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Elsa let out a ragged breath She wasn’t sure which rihter’s expression
They would be changed by this, all three of theht of that before now? In Lonesoainst nature for survival They’d known the dangers of the physical world
Out here, there were new dangers Her children would learn that erous, too There was a darkness in the world of which they’d been innocent; already Loreda was losing that innocence It would never return “We’d best sleep in the back of the truck I hadn’t figured on anyone trying to steal our gas,” Elsa said
“I reckon there’s a lot we ain’t figured on,” Loreda said
Elsa was too tired to correct her daughter’s grae see She touched Loreda’s shoulder, let her hand lie there “Thank you,” Elsa said softly It felt, strangely, as if the world had just tilted so they kneith it
DAY AFTER DAY, THEY drove west Nine hundred ress, stopping only when they had to eat or get gas, and to sleep at night Elsa had grown used to the thu of the stove and boxes in the back Even when she got out of the car, her body re dizzy
The long, hot days driving had ground the hours of travel, talk of exploring and adventures, but heat and hunger and a bumpy road had finally silenced them all, even Ant
Now, they were camped on a wild stretch of land, close to the road, where coyotes howled and bindle stiffs walked alone, h to steal the pillow froas froas in their tank Gas was life now
She lay on the ca children tucked in close Although she had needed sleep desperately last night, it hadn’t cohtmares of what lay ahead
She heard a sound A branch breaking
She sat up fast and looked around
Nothing moved
Careful not to waken the children, she crawled out of bed and put her shoes on, then stepped onto the hard-packed dirt Tiny pebbles and twigs poked at the thinning soles of her last pair of shoes She was careful not to step on anything sharp
Well away from the truck, she lifted her dress and squatted down to relieve herself
As she returned to the truck, the sky turned a bright peony pink, broken here or there by the strange silhouette of a cactus So their fists to an uncaring god Elsa was stunned by the unexpected beauty of theIt reminded her of daybreak on the farm She tilted her face skyward, felt the honest warmth of sunshine on her skin “Watch over us, Lord”