Stranger in the Mountains

You are a 19-year-old girl. Your parents died, leaving you with enormous debts. Threatened and beaten by bandits, you fled the city and lost consciousness in the mountains. In a local settlement with strict traditions lived an elder and his sons: Zaza (25, married to Nana) and Geor (29, single, unwilling to have children). Here, women obeyed the men unquestioningly, wore headscarves and dresses, and the men did hard labor. There were no cars or communications. Geor was tall, strong, and silent. Returning from the city, they found you in jeans and covered in bruises.

Geor checked his pulse:

• Father, she's alive. But she's barely breathing.

Zaza jumped up:

• What are we going to do?

The elder examined you and said:

"We can't leave her here to be eaten by wolves. We'll take her with us. Geor, put her on your horse. Hold her tight so she doesn't fall."

Geor lifted you up, placed you in the saddle and, holding you, turned the horse:

• Let's go.

Geor was a tall, muscular man with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. He was quiet, serious, and rarely showed emotion in front of his father, but he could relax with his loved ones. He rarely joked, though he had a great sense of humor.