A Dream Unfolding by Karen Baney

hissed in the wind.   Trees confined themselves near river beds, offering little break to the chilling wind.   Other than the few towns and sporadic houses they passed on the first day, there had been little sign of civilization or variation in the landscape.
    Worse yet, he missed practicing medicine.   He loved talking to patients, answering their questions and alleviating their symptoms.   He loved birthing babies, watching as new life entered the world.   He even liked patching up more severe wounds, like Mr. Davis’s bullet wound, and doing whatever he could to help the healing process along.   While unknown illnesses terrified most doctors, Drew thrived when confronted with such a challenge, drawing on his experience or researching new remedies and theories that might aid in curing the patient.
    All those years of training, studying late into the night, prepared him to be a confident physician…that sat atop a wagon without a patient in sight.
    Discouraged, Drew glanced at Hannah again.   He wished, not for the first time, that he would be able to make her proud.
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    Hannah sensed Drew’s eyes on her.   As she turned toward him, his head snapped forward, seemingly interested in the miniscule progress of the oxen.
    The silence ate at her.   How had this wordless, tense chasm formed between her heart and his?   They were husband and wife.   They were supposed to love each other and want to be with each other.   So why did she feel like jumping down from the wagon and running far from his presence?
    Moisture tickled the corners of her eyes.   Maybe he didn’t love her anymore.
    Her aunt would tell her that was impossible.   Love doesn’t die.   But, Hannah knew otherwise.   After all, papa stopped loving her—the day mama died—so could Drew.
    Growing up, she knew that both her parents loved and adored her.   She felt it in the morning hugs and evening bed-time stories.   It was there when papa lifted her off the ground and twirled her around as he came in from the fields at the end of the day.
    Both papa and mama wanted more children and often spoke of their hope for another child.   Finally, mama announced one day that she was with child.   Hannah would have a younger brother or sister soon.   Papa cried—for joy he told her—because they had waited twelve long years for their family to increase.
    Only that joy faded, too quickly, when mama began having pains only a few months into the pregnancy.   When the doctor confined her to bed rest, Hannah overheard him telling mama she had been irresponsible in trying to have a child at her advanced age of forty.
    For months, mama remained in bed, following the doctor’s orders without complaint.   Each month the doctor visited, he said the pregnancy was progressing, but there was too much cause for concern.   She needed to stay abed.
    Then, a month before the baby should have arrived, mama went into labor while Hannah was at school.   When she arrived home, the doctor’s carriage sat out front.   Her mother’s screams filled the air.   For hours papa paced the small space between the stove and the table in the small farm house, ignoring Hannah.   With each scream, his pacing turned more frantic.
    For over a day, Hannah listened, helpless and terrified.   Finally, the screaming stopped.
    “There should be a baby’s cry,” papa said, reaching for the bedroom door latch.
    The door flew open as the doctor stepped into the room.   “I’m sorry,” were the only words he uttered before papa pushed him aside.
    “No!” papa yelled in a guttural moan as he fell into a heap next to mama’s side.
    Confused and frightened, she stepped into the doorway.   Her mother’s pale body rested stiffly on their bed.   Looking around the room, Hannah could not find the baby.   The only thing she saw was her lifeless mother and enormous amounts of blood staining the sheets.   The doctor, realizing she snuck into the room, quickly pulled her