August 1863 THE LEGACY THE TWO FURIOUSLY GALLOPING RIDERs wet illuminated by a late summer full moon as the rounded the final bend in the road and pulled up be ::i: fore the tiny cabin, their horses lathered and pantin~ One rider, a blond man in filthy Confederate raes dismounted even before his poor beast had stopped and ran to the door. Terror had gripped the cabin s lone occupant whet hoofbeats awakened her, and she stood rigid now, no daring to breathe. The door was flung open and sh~ wavered, stifling a sob, before throwing herself at the shadow of a man who stood before her. The whisper oJ \"~ small, bare feet moving across the rough floors broke the silence. Cries escaped both their lips as they em- braced one another, clinging as hard as they could. ~ , The other rider had the decency to keep his dis- ,~tanco, but the moonbeams intruded, as moonbeams will, filtering easily through the tittle place, lighting the lovers way to bed. Curiously, their coming together was not an act of lust but a bond of promise. In his desperation, the kind of desperation only war can :~ bring about, the man offered nothing but his own need. The woman gave her husband what comfort she could, along with her love, and her promise for the future. Her acceptance of his seed into her body was a cere- monial act and had little to do with sex: there wasn t time for ordinary human needs. And so the child who began growing inside her was a kind of exchange. Its
|
商品评论(0条)