The Photograph (6 page)

“Let's just hope she's not taken advantage of,” Frona said, her voice solemn.

The thought gave Eva goose pimples. “Lily is old enough to know her own mind, but I'm honestly concerned,” she admitted. “I think I'll take the horse and buggy around the neighborhood right quick while Cousin Rachel looks after my shop. If Lily's had second thoughts and is still nearby, maybe I can help her rethink this ridiculous move.”

“Our sister's never been so thoughtless, I daresay.”

In that moment, Eva understood that Lily hadn't shown her true colors to Frona. No, Lily had always confided in Eva alone, at least after Mamma died. Even so, one thing was sure: Lily had never once mentioned leaving the People.
And she was writing
the letter to me last evening, while I was standing
there talking to her!

Eva tried to remember everything Lily had said.

“I have an idea,” Eva told Frona and rushed out the back door. Surely it wasn't too late for
some
clue as to Lily's intentions, something that might relieve their worried hearts. Perhaps Naomi Mast had seen something. . . .

The breeze shuffled the new leaves in the maples overhead as their lane straightened out near the road. Eva stopped in her path, aware of the hard, terrible lump in her throat.

Lily's left us,
she realized anew, hugging herself. She took a deep breath.

“Lily's left
me
.” If Eva had been a child, she would have sobbed her heart out right there, sitting on the black iron bench her father had placed over by the tulip beds years ago. Where was Lily going? And who had influenced her to leave?

Eva stared pensively down the long road, recalling the many times she and Lily had walked to school together, meeting up with other scholars, as their teacher called them, along the way. Once she'd even used her lunch bucket to ward off a billy goat to protect young Lily.

“Is my sister in danger now?” she whispered.

D
ESPITE
HER
LACK
OF
SLEEP
LAST
NIGHT
, Naomi felt the need to get outdoors. She swept the entire back porch, then headed toward the steps and the sidewalk, taking in the springtime morning—a time to pray about whatever came to mind.

Earlier at breakfast, Abner had readily summarized his day's chores and mentioned he'd gotten word of an estate auction coming up next week down near the home of the well-known carriage maker, Jonas Byler. Abner talked about that for a while, then asked if anything more had come of their son Omar's flirtation with the world. The last time he'd dropped by, Omar had taken them off guard by announcing he wanted to register to vote in the November general election.

“I haven't heard more than what you've told me.” She'd paused. “Is it all right to solicit Ida Mae's help, maybe? She and Omar have always been close siblings.”

“Well now, I hadn't thought of that.” Abner folded his hands. “I'm not getting anywhere with Omar.”

“Hope he's not straddlin' the fence at his age.”

“Ya wouldn't think so.” Abner shook his head. “Ain't a
gut
role model for his children.”

“
Nee,
that's for sure.”

“But we're not to judge, remember?” Abner had gone on to compliment Naomi on her “mighty perty” pink rhododendron bushes out front. He frequently brought up such thoughtful things at mealtime.

Now, though, Naomi swept briskly, trying to erase last night's troubling image of the distraught woman waiting to be picked up in the middle of the road. She knew for certain she hadn't dreamed it, because she'd left her flashlight on the counter, along with the milk bottle, after returning indoors and going back upstairs. No, what she'd witnessed had been all too real. The flashlight batteries were kaput, and the milk warm.

Naomi inhaled the fresh air and tried to focus on spring's arrival. Sometimes she just couldn't get over the abruptness of it. One week there'd be mere soil in the barren flower beds, and the next an ocean of green sprouted up from the ground to announce a new season. “I should go over and see if the Esch sisters are all right.”

But Ida Mae's expecting me
,
she thought as she carried the broom to the door. It was then she noticed Eva heading this way.

“
Guder
Mariye,
” Naomi called.

Eva turned to wave. “
Gut
morning to you.” She looked downright miserable as she crossed the road. “Oh, Naomi
 . . .
I have the worst news ever.”

Naomi braced herself.

“Lily's run away.”

Startled, Naomi wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. “What'd ya say?”

“It's Lily
 . . .
she's gone.”

“
Ach
, gone to one of your cousins, maybe?”

“I hope so, but based on the letter she left, I doubt it.”

A letter?
Naomi motioned for Eva to come sit with her on the side porch, seeing how distressed the girl was.

“I saw someone walkin' outside late last night,” Naomi said now, wanting to help.

“What time was that?”

“Oh
 . . .
past midnight.” She reached for Eva's hand. “And there's more, my dear.” She told what she'd seen—the man in the open carriage stopping by for her.

At this, Eva looked completely
ferhoodled
. “An Amish fella?”

Naomi confirmed it was.

“Tell me everything you saw,” Eva pleaded. “What was she wearing
 . . .
did ya notice?”

“Well, it was odd. But whoever it was wore fancy clothes—a white skirt and a dark sweater.” Oh, she hated telling poor Eva more to compound her worries, but if this would help to locate Lily, it was worth sharing.

Eva paused as if to let this sink in. At last she said, “Sounds like my sister wouldn't be stayin' with anyone Amish, then.”

“But we really don't know.”

Groaning, Eva pressed her hands together. “I don't see how we missed seein' this coming.” She told how stressed Lily had been last night. “And she seemed distracted when our brother Menno visited.”

Naomi noticed Eva said nothing about her brother's reason for visiting.

Eva rose from the porch chair all of a sudden. “I'd planned to help Frona deliver some pies this mornin', but I really must look for Lily. If I could just talk to her, she might not
 . . .”
Eva couldn't continue, apparently, and her eyes filled with tears.

“Would ya want me to go with ya? Help ya search?” Naomi offered, thinking Ida Mae would understand in due time.

“
Denki
. But there's no need for you to put yourself out. I don't even know where to start.”

Naomi remembered something more—Fannie Ebersol's brief visit to Lily yesterday evening. Quickly, she told Eva about it and what little she'd observed. “Can't be sure it relates, but I wanted you to know.”

“Fannie, ya say?” Eva bowed her head, then whispered, “Fannie's not the best influence, 'tween you and me.”

“
Ach
, I'm ever so sorry.”

Eva reached toward Naomi, a quiver in her lip. “We'll get through this
 . . .
with God's help.”

Naomi wasn't sure Eva was in any frame of mind to handle a road horse alone. Nevertheless, the young woman was clearly determined to find her beloved sister.

Eva rushed back to the house and told Frona what she was going to do. “I need to try an' find Lily. Or at least find someone who might know more.”

“Well, is it a
gut
idea to let everyone know our business?”

“I won't sit on my hands and do nothing.”

Frona shook her head sorrowfully. “You be careful, ya hear?”

“I'll be home as soon as I can.” Truth be told, Eva wasn't sure that even a couple of hours would be enough time to cover all the houses up and down Eden Road and the surrounding area.

“Do ya think she's stayin' round here somewhere?” Frona rubbed her chin nervously. “I mean, considering what she wrote, an' all?”

“I pray she's gotten cold feet and stopped in at one of our relatives'. Who knows what she's thinkin'.” Stiffening, Eva continued. “But if Naomi's right about what she saw last night, Lily's more than likely gone. A young man in a courting carriage stopped and picked her up.”

“
What?
”

Eva assured her that Naomi was nearly positive it was Lily she had seen climb into the carriage.
Wearing fancy clothes, Naomi said.

“
Ach
, maybe I should go with you.” Frona wrung her hands.

“I'll be all right,” Eva replied, preferring to go on her own. Honestly, she didn't think she could handle Frona's company just now, not when her older sister was so out of sorts. Eva hurried out to the stable and chose Prince, their best driving horse.

Eva fairly flew down Eden Road in the family carriage, uncertain which direction to take.
Where would Lily go?

Then, remembering what Naomi had said about Fannie Ebersol, she knew where to head first.

Passing over a small bridge and the stream below, she thought of summer, fast approaching. Eva did not recall a single summertime activity that hadn't involved her closest sister.

How could Lily think of leaving?

On the way to Fannie's, Eva changed her mind. There were closer neighbors who might have seen something amiss. So she chose, instead, to work her way to Fannie's, neighbor by neighbor.

Joel and Ida Mae Yoder's pale yellow clapboard farmhouse came into view. The place had a charm all its own, with distinctive black shutters on all the upper windows. It was with some measure of trepidation that Eva tied her horse to the hitching rail near the kitchen windows and scurried around the side yard to the back door.

“Have ya seen Lily?” she blurted when Ida Mae appeared. “She left in the night.”

Ida Mae looked befuddled, then outright dismayed, and Eva felt terrible for barging in like this. “
Ach
, I'm sorry to bother ya.”

Ida Mae stared down at the thimble on her pointer finger, and the needle in her other hand, and shook her head. “
Nee,
” she said. “Ain't seen her.”

“In that case, I'd best be goin' on to the next house.” Eva asked if she'd simply keep her eyes and ears open, then turned to leave.

“
Da Herr sei
mit du,
” Ida Mae called after her.

“The Lord be with you, too.” Eva glanced back. “
Denki
for your prayers.”

“You can count on them.” Ida Mae raised her hand, not waving, just standing there straight and stiff and looking concerned.

Eva headed on toward Lester Lantz's tall farmhouse, feeling worse with each passing moment.
Why didn't Lily
give me the chance to talk her out of this
?

She observed the line of lake willows set back on Lester's broad sprawl of a meadow, where as girls she and Lily had often perched themselves on the fence at summer's dusk to watch courting buggies drift by, sharing secrets about fellows at church. The grass there was tall, green, and lush, scattered with wild daisies in late spring and summer. Her heart sank as she remembered those happy days, flown away. She pulled into the Lantzes' lane and clambered out of the family buggy.

When she'd described the predicament, Sylvia Lantz encouraged her to trust in the heavenly Father's care for Lily, “wherever she is.” And there in her kitchen, Sylvia promised to pray. “I surely will.”

“
Denki.
”

“You mustn't lose heart,” Sylvia said. “Things may look dismal, but there's always a light flickerin' at tunnel's end.”

Eva thanked the thoughtful woman and headed out to the carriage. Time was short, and Frona might soon be fretting if Eva didn't hurry back.

Eva urged the horse on to the Ebersol farm, where she found
Fannie outdoors, watering her mother's flowers with a hose. When Eva told her that Lily had left, a peculiar look crossed Fannie's face.
Like
she isn't surprised.

“Do you have any idea where my sister's gone?” Deciding she had nothing to lose, Eva asked it outright before she'd even climbed out of the buggy.

Fannie twiddled with the waistband of her long black apron.

“
Ach
, Fannie, you know Lily nearly as well as I do.”

“I'd best not be sayin'.”

“Listen, I think you'd better tell me what ya know!”

“But I promised Lily
 . . .”

Eva clenched her teeth. “What if she falls into difficulties or danger? What then?”