In this world it could mean lifelong damage if she failed

She motioned for sticks strong and smooth They brought branches She broke them to length wrapped them with cloth then steadied the arm It needed to be pulled straight first She took a deep breath and told the men to hold the boy still He screamed before she even touched him She hated this part but there was no other way She pulled firm quick smooth The pop was felt more than heard The bone slid back into place The scream turned to sobs and then silence

She tied the splint snug enough to hold but not choke the blood She touched the boy’s hair and whispered You are brave She hoped he could feel her meaning even if he did not know her words

When she stepped outside the hut she saw a group of people waiting They were not sick just curious Their eyes followed her hands their faces tense with something that was not fear anymore It was belief

That night around the fire Emily listened to them speak She caught her name in the middle of their talk mixed with the word healer again and again The tone was reverent She looked at the sky thinking about how strange this was In Chicago she was one nurse among hundreds working in the same fluorescent light Now in this world she was becoming something legendary

But legends drew danger too

The next morning Hart returned with another man dressed finer than any villager His coat had embroidery gold thread dull from age His boots were clean His eyes sharp He was someone used to being obeyed He spoke with Hart for a long time then looked at Emily He used a few words she did not know and then pointed toward the hills Hart turned to her trying to explain with hands There was someone important sick someone high in power They wanted her to come

Emily hesitated She had only just learned how to survive here If she left the village she might not come back But the look in Hart’s eyes told her it was not really a question The powerful man summoned the healer The healer had to go

She agreed with a nod

Before leaving she checked on the fevered woman again The swelling was nearly gone The woman smiled weakly and touched her hand Her lips shaped a sound close to Emily’s name It broke something in her heart She wanted to stay but purpose pushed her on

The trip took half a day They rode in a wooden cart drawn by a pair of horses through winding roads lined with tall trees The air smelled of pine and damp soil The quiet gave her too much time to think She missed the steady hum of hospital machines She missed her coworkers the smell of coffee at dawn even the arguments over charting She wondered if anyone back there even knew she was gone Did time stop when she left or had years passed

They reached a large house made of stone two floors tall almost like an early mansion Guards stood by the door watching her as if she were both guest and threat Inside the air was heavy with herbs and candle smoke A woman lay on a bed in the center Her face pale her breathing uneven The fine man who led them here stood beside her whispering fast to the servants

Emily approached the bed slowly studying the woman Pale lips dry skin shallow breaths No wounds no fever yet but her pulse was faint Weak from blood loss maybe malnutrition She checked for hidden injuries lifting each hand and pressing gently along the arms The husband or master whatever he was flinched when she touched his wife but did not stop her

She asked for water pointed to her own mouth then to the woman They brought a bowl She dipped a clean cloth in it and wet the woman’s lips The reaction was instant The woman swallowed weakly Her throat moved Emily smiled small progress Hydration She motioned for broth warm not hot and for the window to open They stared at her but did as told

When the woman’s pulse steadied slightly Emily turned to the husband and tried to explain with the simplest words she could She pointed to her stomach then mimed eating She shook her head then mimed something small repeated She tried to tell him Small meals fluids rest

He seemed to understand halfway His expression softened The servants watched in silence

For hours Emily stayed by the woman’s side adjusting cloth cooling her head feeding her sips of broth She moved like a rhythm She was used to long hours at bedsides The only difference was the world outside the window

At dusk the woman finally opened her eyes a little clearer She looked at Emily and tried to speak Her voice was a whisper Thank you or maybe something older from this language Emily did not know But the meaning was the same

The fine man stepped forward with a face full of astonishment He bowed once deeply not the gesture of a superior but of someone who had seen a miracle He said the word healer too

They offered her food wine coins wrapped in cloth She refused the coins and only took a loaf of bread She did not want to become their servant or their spectacle She wanted freedom to keep helping not to be kept in a house like a trophy

When she left the mansion the stars were already rising Over the hills the wind carried faint sounds of the village bells The night felt wide the kind of silence that carried meaning She sat in the cart on the ride back and held the loaf in her lap thinking about how quickly her life had shifted

She had been gone from home less than a week in this new time yet she had seen more of human gratitude and fear than in all her years behind sterile walls Back there machines beeped and people rarely said thank you Here a single saved life changed everything

When they reached the village the people were waiting again word had traveled faster than her cart They greeted her with cheers and gifts of food and flowers She smiled tired beyond measure but deeply moved

For the first time since waking in this strange past Emily felt something close to belonging

She looked at her hands rough from work dirt under the nails and thought maybe this was what she was meant to do Maybe the explosion did not destroy her life maybe it sent her where she was needed most

And somewhere far beyond time the hum of hospital machines seemed to echo faintly like a heartbeat that would always follow her