The Baby

Ell trudged to the little white house way out of town. She hadn’t visited it in a while, so today she decided to check on its occupants.

              She had managed to skip breakfast since she had awoken just at dawn, restless. She hadn’t been able to sleep, for the nightmares just kept coming. Grandfa mysteriously disappearing. Grandfa going away to another city forever. Grandfa… Grandfa.

              She had risen and dressed as soon as it was light. She passed the kitchen without even a thought of entering it to find a snack. No, she couldn’t eat. And she had no idea when she would be able to.

              The cottage in front of her was quiet enough to suppose that the occupiers were still asleep. But then, there was a deep cry from within. The infant child within was crying. After Ell had waited outside for a while, and the baby still hadn’t quieted, she knocked on the door to perhaps help. No one answered, so she let herself in.

              It wasn’t hard to follow the croaking’s of the hoarse baby. The poor child lay in a crib in a room right next to the master. Ell scooped the child into her arms, cooing softly to it. She wondered if the parents were all right. Deep down inside she already knew from the look of the child that every wasn’t okay.

              With the child in her arms, she approached the master door and knocked. Still, no answer. She stepped inside. It was as she had feared. The parents were dead, killed by a virus. 

              Ell rushed from the house, with the quieted baby snuggled next to her chest. She wanted to cry and scream all at the same time. This wasn’t fair.

              “Aba, Aba, give me strength. I can hardly take it anymore. My mind will fall apart.” She whispered aloud.

              There was nothing else to do but tell the cemetery.

              She slowly headed to town, struggling with guilty thoughts. She could have saved them perhaps, if she had made a call sooner. She could have given them medicine or something. There were just too many people to help and only one nurse to attend to them. Everyone one else was helping as much as they could, but death was inevitable.

              The parson knew immediately it was bad news when she walked in.

              “Who is it?”

              “The Parsons family. Both parents. This child is the only survivor.”

              He gave a deep sigh. “I would take the child, but everyone’s down at my house with the influenza. I’m not sure I know anyone else to take care of him.”

              “Oh, the child. I thought Hanner and I could take care of him. At least until something more permanent can be settled.”

              “But, how will you take care of him with all your calls.”

              “We’ll manage with His help.” She looked to the sky.

              “Yes, Aba must help us all, especially in these times.” The parson nodded. “Well, I’ll be praying for you. You have a hard lot.”

              “And you as well.”

              The baby was crying by the time Ell reached the house. She supposed the baby boy was starving. She was happy that he had made it thus far without crying.

              The high-pitch screams alerted everyone in the dining room that Ell was there. Everybody had a look of surprise on his face, including Radan.

              “Have you seen Hanner?” Ell asked a regular.

              “I think she’s in the storage room.”

              “Thanks.” Elll hadn’t even reached the kitchen before Hanner, hearing the screams, hurried from what she was doing to see.

              “Oh, dear, a child.” She actually didn’t seem too surprised. “He’s starving. Let me get some milk, you sit down for a second.”

              The child stopped bawling as Ell sat down and rocked him. Hanner, knowing the urgency of a hungry child, was back quickly back with a bottle of warm milk.

              As soon as the bottle was in his mouth, he started eating. After he had eaten as much as he could, he fell gently to sleep.

              “Whose baby is that?” The regular Mr. Ghant asked.

              “The Parsons. They perished.” She said with a quiver in her voice. “There was no one else to take care of him, so I offered. And hopefully with the help of Hanner, we can raise him until he finds a permanent home.”  Ell looked to Hanner, hoping that she would approve. Hanner gave her a kind nod, with a smile on her weary face.

              Mr. Ghant gave a sigh. “This influenza sure isn’t being very nice to us. I’ve never seen an epidemic so bad as this in all my years.”

              Ell nodded. She had seen the damage from up close.

              Once everyone had cleared the dining room to go to their business, Hanner turned to Ell. “It’s a good thing we have an extra crib for our guests. We can use that. I guess we can put the child in the side room here, while he sleeps,” she motioned to a small room off the dining area, “and then one of us can take care of him at night. Maybe once this influenza is over, we can sort something better out.”

              Ell just nodded.

              “Did you get breakfast this morning?” Hanner asked, observing the weary face.

              “No, I wasn’t hungry. Didn’t sleep well last night.”

              “Well, if you hold the baby, I’ll go get you some breakfast.”

              All alone, Ell gazed down at the face of the child. He was handsome for being only a couple weeks old. Ell snuggled closer to him. She needed the comfort of his frame more than he would ever know. Aba sure knew how to tend to her needs. Everything was working perfectly in His will. Ell lowered her lips to his small face in a soft kiss.

              “Oh, darling, I’ll take care of you.” She whispered into his blond hair.

              “Do you need help with anything.” She looked up to the towering figure of Radan. He had startled her.

              “Oh,” she said flustered. “Actually, yes. Do you mind getting the crib for us. It’s in the attic. It’s a bit heavy for us girls. Here I’ll show you where it is.”

              Ell rose from the table, the child still sound asleep in her arms. She led the way upstairs to the attic. When they reached the attic, Ell suddenly realized how dirty it was.

              “Sorry about the mess. We haven’t had time to clean in out. The crib is right over there.” She watched as he went over to it and picked up the heavy wooden crib. “Where do you want it? Lead the way.”

              Ell took him back downstairs to the place Hanner had mentioned. “If you put it right there, that would be great. Thank you so much.”

              Radan set the crib down. He hadn’t even lost his breath with all the effort. “You’re welcome. Anything else you need before I head out?”

              Ell shook her head.

              “Do you know anybody by the name of Maven Tweedwater? I think he lives around here.”

              “I’m afraid I don’t. I know most everybody in town, and I’ve never heard of anyone by that name. But I’d check the Nightwolf Forest if I were you. I don’t know everyone there. In fact, I’m making a call to an elderly couple there after breakfast, if you want I could ask around.”

              “Oh, no. Don’t bother yourself. You’re busy enough as it is. But if you don’t mind, I might tag along with you to see how it is out there.”

              “Okay, I’m leaving in about forty-five minutes.”

              He nodded.

              Hanner stepped into the dining room. “The food’s almost done. Now for that crib so we can put the baby down while we eat. Now, where did we put it, Ell? Is it in the basement?”

              “It was in the attic. Radan, here, got it for us.”

              When Hanner saw the crib in the side room, she gave Radan one of her biggest smiles. “Oh, sir, you are just too kind. Too kind.” She then replaced the sheets so the baby could lay down. “Now, let me get back to the food, then.” She hurried into the kitchen.

              “Okay, I’ll let you eat. See you in a bit.” Radan nodded his head and left the room.

              After they laid the baby down, they ate a small but delicious breakfast.