Beyond: Book Four of the State Series

by M. J. Kaestli

  He grabbed her hand, sliding it to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. “I was just thinking about what kind of life you had before you came here, is all.”

  “Josh?”

  “It’s not important.”

  “I think it is. I don’t like the look you made while you were thinking about it.”

  He kissed her hand again. “I don’t want to make a big deal about it, because it’s not, at all. It doesn’t matter.”

  “Josh, please.”

  He sighed. “It’s not a big deal. You’ve been baptized and accepted Jesus and religion. You don’t even remember your past, anyway. I just wonder sometimes, what exactly your people do. Where the children come from, and such.”

  She suppressed a giggle. “I think babies come from the same place there as they do here.”

  He looked away from her. “Yeah, I know. I just don’t understand, if your people don’t get married, how do babies come about? Are they all bastards? Do people make babies with just anyone?”

  She shook her head. “I have no idea. I don’t think I’ve had a baby… at least I hope I haven’t.”

  “No. It’s not that.” His face flushed. “I just get the impression that the stuff we do as a married couple, I think you’ve done that before. I’m not mad about it or anything. I just wondered how it worked. I mean, we don’t do that sort of thing till after we get married here, but your people are different.”

  It was Hope’s turn to look away. Although she couldn’t remember her previous life, she knew he spoke the truth. There had been a familiarity, a muscle memory or some type of understanding beyond natural instinct. She had been intimate before and had no idea how to respond. The rules were different where she was from.

  “I don’t want to make a fuss about it. Like I said, you’ve been baptized. I just notice certain things and get curious about you. Part of me wishes you remembered your past so I could understand you better. Part of me is mighty glad you don’t.”

  Hope wasn’t entirely sure what to say, if anything at all. It was true; she had a past. A past she couldn’t remember. He had to accept her past or it would cause friction in their relationship. It made logical sense to simply accept it without taking any personal offense, yet she realized Joshua often wasn’t as logical as she was.

  She leaned in and kissed him in lieu of a clever response which seemed to do the trick. He grabbed a hold of her, laid back and pulled her on top of him. She giggled and tried to move away.

  “I feel we have regressed.”

  “We what now?”

  She fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was becoming clear to her that their language barrier wasn’t a problem simply on her end. She didn’t know a lot of the words Josh or his mother used—mostly around their ritualistic practices, and his vocabulary seemed to be limited.

  “Gone backward.”

  “Oh.”

  She pushed off of him and stood up. “I think you need to put a shirt on. We should go.”

  He stood up and tried to pull her against him. “Put a shirt on? I thought you liked it when I walked around without one.”

  “Josh. Market. Now.”

  He grumbled but let go of her. He quickly retrieved a shirt and slipped into it, grabbing her hand the moment the task was complete. “Okay. The faster we get this over with, the sooner we can come back home.”

  Hope nodded, and they headed out.

  They walked hand in hand down the long stretch into the community. She was still getting used to the clothing they required her to wear, feeling the fabric occasionally get tangled between her legs as she walked. From the time invested in assembling a garment, she could see why these dresses may be easier to make. As the men didn’t wear dresses, she didn’t understand why they didn’t make trousers for everyone. The dress seemed most impractical to work in and a terrible waste of fabric.

  “Are you nervous?”

  It startled her out of her thoughts. “No. Should I be?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. You are going to be meeting a lot of people for the first time.”

  “How do they usually respond to a newcomer?”

  He laughed. “Don’t know. We never had one before.”

  “Are you nervous?”

  “I don’t know if I am or not. Maybe. Everyone’s known everyone since they was babies. I wonder how big of a deal they will make of it. I’m sure Maw has been shuffling around town, making sure everyone knows about you. She would want to get the right story in place to make sure people don’t ask questions you don’t know the answer to.”

  Hope’s stomach lurched making her suddenly feel nauseous. “I didn’t think about it. I hope your mom did, in fact, run around and tell everyone about me and where I came from.”

  “I’m sure she did.”

  He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze yet remained silent for the rest of the walk. He didn’t want to say anything which might set off her nerves.

  ***

  The first time Hope entered the village she was somewhat disoriented from her accident and confused by the customs and word choices Josh and his mother used. The only building she had noticed was the church. Now that she understood more about these people and how they survived, she could see the town which had once been invisible to her.

  There were geometrically shaped structures made of glass that she immediately recognized as a greenhouse. The next oddity she noticed was a large mound near the church. Looking at the size and shape, she knew it couldn’t be naturally occurring. It was too steep and circular. Once they walked close enough for her to see more detail, she realized there was a large set of open doors.

  Josh noticed her peering at the structure. “That there is our town’s welder, Reuben.”

  Hope peered to take a better look at what welding was, but the man simply stood there talking to someone. She looked around the green field and could see a series of small artificially raised mounds in the ground. Some mounds she could clearly make out the trapdoor, but would never see it if she didn’t know what to look for. If Joshua was correct when he said his people had survived from hiding from hers, she could see how they had managed.

  “Is the market underground?”

  “No. We use the church on Saturdays for the market. Regular church services on Sunday.”

  As they arrived at the church, she realized a few things about the structure. The first observation she made was that it was the only freestanding building. Everything else was either underground or built into an artificial hill. The building was large and the pinnacle of the community. As she studied the juxtaposition, she observed the ivy growing all over the structure. Although she didn’t understand why they would risk having a freestanding building, she fully comprehended that the ivy was a crude attempt at camouflage. It may help if her people were flying over, but the ivy didn’t do much to hide the building from those on the ground. She wondered how closely her people were truly watching this area, if they were watching at all.

  When they were married, she thought the chapel area was large. Now, she realized there was even more to the building. There was a partitioning wall at the back of the chapel they had opened. All the chairs were stacked and lined against the walls. The adjoining section behind the chapel was the same width but nearly double in length. Tables had been erected in front of the stacked chairs filled with supplies while the patrons circled the center of the room.

  Hope stood and watched, taking in the interesting scenery while Joshua watched her and her reactions. The chatter reverberated through the room until, without notice, the room fell quiet, casual conversations soon changed to occasional whispers.

  Joshua tightened his grip on her hand and stepped forward. Hope plastered a smile on her face initially but it faded quickly. No one made eye contact with her. They fell silent when Joshua and Hope came into close proximity but started whispering the second they moved past.

  She didn’t know what she had expected and was even more uncertain how to feel about her rece
ption. So much of her was relieved she didn’t get bombarded with questions about where she was from. The fear of saying the wrong thing was great, yet she couldn’t find a sense of relief in their silence either. She understood these people would hate her if they found out who she really was, yet she already felt they had turned against her without that crucial piece of information. Was it enough for them to distrust me before they found out who I am? Or have they already discovered my secret?

  As they moved through the room, Joshua quickly filled their basket with supplies. He seemed to have a mental map and a solid plan of what they needed to retrieve. Hope held their basket while he placed the items inside. Once she stopped trying to make eye contact—accepting her shunning—her attention turned to Joshua. He was even more tense than she was.

  It was apparent that many people used this gathering as a time to socialize, drifting and conversing with others. Joshua didn’t seem to make conversation with anyone. He finished their gathering quickly and headed towards the door. Just as they were about to escape the building, the Reverend appeared from what felt like out of nowhere.

  “Ah, hello there, you two.”

  “Hi, Reverend.”

  “I was just speaking about your new wife to the town council. We were hoping to get a chance to chat with you tonight.” He turned and addressed Hope. “We need to interview you to sort out your job.”

  She looked to Josh for a response. He smiled warmly. “We were just about to head back home. If the council is available now, then that would suit us just fine.”

  The Reverend’s face fell. “We were actually thinking about later tonight.”

  Josh nodded and looked away. “Well, as you know, we have a bit of a further walk than most to come here. I think it would be best to arrange a time, perhaps before the market next week.”

  “Why don’t we do it tomorrow?” Hope piped in. “We will come back to go to church, right?”

  “Now, Hope, there is a certain way we do things here. That might be alright with your people to conduct business on the sabbath day, but we reserve that day for the Lord.”

  Hope’s mouth fell open slightly, and she quickly clamped it closed again. She couldn’t comprehend what she had done wrong. It was best she spoke less and let Josh handle these types of interactions—for now.

  “How about next Saturday, around eleven?” Josh cut in, easing her discomfort.

  “Alright then.” He nodded and continued on his way.

  Josh quickly led her out of the building. They walked at a brisk pace without stopping until they reached their home. Hope’s mind was swimming with questions, yet felt the need to wait until they reached the comfort of their home. As they entered the second door, it startled Hope to see Adah sitting at their table with a large basket.

  “How did it go?” Adah was instantly on her feet.

  “Maw, what are you doing here?”

  “I came to drop off some dresses for Hope.”

  “And you just let yourself inside?”

  Adah stepped forward, lifting a finger. “I knocked. Twice! It’s not like I just barged on in here. You didn’t answer so I came on down. I was just resting my feet for a bit and you came home.”

  “How long is it that your feet needed a rest?” He pushed past her, placing their basket on the counter.

  Adah took a seat once again at the table instead of answering. “I see you went to the market. How’d it go?”

  Hope shrugged. “No one talked to me.”

  Joshua sat down at the table. “What have people been sayin’ bout us?”

  “Well,” Adah started with a high pitch in her voice. “They’re surprised. Mad, a bit mad.”

  “About missing her baptism?”

  “Yeah. It’s a big deal.” She shrugged. “Hope’s a newcomer. She’s not from here—people don’t know what to think. They are glad you managed to find yourself a wife, though.”

  “Then why didn’t anyone speak to me if they are happy I married Josh?”

  “Because you’re new, and you look different from us with that dark hair of yours. Your people are heathens. Don’t you worry. They will warm up to you when they get to know you—or you have a baby.”

  Hope lost the pit of her stomach. “What should I do?”

  “Nothin’. I told them everything they need to know about you already. I think it’s best you keep your head down and your mouth shut until you learn the ways of our people. They got their backs up about you, and your heathenistic ways are only gonna put them off more. You stick out like a sore thumb, hunny. Just keep to yourself until they get used to you being here is all.”

  Josh nodded. “We booked a time with the town council next Saturday.”

  Adah nodded. “Did they try to meet with her today?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I’m glad you pushed them off. More time will do her some good.”

  “More time for what?”

  “We need to teach you to be a little more normal. Let’s make you invisible so they leave you alone.”

  “Yeah,” Josh nodded. “I was thinking I’ve got to teach her more words we use and such.”

  “Exactly. And most importantly, she needs to learn the Bible.”

  ***

  Hope secured her hair neatly with a clip. She decided if people would dislike her because of her dark bushy hair, the least she could do was tame it to make it less noticeable. Her experience at church the first time had been much like the market the previous day. A lot of looks and whispering but no conversation. As much as their constant gawking at her was unnerving, she was still grateful they didn’t talk to her. She knew she had a lot to learn about this community and their customs if she was going to survive.

  Adah had come by their home each day of the week to give Hope a one-on-one Bible study while Josh was out hunting. It had been a long week. There were so many words they didn’t have in common outside of what they discussed from the Bible. Adah had insisted she travel to their home to keep Hope less visible. The fewer people that saw Hope, the less they had to say.

  The week had done a great deal to raise her confidence. She felt as though she could speak to the town council without too much discomfort. She understood the need to conceal her past but also knew she could live in this community somewhat out of sight. If she kept her head down and didn’t cause any trouble for the first year she lived here, it wouldn’t matter afterward if they found out about her. Once they started a family, she wouldn’t be seen as an outsider, even if they discovered who she really was.

  “You ready?”

  Hope put on a brave smile. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  He took her hand, and they climbed the stairs. It felt like a longer walk than usual to get to the church. Joshua was continually fidgeting and asking if she was okay. Hope felt as though she could handle this interview, but she wasn’t sure Josh could.

  The main door to the church was just opening when they arrived. The market was being set up and they were hauling supplies in.

  “Joshua. Hope. Welcome.”

  “Hi, Reverend.” Josh nodded.

  The pair of them were led to a room on the far side of the building. Hope thought this church was large the first time she visited, but it seemed to expand with every visit. The room was simple in design—a large table with multiple chairs. She understood right away this room was intended for more intimate meetings.

  There were three other men sitting around the table with the Reverend. Hope wondered why there were no women on this town council but knew better than to ask such questions. Adah had warned her to speak only when necessary until the community accepted her. Asking the wrong questions left her open to judgment.

  “Hope, we are thrilled to have you join our community. I’m sure you are settling in well.”

  She nodded, as his statement chimed a few alarms in her mind.

  “Adah said you were gathering herbs and vegetation when you got lost. Was that your job where you come from?”


  “She didn’t have a job there.” Joshua cut in. “Not like we do here. It sounds to me like they do what they need to do to get by. She did lots of things, not one in particular.”

  “Oh, well,” one of the town councils rolled their eyes. “What else should we expect from a pack of heathens?”

  Hope started to understand the genius in Adah’s words. The less information she shared, the more assumptions these people would make. Their assumptions would be a story they created in their minds. Something they felt comfortable with. Something safe.

  “We do things a little more proper here, you see. The Bible tells us to love our neighbors. We don’t leave our neighbors to their own devices here. We all care for each other. Contribute to the community. We brought you here to figure out how you will best make that contribution. I hear you went to the market last Saturday?”