Brianna, an enterprising young lady, pedals her bicycle into the small English village with a determined purpose. She loved helping people, whether it be with herbs or counselling in the way of hypnotherapy. She had contacted the owner of a flat and shop, a few days before to secure the location. She had endured so much recently, her husband dying, the accusations of ordering her husband killed, accusations of being a witch, and theft of her beloved dogs. To be honest, how could she have planned for her husband to be killed in a true accident? His car was crushed between two lorry trucks on the way home from work. When the police showed up at her door, they told her that there wasn’t much left of the car...or him. The only way she was able to identify him was by the wedding ring on his dismembered finger, which was still attached to the steering wheel. She returned home after the body identification to find the door broken and her dogs gone. She still didn’t know who did it, but she had had plenty of time to think about the previous months’ events while riding her bicycle to the new village for a fresh start.
The moving van was already there as she pulled up to her new home, with the movers and some furniture standing outside the front door. She smiled as she pulled her bike to a stop at the front door. She took the key from the long necklace she was wearing and opened the door. The movers didn’t waste any time getting her belongings moved in. She looked around the village at the other homes and the people walking around and took a deep breath, smelling the sweet fragrance of the flowers nearby. Some of the villagers came over to greet the new arrival,
asking her where she was moving from, what kind of shop she has, and expressing interest in her counselling services.
As the movers are taking her bed out of the van and moving it into the house, she steps back onto the street a little too far. One gentleman - George - is standing across the street, watching with unusual interest at Brianna. Suddenly, there is a screech of car tires from near the church, the car comes tearing around the corner, straight towards Brianna. The villagers have all moved off and are chatting about the new arrival. George sees the danger, Riley hears the tires, turns and yells for Brianna to look out. She turns toward the voice, away from the car, and George races across the road to tackle her out of the path of the oncoming car. They land with a thud at the entrance to her new home, and George covers their faces with his jacket as the car speeds on out of the village.
George uncovers their faces and inquires as to her welfare. Brianna states that she is alright as George gets up, helps her up, and an electric shock passes between them. They look at each other and move out of the way as the moving men finish their job, Brianna signs their clipboard, and they leave. George starts limping, and Brianna notices, invites him into the shop so she can use her herbs and knowledge to heal his wound. He complies and follows her in, sitting down on the chair near the centre counter.
Brianna retrieves her first aid kit from one of the boxes nearby, opens it and takes out two clean pieces of cloth- one she moistens with warm water, the other stays dry and one ribbon. She inquires as to whether he is allergic to any plants. He responds that he is not, and she gets a scoopful of Arnica and Turmeric, mixes them with a small amount of water to turn them into a paste. George removes his sock and shoe and crosses his leg over his other knee so she can tend to it. Brianna
cleans the wound with the moistened cloth, sets the cloth aside, takes the other one and uses it to scoop some paste onto it, placing it gently on the wound and fastening it with the ribbon. George inquires about her shoppe, how long she’s been an herbalist and how she learned about it all. She explains it’s all self-taught, and she usually goes on nature walks, gathering the herbs that are native to the area she resides in. He asks if he can assist her in unpacking the boxes, and she inquires about her Good Samaritan’s background. He divulges that he was in the British Army Special Forces, but after a series of bad choices, he now works for a local Entrepreneur. Brianna takes the jars and products from George, careful not to brush skin to skin. George asks about her background, and she wonders how much to tell him, not wanting to taint their newfound friendship. She tells him about the recent events which brought her to the village, the car wreck killing her husband, the accusations from her late husband’s sister and her dogs being stolen on the night her husband died.
George expresses his sympathy at her loss, but states he hopes she will find the village welcoming. She remains guarded, but quietly lets on that she has finally found a home in this village. George gets up without thinking, breaks down the boxes they have unpacked, takes them and puts them by the front door to be taken out with the rubbish. He checks his ankle, finds it’s on the way to being healed already, takes the bandage off, places the ribbon on the first aid kit and tosses the bandage in the trash bin.
Brianna goes over and fixes a cup of tea for both of them. George expresses his curiosity that she had two teacups sitting there at the ready. She explains it is no different than how many chairs a cafe has or how many sticky buns a bakery has prepared to sell for the day. George inquires if she would have dinner with him that night, and she agrees. He states he will be back to
get her at five p.m. She walks him out the door, he smiles at her and walks off as she retrieves her bicycle from outside and brings it into the safety of her new home.