Simultaneously we dropped onto it without saying a word. Catalina was muddy, and she slouched so much that her head was almost against my shoulder. She looked so tired. She turned her head slightly and peered at me out of the corner of her eye. “Well, you look a mess,” she said. “So do you.” She put her hand on my cheek. “Why are you shivering? Do you have a fever?” “It’s possible.” The shoulder of my tunic was torn and covered with dried blood. “You’re lucky that hameh didn’t cut you all that deeply.” Catalina took a breath and said, “Well, go on. Take off your shirt.” I stared at her. “By all the saints! I’m going to change your bandages.” Wincing, I peeled off my tunic, allowing Catalina to unbind the old dressings. She touched my wounds lightly and looked at her fingers. “What a mess.” Although the holes the hameh made had finally stopped bleeding, they were now covered with layers of pink and yellow pus speckled brown with mud. I chewed on some of Arabuko’s leaves as Catalina removed some strips of cloth from her bag and wound them around my arm and back.
