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Jack looked at his sister with sorrow. He knew she was really sweet on Spot. Birdie walked to the door and looked in at Spot. He was just lying there, on the bottom bunk, unconscious. Birdie stood at the door looking at him, just lying there. Jack led her into the room and left, closing the door on his way out.
Birdie walked slowly over to Spot's bed, a tear rolled down her face. She knelt down next to his bed and looked at him. If it weren't for all the bruises and drying blood all over his body, he would've looked quite handsome, asleep. He still was very handsome, but the blood made Birdie sadder. His blond hair was matted from blood in several spots, he had a black eye and a large cut on the side of his face. His thin body was soaked with blood. It had been cleaned up a little, but the stains were still there. Birdie looked at him, another tear rolled down her cheek. She never quite had the chance to tell Spot how she felt about him. She just knelt there looking at him.
Just then, something fell out of her pocket. She picked it up off the floor. It was an amulet. A red stone with a gold backing, it had a long gold chain, too. Birdie studied it for a few seconds, suddenly she knew exactly what it was. She went to the washroom and grabbed one of the guys's razor blades and brought it back to Spot's bed.
She kissed Spot's forhead. With a trembling hand, she took Spot's right hand and sliced along the middle of his palm. It was only a small cut, not very deep. Then she did the same to her own palm. Next, she put the amulet in her right hand and grabbed Spot's other hand. She closed her eyes and, before she knew it, she was feeling pain. She felt a warm glow around her and Spot. After a few minutes of this, the pain was so intense that Birdie couldn't take it anymore. She let go of Spot's hand and, almost as quickly as it had begun, the pain ended. She lay on the floor, unconscious.
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After a few minutes, Jack opened the door to check on Birdie. He looked over at where Spot lay; she wasn't there. He looked around the room. She was standing at the window. Jack walked over to her and touched her shoulder. She instantly looked up at him. He could tell she'd been crying. He moved closer to her and held her to comfort her.
The other boys had walked in and had crowded around Spot's bed. They were all going to miss him. He was the best newsie in all of New York, and probably everywhere else. All had removed their hats and stood there with their heads bowed to show respect for their friend.
Just then, Spot stirred. He moaned. All the newsies looked at him. They couldn't believe he was alive. The doctor had told them he was dead. Now, all of a sudden, he was alive. Jack looked up from across the room. He let go of his sister and walked over to Spot's bed. He was glad Spot was alive. Birdie looked over at the group around Spot's bed, then she looked back out the window. She was ashamed of what she'd done. She knew she hadn't completed the ritual; it was far too painful, but it was still enough. She just looked out the window again, tears rolling down her face.
Spot said something. "Kath... ryn," he managed to get out in two exhausted breaths. Jack and all the newsies turned to look at Birdie. She was still standing at the window, though she looked over at the group around Spot's bed. "Kath...ryn," Spot said again in very much the same way. Birdie walked across the room, the newsies moved for her to get to Spot. She knelt alongside Spot's bed. She took his hand and forced a smile. "Kathryn, I had a dream..." Spot started.
"Shhhh," Birdie said, putting her finger to Spot's mouth. She began to brush Spot's hair from his forehead. "Ya need yer rest," she said quietly. She was brushing his hair away so gently. Spot felt like there was a gentle spring breeze moving across his face. "Sleep now," she said touching his forhead with her fingers.
Some of the newsies swore they saw little gold specs coming out of her fingers, but they could've been hallucinating. Spot became drowsy and slowly fell asleep. Tears were coming faster down her cheeks now. Jack came over and put his hands on her shoulders.
"D'ya think he'll survive?" Jack asked his sister.
"I'm positive," she replied and stood up. She walked slowly back over to the window. The newsies just watched; they didn't know what to do. Jack shooed them all out into the hallway. He told them to go into the street and try to sell some papers or something. He went back up to see his sister. She was still standing at the window. Jack walked over to her and put his arm around her.
"I did it, Jack," Birdie said. "I did it," she repeated, more quietly.
"What?" Jack asked.
Birdie handed Jack the amulet. "Please, Jack. Keep dis fer me. Nevah evah let me have it, no matter how much I ask fer it. No mattah how much I beg ya fer it. Nevah give it ta me. Jist one thing, nevah destroy it. If ya do, we won't survive. Oh, 'n' nevah give it ta no one else. 'N' whatever ya do, don't have it in yer hand when ya touch someone else's hand," she said, still crying a little.
Jack nodded and said, "A coise, Kathryn. A coise I will."
Birdie leaned up against Jack and hid her face in his shirt. She was crying. Usually Birdie wasn't the one to be crying. She was usually pretty tough and calm about everything. No one had ever seen her cry before, not even Jack. It bothered him a lot; she was his sister after all. He didn't know why she was still crying. It was understandable when they all thought Spot was dead, but he was alive.
"Why's she still crying?" Jack thought to himself. He just stood there comforting her while she cried.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, Birdie stopped crying and was looking out the window again. She still wasn't her old self, but she was finished crying. No one would see her cry again. No one. The other newsies had come in for the night and were sulking around. Spot was still asleep, and they wondered if he was ever going to wake up again.
Jack had cleaned up the rest of the blood on Spot's face and body. Spot was still badly bruised, but he was much cleaner now. Birdie looked down at her bandaged hand. She had wrapped it up after doing that wretched ritual which almost claimed her soul. The bandage was soaked with blood. She walked over to the sink to wash her hand and change the bandage. Jack walked up behind her.
"Kathryn, ya kin stay heah tonight if ya want," he said with compassion.
I wasn't plannin' on leavin'," she said and looked straight at Jack. It was the first thing she'd said in hours.
Across the room, Spot began to stir. The newsies clustered around his bed again. This time, Birdie was first at Spot's side. Spot opened his eyes and smiled. It pained him to smile, but he did it anyway. He was very glad to see Birdie and Jack, and the rest of the newsies, too. "Heya guys," Spot said as happily as he could manage.
"Heya, Spot!" all the newsies replied, almost in unison. Birdie smiled at them.
"Heya, Kathryn. Ya gonna noisse me back ta health?" Spot asked.
Birdie looked at him for a long time. He didn't usually call her Kathryn. Only she and Jack had caught it. The reason he did was because of the ritual. It had brought them closer together than anything ever could. They had shared something special, as special as it could be.
"Of coise, Spot, if ya want me ta," Birdie answered. She knew the answer just by looking into Spot's eyes. For some reason she could hear what he was thinking. Not words exactly, but more like images. She figured he must've been able to feel the same thing. Then she looked up at Jack.
Jack was glad for both Spot and his sister. They both seemed to be doing better. He put his hand on his sister's shoulder and said, "I takes it yer gonna be stayin' here fer longer den tanight."
Birdie smiled for a second. Then she had a confused look on her face. She could hear what Jack was thinking, too. This disturbed her a little. She looked around the room slowly; she realized she could hear all of them. She dismissed it; it wasn't the most pleasant of all thoughts at that particular moment. She looked back at Spot, then up at the other newsies.
"Awright, guys, ya all need yer rest, so go ta bed now," Birdie announced.
The guys looked at her and then started to go to their beds and undress. None of them wanted to argue with her. She was pleasant at the moment, but she had a rather short temper. They didn't want to get on her bad side. Her temper would most likely be shorter than usual, Spot and all. None of them really cared that they were undressing in the presence of a girl either. She would most likely be preoccupied with Spot and not care what they were doing.
All the newsies had finished getting ready for bed. They all piled into their bunks. Birdie was sitting on the floor next to Spot's bed. Kloppman had shut the lamps off and told Birdie that she could stay there and didn't have to pay for the night. Birdie tried to protest, but Kloppman wouldn't hear of it.
None of the guys could get to sleep. They were all still worried about Spot and if he'd make it though the night. Some of them stayed up talking while others just tossed and turned.
"Kathryn, why don't ya tell us a story. Ta git us all ta sleep," Spot suggested. He couldn't sleep either.
Birdie smiled in the darkness. "Tell ya what," she said. "I'll do betta 'an dat. I'll sing you guys a song. How's dat sound?" None of the guys objected. Birdie thought for a moment, then she began to sing.
Listen people to a story that was written long ago 'bout a kingdom on a mountain and the valley far below. On the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath a stone, and the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own. Go ahead and hate yer neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of heaven, and you'll be justified in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the jugdement day, but the bloody mornin' afta, one tin soldiar rides away. So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill. Came an answer from the kingdom: "With our brothers we will share all the secrets of our mountain, and the riches buried there." Go ahead and hate yer neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of heaven, and you'll be justified in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the jugdement day, but the bloody mornin' afta, one tin soldiar rides away. Now the valley cried with anger; "Mount yer horses, draw yer swords!" and they killed the mountain people, so they won their just reward. Now they stood beside the treasure, on a mountain dark an' red, turned the stone and looked beneath it. "Peace on Earth," was all it said. Go ahead and hate yer neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of heaven, and you'll be justified in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the jugdement day, but the bloody mornin' afta, one tin soldiar rides away.*
She had the most beautiful voice any of them had ever heard. The song wasn't really a lullaby type of song, but the way she sang it made them all drift off to sleep. The song had a slow beat, but it was pretty the way she sang it. As soon as Birdie was finished with the song, she, too, fell asleep.
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