page46 (1/1)

Daydreams Once upon a time she’d daydreamed of Andre, too But not anymore

The helicopter hovered over the site of the landslide for adevastation below “Take her down,” he called to the pilot through the headsets they both wore, the noise of the rotors ood spot for the helicopter to land Andre spotted it first He touched the pilot’s arm to draw his attention, then pointed silently, and the pilot nodded again

Once down, Andre wasted no tiuard, but Andre didn’t wait for hie of the still-whirling rotors, then picked their way over the rough ground fro site to the houses that had been hardest hit A fire-and-rescue creas already there, frantically digging through the rubble, searching for survivors Other crews, including tea on other houses Andre saw theh those ere injured and those ere merely badly shaken when half the e, nearly wiping it out

There were other victiether Bodies laid out side by side in the sunlight, blankets drawn over thenity in death Six of the blanket-coveredin the region of his heart Children Six of the known dead were children How many more?

A bell tolled frantically from the church tower of Taryna The church itself had suffered extensive da with no apparent structural dae amid the rest of the devastation, and Andre hoped that sound would carry through the mountain passes and call the ers were sheepherders,their livelihood from the mountain the way their ancestors had for centuries But even in this day and age of cell phones, coverage in these mountains was spotty at best, and the bells were still the best way to send an urgent e

Water round was apparently still intact—but electricity was out because the power lines had co station to prevent fires froas lines in the destroyed buildings

A sudden wailing drew Andre’s attention to a dust-covered wo up a small body that had just been pulled from under a beam that had once held up a roof A body that didn’t ed it to answer her Before he knew it he was there beside her “Let ht weight into his own ar for the pulse he kneasn’t there

Pity swept through him Pity for the child, whose eyes were half open but would never see again And pity for the mother, whose child was forever lost to her With one hand he closed the eyelids so the child appearedThen he stroked the tousled hair into a semblance of order and brushed the dirt away “Co toward the tent the Zakharian Red Cross was already setting up over the bodies laid out in what had once been the town square

He surrendered his precious burden to a Red Cross aide, then turned to the silently weeping wo and subject They were just two people in themoments as she wept her heart out in his arms Finally, when the first torrent of tears abated, he asked her, “What was his name, madam?”

The woman raised her head “Stepan,” she said brokenly, then dissolved into tears again “Stepan”

“A good nahe had the words to comfort her

A group offrohtheir return when they’d heard theof the bells A man with a dazed look about him broke away fro mother “Katia?” he asked anxiously “Katia? Where is Stepan? Where is our son?”

The woman turned fro anew Muffled words answered him, and the man’s face contracted over his wife’s head on his shoulder as he grasped the truth he didn’t want to hear His eyes met Andre’s