guilty for being an imposter in this family. She shuddered to think of how these people might react, especially the sullen father, if they discovered she was not Anna but an interloper from the outside. It was frightening.
But Madison was so exhausted, she didn’t have the energy to consider these things too seriously. By the time she searched through Anna’s duffel bag—not bothering to hang anything on the pegs by the window, just digging until she found what she assumed was a nightgown since it was plain white cotton—all she wanted to do was sleep. The narrow bed creaked as she climbed into it, and despite the grainy feel of the rough sheets, the hardness of the mattress, the musty smell, and the strangeness of everything, Madison was thankful for this bed. Every bone in her body felt tired. As she was drifting off to sleep, she knew she would not be able to continue her charade. It was impossible.
In the morning she would come clean about everything. She would confess the truth to Rachel, beg to be taken to a phone since there was none in the house, and call Anna and tell her to come back here. Really, it was ridiculous to think she could pull this off. As for taking a break from her real life . . . well, she’d been wrong, wrong, wrong. For starters, this was no break. Even if her real life had some forms of stress, compared to living the Amish life, it was easy-breezy. It seemed her illusions about the simple life were just that—illusions!
6
Anna’s heart pounded as she stepped onto the big silver bus. She’d never been on a bus before, had no idea what to expect. She hurried to find a seat, setting Madison’s purse in her lap and waiting to see what happened next. The bus started to move, slowly at first and then faster. Suddenly she was clutching the seat, fearful that this big bus might go so fast it would fly right off the road.
To distract herself, she looked out the window, watching the countryside whizzing past. Fields, barns, horses, cows . . . What if a loose cow wandered in front of the bus? Surely there would be a horrible wreck. What then?
A young woman dressed in gray pants and a red jacket sat across the aisle from Anna. She opened a black leather satchel—or perhaps it was a briefcase—and slid out a smooth black object, opening it up like a book, only sideways. Anna peered at it curiously. Was it a computer? She knew what computers were—sort of—and she knew that Mr. Riehl supposedly had one (strictly for business use and something he never spoke of). She’d read of them in books, but she’d never actually used one herself.
Anna tried not to stare as the woman peered intently at a blue screen, pausing now and then to do something with the buttons. Anna wished she was brave enough to ask the woman what she was doing. It was taking all her confidence and self-control simply to sit there—to not stand up and scream, “Stop this bus and let me off!”
Anna looked ahead of her to see an elderly man reading a newspaper. On the other side, a woman about her mother’s age was reading a hardback book. Anna wished she’d had the foresight to have purchased a book before boarding this bus. That would have helped to pass the time. She couldn’t imagine how long it would take to reach New York. Wasn’t it an awful long ways away? Perhaps she wouldn’t even be there until morning. Yet if that was so, where would she sleep? Right here on the seat? Why hadn’t she thought to ask? Madison had written it all down—perhaps that was the “book” Anna needed to read right now.
As she dug for her notes, Anna wondered how Madison was doing with Uncle Daniel. Had she tried to engage the silent man in conversation? It would be futile. Anyway, they should be nearly home by now. What would Madison think of Aunt Rachel? Would she be disappointed?
Now, it wasn’t that Anna didn’t like her aunt. She did, but she just didn’t understand her. Anna had grown up hearing whispered things about
But Madison was so exhausted, she didn’t have the energy to consider these things too seriously. By the time she searched through Anna’s duffel bag—not bothering to hang anything on the pegs by the window, just digging until she found what she assumed was a nightgown since it was plain white cotton—all she wanted to do was sleep. The narrow bed creaked as she climbed into it, and despite the grainy feel of the rough sheets, the hardness of the mattress, the musty smell, and the strangeness of everything, Madison was thankful for this bed. Every bone in her body felt tired. As she was drifting off to sleep, she knew she would not be able to continue her charade. It was impossible.
In the morning she would come clean about everything. She would confess the truth to Rachel, beg to be taken to a phone since there was none in the house, and call Anna and tell her to come back here. Really, it was ridiculous to think she could pull this off. As for taking a break from her real life . . . well, she’d been wrong, wrong, wrong. For starters, this was no break. Even if her real life had some forms of stress, compared to living the Amish life, it was easy-breezy. It seemed her illusions about the simple life were just that—illusions!
6
Anna’s heart pounded as she stepped onto the big silver bus. She’d never been on a bus before, had no idea what to expect. She hurried to find a seat, setting Madison’s purse in her lap and waiting to see what happened next. The bus started to move, slowly at first and then faster. Suddenly she was clutching the seat, fearful that this big bus might go so fast it would fly right off the road.
To distract herself, she looked out the window, watching the countryside whizzing past. Fields, barns, horses, cows . . . What if a loose cow wandered in front of the bus? Surely there would be a horrible wreck. What then?
A young woman dressed in gray pants and a red jacket sat across the aisle from Anna. She opened a black leather satchel—or perhaps it was a briefcase—and slid out a smooth black object, opening it up like a book, only sideways. Anna peered at it curiously. Was it a computer? She knew what computers were—sort of—and she knew that Mr. Riehl supposedly had one (strictly for business use and something he never spoke of). She’d read of them in books, but she’d never actually used one herself.
Anna tried not to stare as the woman peered intently at a blue screen, pausing now and then to do something with the buttons. Anna wished she was brave enough to ask the woman what she was doing. It was taking all her confidence and self-control simply to sit there—to not stand up and scream, “Stop this bus and let me off!”
Anna looked ahead of her to see an elderly man reading a newspaper. On the other side, a woman about her mother’s age was reading a hardback book. Anna wished she’d had the foresight to have purchased a book before boarding this bus. That would have helped to pass the time. She couldn’t imagine how long it would take to reach New York. Wasn’t it an awful long ways away? Perhaps she wouldn’t even be there until morning. Yet if that was so, where would she sleep? Right here on the seat? Why hadn’t she thought to ask? Madison had written it all down—perhaps that was the “book” Anna needed to read right now.
As she dug for her notes, Anna wondered how Madison was doing with Uncle Daniel. Had she tried to engage the silent man in conversation? It would be futile. Anyway, they should be nearly home by now. What would Madison think of Aunt Rachel? Would she be disappointed?
Now, it wasn’t that Anna didn’t like her aunt. She did, but she just didn’t understand her. Anna had grown up hearing whispered things about
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