Baby

membrane from last night but clearly smelling a faint trace of sulfur.
    Stunned, Netty backed away from Baby, her thoughts in a whirl. Obviously elated over the changes in her appearance and overwhelmed with the happiness Baby’s presence portended, these miracles defied logic. Wait, that’s it. They were just miracles, not a sign of the devil as she had begun to fear. Miracles are sent by God. She ran to Baby and stared into his amazing eyes, whirling colors glimmering at her. She felt a tentative touch in her mind.
    “God?” Baby whispered.
    “Yes.” Netty felt the relief course through her body. “God … our Father.”
    “Father.” The aura sent whispers into her mind.
    “Yes, our Father protects us all, we are all his children,” she said.
    “Offspring?” Baby whispered.
    “Yes, yes, Baby, we are all one,” cried Netty.
    “Yes, like the Womb,” her mind whispered, golden aura, dancing. “Womb is father. Father, Brother, Sister.” Baby smiled. And Netty smiled. Somehow, they made a breakthrough. She did not know what a Womb meant, but did it really matter? She knew everything would be just fine.
    As Netty gathered her tools for her day’s work, she ladled out a portion of breakfast porridge for Baby. Baby ignored it, spending his time following closely at her heels and inspecting everything she touched. Netty stepped out the door on to her stoop. The air contained a vague coolness but the bright sun and translucent blue sky would soon warm her up. Planning to head to her family’s old orchard to survey what might be salvaged, she noticed Baby had lain down on the stoop, arms outstretched. She called out to him with no response. Bending over to shake him, she felt rigidity. She bent over, intending to return him to her bed, when she felt the golden aura in her mind.
    “Sister, I am eating.” Netty looked closer. She could actually see dust motes dancing in what looked like rays being absorbed into Baby’s leathery extremities. “Hungry, Sister. My eating is slow. Go. I will find you.” Netty felt a sense of wellbeing flood her mind. So, leaving Baby, she made her way to the orchard. Work cannot stop just because she could not understand what Baby thought he was eating.
    Netty made her way down the road and over the slight rise to take a look at the orchard. Her family had harvested many apples, pears and her favorite black walnuts for years. She had vivid memories of removing the yellow-green husk of the walnut with its icky messy black underside and cracking the shell to get to the fresh tart-sweet meat. Her mama used the meat in her baking, stews and her breads, claiming the nut was a wonderful substitute for costly trips to Mr. Simpson’s butcher shop in town.
    Mr. Simpson was a scary man. He never smiled unless he was wielding his big knives on the carcass of a poor creature. His wife appeared to be terrified of him. At any rate, Netty wanted to stay away from town as much as possible. The walnut grove would be a great help to her diet.
    Netty knew Sussex County had experienced blight a few years back. It had not spread to Norris County so she was unaware of the extent of the devastation. Hopefully, her orchard had been spared. As she topped the hill, her hopes sank. As far as she could see, her trees were nude, with but a few lonely leaves clinging hopelessly to the diseased branches. Worse yet, the trees were deformed with the trunks displaying huge hardened growths spilling from the trunks, obviously a symptom of the blight. She realized the canning supplies she purchased on her last walk to town would not be filled with the fruits and jams she would need to help get her through the winter as she planned. Discouraged, she turned and started back to the cabin, planning to spend the rest of the day turning over soil in another field. She knew large supplies of seeds remained buried in caskets, hidden in the ground inside her former animal hospital. She hoped to plant enough to sell surplus to travelers on the road into town.
    Glancing up, she saw Baby heading toward her from the bottom of the hill, his little feet clumping and wobbling at the same time. She sat and waited for him to reach her. She saw the rainbow flash in her mind’s eye, and the whisper.
    “Sister sad?” Gathering Baby into her lap, she buried her face in his fur. The little rascal actually looked plump. As he smiled at her with his rainbow eyes glowing, she noticed he did not have any teeth. Prying open his