The corpse was slowly floating in the river. As it drifted closer, he could see that it was a woman. The sight of the body made him shiver; he had never seen one, and this one had a huge cut across the stomach. Someone must be kidnapping people and bringing them in this spot to kill them.

  Noah walked up to woman. She could be carrying something he could use. At least he could dry her clothes and cover up with them at night.

  One thing he noticed was that the injury was bleeding, which was strange. A floating corpse meant that it had been dead for days, as far as he knew. When he grabbed her arm to lift her up, he was shocked. The body was warm.

  He stumbled back in surprise and almost let go of the woman, but he recovered and pulled her out.

  Now that he had a close look at her face, he guessed that she could be in high-school, or at most she was the same age as him. Her face was marred with scars, dirt, and blood. She wore a strange black robe tied with a belt, and her hair was shoulder length and a darker shade of brown than the dirt she lay on. And hanging by the belt on her waist…

  A sword. Is this real?

  Noah dragged her further from the river bank, and the grass that had been beneath her wilted and died. At the same time, the long wound on her stomach began to close. His jaw dropped. I might have to start taking religion seriously after this.

  There was no way he could tell if she was still alive, but as long as her body was warm, he had to try and save her, didn’t he? He knelt close to her and checked her breathing with a hand above her mouth. Nothing was coming in or out.

  He was scared of the possibility of her cutting him down if he saved her, considering the sword. There was also the possibility of making things worse, since she seemed to be healing on her own. CPR could make things worse if she didn’t need it. Though, going with common sense, water in the lungs was not something you could heal. Noah gathered his courage.

  Frantically trying to remember the steps of CPR, he blamed himself for the precious seconds that were wasted all because he hadn’t learned it well in class. Was it rescue breaths first, or the chest compressions?

  First, he disrobed her just enough to be able to interlock his hands at the center of her chest. Then he formed a seal with his own mouth around her mouth, suddenly becoming aware that he was naked, possibly defiling a divine figure. Lord forgive me.

  He closed her nose, blew in five rescue breaths, then turned to do the chest compressions. Already a little tired after twenty, he was afraid he compressing hard enough. As far as he knew, ribs often cracked during CPR, and he heard nothing.

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  Nothing changed after the first set of thirty compressions, so he repeated the sequences, praying for her survival.

  The second did not help either. I must be doing it wrong. He persisted for a few more sets, but the woman still wasn’t coming back. His hands were losing strength. Despite not knowing her, he found himself tearing up. Someone was going to die because of his inadequacy.

  He was panting, feeling himself on the edge of collapsing from the effort. Still, he gave her another five rescue breaths and started another round of chest compression, his arms shaking wildly. Please, more strength, he begged.

  After a few inadequate compressions, he felt a searing pain in his chest, but he didn’t stop the compressions. He thought that it was over and he was going to faint.

  Then his fatigue was replaced by overwhelming strength. His prayer was somehow answered. He kept going with renewed stamina, still unsure that it would achieve anything.

  Water gushed out of her mouth, and he continued until it stopped coming out. He was aware that he would probably need an AED to restore her pulse, but he put his hopes on her miraculous healing ability to do that. Trying to sense her pulse from her neck and wrist at the same time, he waited.

  Upon the first pulse, he was elated, feeling that a strange bond had formed between them. The woman opened her eyes. She screamed and shook him off violently, then she kicked him in the side. He felt that something inside his body was crushed.

  With a mix of happiness and terror, his sight faded out.

  ***

  It was the second time having a black out since he’d gone out of his house. If he ever managed to return, he would like to stay put for at least a month.

  He lifted his head hoping that he would find himself back at home and sleeping on the couch, but he was still naked on the grass with a strange liquid poured on his body. The woman he had saved was sitting nearby, meditating with her back against a tree.

  Noah could not help laughing while looking at the woman he had saved.

  She opened her eyes. “I see you are doing well,” she said dryly.

  “For a second I thought you were going to kill me,” he said.

  “God no I don’t kill babies.”

  “Babies?” he asked. Then he sat upright. Strangely, there was no pain where she kicked him.

  “Your hands are soft like a baby’s,” she said, her words broken with a giggle. “Never mind that. Could you please cover up? I don’t know where to look.”

  His face heated up in embarrassment, and he tried to cover what he could with his hands. “I would’ve covered up if I had any clothes,” he shouted in a panic.

  “You don’t even carry a spare set in your inventory? Are you crazy?” she shouted back at him. “How did you even survive to reach adulthood.”

  The woman stood up, extending her hand in front of her. Above her hand, blue warped and swirled. A set of robe and belt, identical to the ones she wore, materialized in place of the blue colors. She threw them at him.

  Noah stood there, dumbfounded.

  “What? Wear it.” She motioned with her head.

  “How did you do that?” he asked.

  She tiled her head as though she didn’t understand his question. “Do what.”

  He shook the clothes. “This. It’s a miracle.”

  “Stop shaking. Please.” She covered her eyes. “I don’t get. It’s nothing special. I grabbed them out of my inventory.”

  “Inventory?” he asked while wearing the robe.

  She stared at him. “You don’t know what that is?”

  He shook his head.

  “What in the seven earths.”