Chapter 1

Mr. James Conant was a moderately successful accountant, a content man making a life in the capital of Einland, a small land-locked nation. But all that had changed in a single night. The fire had claimed the lives of his wife Susan and his two small sons. Everyone thought of him now with sympathy as a “widower and childless”, but only he knew how much more than “just a woman” Susan had been, and how delightful each of the boys, so much more than “just children”. At least that’s how he felt about it.

In any case, they were gone. There was an immediate outpouring of sympathy and support, which at the least distracted him, but then that stopped. Weeks after the event, he was in a very dark mood. There were a few offers that were more than short-term sympathy. His boss offered him some time off. Friends and relatives invited him to come stay with them indefinitely. But the one offer that intrigued him was from a Mr. Johnson, a fellow accountant at his firm. He had inherited from his father a small cabin in the hills of the neighboring nation of Ausland, used for vacations and a retreat from urban life. Mr. Johnson said he would like to use it more, but it seemed the time was never right, and he would love to see it be of benefit to somebody.

One complication was that Ausland had just emerged from a civil war. The war had pitted primarily the plains people of the south against the hill people of the north. Destruction and loss were severe all over, but the hill people had gotten the worst of it. In some areas, ravaging soldiers of the plains had slaughtered the entire population.

Johnson offered James the use of the cabin for as long as he wished. James thought this was a good option for him to try out. For one thing, he could be alone. And if he did venture out to meet some others, they would be people who had suffered severe loss -- worse than his. They were people who were trying to put their lives together while grieving for all that had been lost. He did not feel like being around cheerful people.

His few necessary belongings fit in his trusty Model T Ford, and off he went on the day-long journey to the cabin.

There was considerable work to be done to set himself up in a livable situation, but after a few days he felt settled enough that he could sit on the porch in the old rocking chair. It was a sunny afternoon in fall, with mild temperatures and a slight breeze. The cabin was on a hillside, and when the leaves fell he might have a view across the valley, but for now all he could see was forest. That was pleasant enough. Thoughts of his dead wife and sons flitted through his mind, but did not come to roost heavily.

He was lost in this own thoughts for some time before he saw a woman heading up towards his cabin, glancing up at him periodically as she came. There were a few different paths that led to the cabin or past the cabin, and James had set himself the future task of finding out where they went. The usual access to the cabin was by way of a long, ill-maintained road leading to a short, ill-maintained driveway that ended a hundred yards from the cabin. There he had left his car. But there were footpaths from the cabin that led other places.

When the woman was 20 yards distant she stopped. She had gray hair and was not young. Her clothing was informal and practical -- the sort he would have expected from a rural resident of the hill country. “Good afternoon,” she said.

“And good afternoon to you,” he said. The two countries spoke essentially the same language, but the pronunciation was different enough that you could tell someone’s nationality just from hearing a few words.

“Ah, an Einlander!” said the woman with a smile.

“Yes, that’s me,” said James. “I have an Einlander friend Mr. Johnson who owns this cabin and suggested I come stay here for a while.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” said the woman, with visible relief, but then her face darkened. “Plenty of plains people had vacation cabins up here, and -- well, it’s hard to have them around.”

“I can understand that, given what you’ve been through.”

She nodded, looking off into the trees. “Are you a single man?” she asked.

James tried to imagine how he looked to her. He was 36 years old, and rather handsome and well-built -- everyone seemed to agree. He had the smarts to be a very good accountant. “A widower,” he said, and found a new wave of grief washing over him. “She died in a fire, along with our two sons.” He realized his eyes were glistening.

“Ah, so you know grief too. In some areas of the hills everyone is gone -- everyone! In some places it was just the soldiers -- very few soldiers made it back alive. Here -- here, the lowland swine came through, and killed all the men they could find -- and all the little boys too!”

“I’m so sorry,” said James.

“Me, I lost my sons --both of them, soldiers. And as for nephews ... too many to count. My sister lived down near the border -- all of them are gone.”

There was loss here to far exceed his own -- to make his own sound even trivial. He knew there would be, but to hear of it so soon and to hear of so much -- it still moved him.

“The farm work -- it’s tough learning to do all the work the men used to do! But we’re building up our muscles. We’re used to it now. We can do anything the men used to do. Well, with one exception.” She gave a shy smile. “You looking for a new wife?” she said, then laughed.

James shook his head. “Too soon.” He might remarry some day. When he did, it would be to one of his own kind, not someone from the hills of Ausland.

“Ah yes, sure, I see, but you’d certainly have plenty to choose from around here!” She added quickly, “Not me, you understand, but two of my daughters were married, but when their husbands were killed they came back to live with me -- widows, though no children. And there are so many widows around! And so many girls coming up on marrying age who now have no one to marry. Like my youngest, my third daughter, just now old enough to marry.”

James shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“There are a few men who made it back from the war -- but darn few. There are also some who couldn’t serve or the cowards who also happened to be in hiding when the swine came through -- and those were mostly the cowards! Men from the plains are not welcome, but a few try to come up here anyway. They seem to die soon, some way or other, so fewer and fewer try. But the good men of the hills -- and even the little boys! -- around here they are all gone. Some of us feel and act defeated, and just want to live out our days in peace. But others -- most of us -- want to build back so the hills will be full of hill people once more! We need to have lots of children.”

There were of course eligible young men in Einland, but Einlanders typically looked down on Auslanders, especially the hill people. James decided not to mention it. He was more open-minded than most.

“And as for -- what’s that word? ... Polygamy! As for polygamy, we are Godly people here, and it is prohibited.”

James nodded. Just about all branches of Christianity forbade polygamy.

“Yet now, when a Godly man takes a single wife and is true to her, it doesn’t seem right somehow. But God commands it. Perhaps it is God’s plan that we disappear from the land, a society of few but aging women ... Ah, well, those are our troubles, not yours. What’s your name?”

“James Conant,” he said.

“Melissa Hardwick,” she said. “Well, perhaps we will meet again.” She turned and headed back along the trail the way she had come.

After enjoying the afternoon a bit longer, James started in on one of his books -- classics he had meant to read and never had. It was hard to concentrate.

When the light was fading, at dusk, he rocked on the porch once more.

Then he saw another figure came hurrying along the same path the old woman had used.

“Hello, sir.”

“Hello,” said James.

She came right up to the cabin steps. “My name is Anne. My mother visited you earlier today.”

“Ah ... I can see the resemblance. What can I do for you?”

The young woman hesitated, then said, “May I come inside your cabin? I know it’s very forward of me...”

“No, that’s fine, I’m afraid it’s not much ... just a friend’s cabin...”

There was a small bedroom, a small common room, and an even smaller kitchen. Out back was the outhouse.

When they were inside, with the door shut, he looked at her expectantly.

“Oh, this is so ... so ... strange. My mother said you were not looking for a new wife ... I’m sorry about your wife.”

“Thank you,” said James.

She tried to be sympathetic, but only succeeded for a few moments. The loss here was so much more serious that he couldn’t blame her. “I’m just a country girl, and probably too ugly and stupid for someone like you...”

“Oh, heavens...” said James. She was not ugly and gave no sign of being stupid. But a girlfriend or lover? This was awfully sudden.

“But, could you ... try to make me pregnant? It doesn’t take long to try, and, I’d, um, appreciate it. Just don’t tell my mother -- I am sure she wouldn’t approve!”

James felt his cock start getting hard in his pants. He wasn’t ready to remarry. He wasn’t ready for a girlfriend. But ... sex? Sexual intercourse? He missed it. He didn’t even consider visiting a prostitute, and it would have been impolite to even mention it back home among his friends and family, but he still missed it. And here this girl was asking ... it really was quite simple ... and pleasant ... and something he wanted...

“I’d be happy to...” he said. “But you ... wouldn’t you like to know a man more? What’s the hurry? I’ll be here a few weeks, I’m sure,” he said. His lustful part silently grunted in disgust. He had a chance to get laid, and he was asking questions? Do it to her first, ask questions later, said his inner animal. Better yet, don’t ask questions at all.

“It’s this man, one we knew from before, sort of a friend of he family but not close. He lives not too far away, and somehow he hid when the plains soldiers came through. He knows we women all need to get pregnant, whatever the ministers say. So he’s said he’d do the job for any girl that asks, but he does more than that. I tried to discourage him, but ... he was very insistent, and he is someone we knew, so I let him do it. He said if he forced me then I wouldn’t be sinning and would still get to have a baby. It was confusing. And once I let him do it once, he wanted to do it again. And it’s true I want to have a baby, but ... I really don’t want to have his baby! But I think my time is coming soon-- maybe now. And the best way to keep him from starting his baby in me is ... Well, you get the picture, right?”

James did indeed get the picture. His erection was full and hard now. “And you think I’d be a more suitable father?”

The girl smiled briefly, glanced him up and down, and said, “Oh, most definitely. My mother said you were ... Well, she said good things about you, and I agree.”

It was mostly dark now. The only light inside was a kerosene lantern in the main room, but it cast some dim light into the bedroom. James put his hand out, inviting her into the bedroom. She walked in, remove her heavy shoes, and lay on her back on the bed and spread her legs. “I’m nervous, but I do want it -- I really do!” She then folded her arm over her face. The skirt of her dress was still covering her thighs.

Apparently she wanted his sperm and not much else. He had never had sex so starkly before, but ... it wasn’t going to stop him. His inner lustful part cheered.

He supposed he could just stick his cock out through his fly, but -- that could quite likely be uncomfortable. So he quickly took off his shoes and pants and underpants, then knelt on the bed below her. He slid her dress up until it revealed the part he was looking for. She had on no undergarment. A mound, some pubic hair, and a slit ... He opened the slit gently with the fingers of his left hand, and positioned his cock at her opening with his right.

She lifted her arm long enough to say, “You don’t need to hold back or anything. Just give me the seed, then you don’t have to touch me any more.”

Her assumption that he was doing an odious chore was kind of funny. He was grieving for his wife, and she for her husband and so much more, but even so ... She wanted a quick ejaculation, and his body was ready to do that if desired. His cock tip entered her cavity an inch. He pressed more and it went in another inch. She wasn’t very lubricated at all, but her body heat was exciting, and she wanted it to be quick, so ... Three thrusts, each a bit deeper than the last, and the hot embrace, along with the sight of his cock sticking into a woman, right between her legs ... He gasped as his male works shot sperm up into her. Ahhh -- that felt good! She sensed he had delivered his seed, and began the first motions of sitting up before his cock had quite stopped twitching inside her.

“Oh, thank you, sir, thank you so much!”

“You’re most welcome,” he said.

“That’s all I need. You don’t need to waste your time with a simple girl like me,” she said with a quick smile, and she was out the door.

The next morning as he stepped out onto his porch to greet the day, he saw some movement just where the path emerged from the forest, but it was gone before he could really be sure.

Then he saw it again. “That’s you, Anne, isn’t it? Come here.”

The patch of color was motionless a bit longer, as if she was hesitating.

“Come here!” he repeated, a bit louder but by no means a command.

She approached and stood before him with bowed head.

“Let’s talk ... How far away do you live, anyway?”

“Not quite two miles.”

“That’s a long way to go in the dark!”

“Oh, I didn’t go home. I just slept behind your shed out back. I hoped you wouldn’t mind...”

“Of course not! But you didn’t have to sleep outside!”

“You had already done me a big favor.”

“You knew you wanted to come back today, then?”

“Well, you don’t know exactly when the right time is, right? To start a baby?”

“True, but why not just ask before you go if you can come back?”

“You were doing me such a favor, and I was confused. I’m sorry.”

As James thought about it, it sort of made sense. She wanted sex, and got up her courage to ask, but then asking again felt too greedy, but then once she was down the steps she realized she really needed to ask again, so she slept behind the shed, waiting until morning...

“Well, OK, I get confused too,” he said with a smile. She returned a brief grateful smile.

“But no more sleeping outside when you’re here!”

“OK,” she said...

“Have a seat.” There was only the one rocking chair. James got up and sat on the top step, and Anne sat beside him.

“You can relax. I don’t mind talking to you -- or touching you, or doing what we did. Actually, I really liked it.”

“You did?”

“Is that surprising? Don’t most men? Don’t the men here in the hills?”

“Well, I guess they do ... usually,” she said with a smile. She hesitated, looking as if she were searching for words.

“So you’d like to do it again, so you are more likely to get pregnant. Is that hard to say?”

“Yes! After I got the courage up that first time, all the old patterns came back. I never felt I could ask Charles ... Only the husband can ask...”

“When you did it with Charles, was it fun? For most couples sex is kind of fun.”

“Well ... Sex is sin. I guess some places they aren’t so God-fearing, but here ... they teach how sex is a sin.”

“Even between husband and wife?”

“They know the man has to deliver his seed to start a baby, of course, but they say it should be as little as possible. It takes you away from God.”

James nodded. “So what did you and Charles do?”

“We ... Talking about it more than needed is sin too.”

“Charles is dead, and I’m very sorry about that, but now you’re coming to me hoping I can make you pregnant...” James’s cock glowed as he said that. “Maybe I’m not quite so God-fearing --” In fact, James wasn’t even sure he was a believer at all. But no need to get into that now. “But I think you can talk to me a little. What was it like?”

She looked at him, then took a breath and turned away. “Sometimes in bed I’d feel him getting restless, and then he’d turn over and put his hand between my legs. I knew that meant to pull my undergarment down, and then he’d climb up onto me, and he’d insert his ... his organ. It went in and out a little, but then he’d groan and relax, and pull away from me and turn away. We never said anything.”

“How often did you do this?”

“I think he was giving himself permission to do it once a week. But sometimes he’d do it again the very next day, and mumble “I’m sorry,” as he turned away.

“Did you have any children?”

“No, I never got pregnant.”

“Not too surprising, with sex in a pattern like that ... And, well ... Most of the churches in Einland think it’s OK to kind of take it slow and enjoy it, when you’re married. And they’re Godly churches and are strict about other things.”

“I suppose, but ... Well, maybe Charles was even more God-fearing than I am.”

“So you can relax a little.” He rose and went into the bedroom. She followed. They sat next to each other on the bed.

“But you and I aren’t married. That’s surely sinful everywhere, right? I mean, we have to do it if I’m going to have a baby, but it’s sex outside of marriage, so surely then no more than just what it takes to get your seed inside...”