*Trigger Warning* this chapter contains infant death
It’s warm out. It’s almost too warm, but after it was so cold when we arrived here, I don’t want to complain. I turn toward the sun, letting it shine on my face for a moment before I go back to watering the beans. My stomach has hurt all day, but I’ve tried my best to ignore it.
Anders has been chopping wood all day. I’m not sure what it’s all for, but he dutifully chops it and stacks it up near our home.
“Anders,” I say, approaching him. “Would you be upset if we had a daughter?”
He looks at me with a smile, like he thinks I’m telling him I’m with child. I frown and shake my head.
“A woman had a daughter last week,” I try to explain. “Helga said it was her fourth, and her husband would be upset she was a girl.”
He places th
