Amish Circle Letters (2 page)

Mother

Miriam sat down at the old wooden farmers’ table in her kitchen and stared at the piece of paper before her. She had waited a long time to write this letter. In fact, she had spent a long time praying about whether or not she should write this letter. She knew that her children were busy with their own families and didn’t have much time for correspondence, especially in the summer months. However, with all of her children grown and most of them living in different towns, she missed knowing what was happening in their lives. She missed the casual conversations at suppertime. She missed being an intricate part of their lives.

Certainly, a circle letter would help them to stay connected. It was, indeed, a right
gut
idea. Or so she felt after weeks of praying about it.

She glanced over the list of names and addresses jotted down on the sheet of paper. They were all there…her six children that no longer lived at home. Most had settled in nearby towns on farms of their own, although several were living in more contemporary houses and working at market stands or local shops. There just wasn’t enough land to go around to satisfy every young couple that desired to have their own farm. Many of these farms were now under sixty acres, not enough to sustain a large Amish family, never mind two or three families that often resided on the property.

There were three others siblings still living at home. Mary Ruth was the youngest child, a serious, yet sometimes, petulant, twenty-one year old. With brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, she was a pretty girl but there was little sign of any courtship going on. Miriam was concerned about her. The older women got, the harder it was to marry. At twenty-one, she should have been married by now.

Her twenty-three year old son, John David was a different story. He was clearly paving the path for marriage this fall. His intended was a delightful young woman, Ella Riehl from Paradise. It was a few towns over and Miriam never could quite figure out how they had met up but she was certain that Ella was a fine young woman. Her family was most reputable as being godly and good, full of kindness and compassion for everyone and very helpful within the community. Miriam was most pleased with that match and prayed that, indeed, there would be an autumn wedding.

And then there was Steve. At thirty-four years old, he was a
leddich,
a bachelor with little to no chance of getting married anytime soon…if at all. He was too old to hang out with the youth groups and rarely socialized with his friends, all of whom were long married and had several children of their own. Miriam worried about Steve, suspecting that he’d remain unmarried with no one to take care of him as he aged. Although he kept repeating that him not being married was obviously what God had in his plan for him, that fact weighted heavily on Miriam’s heart.

Yet, despite being older and single, Steve had acquired a large farm directly across the lane from their own. That certainly confused her. With no intentions of marrying, he certainly didn’t need such a big farm. Of course, he didn’t live there. Instead, he rented the main house to another Amish family and helped them with the cows. A godly man and a very hard worker indeed, Miriam thought with just a little bit of pride, she admitted.

“You finished your letter yet, then?”

Miriam looked up, surprised to see her youngest daughter, Mary Ruth, walk into the kitchen. As always, she was barefoot and wore an old, blue bandana over her head instead of her prayer
kapp.
It was a bone of contention with Miriam that her daughter refused to wear her prayer
kapp
at home unless it was for a formal occasion. “You home already, I see.”

“Ja,” Mary Ruth said as she walked over to the kitchen sink to wash her hands, ignoring her mamm’s look of disapproval. “Helped Anna making cheese. It’s pressing now.” Wiping her hands on the fresh kitchen towel, she turned around and smiled at her mother. “Little Katie was there helping too.”

“No doubt!” Miriam smiled, slowly forgetting her frustration with Mary Ruth. The mention of her granddaughter, Katie, always brought a smile to her face.

“She’s something else,” Mary Ruth offered. “I think she exhausts Anna but I sure do enjoy that little girl’s energy.”

“Not so sure that Anna feels the same way,” Miriam said lightly and both women laughed. It was no secret that Katie and Anna were often like oil and water, not mixing properly. With Katie’s curiosity and energy, she often seemed to wear Anna’s nerves thin.

The side door opened with a loud squeak and a bang as two men walked into the room. Hanging their battered straw hats on the hooks by the door, Elias and his son Steve stomped their boots on the doormat, kicking off some loose dirt, as they did every day before walking inside.

“Awful lot of laughter in here,” the older man said. “Sounds like a real party. Are we menfolk invited?”

“Oh Daed,” Mary Ruth said, rolling her eyes but unable to hide her smile.

Elias walked over to his wife, placing his hand affectionately on her shoulder. He peered at the letter on the table. “Starting your circle letter, ja?”

“Indeed,” Miriam replied. “I just finished it, in fact.” Her eyes glanced over the piece of paper that was filled with her evenly spaced cursive writing. She had planned what to write for a long time and spent a good hour drafting the letter to make certain it was perfect. “I sure hope they write back soon. With all these people on the list, it could be at least two months before it gets back to us!”

“Sure hope you aren’t expecting me to write no circle letter,” Steve said, walking over to the large sofa by the back wall. He sat down and began to untie his boots. Kicking them off, he leaned back and shut his eyes. “Don’t have nothing to write about, neither.”

Shaking her head, Miriam frowned at her son. “You are not expected to write,” she said sharply. “But you have plenty to contribute, so you better get on with it.”

“Pphtt,” he scoffed and waved his hand in her direction dismissively. “Work, work, work.” He sighed, stretching his legs back. “And then, add in some more work,” he added teasingly.

Ignoring him, Miriam turned back to the letter on the sturdy table in front of her. “Rachel is first on the list. I know she’ll write her letter right quick. But Leah, now that’s a different story.” She paused, as a thought crossed her mind and tapped the letter with her finger. “Mayhaps I’ll add a short note to Leah. I know how busy she can be with those
kinner
. But it would be a shame if she delayed the process.” She glanced at her husband. “Even a short note is better than no note at all, ja?”

“I reckon,” Elias said but his expression clearly showed that he didn’t believe any note would help prod his daughter into action.

“Isaac’s Anna is next,” she continued.

Steve laughed. “She lives next door! You can just go ask her what’s going on!”

Miriam set the list down and scowled at her son. “That’s not the point! We share our letters with each other.”

Tugging at his beard, Elias winked at his daughter as he said, “And you get to read those letters when Anna gets them, ain’t so?”

“Elias!” Miriam gasped. “Are you accusing me of impatience?”

He laughed. “Not in the least!”

A loud noise interrupted the conversation. First they heard the sound of a car engine, screeching down the road followed by the noise of glass breaking. A lot of glass, it sure sounded like. Elias looked out of the window over the sink while Steve quickly pushed his feet back into his boots.

“The barn! It’s from the barn!” Steve exclaimed as he jumped up on his feet and hurried toward the door.

Elias was right behind him but Steve was faster. “Be careful, son!”

Miriam shook her head, standing up and moving toward the door. “Be ready to call the police, Mary Ruth. Best dig out the number from the book on the desk.”

For weeks, a group of young, rebellious teenagers had been vandalizing several farms in the area. A few days would pass with no incidents but then, the group would hit again. They threw rocks at the windows of barns and houses. Sometimes, they even broke buggy windows. It was unfortunate but no one had seen them yet, so the police couldn’t stop them. And, just as the trail was getting warm, they would disappear for a while and all would return to normal.

By the time Miriam joined her husband and son outside, Isaac had emerged from the dairy barn and Anna was hurrying across her front porch, young Katie at her heels. The younger
kinner
were already playing outside, clamoring around, eager to find out what the noise had been.

“How bad is it?” Miriam asked.

“Strangest thing,” Elias said as he scratched his head and looked around. “Don’t see no damage.”

“We didn’t imagine it,” Isaac added, glancing up to nod at his younger brother, John David who joined them. He had been in the horse barn, apparently hitching his horse to the buggy to run a few errands before starting the afternoon chores.

“I sure heard the noise, Mamm!” Benjamin said as the six year old looked up at his mother, Anna. His eyes were wide and bright. Any kind of change in the daily routine was exciting to the six year old. This was no exception. “It was very loud!”

Anna placed her hand on his head, ruffling her fingers over his straight brown hair that was cut straight across his forehead and over his ears. She nodded as she replied, “I’m sure you did but I don’t see no broken glass here.”

“It’s those bad men, ain’t so?” Benjamin kicked at a rock on the driveway as if trying to prove he wasn’t afraid of anyone.

“Now, now,” Anna soothed, keeping her hand on his head.

For a long moment, no one knew what to say. They had heard the sound of the breaking glass but there was no sign that any window had been shattered. It was Steve who had the idea first. He looked up and glanced down the rest of the lane toward his own farm. It was situated directly across the street but hard to see through the trees.

“I wonder,” Steve said slowly as he began to walk down the lane. The rest of the group caught the unspoken meaning and followed, quiet as they realized the fact that if the damage hadn’t been at their own farm, it might very well have been at Steve’s, right across the road.

Before they could even cross the street, they could see the broken windows. There it was: Shattered glass everywhere; in the grass, on the walkway and on the ledge. Two of the barn windows had been smashed. Since the windows were up high, it was impossible to see if there was any damage on the inside so Steve quickly hurried across the road and around the side of the barn to assess the damage.

There were two big rocks lying on the ground inside the barn. One was in the aisle way and the other was beside one of the cows. Her head was bleeding and she leaned weakly against the metal bar that separated the pens, breathing heavily. Clearly that cow was in pain.

“Aw come on!” Steve mumbled, taking off his hat to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He sighed as he placed his hand on her flank. “She’s a pregnant cow, too!” He glanced over his shoulder at his daed, his expression both concerned and stressed. “Can you have someone call the vet as well as the police, Daed?”

Twenty minutes later, the police were taking statements. There were police cars lining the road and a group of Amish standing in a small huddle nearby. Despite not having phones in their homes, the neighbors had quickly heard the story. The Amish grapevine was as powerful as any social media network and, within minutes, the community descended upon the farm to show their solidarity and support for one of their own.

“We are very sorry about this, Mr. Fisher ,” the officer said sympathetically as he closed his notepad. He looked at the damaged windows. “We’re doing whatever we can to catch these fellows. They just keep staying one step ahead of us, but eventually, I am certain that we will catch them.”

“I sure hope so,” Elias said sternly.

The police officer exhaled sharply and ignored Elias. He turned his attention back to Steve. “I suggest you go to Hostetler’s Farm Store off Route 340 for the glass. You can have them send the bill to the police department. We have a special fund set aside for helping you folks out with situations like this.”

Steve nodded. “I’m familiar with Hostetler’s,” he said solemnly. “What about the cow?”

The officer nodded. “Same thing. Vet bill to the police department.” He sighed as he clicked the pen shut and slid it into his left front pocket. “Just wish these folks would leave your peaceful community alone.”

“At least they aren’t burning barns no more. That was bad, a few years back,” Elias said as he looked over at his wife. “Wasn’t it your nephew whose
fraa
lost a baby when their barn burned down?”

Miriam nodded. “Stillborn because of it, ja.” She shook her head. “Poor Shana, she was heartbroken.”

For a long moment, no one spoke, a moment of silence for the lost baby. The officer seemed uncomfortable, shifting his weight until he finally cleared his throat, the noise breaking the silence. “Well, I best get back and start filing this report. Too much time spent with paperwork,” he said solemnly. “Eventually we’ll catch these vandals. In the meantime, please be extra vigilant.” He glanced over at the
kinner
. “Call us at the first sign of a speeding car and keep the little ones away from the road…just in case.”

Anna shuddered, pulling Benjamin closer to her, protecting him from the thought of something awful happening to him or to one of her other children.

Little Katie stared with round eyes at the police car in the driveway. It was parked in the shadows of the barn. She watched as it drove away, the lights upon its roof no longer flashing red and blue. She was relieved when it was gone. She didn’t like when the Englischers came to the farm. She much preferred the peace and quiet of the farm when she didn’t have school and could help her mamm with the chores, just like this morning when they had been making cheese together.

Of course, she thought as she turned around and headed back toward the farmhouse, there was that one Englischer woman, the one from a place called the Big Apple, which she didn’t mind too much. She had been at the farm a few weeks back, looking to board some ponies and horses. What was her name, Katie wondered as she stomped up the porch stairs.