Elias sat at the kitchen table, carefully cutting up the roasted dandelion roots that he had prepared. He needed the root chopped fine and the work was already a strain on his arm indicated by a sharp pain that pulsed in the back of the hand. While he would have preferred being able to use coffee for the medicine, the root would have to do.
A rapid knock on the door caught the man's attention, he dropped what he was doing and the knife was set aside. "It's open." He called out in the usual fashion, the doctor grabbing a small towel from the table to wipe his hands before stepping outside to see who had arrived. It was the undertaker. A man that Elias had become very familiar with over the past year.
"Good day, mister Dogrose." The doctor greeted the elder, inclining his head respectfully.
"Mister Dimheim, g'day. I got yer letter." The guest replied, looking over his shoulder and up the path outside; making sure no patient was coming down the road to interrupt. He hurried inside and shut the door behind him. "This better be as urgent as ya wrote it, Elias. Ye know I have no interest of doing this for ya." The undertaker huffed, stepping closer to the counter, visibly limping on his right leg. The man heaved up a sack he had brought, setting it down in front of the doctor.
"I am aware, mister Dogrose and I do apologise. If the circumstance were different, I'd have collected it myself. However, I must keep an eye on my patient." He answered, looking over to the area by the window.
Dogrose followed the doctor's gaze, the bushy gray brows furrowing upon noticing the heavy curtains that sat around the entire bed, blocking it from view. Curious, he looked up to see where the whole thing sat suspended by hooks in the ceiling. "Clever." The old man commented, turning back to Elias.
The doctor collected the sack carefully, his nose wrinkling as he caught the smell of rot sipping through the material. "I assume that you waited and asked around?" Elias wondered, looking across and meeting the old, tired brown eyes of the undertaker.
"Aye, lad. The ol' drunk finally drank himself to death. Been waiting for someone to claim the corpse, nothing. No wife, children or friends. Just some alley-rats that came to collect things they were promised from the old coot."
The doctor nodded slowly "Did you preserve anything or did you let it rot?"
Dogrose grumbled "Aye, set aside his heart and liver for ya. You can come collect it another day, not going to be caught walking around with a man's heart in a jar." He chuckled nervously.
"I understand." Elias replied "Thank you. I'll be certain to pick them up soon." The doctor stepped aside to carefully place the sack into an empty basket behind the counter. "Will you take your payment now or shall I wait until I fetch what you've collected?"
The old man sighed "Best to bring the whole thing when ye come over, but I'll take another bottle of that pain relief. My back is at it again."
"Of course, mister Dogrose." The doctor replied.
The undertaker sat with Elias for awhile, the old man catching the doctor up on some news around town and other small matters.
As Dogrose finished the last bit of tea from his cup, he turned to Elias with a thoughtful look. "What do ya do with the head anyway?" The man wondered.
The doctor looked aside for a moment "I am in need of the skull for medicine." He admitted, turning back to the undertaker; the elder not appearing too surprised by the answer.
"Animal bone not good enough?" Dogrose wondered, soaking the biscuit he'd been offered into the cup of tea, then carefully fitting the softened treat between what few teeth he had remaining.
"No." Elias replied simply.
The undertaker knew better than to press the matter further, changing the subject instead, "How's the lass doing?"
"What?" Elias turned to look at the man again.
"The lass you got working for ya here now." Dogrose clarified.
"Ah, miss Catalinna. Yes, she's been doing well here." The doctor answered.
The old man nodded again "That's good, lad. That's good."
The two spoke long into the morning, Elias inquiring about the recent deaths and their causes and further prying into the overall health of the town. Those were questions Dogrose had grown used to, politely answering and giving the doctor his much desired information. In turn, Elias sat back and listened as Dogrose talked about his bees and the simple joy he felt that they were awake once more, how happy he was to see his buzzing little friends again. Further questions were directed to the doctor about the new help he had around the infirmary and Elias gave his usual, blunt and honest answers.
When time came for the undertaker to return to his work, he thanked Elias for the company and after making a promise about a fresh jar of honey to be delivered to the doctor, Dogrose took his leave and returned to the town.
With his guest gone, the doctor collected the basket and sack that he'd been given, making his way into the barber-room to prepare the tools and proceed with the work that needed to be done.
A couple of hours passed, the doctor taking a small break in between to check on the sleeping patient and waking the man up to make certain that he ate and drank a little. Once the patient would be asleep again, the doctor returned to his work.
Slowly, the skull was pulled out from the small tub and the doctor eyed the white bone over to ensure that none of the flesh remained clinging to the surface.
Happy with the results, the doctor made his way back into the main room. He stopped in the doorway to look around, making sure that his house-keeper wasn't around and the patient remained asleep. With no one to ask questions, the doctor made his way into the walled off workspace to begin the delicate work of breaking the skull down and subsequently grinding it into a fine powder, a portion of which he took aside to use for the potion and the rest he stored away in a jar labeled as 'bone meal//s'.
The following hours moved by quickly as the doctor prepared the medicine. He thinned out the molasses to stir in with the powered bone and roasted dandelion root. The doctor cut up dark green leaves from vegetables he could find and ground them into paste; adding it to the mix.
The whole thing was sifted through the finest cloth he owned, back and forth until he was certain no chunks remained and all the liquid had been extracted. The bottle was left on a low boil to remove the impurities and it wasn't until evening that the mixture had been prepared and cooled enough to be consumed.
Elias slowly approached the curtains, looking them over. He was thankful for the work Taite had put into them, the fabric holding up and serving their purpose well.
The doctor pushed the cloth aside and slowly stepped to the bed, the sharp green eyes landing on the patient's face; the man remaining asleep.
He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, his hand reaching over to place itself on the man's chest "It's time to wake up." Elias spoke gently, carefully nudging the patient.
The doctor spoke to the man, but no words were returned and Elias' worry lingered. Had he ruined the man's voice? He dismissed the thought, helping the patient to sit up and making it easier for him to drink the elixir that the doctor had spent the day making.
Elias was slowly running out of options. The man had been brought back to life and now the doctor found himself lost, uncertain what the next step was, but slowly trying to figure it out. The man was still alive and each day he appeared to get a little stronger.
The doctor urged this man to swallow the entire contents of the vial he had prepared, afterwards getting the man to eat what little he could and lastly Elias had him drink the pain relief so that he could rest easy once again.
Gently, he helped the man to lay down as he had been before, the doctor lingering and watching the other until he had fallen asleep. Elias sighed and got back to his feet, slipping out past the curtains.
He made his way to the fire place, stocking the fading flames, adding new logs for it to feed on before finally settling down to rest. It was in that moment he realised he hadn't eaten through the day and yet found himself too tired to bother.
Elias closed his eyes and sank into his seat, enjoying the soft crackling from the fireplace.
Before the doctor could drift off, the familiar voice of the woman spoke up from behind him. Elias' eyes opened and he straightened himself out, looking over to greet the woman and inviting her to sit; curious eyes landing on the heavy sack she had brought in with her and questions soon followed.
