The
Gift
Christine
Young
Excerpt
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"Get
in the house, now!"
"Mama?"
Elice
Weld shielded her eyes and watched the ground fog rising in the distance. She
didn't know what was coming her way, but she could guess. The rumors that a
Union cavalry unit was in the vicinity had spread like a wildfire on a Kansas
prairie.
Rain
had fallen all morning. Now the clouds had separated, and the sun heated the
earth, causing the evaporation of the water-soaked ground. The cavalry rode
through the mist like dark, avenging wraiths bent on the destruction of all
mankind. She could see seven men silhouetted on the horizon.
"Izzy,
go." Elice didn't want to frighten her daughter but the urgency of the
moment could not be denied.
"But
mama?"
"Go
to the cellar. Now."
"It's
dark."
Izzy's
voice echoed in Elice's head, filling her with a wild panic she didn't know how
to stop. Every time soldiers approached she was terrified. The last four years
had been the longest years of her life. "Do as I say, quickly." Elice
hugged her daughter, turning her at the same moment and with a gentle shove
sent her through the open door of her house.
"Izzy."
Elice
knew the panic in her voice would mobilize her young daughter. She despised the
fear and the terror. She loathed the war. She looked up. The fog was
dissipating, and she could see the dark blue of the Union coats. She didn't
have anything left for the soldiers to take. Good God, they'd taken everything
already--everything save her daughter and her hope for the future.
She
inhaled a quick breath then stood on the steps, hands folded together in front
of her, watching the dark wraiths inch closer. She knew from experience she
couldn't fight these men. She would do as they said and when they left, she
would put the pieces of her life back together.
Until
the next time…
"Mama,"
Elice jumped when her daughter tugged on her skirt before looking at her with
sorrow-filled eyes. "Are the soldiers going to take my doll?"
"No,"
Elice ruffled her little girl's hair. "Go back inside. Go to the cellar
and don't come out until I tell you it's safe."
"What
about you?"
"I'll
be fine." But Elice knew she might be lying to her child. She wasn't
always fine when the soldiers invaded their home. "Now go and don't make
me say it again. Stay there until I come for you."
Izzy
nodded before she turned and walked through the parlor to the stairs leading to
the cellar.
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