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Crystal and Elliott rarely fought.
Like any couple, they had their occasional arguments, small disagreements that usually melted away as quickly as they came, like frost dissolving against warm skin.
But on that storm-lashed day, when the trees thrashed like untethered kites and the wind howled like a wounded beast, the tempest found its way into the lovers’ hearts as well.
“Is it really too much to ask for a little help for once?!” Crystal snapped, her fists clenched at her sides. “There are crops that haven’t been watered, dairy that hasn’t been processed, wine that still needs tending… Do I have to do everything myself?!”
“I am trying to help!” Elliott shot back, clearly offended. “It’s my first time doing any of this, I—”
“It’s always an excuse with you!” she cut in sharply. “You never put any real effort into the farm!”
“Sorry if I have my own work to do,” he replied, crossing his arms with a frown.
“Reading and writing is not work!”
“Excuse me?!” Elliott pressed a hand to his chest, incredulous. “It absolutely is!”
“It’s always the same, you just don’t want to put in the effort!”
“Of course I do! You’re the one who exaggerates, nothing is ever enough for you!”
Crystal could feel her temper spiraling, her thoughts burning hotter by the second. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she said something she couldn’t take back.
“You know what? This is pointless,” she said, turning toward the door. “I’m leaving. I have work to do—and clearly, no one else is going to do it for me.”
“B-but it’s pouring!” Elliott started, stepping toward her.
“I don’t care!” she snapped. “Someone has to take responsibility. And it’s clearly not you.”
The anger drained from the writer’s face, leaving something far more fragile in its wake. Had she looked back, she might have seen the shine of tears in his eyes and tension in his jaw; but she didn’t bother.
She stormed out, the door slamming behind her. The wind caught it hard, turning the slam into a violent crack that echoed through the house.
Cold rain hit her like needles, sharp and relentless, but she pushed forward without hesitation. She wouldn’t go back inside, not until all the work was done… or until the storm broke her first. Out of pride, she trusted it would be the former.
Her boots sank into the mud with every step, but she kept moving, digging through the sludge for truffles and gathering fruit the wind had torn from the trees.
The animals were safe in the barn, so she only needed to make sure they had enough feed and that the heaters were running properly.
After tending to the greenhouse, she made her way toward the southern forest.
The argument with Elliott lingered still too fresh in her mind, and guilt twisted in her stomach. Had she gone too far? But she was angry. She just wanted Elliott to help more, to share the weight of the farm work. Maybe part of her resented how calm he always seemed, how he could spend hours in his tidy study while she worked under the blazing sun, dirt clinging to her skin.
“I can handle this on my own,” she muttered, pulling out her machete and hacking through the thick, overgrown, rain-fed weeds.
Lightning split the sky for a moment.
A heartbeat later, thunder cracked so loudly it seemed to shake the entire valley.
Crystal flinched, a strangled sound escaping her throat. That had been close.
She kept working, though unease began to creep in. Now that she thought about it, coming out here in the middle of a storm might not have been her best idea. She hated getting her hair wet. The wind cut through her clothes, leaving her shivering, and the constant thunder rattled her nerves.
Right now, she would have given anything to be curled up in bed, wrapped in blankets, with noise-canceling headphones and a mug of hot chocolate.
Still, she did not stop, too proud to even think of her own safety.
Then the air shifted.
Heavy with moisture and the sharp scent of petrichor, it suddenly crackled with energy. Crystal felt her skin prickled. The fine hairs on her arms stood on end. A high ringing filled her ears.
And then, a blinding flash.
A sound like an explosion came a second later. Heat scorched her skin for a split second before the thunder roared, splitting the sky.
Crystal squeezed her eyes shut by instinct, but when she opened them again, she saw it. A tree, just a few meters away, had been struck by lightning. The top of the trunk splintered with a violent crack, snapping clean off. It began to fall like a meteor drawn to the earth.
Straight toward Crystal.
"LOOK OUT!"
She froze in shock. The massive trunk hurtled toward her at a terrifying speed. Her body refused to move, locked in place by sheer shock. Even the warning shout couldn’t snap her out of it.
Not until someone slammed into her.
The force sent her crashing to the ground, the breath knocked from her lungs.
Behind her, the tree hit with a thunderous crash, drowning out a pained groan. After that, only the relentless drumming of rain remained.
Crystal gasped, struggling to breathe as she pushed herself upright on shaking arms. Slowly, she turned around.
The fallen trunk lay behind her.
And beneath it, buried among the branches, a body.
A body dressed in a red jacket. Long copper hair, soaked and tangled.
A scream caught in her throat as she stared at the motionless form.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Her heart pounded wildly, screaming at her to do something—anything—but she could’t move, couldn’t think...
Until she did.
"ELLIOTT!"
She scrambled to her feet and rushed to him, her legs barely holding her up. The trunk pinned his shoulder and part of his back. One arm, the left one, was trapped beneath him, the other still outstretched, frozen in the moment he had pushed her away.
“Elliott—Elliott, can you hear me?!”
No response.
She dropped to her knees and brushed his soaked hair away from his face. Her fingers came away wet and warm. She looked down and recoiled with a cry when she saw the blood pouring from a wound on his forehead.
Too much blood.
She couldn’t help but scream in terror.
Elliott didn’t respond.
The tree had crushed him.
He was bleeding heavily.
He wasn’t breathing…
Her thoughts shattered into chaos. She couldn’t process it, couldn’t understand what she was seeing, she didn’t know what to do.
Someone was calling her name. Or maybe it was just the wind, or the rain pounding in her ears.
Elliott…
She couldn’t think. She was frozen, soaked, freezing, terrified.
“I killed him,” she whispered, numb. “He’s dead… because of me…”
Someone grabbed her shoulders and shook her, shouting her name.
“Crystal!”
She blinked, disoriented, trying to focus on the fiery-haired figure in front of her.
"Elliott?" she asked in a tiny voice.
The face inches from hers came into focus, revealing the fine features of a woman with lilac eyes and a sorrowful expression.
Leah.
“What happened?!” the artist shouted over the storm, her voice tight with panic.
“I—I…” Crystal’s voice failed her. Her mind was still stuck on the image of Elliott’s body beneath the tree. “E-Elliott—!”
The sight of him—her husband—crushed, unmoving, his blood washing away in the rain… It jolted her into action.
"We have to get him out of here!"
Leah nodded, determined.
Together, they tried to lift the trunk, but it wouldn’t budge, too heavy.
“I’ll get an axe!” Leah said. “We’ll cut it down enough to move it, then you pull him free!”
Crystal nodded, watching as Leah sprinted back toward her cabin. She returned moments later, axe in hand, and they quickly began hacking away at the heavier branches.
“On three!” Leah called. “One… two… three!”
With a strained cry, the redhead lifted the trunk while Crystal grabbed Elliott’s arm and pulled with all her strength. He slid free. Once done, the trunk slammed back to the ground, and both women rushed to his side.
He still wasn’t conscious, but at least now they could confirm he was alive.
His chest rose in shallow, uneven breaths. His shoulder was clearly dislocated, and the gash on his forehead refused to stop bleeding. His skin was ice-cold, his lips tinged an alarming gray.
“We need to get him to Harvey. Now,” Leah said urgently.
“How are we supposed to carry him?” Crystal asked, panic creeping back in.
"Maybe I can help," a new voice said, and both women turned to see Marnie, wrapped in a rain cloak, her face tight with worry. "I’ll lend you a horse."
Riding one of Marnie’s fastest mares, they reached Harvey’s clinic in record time. They pounded on the door until it swung open. Harvey took one look at Elliott—soaked, muddy, and bleeding—and didn’t ask a single question before he got straight to work.
They carried him inside and laid him on the bed as the doctor immediately began assessing him.
“His breathing is irregular,” Harvey said quickly. “His lungs sound clear, but I suspect a fractured rib.”
While Harvey worked alongside Maru—whom he had called in for extra help—Leah stayed with Crystal in the waiting room. Both women were wrapped in thick, warm blankets, each holding a cup of calming tea, just as the nurse had suggested.
Crystal barely registered any of it. She only remembered sitting there, staring into nothing, her mind trapped in an endless loop, like a horror film she couldn’t turn off. Over and over again, she saw it: Elliott shoving her out of the way… the tree crashing down… his body disappearing beneath the branches.
He saved me, she thought. He gave his life for me.
A sob broke free from her chest.
Seeing her, Leah immediately pulled her chair closer, gently rubbing slow circles over her back.
“It’s going to be okay,” she murmured softly. “We just have to trust Harvey.”
“Elliott could die,” Crystal choked out, her voice trembling. “And the last thing we did was fight…”
Her composure shattered. Tears streamed down her face as her shoulders shook with uncontrollable sobs. Leah wrapped an arm around her, holding her close as she whispered soft reassurances into her hair.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly like that, until, at last, Harvey returned.
“Elliott will need to stay under observation for at least twenty-four hours,” he explained. “He has three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a concussion. The cut on his forehead required stitches, and we’ve given him antibiotics and pain medication for now.”
If anything, that only made Crystal’s chest tighten further.
Three broken ribs. A concussion. Those weren’t minor injuries! What if something went wrong? What if he didn’t wake up? What if… after all this, he blamed her? What if he hated her?
“Can I see him?” she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Harvey gave a small nod and led her down the hall.
The room was simple. There, lying on the narrow and simple bed, was Elliott.
His long copper hair, still damp, framed his pale face. One arm was secured in a sling, bandaged carefully. His shirt had been removed, his chest wrapped tightly to support his ribs.
He looked so still. Too still.
“He hasn’t woken up?” Crystal asked, her voice unsteady.
“He regained consciousness briefly,” Harvey said. “He was disoriented, so we explained the situation as calmly as possible. Then he asked us something… He asked if you were alright. We told him you were… and he lost consciousness again right after.”
The farmer bit her lip as more tears spilled over.
Even like this… He had been thinking about her.
Her throat felt tight and her heart clenched. Guilt was eating her alive.
Oh, Elliott, my Elliott…
“I’ll show you to a room where you can spend the night,” Maru said gently, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You shouldn’t have to go back to the farm right now.”
She guided Crystal down the hall to a small, quiet room.
“Do you want me to stay with you?” Leah asked softly, stepping in beside her friend.
Crystal felt far too shaken and restless to be alone, so she accepted the redhead’s company. After all, she was someone very important to both her and Elliott.
Maru returned shortly after with something warm to eat, then quietly left them to rest. Leah stretched out on the couch, while Crystal curled up on the bed, still wrapped in her blanket.
She didn’t want to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it again: the tree, the fall. Elliott.
But the emotional exhaustion and the cold soon pulled her into the realm of dreams, and she slipped into restless sleep.
When she woke, the room was dark. Only a thin strip of light slipped in beneath the door, just enough to outline the shapes of the furniture. Leah was asleep on the couch, breathing deeply, a soft snore escaping her now and then.
It took Crystal a moment to remember where she was and why. When it all came rushing back, the memories rekindled the embers of guilt in her heart.
Careful not to make a sound, she slipped out of bed, pulled on her shoes, and stepped into the hallway.
The clinic was empty and silent. Only a few dim lights were left on. Harvey had told her she could come get him upstairs if she needed anything, but the thought of disturbing the doctor’s rest felt wrong. The clock in the waiting room read 23:30.
Slowly, she made her way to Elliott’s door. Her hand hovered over the handle, trembling slightly. Conflicting emotions—worry, guilt, anxiety, fear, love—fought inside her mind, holding her back. For a long moment, she just stood there, unable to move, until finally, she forced herself to turn the knob.
The door creaked softly as she stepped inside. She didn’t turn on the light. Instead, she let the faint glow from the hallway spill into the room, stretching across the floor and up the side of the bed.
Elliott lay there, still. She moved closer, her gaze softening as she studied him.
He always looked so peaceful when he slept. His face was relaxed and unguarded, framed by that long copper hair. If not for the sling and the bandages wrapped around him, it would have looked like any other night, like he had simply fallen asleep reading, propped up against the pillows the way he always did back home.
Crystal bit her lip. Maybe she should just let him rest.
She turned to leave when she felt something brush against her arm.
"Don’t go…" a voice whispered.
She froze, then turned back. Green eyes met hers, heavy with sleep and dulled by painkillers.
“Crystal…” he murmured. “Are you okay?”
That was all it took to shattered what remained of the farmer’s composure.
“What kind of question is that?!” she broke, her voice cracking as tears welled up again. “Of course I’m okay—you saved me! And now you’re the one lying here, hurt because of me! How can you… how can you not hate me after everything I did? After everything I said?”
She wasn’t just talking about the accident. The argument before she stormed out into the rain came rushing back to her memory, loud and clear. She had been so foolish, so inconsiderate, so cruel…
“I know what you’re thinking,” Elliott said softly. There was no anger in his voice, only sadness. “You were right. I should have helped you more. I should have been there when you needed me.”
He paused, his jaw tightening. Even the smallest breath seemed to cause him pain, but he pushed through it.
“I went out to find you,” he went on quietly. “And then the lightning struck… the tree fell… and I didn’t think. Not for a second. All I knew was that you had to be safe.”
His gaze softened.
“Your life matters more than mine. The farm needs you. The animals, the town… You bring life to this place, to everyone in it. Meanwhile me… I—”
Crystal gently pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.
“I need you,” she whispered.
Her hand came up to cradle her husband’s face in a tender touch. At the gesture, Elliott’s composure finally broke. Tears slipped down his cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice unsteady as he tried to wipe the tears away.
“Me too,” Crystal replied.
“I guess we both messed up,” he said quietly.
Crystal nodded.
“I know there are still things we don’t understand about each other,” she admitted. “Our routines, our work… the way we live. But I believe we can figure it out. Together”
A small, fragile smile formed on Elliott’s lips as he laced his fingers with hers.
“I love you,” he said softly. “That’s not going to change.”
“I love you too,” she replied.
She leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.
When they pulled apart, the weight that had been pressing on their chests finally began to lift.
“You need to rest,” Crystal murmured after a moment. “You have to recover.”
He let out a quiet breath, almost a weak chuckle.
“I suppose I don’t have much choice.”
Reluctantly, they let go of each other. Even in that small distance, the absence was immediate, but this time, it didn’t hurt the same way.
Crystal gave his hand one last squeeze before stepping back. Then, she quietly slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her. When she returned to her bed, sleep came easier. And this time, when she closed her eyes, the storm was gone.
Elliott was alive.
And whatever had shaken their hearts that day had passed, leaving behind something stronger, like the promise of clear skies after the rain.