Antonio coughed and splatters of blood sprayed from his mouth. Isabella climbed down from the horse and scurried to her father. Her heart thumped hard, and her hands tingled because she knew what the blood meant. She struggled to take a deep breath in, and her world seemed to have shrunk. Antonio gestured for her to carry on, but she refused to acknowledge his suggestion. She slid her arms under her father's armpits and tried to scoop him up. Antonio was not a large man, but he was too large for his daughter, who is eleven. Isabella cried as Antonio shoved her away from him.

He rolled to his side and said, "go! If I turn well, I will find you. You know the way to Auntie's, take the steed. You are less than half a day out from their farm! Go! Leave at once!"

Isabella stepped away from her father and grabbed the horse's reins. She said, "it's what took mother, isn't it?"

Antonio coughed into his hand and then said, "either I journey with you or join Maria at the gates of heaven. Either way, I am blessed. As for you, I beg that you leave me, lest you also succumb to this black death." He rolled over and stretched his arms. The grass felt cool to his touch now and the world seemed to fade.

Isabella climbed atop the steed and said, "I love you, padre. I hope we meet again."

Antonio replied, "either at Ferrara or the gates of heaven. Be still, and ride true, sweet daughter. Remember my love for you is a sun that will never set." Isabella cried as she pulled at the reigns of the steed. Off into the forest she galloped.

Antonio watched and listened as the stallion disappeared amidst the forest. He felt comfort now knowing his daughter was safe and did not mind if death took him. For three days he writhed, until, after his fourth day, felt something quite refreshing. The bubo in his groin shrank, and the fever disappeared. The effects of the plague were still upon him. Though he was weak, he was not so weak that he could not forage or crawl to a nearby stream. He drank the water at night and ate the worms in the morning. He regained a bit more strength and speared rabbits with sharpened sticks and cooked their bodies over an open fire. Antonio ate well, and for weeks he regained his strength, until at last, he was ready to make his journey to Ferrara.

Antonio walked a path only he and his family knew. A path they typically rode several times a year. The bonds of family carried him through these dark times, and amidst the chaos, he pressed on. Isabella had found the farm in Ferrara, and she was welcomed. A few months had passed since her arrival, and the family mourned the loss of Antonio, for they assumed he died. Isabella sat alone and still one summer evening as the sun fell in the distance.

The earth was flat before her, and a thick forest encircled the farm. From beneath the sun, she watched her father emerge from the trees. She did not know it was her father and took no care of who it was. As Antonio approached, Isabella thought the man's stride seemed familiar. She stood tall and studied him, and then, she realized it was her father. She ran as fast as she could across open fields, and tears fell down her cheeks. Her legs did not falter, nor did she relent. As her black hair bounced in the wind, she opened her arms. Antonio embraced his daughter and stroked the back of her head. He held then, and she began to cry. They both cried.

Together they fell to the warm summer earth, and the sun finally set. In the open summer fields, they lay together and watch the stars streak across the sky. He recounted his tale of survival in the forest, and she relished every moment.

Antonio and Isabella remained on the farm until the plague passed. The world never returned to its old ways. This provided opportunities for both Antonio and Isabella. Antonio became a businessman. He sold pelts in the city of Ferrara, and Isabella became a tailor. She wed an English man, and Antonio never remarried. The two of them lived side by side. He delighted in the splendor of many grandchildren before he grew old and joined his wife in heaven. 

https://youtu.be/GWVYx81sr-U