"Oh no," Samantha whispered. She reached out to take the little girl from Uncle Hector. In the moonlight it was hard to tell, but Samantha recognized some of Miss Brigham's features.
The infant flailed her tiny arms, her wails becoming louder. The girl's face darkened as she screamed. "It's all right," Samantha said. "You'll be fine. We'll take care of you."
As she had years ago, Samantha rocked the baby gently in her arms. She cooed to Molly, trying to soothe the girl. The baby's cries turned to little coughs for a moment. Samantha held Molly against her to pat her back. "I know it's hard, but don't cry. I'm here."
She carried Molly back to the church and sat by the fire. She hoped the light and heat from the fire would help to soothe the baby. Uncle Hector sat down next to her and stared sadly into the flames. "I'm sorry, kid. This is my fault."
"I'm sure that's not true-"
"I should have known better than to let her go there at night. We should have waited to go in the morning with you." Uncle Hector shook his head. "I was too curious about that damned fountain. So when she said she wanted to go there and get more water, I didn't think to stop her."
"But you saved her. You pulled her out before she could disappear." Samantha turned Molly to face him; the baby started to scream. "At least she's still alive."
"Sure, she's alive, but look at her. She's probably not even a year old."
"She can grow up again, just like the others did."
"And they didn't remember anything?"
Samantha shook their head. She looked into Molly's eyes, wondering if the infant could still remember her adult life or if those memories had already slipped away. "She'll be just like a normal baby."
"That's a relief," Uncle Hector said. "I'd hate to think of her being trapped in there. That would be worse than her dying."
"She'll be all right," Samantha said, but Molly continued to scream. Perhaps she was just hungry. They didn't have any milk left in the church, though. Molly would have to wait until morning, when Samantha could go down to the cows for milk.
The front doors of the church opened. Molly's crying had brought out Rebecca and Prudence. They stared at Samantha and the baby in her arms. "Who's that?" Prudence asked.
"It's Miss Brigham. She fell into the fountain," Samantha said.
"That's Miss Brigham?" Rebecca said.
"I'm afraid so." She repeated what Uncle Hector had said. He didn't look at them, still watching the fire. She wished she could do something to comfort him, but at the moment she had Molly in her arms, still screaming her head off. "I think she might be hungry."