Short Story 2
One
week passed…
“Mother?” Katie asked
her mother.
“Yes, dear?” her
mother answered.
“What do you think
the New World is like?” Katie wondered thoughtfully.
“It will be
different than home, but it will be nice to get to worship God together
freely”. Her mother
smiled at her. Katie
stopped chopping the carrots that were on the cutting board in front of her to
look out the window. She loved to look out at the beautiful scenery in the
fall.
“ I hope it’s
beautiful, with lots of trees, amazing sunsets…”
“Katie, you can chop
while you speak,” Mother pointed to the chopping board and smiled.
“I'm sorry Mother”,
Katie apologized. “I guess I’m getting a little excited about going to the New
World.” Katie started chopping again. “Mother, do you think we will be happy
there?”
“We’ll be happy as
long as we’re together, darling.”
“I know…” Katie said
slowly.
“It’s all right,
Katie. Why don’t you go outside and take a break,” she nodded toward the
window. “You've worked hard today,” She smiled.
“I have to ask you
something first”, Katie stated. “ It will only take a moment”.
“ What is it, dear?''
Her mother asked curiously.
Katie set her knife
down, and leaned against the counter. “ I feel as if I’m abandoning Father by
leaving Plymouth. Although I know he would want us to be happy, it still feels
wrong. Is it?”
After a few moments,
her mother turned to her. Katie could see the tears in her eyes as she declared
, “I know it is hard, and this very thought has gone through my head a lot as
well. It kept on pestering me at night until I couldn’t stand it any longer,
and so I prayed. I asked the Lord to not be angry with me for moving on with
our lives, and I now know that God is not; nor is your father. They both want
us to be happy.''
Katie felt tears in her eyes and she had to
turn away from her mother so that she wouldn't see her cry.
But Sarah Cross knew her daughter well
enough to know that something else was on her mind.
“Katie, what else is
bothering you so that you have to turn away from me? ,'' she inquired in pure
concern. Katie decided that she wouldn't worry her mother with what was on her
mind right now. She knew it would be a lie, and a sin, if she said that there
was nothing on her mind, but she didn't want to talk about it.
“Nothing, Mother... I am just thinking of
father again,” she smiled, feeling a little prick of guilt. Her mother still
had the look of both confusion and concern, but she didn't want to push her
daughter too far. Then Katie declared , “ I think I'll go outside to think a
little bit. Is that still alright, Mother?''
“Sure it is, Katie.
Supper is on the stove and Abigail is asleep, so I can manage for a
while.", her mother smiled. "Oh and look, Charles and Jacob are
walking outside. Maybe you should go say hello.
~
Katie glanced out
the window, she spotted Jacob and Charles walking up the lane. She glanced over
at Charles, he was tall and handsome 16 year – old young man. They had all been
best friends since they were young. He was the most gentle and kind young man
she had ever known, and he had a wonderful faith in God. He and Katie had a lot
in common. Charles's father died when he was 14 years old and than he started
working for Katie’s father to raise money for his family when he was 15. He had
been a lot of help around the farm when Katie’s father died a year later.
Katie came back to
the present, and grabbed her shawl and waved goodbye to her mother, all she
could think of was how she just wanted to be alone to think. She almost wished
for a moment she could avoid Jacob and Charles, but she knew it would be
disrespectful to do so. So she slowly walked up to them, and decided that she
can take a walk by herself later.
As she was getting
quite close, Charles smiled at her and stated cheerfully,
“Hello, Katie! How
are you?''
“Hello, Charles,'' she
began as she faked a grin, “I am alright, what are you two doing?''
“We were going to see
if you would like to come with us for a walk on the pier, Jacob said said that
it's your favorite place to go on a stroll.”
Katie looked at
Jacob,who had not said a word the whole time they were talking. He kept on
staring at her, as if he sensed there was something wrong with her. But she
tried to hide her sadness, and talked to Charles, who was awaiting her answer.
“Yes, Jacob was
right, that's where I do a lot of my thinking, and it is very peaceful up there
for me and I am sure for others too... ,'' She knew she was rambling and felt
embarrassed at first, but then she caught Charles smile at her with amusement
and she had to laugh at herself. “Yes, indeed, I love to go, Charles, thank
you,'' Then she turned to Jacob and inquired, “ Shall we go and tell mother
where we are going?''
Jacob nodded and
started to walk off without saying anything else and she told Charles that they
would be right back.
When she caught up
with her brother, she whispered , “ Is there something that I have said or done
that has made you angry with me, Jacob?”
“I am not exactly
angry with you, but are you sure that you're alright, Katie? Because it seemed
to me that you were trying to hide something back there with Charles,” he said
with a little hint of concern in his voice, but the rest was anger.
“I am fine, Jacob-”
“I don't think you
are, Katie!” Jacob interrupted more loudly. “ I thought you were alright with
leaving Plymouth, but now you're acting as if you don't want to go at all!”
“ I am still having
a little bit of trouble getting used to the fact that we are leaving our family
and friends. That if we leave here, we might never see them again!” she
hesitated, “Well... there is no need to talk about it right now. Let's go tell
mother we are going, and we don't want to keep Charles waiting.”
Katie hurried to the
back door of their home before her brother could say anything more, and they
walked in. Their mother was in the same spot that she was when Katie left.
“Jacob, Charles and
I are going to the pier for a little bit. Is that alright?”
“As long as you are
back for supper, dears. But why don't you ask Charles if he and his family
would like to join us for supper.” their mother smiled at them.
“Sure, Mother.” Katie
smiled back at her. “ Bye,” she said as she and Jacob walked out the door.
When they were
outside, Katie walked ahead of her brother towards the place where Charles was
waiting for them. She didn't want to speak with Jacob at that very moment, so
she called to Charles,
“Are you ready to
go?”
Charles replied,
“I'm ready if you and Jacob are.” He smiled down at her.
“First, I want to
invite you and your family to supper. That way your mother and sisters are
saved the trouble of fixing it. We'd love to visit with you, and I know Mother
would enjoy the company!”
“What if I go and
see if Mother and the girls have started cooking, and I'll let you know. Then
maybe we could go to the pier another day. Is that alright?”
“That's perfect! I
probably need to help Mother with the cooking anyway.” She turned to Jacob and
inquired, “Is that ok with you too?”
Her brother nodded,
and said, “I have to feed the animals and water Mother's garden for her, so that
would work.”
“ See you in a
while, then.” Charles answered with a smile.
As he walked away,
Katie thought, “ I'm glad that's over! It's not that I don't want to talk to
Charles,but I don't have to pretend any longer.” But she was wrong...
As she started to
walk off towards the house to help her mother, Jacob stopped her by saying
quietly,
“ We need to talk,
Katie.”
“ Not right now,
Jacob. I have to go help Mother with supper.” She said as she started to walk a
way.
“ Katie, I -”
“No, Jacob! I do NOT
want talk to you right this minute, alright?” Katie angrily interrupted
as she turned to face her brother. Katie instantly saw the hurt in his eyes,
and knew that he was only concerned for her welfare. This time she spoke with a
softer tone, “ Jacob, I really need time alone to think and pray before I speak
to you about this. But my words came before I even realized what I had said.
I'm sorry! Can you ever forgive me?” Her words came so fast, they came out in a
jumble of pleading emotion.
“Of course I forgive
you, Katie! I shouldn't have pushed you so hard, but I was concerned. Take as
long as you need.” Jacob touched her shoulder, then he simply smiled and walked
to the barn.
~
Katie sat up
straight in her cot, breathing heavily. She felt tears streaming down her
cheeks, and tried to calm herself. She dropped her head on her backboard, and
thought,
'Why am I still
having these dreams, Lord? I don't understand... I thought I had let what
happened to Father go. It's been over two years, and I still feel like it's my
fault. But I can't change that... can I?'
Her thoughts went on
for most of the night, until she saw the small light of the sunrise on the
horizon. She decided that she needed to get up and start on her chores, since
it was sunup. She climbed out of bed, and quickly put on her dress and bonnet.
'Help me to be strong today, Lord. I need your help to be strong.'
She kept saying that
over and over to herself all the way down the stairs. At the the bottom, she
stopped, sighed deeply, and stepped into the kitchen.
Did you like it?
Would you read more if I posted it?
Are you enjoying this Fall weather?
~Mallory Beth
