Fiery Arrow by Sheila R. Lamb

Author:Sheila R. Lamb [Sheila R. Lamb]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Triple Fire Press
Published: 2022-07-21T00:00:00+00:00

One day, I quietly approached an elderly couple at the market. The woman squinted and held plants and herbs close to her face.

“My sight’s gone,” Niamh told me. “And he’s not much of a help.” She waved her hand at her husband who stayed at her side. Niamh was bent and hunched from the years. Her husband and sons scratched a minimal existence, she said, from the forest. As her age advanced, her sight failed, and she could no longer see to make her tea. They were poor folk who visited the Fotharit market seasonally, then retreated back into the woods.

“I can get her what she needs,” her husband said. “But I never remember which plant is which. She was the healer for those of us in the forest.”

To get away from Maithghean and Elían’s constant scrutiny, I took to leaving Fotharit for two or three days at a time. I traveled into Niamh’s forest community and told Elían I was gathering plants. I wasn’t sorry. I delivered herbs and food to the folk tucked away in the dark, forested country and who lived in a scattering of huts. They needed help most of all, and I shared with as many as I could. After a few visits, I showed those who were interested plants they could gather in their forest, taught them how to dry the plant, and store the herbs for use. Niamh introduced me to other healers in hidden enclaves. We met and shared herbal lore and plants from each other’s regions.

I visited Niamh personally at each waxing moon, and brought her chamomile tea. I foraged for her and devised a system of drying leaves and roots so she could identify them. We decided to organize her drying rack by symptom, headaches, stomachaches, fever.

“Thank you again, Brigid.”

“Now, this is mugwort,” I placed the plant in her hand.

“Yes, I can feel the downy side of it.” She brushed her finger over the thin hairs along the stem. I tied the plant carefully to its place on the drying rack.

“Next, here are bulbs of garlic. You know this by the smell and size. Add a clove or two every day to your meals. It will help keep illness away.”

“Saille.“ She touched the rough willow bark. She used it often and knew its painkilling properties.

We spent afternoons organizing her pharmacopeia to her liking. I enjoyed the work. I didn’t need Elían looking over my shoulder. I knew the plants and their properties. Even so, Niamh described to me new ways of concocting teas, and whether certain plants were better as whole leaves or grounded powder. I was happy to be away from Fotharit and found I was able to put the Test of the Ancients out of my mind, free from Maithghean’s heavy stare.

On my next visit, I filled my cart with cheese and butter and gave the supplies to Niamh.

“You are too generous, Brigid.” Her wrinkled hands grasped the cask of butter. Their only cow had died on the moon before, leaving them with no dairy.

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