Anna's Healing (35 page)

“She seemed to be. She was going to write the
boppli
her first letter this morning.” Martha motioned toward a bench Jacob and Samuel had placed in a corner of the garden. “You and
Mammi
—you've grown very close, haven't you.”

“Sometimes I think it was worth moving here, worth everything I've been through, to spend the time I've had with
Mammi
. She's… well, she's very special.”

Her mother smiled in understanding. “Tell me about the last few days.”

Anna took a deep breath. “The dreams changed two nights ago. They were intense and disturbing in one way, but they were also comforting and wonderful.” This time when she described walking through the wildflowers she went into more detail. She told about the colors, how the petals felt when her hand passed over them, and the rainbows in the sky.

Her mother stopped her. “More than one?”

“
Ya
. It seemed the sky was full of them.”

Martha turned on the bench so that she was facing Anna. “Did you tell Erin about this?”

Anna thought back. “No. I started to, but…
Mammi
and I have talked about the dreams before, and she asked me about the rainbow too. What does it mean?”

“It's not for me to say, Anna. But we'll share this with your
aenti
later. I think she'd like to know. You were saying the sky was clear and then you looked up.”

“Jacob, he pointed to the sky.”

“And you saw the rainbows—more than one.”

Anna again recounted the dream, down to the last detail she could remember. Describing everything sent goose bumps down her arm.

“And when you woke you could walk?”

“
Ya
. I didn't realize it right away. I opened my eyes, looked out the window, and heard
Mammi
reading the Bible.”

“She did that every morning?”

“Every morning, every afternoon, and before I slept.” Anna cocked her head to the side. “It was like being bathed in Scripture and prayer three times a day whether I needed it or not.”

They sat there for another few moments wrestling with the miraculous nature of what had occurred. “At first it frightened me a little, but now I'm sure—absolutely certain—that
Gotte
will guide me.” She shook her head. “But I still don't understand why this happened. Why me, and why not others?”

“It's not for us to say or even to understand, but I might have an idea as to why.”

Anna glanced at her mother in surprise. It was so good to be with her, to have her near and to hear her opinion on all that had happened. She'd understood why her mother couldn't stay after her accident, and though she would have liked to have gone home with her, she'd also felt a need to stay in Oklahoma. Now it seemed as if her two worlds had joined together again, if for only a few days, and she felt a peace that was precious.

“If you understand why I was chosen, among all the people who are hurting, to receive God's healing touch, please tell me. I'm all ears. Because that baffles me.”

“Maybe I should start with
Mammi
. She's always been a very special person from the time I first met her, when I started dating your
dat
. My own mother was a fine woman, but a bit distant if you remember.”

“I do.”

“She wasn't an openly affectionate person, though she cared for us all in her own way. You never would grow hungry or cold with
Mamm
. She provided for our needs.” Martha reached out and touched Anna's arm. “Remember that, dear. People show their love in different ways. Sometimes what we take as indifference is merely a person's particular manner.”

Anna nodded, wondering what she was getting at.

“
Mammi
was different, though. She always had an almost childlike faith. At times it was frustrating because she didn't seem to have the same questions the rest of us did. When some tragedy would strike—whether it was death, drought, floods, or illness—your grandmother would smile and carry on.” She laughed in spite of herself. “That's precious in someone as old as your grandmother, but in a younger woman it's sometimes hard to understand. How could she stand over the body of a loved one and not shed a tear? Your grandmother—she would be quoting the Psalms and rejoicing.”

Anna could picture that well enough.

“As I've grown older I've learned to respect your grandmother's faith and to try to learn from her. Maybe somewhere deep inside I always knew that her faith would make a difference in our lives, but I didn't know how. I certainly never envisioned… this.”

“This? You mean—”

“Does it surprise you so much? Yes, I think your grandmother is responsible for this miracle. We all prayed for you, Anna. I shed many tears, as I know your father and
aenti
and
onkel
did. The rest of the family back in Goshen didn't forget about you for even one day. You were always in our hearts and our prayers. But we probably didn't believe
that our prayers were making a difference.” Martha smiled. “Don't look so shocked. We're not saints. We believe in God's holy Word, and we hope, but we have doubts like everyone.”

“Not
Mammi
.”

“No. Your grandmother's faith is complete. She's a special one.”

“And you think her prayers healed me?”

“Only God can heal, but I believe He smiled on your grandmother the day He healed you.”

Anna allowed her mother's words to sink in. Finally she said, “
Mammi
asked me once if I believed in miracles. I didn't know what to tell her. I didn't think they were even a possibility.”

“But for
Mammi
, there is no limit to what God can do.”

“I've barely had a chance to talk to her since yesterday morning. I think I'd like to go back now and see her. I think you may be right. It feels right, and the way that she studies me from behind those big glasses… well, I think she understands more about this than she's admitting.”

Together they walked back to the house. Martha joined Erin in the kitchen, but Anna walked over to where
Mammi
was sitting by the front window, her Bible beside her and her knitting in her hands. As Anna walked across the room, she had every intention to pull up a chair and sit and have a good chat with her grandmother. But then
Mammi
glanced up, a smile tugging on her lips and the joy of her secret in her eyes.

Anna went to her knees beside her grandmother's chair. “I didn't know,
Mammi
. I didn't understand. You were always there for me. Through every dark night and every bitter morning.”

Her tears began to run in rivulets down her cheeks, but Anna didn't bother to wipe them away. “You never doubted, and your prayers… God heard them, didn't He?”

Mammi
set aside her knitting and put her hands gently on Anna's head. The warm, soft, gentle touch of her grandmother's hands calmed Anna's spirit.

“God always hears His children.”

“But you were faithful to ask, weren't you? To ask that I be healed?”

“I only asked for God's will. I asked for Him to use you and me, Anna. And it would seem that He has.”

CHAPTER 53

D
uring lunch, Samuel explained the situation with the officers stationed outside. Anna could tell her
onkel
had already shared the information with Jacob because he chimed in from time to time clarifying a point.

“The local police simply cannot handle a situation of this magnitude,” Jacob said. “They do not have enough officers.”

“And though we would rather not have any outside presence, it seems we have no say in that.” Samuel ran his fingers through his beard. “The two-lane road is public property, and the crowd there is growing. Instead of folks losing interest in Anna's story, it seems that more people show up every hour. Yesterday there was a news crew from Washington, DC, and a movie van from California.”

“So you've already agreed? The governor's special task force is coming here?” Erin frowned at her food, which she was again scooting around on her plate rather than eating.

“For now, yes.”

Anna glanced around the table. No one seemed shocked by the news, but her mother and aunt were frowning.

“Why do we even need them?” Martha asked. “Perhaps if the police leave, the people will leave.”

“We hope, given time, that they will,” Samuel said. “But until that happens, it doesn't seem wise to turn away the help. Even Levi is afraid
the people would crash through the barricade the police have set up. They would be here at the house before we had a chance to stop them.”

“I think I should talk to them.” Anna had taken a big bite of corn bread, so the words came out somewhat distorted and she had to repeat herself.

“Why would you think that?” Samuel said. “Those people are trying to profit off you or get a big story. I don't know when they'll go away, but certainly something else will grab their attention soon. That's what Officer Starnes thinks, and I agree with him. Wait this out, and eventually things will return to normal.”

Anna wasn't sure if things would ever be normal for her again. Would standing up and walking across a room ever seem ordinary? Would there come a day when she didn't revel over the feel of her toes against the wooden floor? She doubted it, but she kept those thoughts to herself.

“We're fortunate the governor has offered to provide men from a special task force to help with our protection.”

“I've never heard of such a thing,” Anna said.

“The way it was explained to me, these folks are normally used to help with security for visiting dignitaries, especially in small towns where resources are limited.”

“I'm not visiting, and I'm hardly a dignitary.”

“True, but what has happened to you is special, Anna. Normally…” Samuel glanced around the table, taking in each person seated there. “Normally I would remind you of your commitment to Scripture and to our
Ordnung
, both of which call us to be a separate people. But there are times when our lives and the lives of the
Englisch
cross paths. This is one of those times. I think the governor and the bishop are right. We need help.”

So it was decided. The officers from Cody's Creek would hand off the protection of the Schwartz family to the governor's task force. Jacob touched Anna's shoulder as he walked out of the kitchen, “See you tonight?”

“
Ya
, sure.”

He trailed his fingers down her arm, and Anna couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face. She hadn't had time to consider what her healing meant to her and Jacob's relationship. Did they even have a relationship? Could the dreams she'd harbored possibly come true?

Everyone began moving in different directions.

Anna's mother ducked her head close to
Mammi
, and they spoke in a whisper. What was that about?
Mammi
nodded and Martha glanced up at Anna, as if she wanted to say something. Anna started to ask her about it, but Martha quickly shook her head. Erin had begun clearing the dishes.

Anna glanced around, and then she moved forward and stopped her
onkel
, who was headed back outside. “How did the governor even know about us?”

“He read a newspaper story—one written by Chloe. He said it touched his heart, and then he called the police department here to see how he could help.”

Samuel clumsily patted her arm, and Anna remembered him picking her up. She remembered the way he cared for her each day when she couldn't walk.

“Everything will be fine, Anna. You concentrate on staying well.”

She didn't think that would be necessary. She knew, deep in her bones, that she didn't need to fear returning to her wheelchair. As to everything being fine, she wasn't so sure. Her
aenti
and
onkel
had become much more sociable since her illness, but they were still very private people. She didn't like the idea of their quiet lives being paraded before the public, and she wondered how long it would take for the pressure to begin to take its toll. She remembered her time in the chapel and the sense that God had everything under control. She looked down at her legs, and she had no trouble believing He could handle a crowd of gawkers.

She was standing in the mudroom, watching Samuel and Jacob walk across the yard to the barn, when her mother walked up behind her. Martha put her hands on Anna's shoulders, turned her around, and kissed her forehead.

“Could you come into the kitchen?
Mammi
and I would like you to speak to Erin.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“About what?”

“You'll see. It's important, Anna, and I think that now—well, I think now is the time that we share everything with her.”