The Reaping

The Reaping Chapter One

When I pouted, people asked if something was wrong with my mouth.

"I'm being realistic. I would love nothing more than to go up on my roof and lie down and watch the stars. But I don't want to end up missing, carried away by the mist."

"That's all anyone talks about. Mist this, mist that. Bah! I really don't see why we should thank the Almighty all the time because he's the one to blame for all our woes."

Dropping my basket, I slapped my hand over her mouth. "Shh!" I checked to see if anyone overheard her outburst. "You should take more caution with what you say. The Almighty is not to blame for the curse."

She pushed my hand away and crossed her arms. "Oh really? Can you please explain why the mist has been around since the dawn of time and why no one dares to leave their homes at night? Perhaps it's not so deadly like we've been told?"

"How can you ask that? Of course the mist is a danger to all. Remember the blacksmith's son who disappeared ten years ago?"

She kicked a pebble. "I'm not likely to forget him. It's become a local legend to scare us before bedtime. Every time we have a village meeting, one of the elders mentions how the poor drunken boy didn't make it back to his house in time after the sun set. I always wondered why no one saved him. All they had to do was open their doors and give him shelter."

I didn't have an answer for her. Many accepted things without reason because of our fear. No one had witnessed his death, but most heard his dying screams. All the adjacent houses had boarded up their windows with wooden planks, refusing to open their doors to save him. By then it was too late. The mist dragged him away, never to be seen or heard of again. After that night, the community didn't dare leave their homes.

As I reached for my basket, Emma Marie took it instead. "Please don't be angry at me. It's...I'm worried because I don't know what the healer will say. I'm a bit scared to be with child. What if I'm not good enough to take care of a baby? You've even said I'm too flighty. What if I'm not ready for this?" She sniffed, ready to sob any moment.

"Every woman is scared to be a mother." I placed my arm around her shoulders. "You'll do great. You're kind and caring, and Thomas Andrew will also be there to support you."

She nodded and wiped away at her eyes. "You're right. Oh, Adela Jane, you're always the voice of reason." She hugged me and we continued down the path to my house less than a mile away.

"Mama and Papa will be there to help me also. Nathan Alexander says he can't wait to play ball and catch with his first nephew."

"A nephew, huh? How is Nathan Alexander these days?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't tease me about my interest in her brother.

"He's fine as one can be. Not a day goes by where he doesn't ask how you are."

"Wh...what?"

She skipped away, swinging my basket in her arms. She turned and winked. "Don't be surprised if he makes an excuse to visit you today." She ran toward my house.

"Emma Marie, you have some explaining to do!" I grabbed my skirt to dash after her.

Emma Marie was my best friend since we've been in the cradle. Only she knew of my tender feelings for her older brother, who I wished to make my husband before the end of the year.

*********

The hazy early afternoon whipped up a slight breeze, helping dry my clothes on the line. I sat on a wooden rocking chair in the corner of my front porch while my six-year-old cat licked his paws, prone on my lap. My Nonnie Vivian Jean gave me this lazy feline a few months after my mother passed away. The pudgy cat covered in gray fur loved when I petted him. He purred, enjoying the sunshine. Not bothering to shield my face with a bonnet, I peered up at the clear blue sky. Emma Marie had warned me on more than one occasion to cover up because I freckled from the sun. But last summer Nathan Alexander commented on how much he liked my brown spots. Since then I didn't mind so much about the marks.