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.You were waking before sunup to crank up the ol’ wood stove so your students— all eight grades together—wouldn’t shiver during the first hour of school.’’‘‘But I quit the second year Rudy was courtin’ me.It looked as if I might be getting married that fall, but as you know, I didn’t.By then, another girl had taken my spot as teacher.’’ Annie explained how once she graduated from the eighth grade she was immediately eligible to instruct the younger students.‘‘But the minute you’re married, you’re out.’’‘‘How come?’’‘‘A bride is expected to put all her attention into makin’ a home for her husband and preparing to bear many children.’’‘‘So you couldn’t have gone back to teaching even if you wanted to?’’‘‘Nee, wouldn’t think of it,’’ Annie said.‘‘Such would set me up for tongue-waggin’.’’Not wanting to press further, Louisa could read between the lines.Preacher Jesse’s daughter was a conundrum to the community.Big time.And my coming adds even more fuel to the fire, Louisa thought.Yet she felt no urgency to abandon Annie and cut short the visit.If anything, she was even more determined to stay and encourage her friend to follow her heart.Chapter 23The first thing Louisa noticed when they arrived at the covered bridge on Belmont Road was how very much it looked like Annie’s painting, except for chips of missing reddish-brown paint from several roughly-hewn boards nearest the road.She recalled clearly the way Annie had set the tall craggy trees back away from the road in her picture—the locust grove gracefully bordering the creek—and the way the gray stone abutment seemed to vie for equal attention.The entire setting had been pinpointed precisely in the exquisite painting.‘‘Talk about quaint.This is definitely it.’’ She and Annie strolled together, arm-in-arm, to the base of the first tree, carrying their sketchbooks.‘‘I’ve always heard the black locust seeds are poisonous,’’ Annie said as if her mind had wandered.‘‘You must feel plagued by this place.Is that why your painting is called ‘Obsession’?’’‘‘In more ways than I can say.’’ Annie pointed out the dark trunk furrowed with interlacing bark.‘‘Ever see thorns like this on a tree?’’‘‘Kinda creepy.’’‘‘And dangerous, if ever you’ve tried to climb it.Thorns are all over the limbs and on the trunk.’’They stood there silently, peering at the grove.Suddenly the light left Annie’s eyes, and it looked as if she might start to cry.‘‘As pretty and serene as this is, it does have a haunting feeling,’’ Louisa said.Annie looked the other way for a moment, composing herself, no doubt.Then, she said softly, ‘‘My friend, Esther Hochstetler— you met her Sunday—well, her husband was the last person ever to see the boy who disappeared.Right here, where we’re standing.Isaac was Zeke’s little brother.’’‘‘Really? Well, what happened that night?’’‘‘Truly, Mamm’s the best one to ask, but I can tell you what I know at least.’’Standing beneath the airy umbrella of branches, mostly devoid of leaves, Louisa listened as Annie began her story.‘‘Something this awful had never happened round these parts.I can tell you for sure.Folk came and went—Amish and English alike—never thinking twice ’bout locking doors or being suspicious of strangers and whatnot.Never.’’ Annie put her hand on her chest.‘‘If it’s too hard to—’’Annie shook her head.‘‘No.I’ll be all right.’’ She sighed loudly.‘‘Every mother lost sleep, Mamm told me.Some parents were so fearful they got permission from the bishop to get indoor plumbing.abandoned their old outhouses and whatnot.’’‘‘To keep tabs on their kids?’’‘‘Oh, jah.’’‘‘And what about Zeke? He must’ve totally freaked out, losing his brother like that.’’‘‘That’s the truth.Esther’s husband was hit terribly hard emotionally, I’m told.He was just a youngster, only eight when Isaac vanished into the air.He and Isaac had left the house after dark to bury their dead puppy.But Zeke acted against his father’s will, sneakin’ out of the house after supper when no one was looking.’’ Annie paused, not saying more for a moment.‘‘Heavy stuff.’’Neither spoke for a time.The air became eerily still before Annie began again.‘‘Esther told me once that Zeke’s father refused to forgive him and belittled him all through his growing-up years.Made a point of telling everyone the kidnapping was the worst possible punishment to befall a disobedient son, meaning Zeke, but that the harsh, even divine judgment had come for a reason nonetheless.’’‘‘But Isaac was the one who was lost,’’ said Louisa.‘‘Surely the father didn’t believe that the so-called punishment for disobedience was to rest solely on his eight-year-old son.Seems unnecessarily cruel.’’‘‘And Zeke was, no doubt, already bearing the weight of blame.’’What a horrendous guilt trip to put on a person, let alone a kid.Louisa was truly aghast.‘‘To this day, no one knows what happened to Isaac Hochstetler.’’ Annie’s eyes shone with tears.‘‘Ach, not sure why this bothers me so.’’Louisa reached out a hand.‘‘Well, you’re softhearted, Annie.One more reason why you’re an incredible artist.’’She nodded slowly.‘‘Maybe so.’’‘‘You may talk big, but you’re sensitive on the inside.’’‘‘I s’pose I am.’’‘‘Well, we both are,’’ Louisa admitted.She followed Annie down to the creek, where they stood silently and watched the water surge beneath the covered bridge.Then they turned and walked down the creek a bit and, later, back again to the first tree.‘‘In case you’re wondering, the rope swing in my painting is long gone from here.My mother says it was taken down after Isaac went missing.But I have no idea who would’ve done that.’’‘‘Maybe Zeke’s father?’’‘‘Could be, but I never heard that.’’‘‘But you put it back in your painting.where it belongs.’’‘‘At least in my heart it’s there.’’ Annie glanced at the sky, then back at Louisa.‘‘So, you see.Our village of Paradise hasn’t always been as peaceful as you might think.’’She felt inadequate to offer the slightest measure of sympathy.‘‘I can only wish that Zeke’s brother had never disappeared.’’‘‘Isaac would be getting married ’bout now, prob’ly.’’ Annie forced a smile.‘‘I remember playing there in the creek.his brother and my brothers, too.We were such good little friends.’’‘‘How do you remember what happened when you were so young?’’Annie shrugged.‘‘Mamm says I remember things clear back to when I was only three.So, jah, I have a right clear memory of Isaac.It was just the most terrible thing when he was kidnapped.I even wondered if something like that could happen to me.’’‘‘Is it possible he simply wandered off—got lost in the night?’’‘‘I don’t see how, not with his brother right there.Every inch of the township was searched—the little waterfall across from the old stone mill, and the Eshelman Run, all through the community park and the fields [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]