Life As We Knew It

On January 10, Miranda wakes to find that her mother and Jonny are sick. Jonny is the worst, and it takes both her and Matt to pin him down in his delirium and get him to eat something. Her mother is barely conscious. As Matt gets up to try and get help, Miranda sees that he is dizzy, and he falls onto Jonny’s mattress. Miranda tells him to stay put and decides to get help on her own. Matt tells her to go and find Peter, so she gets the skis and heads towards town, falling over repeatedly in the snow on the way. This time, the hospital seems completely deserted. She hears voices inside and finds two nurses. When Miranda asks for Peter, they tell her that he has died, along with most of the hospital staff and the townspeople, from the 1918 flu. Nothing can be done about it, and there is no help for Miranda’s family. The nurses tell her just to make her family comfortable, as they will probably be dead within 24 hours. Miranda refuses to believe the nurses, and rushes back home. She is relieved to find that everyone is still alive, but she wonders for how long. She tells Matt that they are on their own; she thinks he has died when he collapses back onto his mattress, but is relieved to find he is just sleeping. Miranda writes in her journal, and prays that she is not the last one to die.

The next day, Miranda finds that her family is still alive. Matt is the least sick of the three, and Jonny seems to be the worst. Miranda still does not have a fever and shows no signs of sickness, so she takes care of her family and does the chores. On January 13, Miranda awakens to gut-wrenching coughing. She realizes that the woodstove has backfired, and the house is filled with smoke. The rest of the family is coughing, and as she knows smoke inhalation can kill, she sets about saving them from the smoke. With Matt’s help, she manages to pull Jonny and her mother into the kitchen. Matt is gasping so hard that she thinks he might have a heart attack. Miranda then turns the furnace back on as they still have some oil, and gets medicine for the family. Once she has taken care of them, she sets about removing the wet piece of wood from the woodstove and drying it out. She also opens the doors to let the smoke out.

By January 15, Miranda’s mother is almost back to her old self, and thanks Miranda for saving the family. She says she is worried about Jonny, however, and suggests that Miranda should go and get Peter. Miranda makes excuses about leaving so late, and wonders how she will tell her mother about Peter’s death. The next day, Jonny seems to improve, and Miranda is finally able to help everyone back into the sunroom. On January 19, Jonny and Miranda’s mother are able to walk a few steps, but Matt is still really weak and Miranda fears that he may have hurt himself when he helped her rescue their mother and Jonny. By January 26, Miranda is doing everyone’s work, and even clears the snow off the roof. On January 27, Miranda’s mother thanks her again for how well she acted during their sickness. She asks about Peter, and Miranda finally tells her that he has died from the flu. She calls him a hero, and her mother replies that she wishes there was no longer a need for heroes. On February 4, Matt tries to go up the stairs to his room but cannot go more than a few steps. He is dejected his own weakness, but Miranda tells him that he sacrificed his strength for the family, and by doing so, he saved Jonny and their mother. Though he cheers up, Miranda knows that without Matt, the family will not make it.