Finding Hope (7 page)

“I lost my boy a couple months ago. He had been sick with the fevers
, and it just never got better. Couldn’t even get him a doctor,” Hope said feeling her failure. “He died in my arms.”

Joy
’s face saddened as Hope started to weep. They stood in the mercantile holding each other like sisters while the sun slid toward the horizon.

“Good work Gabe. You were right. We need to set the equipment up just like that,” the portly tanned man said. “You sure know you
r stuff. Follow me, I have something else I want you to look at. It’s been a pain in my ass for months.”

As Gabe followed his boss away from the fields he noticed annoyance in the faces of the other men. Gabe was proving to be extremely valuable in the town of New Providence. He no
t only understood farming and was able to work the soil, but he also had a degree from Kansas State University in Mechanical Engineering. He was smart and an excellent problem solver with broad knowledge of many things.

When Gabe began working at the municipal gardens, he was instantly welcomed by the men into the group. Over
time, they began to resent his relationship with the city planners who ran the farms.

“Hey Gabe, what did the foreman need with you today? We busted our ass in the sun all day. You never came back,” the bearded man scowled. “Feels like you’re not
pullin’ ‘ur share to me.”

Gabe quietly removed his boots, clearing the mud and soil from the bottoms. “He just want
ed me to look at the chaser bin. The hydraulics were all messed up,” Gabe replied picking up on Samael’s anger.

Sam
ael was a strong, physical man with dark skin and hair. He has a thick bristly black beard that made him look Middle Eastern. Being the most senior member of the farming crew, he was a tough man who demanded hard work from the others of the team. He worked hard but played even harder. He was notorious for being a hard drinker but remained sensible always acting within the Law.

“Just remember,
we all have responsibilities, and you’ve let yours slip today. We all had to pick up the slack,” Samael said as he stripped off his clothes before stepping into the makeshift shower. “We all work together here.”

Gabe walked back to the hotel after his long day at work feeling despondent. Trying to build a new life for himself and his wife, Gabe was struggling with his new responsibilities. As Gabe walked into the hotel room, he found Hope and Faith eating dinner.

“Hey Hon, how was your day?” Faith asked as she devoured a full bite of fresh, buttery bread.

“Hey G
abe,” Hope quickly said following Faith’s greeting.

“It was work,” Gabe said as he sat down on the tiny hotel couch. “Today I helped fix the heavy equ
ipment needed for the harvest.” Grabbing an end piece of the steamy bread Gabe added, “Some of the guys are getting frustrated with me not helping out on the fields. I just want to work so I can get enough to move us out of here. I saw a nice little apartment down by the plaza. It had a couple rooms and a nice full kitchen. This hotel is driving me nuts.”

“Gabe, I’ve been saving everything I’m making. I would love to help out if you guys are
OK with me hanging around,” Hope offered feeling embarrassed about not having anywhere else to go.

“Hope, you’re with us. Don’t even worry about it. You’re like my little sister. It would be nice to pool o
ur finances though,” Gabe replied as he grabbed another piece of bread smothered with almond butter.

“How was your day Honey?
” Gabe asked Faith as he put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her head.

“It was
OK. The curriculum they’re asking me to use is a bit odd though. All this stuff about New Providence and the Law. It feels a bit icky what I’m teaching these young kids. I asked one of the other teachers about it, and she looked at me like I had just pissed on the Pope. She went into this long thing about how the Law made everything about New Providence possible. I think she may have said something to the head master because before leaving today, he came and asked how I was settling in and all that kind of stuff. Kind of creepy if you ask me,” Faith replied. “I do love the job though. The kids are great, and the other teachers are so friendly. By the way, did you guys know that two months ago they sent a family away when their kid stole fruit from one of the street carts? The whole family, kicked out. That seems kind of harsh.”

Sitting down at the small round table
, Gabe explained, “I heard from one of the guys at work that two years ago they stoned a woman to death because she was having an affair with the Chief of Police. He was hung, and then she was stoned on the very same day. They said it was the Law and that was that – end of that. Now that’s harsh.”

“Yea
h, I’ve noticed weird interactions between the men and women that come into the mercantile, but for the most part, that seems to be in the past now. I will tell you this though, they seem to be doing something right. Today the town just ordered another set of solar panels to power up the radio station. A radio station! Image having music again,” Hope said smiling and daring to dream.

As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, the three fell into a somewhat normal existence. They saved enough for a small apartment three blocks from the center of town and finally had a small kitchen to prepare their own meals. Of the three, Hope was adapting the best. She was becoming known for her sewing ability and could mend anything. Mr.
Begich, the owner of the mercantile, was thrilled at the amount of business Hope was bringing to his store.

“If it’s OK
, I need to take tomorrow off,” Hope asked Mr. Begich. “Faith and I are going to go down to the lumber yard to buy what we need to build a table for our kitchen. If it’s a problem, I understand.”

Looking up from his pile of receipts, Mr.
Begich smiled at Hope and sat up in his beautiful leather chair. “Not a problem, Hope. By the way, I wanted to tell you how well you’re doing here. I always hear so many good things about your work. Joy was just telling me the other day how well you’re fitting in. Take two days if you need. We’ll manage. Just make sure we get it in the books so I can let our customers know,” he continued as Joy, standing close by, blushed at his comments.

The door opened as the bell jangled. “Mika! How’ve
ya been? It’s been some time since you’ve come around. How’ve ya been?” Mr. Begich asked looking surprised and happy to see the tall man.

Mika stood tall and proud, secure in his role in the community. He had perfected the methods needed to shape steel in a post collapsed world. His ability to envision form and structure helped him mold fire into practical metal
goods. He became one of the few blacksmiths practicing in Missouri.

“Good afternoon
, Steve,” Mika said to Mr. Begich. “How’s business?”

“Things are going very well. The town keeps growing and the demand for infrastructure never goes away,” Mr.
Begich said leaning in to shake the hand of the sooty man.

“And Joy, I assume you’re doing fantastic as always,” Mika said to Joy becoming distracted by Hope standing nearby. “Hello, my name is Mika Amir,
” he said reaching to shake Hope’s hand.

“I
work down at the forge,” Hope smiled recognizing the handsome man and said, “Yeah, I noticed you the day we came into town. My name is Hope Brennan, how are you today?”

“I’m doing well, but my apron has seen better days. Not sure if you guys fix things like this, but I sure would be grateful to get this repaired,” Mika said lifting his heavy, supple leather farrier apron onto the counter.

Hope looked at the high-quality, leather apron Mika used and inspected the seams along the shoulder straps that were fraying away. “I’m not sure if I have the material needed to fix this, but I can give it a shot,” Hope said turning the material over and bending the fine stitching to inspect the thread.

“Well anything you can do will be
better than what I have now. How much time do you need?” Mika asked as he noticed Hope’s bright green eyes.

“I’m thinking a week, maybe more. I’ve never done something like this before. I’ll need to figure out how to get through this thick leather with a needle. I’ll give it a shot though,” Hope said as she caught Mika inspecting her hair and neck. Hope took the item from Mika and put the garment behind the counter. “I’ll bring it by when I have it done if I can do it at all,” Hope said with a smile pretending to be annoyed.

Sheets of rain pounded the town as the farm workers scrambled to protect the gardens. Gabe was again away working with the planners. They asked him for ideas on an irrigation system they were developing for the following year. Gabe knew the other workers would be upset as tensions had continued to mount. He felt badly about the situation, but also knew he was more valuable to the town working with the planners. The foreman supported Gabe and understood the best way to utilize his strengths, but that didn’t change the way Samael and his men felt.

“Hey Gabe, where were you today? We all got poured on
, and you were gone again. Do you even work here anymore?” Samael said as the other men laughed. Gabe sat on the small stool, changing his clothes to head home for the day. “What are you doing? Do you think you’re done?” Samael asked, clearly angry at Gabe. “Your plots are getting flooded out there. I told you we weren’t gonna do your job.”

Gabe looked up at the men who had surrounded him in a loose circle. “
Ya better get out there, and bring an umbrella. You’ll need it tonight,” Samael said poking Gabe in the chest.

“Sam, I’m not going back out there. I’ve had a long day too…
I’ll take care of it in the morning. I need to get home. Faith is expecting me,” Gabe said trying not to make the situation worse.

“You’ll do as I say, or you can find work somewhere else. Don’t worry about that pretty wife of yours. I’ll
take care of your bitch for you,” Samael said stroking his thick black beard.

Without thinking Gabe reacted in rage. He swung as hard as he could landi
ng a solid blow right below Samael’s left eye.

The
swelling was immediate, as Samael wobbled and swayed a bit. To Gabe’s surprise the impact of his blow did not faze Samael in the least. He simply took a step back, absorbed the blast and pounced on Gabe like a ton of bricks. Gabe fell to the ground smothered by the enormous man. The following fifteen seconds seemed to last for days as Gabe was quickly pummeled. Several heavy hits to the face and head with countless shots to the body left Gabe gasping for air and unable to think straight. Next thing Gabe knew was that he was being dragged across the mud as water poured from the heavens.

“Now that you got that out of your system, you better get to work. You don’t want to be out here all night. We’v
e got a busy day tomorrow,” Samael scoffed as he tossed Gabe down into the fields. Grasping his side and spilling blood from his nose, Gabe worked his plot late into the night.

“I met someone today,” Hope said as she sliced several large carrots.
“…The blacksmith. Remember him? He works over by the plaza.” Faith continued to knead the bread preoccupied with something else on her mind. “He came into the store today needing his apron repaired. I told him I don’t normally work on leather, but you know what, I think I can fix it,” Hope continued.

“I’m sorry Hope. W
hat was that?” Faith asked as she shook her head to clear her mind.

“I met the blacksmith today. He c
ame into the store needing his farrier apron repaired. I’m not sure if I can fix it, but I’m going to give it a shot,” Hope repeated her statement annoyed by Faith’s day dreaming. “What’s up with you tonight Faith? You seem a million miles away. Are you OK?”

“Yea
h, I’m fine, just thinking about work that’s all,” Faith explained as she formed the dough into a tight, white ball. “I’ve been learning more about this ‘Law’ they’re always talking about. It’s been bugging me lately. These kids are being taught strange things. Did you know that next month is what they call ‘Reverence Month’, and each afternoon the people in this town pray for peace to the City Hall? They literally pray to that building as if it’s some sort of god. No matter what they’re doing or where they are, come 3:15 they stop, kneel, and pray to the center of town. It’s actually in the Law.”

Hope paused and distinguished the concern in her
dear friend. “Yeah, they do things differently, but just look what they’ve accomplished. A little reverence seems appropriate once in a while. I’m sure it’s just symbolic to unify the people in town. We all have our traditions,” Hope replied trying to downplay Faith’s distrust.

“But Hope…today I found myself teaching a beautiful little girl that she is just
as valuable as the little boys but in a different way. I told her we all have our roles in society, but boys and girls were created with different strengths. According to the Law, women control the home and the family whereas men control the town. As long as women submit themselves to their husbands, order and structure remains strong. I don’t believe these things Hope,” Faith said appealing to Hope’s sense of history and freedom.

“Faith, it’s just second grade curriculum. You don’t think the entire town feels that way. They’re just trying to keep peace in
a chaotic country right now. This works for them and it’s working for us too,” Hope said as she poured the vegetables she’d been cutting into the frying pan. “Plus, men and women are different if you ask me. I guess I don’t see the harm.”