A young, under-confident Acadian woman is forced to fight for her family and homeland after they are inhumanly deported by the English.
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Joséphine Duon has been dreaming about the perfect farm and family with her childh...
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~ August 20th, 1755 ~
My stomach had grown so much since Charles had left. It seemed it had grown every day since. As though it was counting the days of his absence.
Eleven days.
If the men did not arrive soon, I might pop earlier than I wanted.
That's my luck.
"Keep going mes p'tit," I said in encouragement to the few young ones that had been spared by other families to help me harvest.
They enjoyed throwing the dirt around much more than lifting potatoes from it.
I longed for my husband even more now.
"Just another few hours," I said mostly to myself. "Soon the sun will begin to set."
Crouching down to the ground again, I almost screamed out in pain. My lower back was absolutely killing me.
I had yet to look at my ankles, but I knew it would not be good when I did.
Even more dirt pushed beneath my fingernails as I gently lifted another potato out the ground. Unfortunately, that one was green, and I threw it in the thicket nearby.
"How will we ever have enough food for the winter?" I said in a whisper to myself.
There was still lettuce, carrots, and onions to harvest as well.
I need Charles.
Sweat dampened my clothes and my white over the shoulder scarf had been tossed to the side for a long time now.
In the horizon the sky was slowly turning a beautiful orange. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to enjoy the view.
I must keep going.
Food is life or death.
Do it for the baby.
"Joséphine," a child's voice said through the wind from a distance.
I lifted my hand to shield the sun and still saw nothing.
"Come to l'église when you are done," he said with a shadowed thumbs up motion.
I sent him a thumbs up motion in return and went back to work.
What was that about?
The thought was quickly forgotten. Another hour passed and it felt like la mélasse.
"Can you all help me bring the potatoes to la cave?" I asked the young fellows with a gracious smile. "Each try and grab two sacks."
I was happy they obliged. It was not like I was paying them, or they got anything in return because I could not afford the money or to lose any of the two-hundred pounds of potatoes.
