Mrs. Hansen's Arc

Chapter 14 of 14

Mrs. Hansen walked quickly around the barn toward the greenhouse, her boots slipping once on the frost. Mr. Hansen had been holding the chain when the floor gave way beneath her. He had no way to know she was safe or where the collapse had taken her. She saw him before he saw her. He stood beneath the ancient oak tree near the greenhouse entrance, halfway down the broken chain, his boots braced against the trunk as he tried to lower himself toward the shaft opening. The winch mechanism lay in pieces on the ground where it had finally given way. He was trying to reach her the only way he could think of, even though the drop was too far and the chain wouldn't hold. She called his name. He looked up, startled, then dropped the chain and crossed the distance between them in four long strides. He didn't ask how she'd gotten out or where she'd been. He just pulled her close, his grip tight enough that she felt his hands shaking. When he finally stepped back, he reached into his coat pocket and held out her necklace. The eight-pointed sunburst caught the light, the broken chain already repaired with careful wire work. He'd gone down far enough to find it in the shadows where it had fallen. Mrs. Hansen took the necklace and closed her fingers around the familiar weight of the carved pattern. She had believed it was lost forever, buried in darkness she couldn't reach. But Mr. Hansen had risked the unstable passage and the failing chain to bring it back. She fastened it around her neck and felt the metal settle against her skin, warm from his pocket. The greenhouse stood behind them, its glass walls reflecting the morning sun, and beneath it lay the passages and chambers that connected her land in ways she was only beginning to understand. She would map them together now, she decided. Not alone.