The Journal: Cracked Earth (41 page)

Emi stood and stretched the kinks out of her
back. She’d been sitting in one place too long, especially after
hours of working in the garden. It would be a good crop this year;
Nahna would be pleased. Her heart clenched.

Her Nahna had passed away three weeks
ago.

She glanced once more at the journal. Yes,
there would be time to read more of Nahna’s life later. What a life
it was. Emi knew, since she was there.

Even as a teenager, Deborah was always
writing, whether it was short stories, poetry or journal entries.
She has promised to someday dig those notebooks out to see how far
she has come.

Having grown up in Detroit, the kid of a cop,
Deborah realized she really disliked city living and
gravitated to the country in her early twenties. From there, after
her sons were grown and on their own, she made the big step of
moving to the woods and living off grid.

It was the many years of having to prepare
for deep and snowy winters that gave her the knowledge and
experience to give her characters the same expertise.