Michael paused when he reached the yard, realizing he had no idea which direction she had even traveled. He glanced toward the lake and quickly ruled it out, rationalizing that he’d be able to see Maria easily if she had decided to walk along the miles of clearly visible beach down there. He turned behind the cabin and faced the woods behind it. That left the forest. “Great,” he muttered to himself as he moved hurriedly towards the line of trees. “How am I gonna find her in there?”

He stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “Okay, deep breath, concentrate,” he told himself. He stood a moment and then opened his eyes. “Okay, she went this way,” he said decisively to himself. He had been walking a little while when a sudden thought made him stop dead in his tracks. Maria was in trouble. Without even bothering to question how he knew this, he knew it was true and he caught his breath. He had to find her. She needed him. He increased his pace and soon was almost running. “Maria?” he cried in desperation. “Maria!”

And then he saw her. Her petite form was lying crumpled on the ground next to a large fallen tree branch. “No,” he whispered as he raced toward her, his heart caught in his throat. “Please, no. Please be okay.” He couldn’t even begin to think of what his life would be without her. It was hard enough for him to live day to day without being able to physically be with her. If he were to lose her entirely, if she was gone- no! He shook his head to clear the disturbing thought from his mind as he knelt down by her side. She was okay. She had to be okay. “Please,” he whispered again, reaching down a shaky hand to check her pulse. She belonged here, with him.

She couldn’t leave him. “Maria, please,” he whispered. “I need you.”

“We belong to the light
We belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words
We’ve both fallen under
Whatever we deny or embrace
For worse or for better
We belong, we belong
We belong together.”

He let out a ragged breath as he felt her pulse beating steadily beneath his fingers. “Thank you,” he whispered to no one in particular, letting his shoulders sink forward in relief. “Maria,” he called her, shaking her shoulder gently. “Maria, open your eyes. Come on, Maria, I need you to wake up now.” Except for the pelting rain and howling wind and thundering of the storm, it was silent and Michael held his breath, waiting.

After a long moment Maria’s eyelashes began to flutter. “Wha-?” she mumbled. “Where? Michael? What are you doing here? What’s going on?”

“Maria, you’re in the woods,” Michael told her gently. “You went for a walk and I think you fell or you were hit by this branch. Do you hurt anywhere? Can you move?”

Maria began to cautiously test her limbs. When she got to her legs she cried out in pain. “Oh God,” she gasped, closing her eyes against the pain. “My ankle,” she mumbled, her eyes still closed. “Oh God, it hurts.”

Michael moved down to sit beside her ankle and saw that it had already swollen up to at least twice its normal size and had begun to take on a purplish tinge. He gathered his thoughts a moment then moved back to sit by her head again. “Do you feel dizzy?” he asked her, gently brushing his fingers across the gash on her forehead.

She shook her head carefully. “But my head hurts,” she admitted. “I think I remember now. I saw the branch falling and I tried to get out of the way, but I caught my ankle on something. I think something hit me in the head, and that’s the last thing I remember.”

Michael nodded. “Probably that branch. Okay, we need to get out of this storm. Do you think you can stand if I support you?”

Maria shrugged. “I’ll try.” Michael put his hands underneath her arms and slowly helped her to stand. Maria stood on her left leg with Michael still supporting her and then attempted to put weight on her right leg. The moment her right ankle straightened and touched the ground, however, she sucked in a sharp breath and leaned heavily against Michael. “I can’t,” she whispered. “It just hurts too much. I’m sorry.”

Michael shook his head. “Don’t be sorry,” he told her. “This isn’t your fault. I’m going to have to carry you. Is that okay with you?” After a moment’s hesitation Maria nodded and Michael scooped her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest. He looked around a moment before looking down at the soaking wet, shivering girl in his arms. “I hate to tell you this,” he said, “but I’m not really sure how to get back to the cabin. It all looks the same to me as it is, but I think we’re pretty far from it right now. Did you see anything else out here when you were walking, any kind of house or shelter anywhere nearby?”

Maria shook her head miserably. “I was a little distracted,” she admitted. “I didn’t really notice anything, including where I was going.”

"Okay," Michael said. "Well we need to pick a direction, I guess, and just hope we come across somewhere where we can get out of the storm." Michael pointed to their right. "How about this way?" Maria nodded her agreement and they set off.

They traveled for awhile without speaking, and finally the silence became too much for Maria. "Michael?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you come after me?" she asked in a small voice. "I mean, after the way I acted. And how did you know where to find me?"

"I was worried about you," he said simply. "And as to how I found you, well, I don't know. I just knew you were in trouble, and somehow I knew where to find you."