Looking for a Miracle

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  “Sometimes we draw the wrong conclusions because we want to.”

  “What are you saying? Do you actually think I want to believe such things about Daniel?” Rebekah’s voice raised at least an octave, and her cheeks felt flushed.

  Mary Ellen shifted on the swing as she held up her hand. “Please, don’t get defensive on me. I only meant that since you were already having some doubts about being a wife, maybe Daniel’s comment was misunderstood. Maybe you were looking for a way out of what you felt wouldn’t work.”

  “Now, listen, Mary Ellen—”

  “Wie geht’s, Rebekah?” Aunt Mim asked as she stepped up to the porch.

  “I–I’m fine, danki.”

  “It didn’t sound to me as if you were all that fine. You sounded pretty upset about something a moment ago.”

  “Rebekah thinks Daniel only wants to marry her so he can become her partner at the greenhouse,” Mary Ellen was quick to say.

  Rebekah nodded. “It’s true. He sweet-talked me for months just so he could get his hands on my business.”

  “Do you have time to hear another one of my little stories?” Aunt Mim asked, squeezing in beside Mary Ellen on the swing. “I think it might give you some insight on a few things concerning you and Daniel.”

  “I guess so. I’ll be here until Mom picks me up later this afternoon.” Rebekah moved her wheelchair closer to the swing, ready to hear her aunt’s story, although she couldn’t imagine what it would have to do with her and Daniel. “By the way, Mom says she’ll drop over for a visit sometime soon.”

  Aunt Mim nodded, then began her story. “A long time ago, when Miriam Hilty was still Miriam Stoltzfus, she thought that a certain Amos Hilty wanted to marry her for reasons other than love.”

  “Really? I never knew that, Mama Mim,” Mary Ellen said with wide eyes. “What other reasons might Pappy have had?”

  Aunt Mim patted Mary Ellen’s hand. “Well, I thought your daed only wanted a mudder for his little girl.” She shrugged. “I figured he probably wanted someone to do all his cooking and cleaning, too. It wasn’t until well after our marriage that I finally woke up and realized that Amos cared deeply for me. What he really wanted all along was a companion and helpmate.”

  Aunt Mim motioned to Rebekah. “I’ve observed you and Daniel plenty of times, and I daresay he loves you very much. While it might be true that Daniel desires a partnership in your business, I’m convinced that he wants you as his wife even more.”

  Rebekah nibbled on her bottom lip. “I do appreciate your sharing another story with me. Only thing is, it doesn’t change anything where Daniel and I are concerned.”

  “Why not? It seems a shame for you to give up on love and marriage, dear girl,” Aunt Mim said, shaking her head.

  “Daniel doesn’t love me. He never even said he did, for pity’s sake!”

  Mary Ellen’s eyebrows raised high on her forehead. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Rebekah shook her head. “Nope, and he only wants my business. I know it, sure as anything—and we’re not getting married.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Rebekah moved restlessly about the kitchen on her crutches. She felt so fretful and fidgety this morning. She stopped pacing a few moments, and when she glanced out the window, she spotted a sparrow eating from one of Daniel’s handcrafted feeders. Oh, Daniel, why’d you have to go and break my heart? Didn’t you know how much I loved you? I was so hoping things would work out between us.

  It had been two weeks since their breakup, and the pain was no less hurtful now than it had been on that terrible day when she’d discovered that her intended had only been using her to acquire a business selling flowers. Seeing Daniel at the preaching service last week hadn’t helped any, either.

  Rebekah thought, maybe even hoped, that he might try to win her back. She squinted and then blinked a couple of times so the tears wouldn’t give way. Not that I’d ever consider taking him back. No, she was through with men and all their sweet-talking, conniving ways. God had given her a business to run, and this summer it had done real well for her. If things kept going as they had been, she would be self-supporting in no time. That was the miracle she had been waiting for, wasn’t it?

  She trembled slightly as she thought about Daniel sitting across the room from her during church. He hadn’t even looked her way, let alone said anything to her after the noon meal. It just proved what she had known as a fact—Daniel didn’t love her now, and he never had.

  Rebekah leaned her full weight against the windowsill. “God takes care of the little bitty birds, so He will most assuredly take care of you”—Grandma’s words tumbled around in her mind like the clothes in Mom’s old wringer washer on laundry day.

  “I think what I need is a breath of fresh air,” Rebekah said aloud, though no one was in the kitchen to hear but her. Mom had gone outside to hang some freshly laundered clothes, Nadine was in the barn playing with a batch of new kittens, and the menfolk were out working in the fields.

  Rebekah thought about casting off her leg braces and taking the wheelchair outside, but it was such a job to get them unhooked. Besides, as Mom always said, “The exercise will do your whole body some good.”

  With the crutches fastened securely to her arms by leather straps, Rebekah grabbed a light shawl from a wall peg and headed out the back door.

  Mom seemed to be struggling with a sheet the wind had caught in the clothesline, and she didn’t notice when Rebekah plodded past her and down the path toward the creek.

  A definite nip was in the air this morning, and Rebekah knew fall would be coming soon. Autumn. The time for most Amish weddings here in Lancaster County. Her own wedding was supposed to be in November. If only...

  She shoved the familiar ache aside once again and attempted to pick up her speed just a bit. Walking stiff-legged was such a chore, and she was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake by leaving the wheelchair parked in the kitchen. Already she was huffing and puffing, and she was only halfway there. At this rate, how was she ever going to make it all the way to the creek?

  “‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,’” she quoted from the scriptures. If she could just go another fifty yards or so, she would be at the water’s edge and could hopefully find a log or something to sit on. Trips to the creek in the past had always been made in her wheelchair, which meant finding a place to sit and rest had never been a problem.

  Rebekah lifted one foot, then the other, guiding herself along with the aid of her metal crutches. She could hear the water gurgling over the rocky creek bottom. The melodic sound soothed her nerves and gave her the added incentive to keep walking.

  Soon, the rushing water came into view, meandering gracefully through a cluster of red maple and white birch trees. Rebekah scanned the banks, looking for something to use as a bench. She felt a spasm in her back, and the muscles in her arms had become tight. Even her legs, which normally had little feeling in them, felt kind of tingly and prickly-like.

  With great relief, she spotted a fallen tree, its branches stretched partway across the water and the trunk lying on dry land. A few more determined steps, and she was there. Drawing in a deep breath for added strength, Rebekah lowered herself to the stump. The bumpy surface offered little comfort for her backside, but at least she was sitting and could finally catch her breath. Even her hands trembled, she noticed.

  The trek from the house had nearly been too much. Oh, how she wished she had told someone where she was going. What if she couldn’t make it back to the house on her own strength? The way she felt right now, she wasn’t sure she could even stand up again.

  “What a dunce I was for thinking I could be so independent and go traipsing on down here without my wheelchair,” Rebekah chided herself. “It was just plain kischblich of me. I should know better than to be so silly.” She wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders and shivered—not so much from the chilly morning, but from all her energy being used up.

 
The rustle of fallen leaves caught Rebekah’s attention. She glanced to the right and saw Brownie, their mixed-breed farm dog, running for all he was worth. Out in front of him was something fuzzy and small. A white ball of fur, that’s what it looked like.

  Rebekah squinted, trying to get a better look. What in the world? Brownie was chasing one of those new baby kittens! Along the bank of the creek, the poor critter ran, with the old dog right on its tail.

  “Run, kitty, run! Go quickly!” Rebekah cried. She knew the kitten couldn’t understand what she was saying, so she turned her attention toward Brownie. “Bad dog! You come here and leave that poor cat alone!”

  Brownie cocked his head as though he might actually be listening, but then he forged right ahead and kept on with the chase.

  “Dumb dog,” Rebekah mumbled. “You never did know when to hearken.” She watched helplessly as the exhausted kitten began to lose ground. Brownie was about ready to pounce when the unthinkable happened.

  Plop! Right into the cold water the poor kitty sailed. Rebekah gasped, and Brownie, apparently surprised, slammed on his brakes and nearly ran straight into a tree.

  Rebekah stared in horror as the white ball of fur turned into a soggy little mass that resembled something akin to a roll of cotton when it had been drenched in alcohol. Tiny paws began to flail helplessly about, making trivial headway through the swirling waters holding it in its grip.

  “It’s not strong enough to swim yet,” Rebekah moaned. “The poor little critter will drown sure as anything.” She couldn’t just sit there and watch it happen. She had to do something to save the kitten’s life.

  Rebekah grasped the crutches tightly and pulled herself up with a grunt. “Hang on, little one. I’m coming!”

  Down the creek bank she went, inch-by-inch, step-by-step. At the water’s edge, she let go of one crutch. Since it was strapped to her arm, it dangled precariously as she attempted to lean across the current in hopes of rescuing the perishing cat.

  Brownie was at her heels now, swishing his tail from side to side and barking like crazy. It only seemed to frighten the pathetic little fur ball that much more. With eyes open wide and claws splashing against the water, it was swept farther downstream. Rebekah saw the poor critter take in a mouthful of water. Then down it went.

  In a state of near panic, she took a few more steps. The creek water rose over the top of her sneakers. No doubt it was stinging cold, but her unfeeling legs knew no pain. Further into the creek she trudged, lifting first one foot, then the other. The swift-moving current made it more difficult to navigate, and soon she felt winded and emotionally spent.

  “Help me, Lord,” she prayed. “Allow me to reach the kitten in time.” A few more steps, and she was almost there. A slight bend at the waist, a hand extended, and then ... splash!

  Facedown in the chilling water, Rebekah landed. She gurgled and gasped as her nose and mouth filled with unwanted fluid. She thrashed about with her arms and nearly smacked the side of her head with one of the crutches. All thoughts of the stranded kitten vanished from her mind. All she wanted to do was save herself. The more she flailed against the creek’s rapid flow, the deeper her body seemed to be sucked under.

  Rebekah had never learned how to swim, and even if she had, her crippled legs would have been useless. If her arms had been stronger, maybe she could have paddled her way to the grassy banks. But no, she had used all her strength just getting down to this silly creek. The panic she felt rising in her throat kept all clearheaded thinking away. She couldn’t pray, she couldn’t swim, and she couldn’t think of any way to get back on her feet.

  ***

  As Daniel cut through the fields bordering the Stoltzfus place, he wondered if it was such a good idea for him to try and see Rebekah today. His father had told him to be a man and go after her, but he didn’t think he could deal with it if she rejected him again. Still, he had to at least try.

  Normally Daniel drove his horse and buggy whenever he went to the greenhouse, but he’d decided that a good long walk might be what he needed, so he had headed out from his place on foot, walked up the road a ways, and then taken a shortcut through the cornfields near the Stoltzfus property.

  “Sure hope Rebekah’s willing to listen to what I have to say this time,” he mumbled. “I need to make her understand the way things are and how I feel about her.”

  Daniel pulled an ear of corn from one of the drying stalks and peeled it back. The kernels were hard and dried up, just like his heart would be if he had to spend the rest of his days on earth without Rebekah.

  He took a few more steps and halted when he heard a muffled scream. He tipped his head and listened. There it was again—a little louder this time. He dropped the corn and sprinted across the field toward the sound.

  A few minutes later, the creek bordering the Stoltzfus property came into view.

  “Help! Somebody, help me, please!”

  Daniel’s heart leapt in his chest when he saw Rebekah lying in the water, her arms splashing like crazy, and her head bobbing up and down as she gasped for air.

  With only one thought on his mind, he sprinted down the slippery bank and dashed into the water. “Rebekah, I’m coming!” he hollered. “Here now, grab my hand!”

  ***

  Rebekah turned her head to the right, taking in another murky mouthful of water in the process. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision. Was she dreaming? Was there someone standing over her? No, it couldn’t possibly be.

  She opened her mouth to cry out, but nothing more than a pitiful squeak came from her cold lips.

  “Rebekah, listen to me now,” the deep voice said sternly. “Quit your floundering and take hold of my hand.” Daniel’s concerned-looking face was mere inches from hers, and she knew for certain that it wasn’t an apparition after all.

  She lifted one arm, but the weight of the crutch seemed to be working against her. Daniel’s firm hand grasped hers, pulling with all the strength of an able-bodied man. Still, she couldn’t seem to right herself, and instead of coming to her feet as she had hoped she would, Rebekah fell backwards, dragging Daniel into the water with her.

  He came up spitting and sputtering, with a look of sheer bewilderment spread over his dripping wet face.

  “Well, Rebekah Stoltzfus,” he said, shaking his head and sending rivulets of water flying everywhere, “you had better have a mighty good reason for this.”

  Daniel swept Rebekah into his arms and carried her over his shoulder as if she were a sack of grain. He plodded through the murky, swirling waters until he reached dry land. Then he placed her in a sitting position on the grassy bank and dropped down beside her. “Are you okay, Rebekah? What were you doin’ in that creek? How come you’re all alone and without the wheelchair?” The questions seemed to pour out of him until Rebekah finally interrupted with a raised hand.

  “Don’t you think you should ask only one question at a time?” She coughed a few times and reached up to pull her soggy head-covering off. Her damp hair came loose from its usual bun, and long, thoroughly saturated hair tumbled down around her shoulders.

  Daniel lifted his hand to her cheek and swiped at a splotch of mud. “You look like a drowned pup, you know that?”

  Rebekah sniffed deeply and glared at him. “Jah, well, you don’t look so good yourself.”

  Daniel’s lips twitched. Then he burst into laughter. “No, I don’t guess I do!” His face sobered after the laughter subsided. “So are you gonna tell me why you’re down here all alone, and how you ended up in that water or not?”

  “I w–went for a walk,” she replied, her lips trembling like a leaf caught in the wind. Her whole body had begun to shake, and she wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to warm herself. “I was sitting on a fallen tree when I noticed our dog chasing one of Gretta’s new kittens.” She paused for a breath. “The helpless little critter couldn’t outrun the mutt, so the poor thing ended up falling into the creek.”

  Rebekah and Daniel bot
h turned their heads toward the swiftly moving water. “I—I can’t believe it!” Rebekah pointed across the creek bank. On the other side, sitting in a patch of grass, was one waterlogged kitten, licking its tiny paws as if it didn’t have a care in the world. The yapping dog that had caused all the trouble was nowhere to be found.

  “Can you believe that?” Rebekah groaned. “I nearly drowned myself to save that silly creature, and there it is just fine and dandy.”

  “I’m so glad you didn’t drown. I don’t think I could stand it if something bad happened to you.”

  Rebekah jerked her head toward Daniel. “What are you doing here, anyway, and how’d you know I was in trouble?”

  “I was out for a walk, and I heard a scream. When I ran through the fields and saw you splashing around in the creek, I thought my heart was gonna stop beating.” Daniel grinned, looking kind of self-conscious. “To tell you the truth, I was on my way to the greenhouse to see you.”

  She blinked several times, as she stared at him. “You—you were?”

  He nodded. “I thought it was time we got things aired out between us. I ... well, I’ve been actin’ like a mad dog these last few weeks, and I’m sorry to say that a bit of hochmut got in my way or I would have come to see you sooner.” He paused a few minutes, searching for the right words. “I just can’t stand the idea of facing another tussle with you, Rebekah, so I hope you’ll hear me out this time.”

  Rebekah dropped her gaze to the ground. “You hurt me bad, Daniel. I thought you cared for me, but then—”

  “I’m sorry for hurting you and for letting you think things that weren’t true.” He lifted her chin so she was forced to look directly into his eyes. “I love you, Rebekah Stoltzfus. I will always love you, now and forever.”

  Stinging tears flooded Rebekah’s eyes, and she gulped back a sob. “Oh, Daniel, you’ve never said that to me before.”

  “Never said what? That I’m sorry?”

  “No. That you loved me.”

  “I—I haven’t?”