Love's Abundant Harvest by Beth Shriver Page B

in slow motion. Heat filled the room,
and when Lucy went to the window and opened the shade, she gasped. Yellow, orange,
and red flames engulfed the seventy-six-foot silo.
    “Move, woman! My farm’s gonna blow!” Sam screamed and ran down the stairs.
    The top of the silo shot into the air, hurling chunks of concrete across the road.
Smoke poured from the silo, rolling out of the structure like a white cloud.
    Lucy lifted her arms to cover her face and pulled the curtain down. The back of the haus shook as if a boulder had smacked into its wooden frame, knocking out the mudroom
downstairs. Lucy moved as quickly as she could, holding her belly with each step.
Tears flooded her cheeks as the heat scorched her flesh.
    “ Mamm !”
    No reply.
    “ Mamm !”
    As she passed Mamm ’s room, she poked her head inside but saw no one. Lucy hoped she
was already outside. It wasn’t the smoke so much as the heat that made her eyes spring
with tears and pain crawl on her flesh as if she were in a living hell with no mercy
from the scathing heat.
    What about my baby? How will he be affected by smoke filling my lungs?
    Getting to the front door opposite the silo’s location seemed to take forever. Her
bare feet hit the wood planks of the porch. She fell but got up, dismissing the pain
in her ankle. All she could do was run fast. She took in a breath and coughed on
the soot and bits of flying debris filling the air.
    When she was in the middle of the yard, she stopped and turned to take in the scene
around her. All she could do was stand and watch as the silo burned. Relief washed
over her when she heard the wail of the fire truck in the distance. A few minutes
later the firefighters arrived and they leapt out and took to the hoses. There were
no hydrants, only the water in their vehicles. One fireman ran over to her and motioned
for the medic. “Is there anyone else in the house?”
    Lucy shook her head but then nodded.
    It didn’t take long for word about the fire to get around the community. Soon buggies
and wagons and a couple of riders on horseback filled the road. A stream of Amish
came prepared to help with whatever they had. The men went as close to the fire as
they could, which wasn’t close due to the heat. The women came toward Lucy with hands
full of food, drink, and, she hoped, something to cool her skin from the blistering
heat. She looked for Sam and Mamm but saw neither of them.
    Lucy felt hands on her . . . water on her lips . . . salve onher face and arms.
She looked at faces, but they were only a blur. Drops of water fell from her eyes.
She was weeping. Then she heard her own voice, crying out, asking about her baby.
    Hushed tones and whispers calmed her. Frieda and Rosy loomed over her with wide,
pensive eyes. Nellie rubbed her back, and Lucy flinched as hot debris flew around
her. Lucy looked through the blur to see Rosy crying. Then, all went black.

    Manny jumped out of bed at the sound of a knock at the door. He pulled on the clothes
closest to him and grabbed his boots. More pounding spurred his pace. When he opened
the door, Caleb had his hand on the doorknob, ready to burst in. Manny’s eyes stung
from smoke.
    “There’s a fire.” Caleb started down the porch steps with Manny right behind him.
    “What happened?” Manny jumped into Caleb’s buggy and braced himself.
    “Hi-ya!” Caleb’s driving had Manny hanging on and his foot pressed against the foot
rest. “Silo exploded. Didn’t you hear it?”
    “ Jah , but I didn’t think it was something like this. Where?” Manny wrestled with
his shirt, trying to hold on and still brace himself so he wouldn’t go rolling out
of the buggy. Manny looked at Caleb, wondering if he’d heard the question. “Whose
place?”
    Caleb turned toward him. “Sam’s.”
    Manny’s gut churned. “Is anyone hurt?”
    “I don’t know. I came and got you and haven’t had a chance to find out anything more
than I told you.” By the way he looked at Manny, it