Elijah hurried through the path, going as fast as he could while making sure that Maddi was safe from errant branches and his feet from errant roots.  He knew even as he moved that it was not so much that he was rushing her to safety, as out of view.<br/><br/>A memory bubbled up through the surface of his thoughts.  It was from when he was a young child and had broken a figurine his mother had kept on her makeup table.  She had told him not to enter the room, but he had caught a glimpse of it earlier that morning and wanted to see it up close.  It was a child's exuberance that caused him to break the small figure, but the shame and fear that it had brought him was echoed by the much larger figure he now held in his arms.  Back then he had taken the pieces and hidden them in his room, but his mother had found out and punishment was swift and harsh.  Elijah wondered what the punishment would be this time.<br/><br/>A short while later, Elijah arrived slightly out of breath at his hut.  Through a tricky series of maneuverings, he managed to get the door open with Maddie in his arms and carried her over to the area he used for sleep.  A large fur blanket made of many pelts of the small vermin that inhabited the island sewn together was laid over his bedding made of the stuffing from one of the airplane's chairs that had washed ashore, now shredded and encased in some old mismatched fabric he had acquired from the bounty of the sea.  I was not fancy, but it was fairly soft and the pelt blanket was warm.  It was into this that he placed Maddi.  "Here.  You will be warm here and safe and I will keep an eye on you until your system clears itself of the poison."<br/><br/>Elijah looked at Maddi's eyes, realizing now that they were wet, "Oh...no...no, no,no...please don't be afraid.  I'm so very sorry, I won't hurt you again."  He carefully wiped the tears away and lightly kissed her forehead.  He looked up and spoke quietly, as the words were not meant to be heard and said, "Please God, keep this one safe.  I promise I'll make it up to you."  With Maddi tucked into the bed, Elijah took one of her unresponsive hands in his and settled in to wait.  Slowly, inexorably, the weight of his fatigue dragged him down until he lay on the ground by the bed still grasping Maddi's hand fast asleep.