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Chapter 22
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2024-10-29 19:42:56CHAPTER 22
Joel yawned loudly, his hands outstretched as he walked out of his room the following day. He had, after the night, gone to bed and had surprisingly slept well considering the day they had.
The sun was coming out from behind the clouds, but his thoughts were already occupied.
He had woken up, and the first thing he thought about was the previous day, the events of how he and Mary had worked together to treat the injured miners, the brief moment they had shared at the river, and the lightness that had filled the air despite the tension they had begun on. He had been surprised at the turn of events, he admitted to himself.
When they had gotten into the buggy, the air had hummed with tension and words unsaid. Then Mary had broken the spell when she talked about needing a bath. He chuckled to himself as he remembered how scared she was to walk into the river, scared that something in the water woul
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After the War. Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23Mary walked alongside Joel as they strolled the road to the clinic. It was their first day as real partners, and she was pretty eager to see how it would go. Oh, she knew it would include a whole ton of arguments because Joel would not give her full rein or trust her judgment as she asked him to. He was that stubborn. Well, she was just as stubborn-headed and relatively determined to get her way.But she was happy because things had turned out differently. She had woken up this morning with heaviness in her heart. She had concluded that he would tell her to be on her way, now that the worst had been taken care of. She hadn’t wanted that. Taking care of the patients yesterday- no matter how hectic it had been, had ignited something in her that she thought had gone to sleep. Her zeal had been reawakened with renewed vigor, and all she wanted to do was stay back and help.She had also pr
After the War. Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24“What do you suggest we do?” Joel asked Mary. He had been confused about which medication to administer and had, at that moment, remembered a time she had told him about the influx of patients they had gotten with no foreseeable diagnosis insight. All the patients had survived at the end of the day.So, he had turned to her and asked the question he had been dreading all day. But, he had to trust her. It was the only option, the only way they could work.“We give them pain relief medication that will put them to sleep. It will stop all the jerky movements till we can figure out what is going on,” Mary explained.“Are you sure-“ Joel was about to ask but stopped halfway, seeing the look on Mary’s face. “Okay, let’s do that, then.”Grabbing the medical supplies needed and the drugs, they walked out of the storag
After the War. Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25Jane walked around, constantly checking on the patients. It had been a few hours since she had administered the pain relief medication to them and all that was left was to wait it out.At the moment of despair, she had remembered how her mother used to read the Bible to her every time she was scared as a little girl. It was a tradition they had adhered to not because they did every night, but reading from the scriptures had given Jane courage as a little girl and as a growing adult.When she volunteered as a medical staff during that war, she had carried the Bible along with her, and it had been the rock she leaned on each time things got too harsh, or she lost hope that the men they were treating would recover. She had also read specific passages to dying patients and had seen the relief come over their features, the hope that they had something to look forward to.And so when there was n
After the War. Chapter 1.
CHAPTER 1Mary looked out of the window, watching the scenery change as the stagecoach rumbled and shook with each bump it rode over. It was over-the life she had gotten accustomed to was over.Anyone watching her would think that she was taking in the scenery, but she wasn’t looking at the houses and vast land space as much as she was thinking about how different everything felt.It was quiet. Things had not been dead for a long time, and now, as she felt the coach rumble, even the noise it made could not compare to the humdrum she had lived with for a long time. She should be happy, be glad that it was all over, but she could not find the energy to smile.“Why do you look so gloomy? You ought to be happy- the war is finally over. I never thought a time would come when I saw my wife and children again, but now, I can finally go home to them. The last time I saw my wife, she was carrying our little one. She begged me to
After the War. Chapter 2.
CHAPTER 2Joel stepped off the ship as it docked at Boston Harbor, a big smile on his face. Right from where he had been seated in the ship, as soon as he had got on the ship from England, all his thoughts had been about home.He was finally coming back home to his family. It had been a long time- years of medical training in England and he had not seen them, not once.He wondered how his town would look like, different from how he left it or still the same? It had to be different though, because he knew that change happened everywhere. The houses must have been replaced with newer ones and some people he knew may have left to start a life somewhere else.But that was not the only reason why he was happy. He was coming back after a long time of being away, as a hero. The most educated man in his town. He had worked hard, found a way and had gotten admission into a university in England. How many people from his town had
After the War. Chapter 3.
CHAPTER 3Joel followed his mother into that house, his heart pounding fiercely. What was the news she wanted to tell him that made her look so grieved? Had something happened to his father?“What is wrong? What happened?” Joel asked again.His mother pointed to a chair.“You have to sit down,” she said.Joel sat at the edge of the chair and waited for her to speak.“We received news last week,” his mother began.“Is it father? What happened to him?”“No, it’s not your father. When I and your father heard that the war was over, we were very happy. It meant that you could finally come home to visit and Johnny would come back too. We left the door open each day for him because we hadn’t gotten word from him in a long time and we did had no idea when he would come. Then, a letter arrived.It said that Johnny had been killed in action.”Joel
After the War. Chapter 4.
CHAPTER 4Mary looked at the family in front of her, taking in the look on their faces. She would see grief clearly etched in every line and sorrow like a flag. They looked like they had lost everything and had nothing left.“Good day,” she said.“Yes?” the older woman asked.“I’m sorry, can I come in? I’m not going to take much of your time. I have something to give you,”The woman shoulders rose and fell.“Okay, come in,”Mary followed her inside the house and stood, waiting to be told to sit. She did not want to seem rude, and it was their house.“Please, sit,” the son told her.Nodding, Mary took a chair.“I’m really sorry for coming when this clearly looks like a bad time but I have news to tell you. I think you would want to hear it.”“Okay?” the father asked.“I worked in the war as a volunteer nurse. My job
After the War. Chapter 5.
CHAPTER 5Joel refused to believe that the woman sitting down had tried all she could to save his brother. She was here because of guilt, nothing more.The Johnny he knew would have fought hard to stay alive but he also knew that the amount of people they must have treated everyday would be more than the nurses and doctors could handle. She would have taken one look at his brother, looked at other patients around and left him there.The only thing he could not answer was why she wanted him to believe so bad. Well, he would not. He would not believe her lies or allow his parents to believe the same thing too.“What is your qualification?” he asked her. She must have been a novice without any experience except from the ones she learnt during the war. Maybe she had given Johnny the wrong vaccine.“Excuse me?” Mary asked him.“What is your qualification? Your level of experience? Did you go to any
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CHAPTER 25Jane walked around, constantly checking on the patients. It had been a few hours since she had administered the pain relief medication to them and all that was left was to wait it out.At the moment of despair, she had remembered how her mother used to read the Bible to her every time she was scared as a little girl. It was a tradition they had adhered to not because they did every night, but reading from the scriptures had given Jane courage as a little girl and as a growing adult.When she volunteered as a medical staff during that war, she had carried the Bible along with her, and it had been the rock she leaned on each time things got too harsh, or she lost hope that the men they were treating would recover. She had also read specific passages to dying patients and had seen the relief come over their features, the hope that they had something to look forward to.And so when there was n
After the War. Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24“What do you suggest we do?” Joel asked Mary. He had been confused about which medication to administer and had, at that moment, remembered a time she had told him about the influx of patients they had gotten with no foreseeable diagnosis insight. All the patients had survived at the end of the day.So, he had turned to her and asked the question he had been dreading all day. But, he had to trust her. It was the only option, the only way they could work.“We give them pain relief medication that will put them to sleep. It will stop all the jerky movements till we can figure out what is going on,” Mary explained.“Are you sure-“ Joel was about to ask but stopped halfway, seeing the look on Mary’s face. “Okay, let’s do that, then.”Grabbing the medical supplies needed and the drugs, they walked out of the storag
After the War. Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23Mary walked alongside Joel as they strolled the road to the clinic. It was their first day as real partners, and she was pretty eager to see how it would go. Oh, she knew it would include a whole ton of arguments because Joel would not give her full rein or trust her judgment as she asked him to. He was that stubborn. Well, she was just as stubborn-headed and relatively determined to get her way.But she was happy because things had turned out differently. She had woken up this morning with heaviness in her heart. She had concluded that he would tell her to be on her way, now that the worst had been taken care of. She hadn’t wanted that. Taking care of the patients yesterday- no matter how hectic it had been, had ignited something in her that she thought had gone to sleep. Her zeal had been reawakened with renewed vigor, and all she wanted to do was stay back and help.She had also pr
After the War. Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22Joel yawned loudly, his hands outstretched as he walked out of his room the following day. He had, after the night, gone to bed and had surprisingly slept well considering the day they had.The sun was coming out from behind the clouds, but his thoughts were already occupied.He had woken up, and the first thing he thought about was the previous day, the events of how he and Mary had worked together to treat the injured miners, the brief moment they had shared at the river, and the lightness that had filled the air despite the tension they had begun on. He had been surprised at the turn of events, he admitted to himself.When they had gotten into the buggy, the air had hummed with tension and words unsaid. Then Mary had broken the spell when she talked about needing a bath. He chuckled to himself as he remembered how scared she was to walk into the river, scared that something in the water woul
After the War. Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21Mary walked beside Joel, wondering where he was leading her. He had given her the information about bathing in the river, and she was still trying to wrap her head around it. She had gone river bathing before, but it was when she was a kid. Although she was slightly comforted that he would be there for company and safety, it did not make her feel ultimately better.Truth be told, if she did not have to wash the grime off her body, she would have declined the offer.“You might have to watch your steps as you come further,” Joel told her,” the grasses are wet and slippery when you get closer to the river.”Okay, another thing to watch out for, Mary noted.“Just one question. How deep is the river? Is the current going to carry me away? Do I have to be worried about things that might bite or sting me? I feel like I have to get all my bases covered,”
After the War. Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20Joel sat in the buggy as it rode off into the night, with Mary, both of them silent. He turned to look at her and saw a curious expression on her face; her brows were furrowed and his expression serious, her expression serious.He was thinking about the whole day’s incident- something he had gone over and over again without much satisfaction.First of all, there was the fact that Mary had brought up why there had been so many men outside from an accident when it wasn’t as though the mine had caved.The second was the theory that it could be a widespread infection, something he had been contemplating over. He had been truthful to Mary when he said he hadn’t seen anything like this ever. If it was an infection, what kind were they dealing with, and what was the source? And why the cuts and gashes? Had they struggled to leave the mine in the throes of pain and had caused some form of secondary accident
After the War. Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19Mary waited for Joel to say something at the same time watching the patient.“We have to do something immediately,” she said, stating the obvious.“And that is trying to figure out where in his brain is clotting,” Joel said stubbornly.Mary looked at him and sighed. It was clear that he would not see things her way even though she knew that she was right. She would have to do it her way whether he liked it or not.So, she nodded. And moved closer to the man.“What the hell are you doing?” he barked out.“The plan of yours is not going to work, and you don’t want to see it my way. And since I know my way is right, I’ll do it by myself.”“No, you don’t dare,” Joel said but made no move to take control of the situation. He knew that any mistake he made would make the patient’s con
After the War. Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18Joel walked as fast as he could to his office, his thoughts racing. He had been called from his home to his office a couple of times, but not with the frantic expression he had seen on the sheriff’s face. It was pure, unadulterated fear. What could be wrong that could scare him that much?And how could the accident have involved so many people that he told Mary to tag along? He thought about the worst-case scenarios he could come up with in a bid to prepare himself.Maybe a huge boulder had fallen, and some people had gotten severely injured- limbs that needed to be amputated and deep, gashing injuries.“How many patients are we talking about?” he asked Edwards. If he did not have room for them, treating them could constitute a problem.“I don’t know, Doc. I was called up to the mine, and I saw the mine supervisor bring out some of them. He told m
After the War. Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17Mary stood up from the bed as soon as she saw the sunrise on the horizon. After a long night of no sleep, she was tired and after trying to go back to sleep without any success. After standing outside for a while, looking at Joel, she had come back inside and had tried to sort out her thoughts. The hours that had passed by felt to her like a whole day.She had given to lying on the bed because it was more comfortable than the chairs.In any case, she needed food in her body- something to fill her stomach and also keep her awake. Coffee sounded like a good idea if there was any in the house. She walked into the kitchen, opening cupboards, drawers, rummaging around for she could eat.Finally, she found a tin of coffee and some eggs in a crate.In no time, the coffee was ready, and her sunny side scrambled eggs were on a plate. She inhaled the aroma and smiled, carrying the plate and cup of coffe
