Guardian Angel House by Kathy Clark

Author:Kathy Clark
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV016060, JUV016000
Publisher: Second Story Press
Published: 2009-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

She paused and reached for the green tomato that still lay on the ground between them. Absentmindedly, she rolled it over and handed it to Susan.

“There’s no point in wasting this,” said Sister Agnes. “Though it is no longer on the vine, if we place it in the warmth of the sun, it will ripen.”

Chapter 20

Harvest

September 1944

The sweltering summer days melted from August into September. It seemed to Susan that the world had been at war forever. The rumble of distant fighting drifted over the convent walls and frequently the evening horizon was aglow with the fiery orange haze of battle.

“The Allied troops – our friends from Britain, America, and Russia – are beginning to win the war,” Mother Gabriel told them. “They are attacking the Nazi invaders across Europe. The Nazis are retreating from France, Belgium, and other Eastern European countries.”

She explained to the girls that this might mean harder times for the people of Hungary. “The Nazis are putting more pressure on our country since it is among the few where they are still in control. And they will try to protect their main strongholds, like the one here on Mount Gellert.” She paused and then added, “Even our peaceful existence here at the convent could be endangered. We may face more difficult times together before the war is over.”

While Mother Gabriel’s premonitions disturbed Susan, the constant work to be done, especially in the garden, demanded more immediate attention. With the onset of autumn, the work in the vegetable garden had shifted to harvesting. By late September, they had picked most of the fruits and vegetables. Though the quantities they grew were not large, the fresh beans, tomatoes, and green peppers were a welcome addition to their meals. There was an ever-increasing shortage of food in the city. Each time Sister Magda made stew, it seemed a bit more watery. The slices of bread grew thinner and thinner. All the girls were eager to help in the kitchen now and take advantage of the extra nibbles of food they were allowed to have there.

Susan felt a moment of panic on the last day in early October when she and Sister Agnes knelt in front of the neat rows of potato, carrot, and onion plants. Empty baskets stood at their side in readiness to be filled with this final harvest. Perhaps, when she reached down into the dark soil, her fingers would find nothing. All summer these three vegetables had caused her the greatest concern. There was plenty of green growth above ground, but what if there was nothing below? She had asked Sister Agnes several times if she could dig up just one of the plants, but Sister Agnes said they would just have to trust and wait.

On the day of their harvesting, Susan reached out and gently eased her hand around the roots of the first plant. Her fingers felt out one, then two, then three large, firm, round potatoes. She triumphantly yanked the entire plant out of the soil, revealing six potatoes.

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