Hard times, the man had said, but Vica had thought he meant perhaps a lean harvest with less than abundance to go around. Those weren't uncommon troubles. It happened some years, having to make do with only scant wheat and meat preserved through the winter. That wouldn't have been so shocking. But she hadn't thought he meant - this.
"Where did all these children come from?" she asked. "How can all of them be orphans?"
"Well, not all of them are," Moira corrected as she settled back into the creaky chair next to hers. They were sitting in the town hall building, everyone in Landon together, with a large fire going in the hearth and food set out for anyone hungry. "Some of them came with a mama, or a daddy. Most of them are still sick, though, so we're caring for them right now and watchin
