A Flicker of Light Read Online Free PDF

dimly lit by the early morning sunlight that had found its way through the openings in the wooden slats of the roof.
    A n old gray plow horse stood in its stall covered with a blanket. When the horse saw Petra, she whinnied softly. Beside her in an open stand, a brown and white milk cow stood swishing her tail. Both animals eyed Petra curiously, their large brown eyes expressive and questioning. Pushing hard, she closed the door against the wind. Turning her at tention to the mare, she quietly apologized as she borrowed the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Until now Petra had not realized that her body shook and her teeth chattered. She looked down and noticed that just out of the horse ’ s reach was an old soft apple atop a small pile of hay. For a moment Petra considered giving it to the animal, and then, although she felt sorry to take it because the horse watched longingly, she sat down in the hay and devoured it herself. Soft, chewy, and slightly frozen, the apple tasted like a feast to her.
    Across the room she saw the milk pail hanging from a hook on the wall. Rising , she walked over and took it down. She lapped up the remnants of milk still within the bucket from the cow’s last milking. When she’d cleaned the container dry, she set it down and lay to rest herself upon the hay. She wished that she knew how to milk a cow, but she had no t grown up anywhere near a farm and she had no idea.  The warmth of the blanket and the safety of the shelter brought on a need for sleep, and her eyes suddenly grew heavy. Within minutes she drifted off, swept into a deep, but fitful, slumber.
    Dreams of her father whirled in her head; how happiness radiated from him to everyone in his wake, back before the accident on the fishing boat had claimed part of his leg. For years he had come home with the sea in his hair and his heart in his work. In her childhood memories , he wore a permanent smile. His kind face had taken on a permanent ruddy hue from years of sun exposure. When he returned home from a day on the water and tossed a bundle of fresh fish on the table he would state proudly, “I am a fisherman,” then turn to them with a hearty laugh, “like my father before me and his before him.” At night before bed , he would t ell them all stories of the legends of the Vikings, and with pride he declared them to be his ancestors and theirs. His heart big and full, he ’d embraced his wife and children with kisses and tenderness as he ’d enfolded them in his massive, muscular embrace. His essence had brought laughter and song into the household.
    One day while out fishing, something had happened at sea. He would not explain, but he had lost his left leg from the knee down. The family had rushed to the hospital where they saw the backbone of their world weak and broken as he lay upon the bed. Petra had recognized the dishonor he felt in his face, and therefore did not meet his eyes. At first, for a while, following hi s return home, her father had been quick to anger and had grown ill tempered , refusing to engage in conversation with anyone. As time went on, he ’d learned to function without his leg. Although he’d never been quite the same , he ’d finally accepted his plight. Life went on, but his joy in it had been lost .
    Financial need had forced him to find work, but there were few opportunities for a crippled man. He ’d saved what little money he could and opened a tavern on the water. The saloon became very popular, and he made a fair living. It became known as a place where sailors could come for hearty fish chowder, fresh herring, a beer or a cup of schnapps. Over time he came to have affection for the little place, but Petra knew in her heart that he always longed to be out on a boat, catching fish, and singing the songs of the sea. Her papa’s face lingered in her mind as she slept on the pile of straw.

 
    Chapter 5
     
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    iegland Bruchmeier found out early in life that she’d been born to