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Loreda ran into the tent, banged into Elsa “Why are you back?”

“They turned us away”

“You mean—”

“Go get water Boil a lot of it” When Loreda didn’t move, Elsa snapped, “Now!” and Loreda ran out

Elsa lit a kerosene lamp and helped Jean to the mattress on the floor

Jean convulsed in pain, gritted her teeth to keep fro out

Elsa knelt beside her, stroking her hair “Go ahead and scream”

“It’s co,” Jean said between pants “Keep … the kids … away Scissors in that … box And there’s so”

Another contraction

Elsa stared at Jean’s writhing belly and knew she only had a fewthe children, who looked at her with frightened eyes There wasn’t time to comfort them now

She grabbed a stack of saved newspapers and ran back to Jean’s tent, where she laid the newspapers down on the dirt floor, grateful that they were relatively clean

Headlines flashed out at her: “Typhoid Outbreak in Migrant Camps”

Elsa helped Jean roll onto the newspapers Elsa then put on the gloves

Jean screamed

“Go ahead,” Elsa said, kneeling beside her She stroked Jean’s wet hair