A Child's Breath Read online

  Clara was helping Karolina recover her strength by watching her children every day so Karolina could rest. She loved playing with the newborn infant Johannes and would carry him with her and sing to him while she was finishing housekeeping chores for Karolina. The baby boy would laugh and smile and try to grab her long blonde hair as she carried him. She would then pretend to shriek as he pulled her hair, and he would laugh and try to pull some more. It was a fun game for the both of them as Clara grew close to the infant child.

  One day, Karolina gave her a small hair brush and rouge she purchased in New York City. She showed her how to apply a little of the rouge to her cheeks. Later, the young woman was totally enraptured as she listened to Karolina tell her stories of how she attended the royal wedding of Princess Marie Amelie and dance with all the Grand Duke’s handsome soldiers; but Karolina omitted any mention of meeting Johannes and falling in love with him. Karolina had ended her relationship with Johannes long before she met her husband.

  Clara and Karolina would both laugh when the baby would make a face and clap his hands together to try to get their attention. Karolina’s other sons also liked the attention that Clara showered on them and would play hide-and-seek with her whenever she would visit. Karolina grew fond of Clara and began treating her like her own daughter. She would smile at her when she entered the cabin each morning singing a sweet song.

  Meanwhile, Clara’s mother grew jealous and angry because Clara was spending so much time with Karolina and not with her. Growing up as a young girl, Clara had been devoted to her mother and father and would constantly be at her mother’s side spending hours talking to her about the kind of life she would lead when she was a grown woman.

  After caring for Karolina and her baby for most of the summer, Clara realized that her mother missed spending time with her. Clara would come home from Karolina’s cabin and her mother would be curt and angry with her. Clara assured her mother one morning that she would hurry home after helping Karolina care for her baby, so they could spend time together at dinner talking about her future. Her mother gave her a big hug and told her she looked forward to making Clara and her father their favorite foods for dinner that evening. Clara, relieved that her mother was no longer angry, bid her goodbye and hurried out the cabin door.

  Springtime in Delphos went by quickly and soon turned into summer. It had been a wet spring and the native wildflowers were in full bloom. Once Karolina had recovered more from the birth of her youngest son, she brought lunch and fresh water to her husband every day on the canal docks. She would also meet with other newly arrived immigrants and help them settle into the hotel in town and find provisions for their families. Karolina met with Father Bredeick often and other members of the community to encourage them to set up a new school for all the immigrant children. She wanted her children to learn to read and write in the English language and to understand the history of their new country with all the other children. Father Bredeick would reassure her each time he met with her that he would do his best to encourage his congregation to build a new school next to the church under construction.

  While Karolina was in the Delphos town center, she would always stop by the post office. She recently received a few letters from her friend Johannes in New York City, explaining how he, Marguerite and her two children had arrived in the city and met with Franz Sigel. Unfortunately, Marguerite had not been able to find her husband as yet. Joseph, Franz Sigel’s carriage driver had gone back down South to help other slaves escape on the Underground Railroad and they just missed meeting with him. Johannes wrote how Sigel found a job for Marguerite and a place for her to live with her children courtesy of a prominent family in New York City.

  When Karolina returned home, she would put these letters in a small box underneath her bed with other letters and mementos from her home in Baden. Her friend Anna from New York City had also recently written her several letters, describing how her husband’s law firm was becoming busier providing legal help to many of New York City’s wealthiest residents. She kept urging Karolina to visit her. She told her how she also hoped to start a family someday as her husband was becoming more settled at his firm and she would appreciate any advice Karolina might give to her. Karolina just shook her head when she read these letter from Anna for she did not know how she could afford to travel to New York City because money was tight and she needed to care for her growing family. She would instead write Anna long letters describing her new baby and how fast her two other sons were growing up. She would promise to come and visit her someday but inwardly she knew that it would never come to pass.

  Chapter Six

  At the beginning of summer, the entire town of Delphos was bustling with activity. It was like a huge force was unleashed, as the hard-working immigrants would go from farm to farm, all helping each other to chop down trees, and build their log cabin homes. The sound of men sawing wood and pounding nails was all one could hear in the surrounding area. The ice had finally broken on the canal earlier that spring and hundreds of canal boats were loading and unloading cargo on the docks in town.

  Stanislaus continued to help the canal boatmen unload their cargoes in order to earn extra money for his family. He bought an old horse from a man while unloading the cargo from his canal boat. The canal boatman told him the horse still had a few good years left in him, but he was selling it and his boat and returning to Toledo. He told Stanislaus, that the railroads were coming to Delphos and the surrounding towns and there would be less and less cargo on the canal boats. Stanislaus took the horse off his hands and used the animal to help pull the tree stumps out of his neighbor’s fields.

  The town’s general store provided Stanislaus with his first corn seed to plant in his fields. Stanislaus worked hard but enjoyed the fact that it was his own land and no Prussian soldier would bother him or his family again. He would rise early every morning to feed the horse and a new cow he had purchased for milk for his growing family before going to work on the canal docks.

  Earlier that summer the townspeople of Delphos saw a nearby gang of railroad workers begin building new railroad tracks for trains that would take passengers from Cincinnati and Dayton to Toledo. The tracks were planned to go right through the town of Delphos. The townsfolk knew this would bring in many new businesses and there was even talk about a depot that would be built-in Delphos where the trains could stop, refuel, and take on water for the engine. Passengers and cargo would be able to load and unload right in the center of town instead of on the edge of the canal. The future looked bright for Delphos and the surrounding communities in Northwest Ohio, but then tragedy struck the small town—cholera!

  Chapter Seven

  Whenever she could, Clara would sneak away from home and return to Karolina’s cabin when she finished her chores and the two women would talk until it was late in the evening. Karolina would put her children to bed while Stanislaus, dead tired from working on the canal and farm fields all day would also retire early to bed. Karolina relished the peace and quiet in the cabin after a long day and enjoyed telling Clara stories of her childhood in Baden as well as her most recent adventures traveling to Delphos. Clara would often say how lucky Karolina had been to have seen so many wonderful places and events but Karolina would shake her head wistfully in agreement and then stare into the small fire in the fireplace before telling another story.

  One evening, Clara confided to Karolina with a smile how she would sneak out at night, being careful not to wake her mother and father, and meet with Peter in the meadow nearby her home, lay down on the soft cool grass with him and plan their futures together. She described their late night trysts as something special while they embraced and kissed each other under the evening moon and stars. She would sing softly to him for she loved music and wanted to sing for an audience someday in the big city. Delphos was too small for her and she felt suffocated living here with her parents. Peter, several years older than Clara, was also tired of working for his father and wanted to build his o
wn general store somewhere other than Delphos. He was mesmerized when Clara told him about Karolina’s adventures in New York City, and he told Clara that they should plan to run away together and start a new life in New York when she turned eighteen.

  Karolina grew alarmed upon hearing of Clara’s and Peter’s secret rendezvous, so she clasped Clara’s hands and asked Clara to tell her when she was planning to run away with Peter. Karolina said earnestly, “Before you leave, I can write to my friend Anna and she could help you and Peter find someplace to live in New York City!” Clara thought that would be a wonderful idea and agreed to tell Karolina before they decided to run away from Delphos so she could write her friend beforehand.

  Meanwhile, Karolina resolved to secretly talk to Clara’s mother to prevent Clara from being harmed by such a reckless plan. She wondered why Clara confided in her and not her own mother, and then she recalled how Clara’s mother still treated her as a child. Karolina went to bed concerned for her young friend and slept little that night.

  Chapter Eight

  The next day an old traveler was resting by the side of a small pond when Clara arrived carrying the infant Johannes. Clara would always visit this pond when she argued with her mother and she wanted to get away from her parents.

  Earlier that late summer morning, Clara had fought with her mother about her plans for the future. She was turning eighteen in a few days and her mother was worried about her. Clara stomped out of the cabin in a huff telling her mother that she was a grown woman and could decide her future all by herself and then she went straight to Karolina’s home and offered to watch her baby. Karolina was happy to see her since she needed to take her two older boys into town to meet with Father Bredeick to enroll them in the new school which was scheduled to start in the fall. Karolina also needed to take lunch to her husband working on the canal docks and then pick up their mail while she was in town. Karolina asked Clara if she would be able to watch her youngest child until late in the day knowing it would take her a long time to complete these errands. She also secretly had one small stop to make on her way into town and she did not want to tell Clara about that stop. Clara agreed and helped dress the baby and then carried him with her while she walked to the pond in the cool woods.

  Clara noticed the old traveler when she and the infant drew closer to the pond. The traveler stood up slowly and inquired “How old is your baby and what is his name?” He coughed and bent over as he spoke these words as if his stomach hurt him. Clara, alarmed at seeing the pained look on his face, told him she was watching the child while his parents were working. She asked him if she could get him a drink of water. He begged her pardon saying “No, Excuse me. But I have to be on my way, young lady” and he coughed another raspy cough to clear the phlegm in his throat. He patted the child, wrapped his jacket around his shoulders and then walked away. It appeared to Clara that he looked pale, and was perspiring heavily.

  Clara filled a large container with water from the pond and took a long cool drink and gave one to the baby. When she was finished drinking she looked up and again noticed the ill traveler walking across the farm fields towards town, stopping now and then to cough and bend over while holding his stomach. It was a hot August day and the heat shimmered up from the ground. A drought was afflicting the entire Midwest that summer as no rain had fallen since late May and the earth was dried and cracked. Clara’s only thought was that the traveler may have been suffering from the heat and paid him no further mind while she lay down in the grass next to the baby and began to play with him. The baby Johannes laughed and tried to pull her hair and grab her fingers until he grew tired and fell asleep. She caressed him while they both rested. As she lay in the grass next to the child, she watched the clouds go by and imagined what it would be like to live in New York City. She could hardly wait until she was eighteen so that she would be able to leave Delphos.

  Unknown to Clara, at that same moment, Karolina was telling her mother about her plans to run away to New York City with her boyfriend. Clara’s mother was furious. “How could you tell my little girl about New York City with all those fancy buildings and haughty people, without asking us?” She raged at Karolina. Karolina tried to calm her and tell her that she was only trying to help the girl. Clara’s mother screamed “Leave my home. I don’t want you talking to Clara ever again.” And closed the door in Karolina’s face. Karolina, shaking from the confrontation, went back to her cabin to make Stanislaus lunch. She then encouraged her two boys to follow her as she walked towards town.

  Chapter Nine

  The old, ill traveler arrived in town and went to see Doctor Reul for some medicine for his stomach pain. Doctor Reul upon examining him, that that the traveler was suffering from heat stroke and told him he should cool down and rest out of the sun in the nearby hotel. The old traveler shook his head and told him he needed to continue on his way to Toledo before it became too dark.

  Little did Doctor Reul know or suspect that the old ill traveler was carrying the deadly cholera bacteria and spreading the disease merely by walking through town. At that time members of the medical profession thought cholera was spread by gasses given off by dead animal carcasses lying in the streets of small towns all across America. Because of this belief, the Delphos town council had passed a law fining anyone from leaving a dead horse or another large animal in the town streets, confident this would help avoid the deadly disease from striking their growing community. It was not until years later that the medical profession confirmed that cholera was spread through drinking water.

  Meanwhile, the old traveler continued on his way after seeing the doctor but not before drinking and washing from the water well in the center of town poisoning half of the inhabitants of Delphos with that small act.

  At the same time, Clara walked into town with the infant Johannes to see Peter and stopped by the same water well, to take a drink of cool water. She developed a strong thirst from walking and playing with the baby in the meadows while in the hot scorching summer sun and her water container was empty. Clara drank the cool water eagerly and gave some water to the baby. She also applied cold water to her forehead with a handkerchief and in turn wiped the baby’s head and chest with the cloth. The baby laughed at the cool sensation on his skin.

  Clara noticed the dusty traveler approach them again, but she grew concerned when he doubled over in pain as he came closer. “Can I help you?” She said apprehensively to the old man. He straightened up quickly, smiled and said, “No young lady, it must have been something I ate last night that’s troubling me” As he patted his stomach. He spotted the child in her arms and asked “Is that your child? You seem awfully young to have a little one of your own!” He exclaimed. She shook her head realizing he was asking her about the child she was carrying again and chided him gently “No, Sir. He is my neighbor’s child and I am only watching him for the day as I told you earlier.” Just then the infant Johannes looked up and smiled at the old traveler, who chuckled and patted the boy on his head. He said, “You’re right young lady, I clean forgot. It must be the heat. Well, I have to get going. Take care of that little baby” and he began to walk back down the road out-of-town wiping his brow with an old handkerchief from his pocket.

  Clara suddenly remembered that she had offered to help Karolina prepare dinner for her family before she went back home, so she hurriedly splashed water on her face and on the baby to cool off and walked swiftly back to Stanislaus and Karolina’s cabin carrying the small child in her arms.

  Chapter Ten

  Karolina returned to her cabin in the late afternoon on that fateful August summer day. She was happy and beaming as she walked back home to the cabin. Father Bredeick had agreed to start a parish school that fall and her two young boys would be one of the first students to attend it. Her strength was returning and her two boys were skipping rocks in the dirt road as they walked and running into the forest to look for branches to play with. She warned them constantly not to venture too far from her in order no
t to be lost in the woods, but they ignored her as usual. Black bears were still common in the area and during the hot summer, they would be foraging in the cool woods with their cubs.

  As Karolina approached her cabin, she noticed it was eerily quiet. She expected to hear Clara singing and the baby Johannes laughing or crying, but she did not. It was too late for the child to be napping and too early for his bedtime.

  As she came close, she heard a low moan and saw Clara lying prostrate across the bed next to Johannes, who was breathing slowly with his eyes closed. Karolina rushed into the cabin and shook Clara. She moaned and fell to the ground. Clara’s breathing was rapid, and she had a pale look on her face. Her skin was dry to the touch, and she had voided herself in her clothing. Her eyes were barely open, and she began to moan louder. Karolina bent down and helped her back onto the bed.

  She then turned to her infant son, who was laying on the bed covered in blankets, shaking and breathing shallow breaths. He also had voided on himself, and she could see blood in his diapers. She quickly picked him up but instead of crying, the infant let out a small gasp of air. His skin was also pale and dry with no elasticity and it tore when she began to rub his arms to stop his shaking. His breathing was becoming more and more rapid and his eyes began to roll up in his head. Karolina screamed “Johannes” and shook him lightly to keep him awake. His breathing then began to slow while Karolina laid him on the bed and removed the blanket that Clara had wrapped around him. His eyes opened momentarily, and he stared at Karolina, while he gave his last breath. Karolina’s infant son Johannes was dead!