On Wings of the Morning Read Free

put his hands on Otto’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Otto,” he intoned. “I can’t risk this mission because of an incompetent pilot.” With that, he wrenched Otto to the side, and Otto was thrust out into the cold darkness, falling, falling, falling. After a while the air seemed to buoy him up and he had no sensation of motion, but he knew that the sea lay below. He plunged through layers of cloud and broke through the overcast. The horizon showed as a thin gray line, and the sea was a darker gray than the clouds. The water seemed to rush up to him. It was coming fast, fast, and suddenly he hit.
    Otto sat up in the dark examination room. The grandfather clock in the parlor chimed four. He lay back down, feeling the ache of his broken leg. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
    ***
    The next morning he was awakened by sunlight streaming through a gap in the heavy curtains. His stomach reminded him he had not eaten since lunch the day before. He sat up again. Rose bustled into the room. “Good morning, Otto, you must have slept well. I didn’t hear you all night. How’s the leg?”
    “It aches, Mrs. Carter,” Otto returned.
    “Well, that’s to be expected. Are you hungry? Would you like to go to the bathroom?”
    “Do you mean the privy?” Otto wasn’t sure what a bathroom was. He didn’t need a bath.
    Rose laughed. “A bathroom is an indoor privy,” she smiled. “I’ll help you to it. You’ll find it’s much nicer than a smelly old privy.” She helped him up and guided him to a door on the other side of the examination room from the parlor. Rose flipped a switch and a light came on. Otto looked up in surprise. He had read about electric lights but had never seen one operate. Rose chuckled and pointed to a white vase. “That’s where you do your business, Otto. Pull the chain hanging from the tank when you’re done.” She closed the door.
    Otto gingerly eased himself down on the white vase and “did his business.” When he was done, he stood up, pulled up his knickers and pulled down on the chain as instructed. It sounded like water was pouring from the ceiling and he yelped and jumped out of its way as well as he could with his leg. He heard Rose’s voice from the other side. “Otto! Are you all right?”
    “Yes, Mrs., Carter. I thought I had caused a flood but I’m all right now.” She laughed on the other side of the door. “Well, come out when you’re finished.”
    Otto immediately opened the door and started to hobble out. “Wait a minute, young man: you didn’t wash your hands.”
    Otto looked puzzled. “I was going to use the pump in the kitchen if that’s all right.”
    Rose laughed again. “Let me show you,” she smiled, and led the way back into the bathroom. She flicked on the light and turned one of the faucets on. “See? Running water with the turn of a knob!”
    “Wow, Mrs. Carter, that’s pretty keen!”
    “Well, wash up and then we’ll see about some breakfast. Your folks will be here to pick you up pretty soon.”
    ***
    Otto wiped the last of the boiled egg Rose had fixed for him off his mouth, along with some bacon that looked like it was store-bought. It wasn’t until he smelled it frying that he realized how hungry he was. Breakfast at home was usually sausage and if there were bacon, it was homemade with a lot of fat. In fact, now that he thought of it, they had sausage about every meal, with potatoes and a few other vegetables his mother grew in the garden. And milk. Lots and lots of milk.
    Rose came back into the examining room and took the tray Otto had used for his breakfast. “Doctor Carter will be in to look at you in a few minutes. He was out all night with a difficult birth. Honestly I don’t know what would possess anyone to be a doctor. But he loves it.”
    “I’m glad he could fix my leg,” Otto offered.
    Rose patted him on the head. He reminded her so of their son Jack at the same age. “He was there when you were born. It’ll be up to you