Disappearances Read Online Free

was admonished to take up the cross, deny herself, and follow the narrow path of Jesus, which she felt was good and right. Sadie wanted no life other than the one she led, the goal of which was to live in a way that would lead to heaven.
    That was how she was born. Amish. To parents who wanted this way of life, this security for their children. The heritage passed on from generation to generation.
    It was hard to explain when English people asked questions, implying the senselessness of driving a horse and buggy or having no electricity. And if it was so wrong, why ride in a car at all?
    It wasn’t wrong for Richard and Barbara Caldwell to have their beautiful home. They were living their lives the way their parents lived theirs, doing what, to them, was right. That was fine.
    Sadie loved her employer and his wife, defending their lifestyle if anyone dared say anything negative. They were kind, caring people, who did what was right for their employees, even if they lived lavishly, according to Amish standards. She would never judge them.
    She stopped in the upstairs bathroom to lift the slatted wooden blind and gaze out across the snowy ranch land. It spread as far as the eye could see, the scenery so beautiful it could take your breath away, especially in winter.
    She would have to ride Paris this evening. One more time before they took her away. Paris loved the snow, taking great plunging strides, spraying clouds of it when she ran, the cold air slamming into Sadie’s face, Reuben at her side, yelling and laughing.
    She’d have to leave a message for him on her parents’ phone. Maybe he could ride over tomorrow after work.
    As it turned out, Reuben had to work late. Dat started a new log cabin that needed the concrete poured for the footer before the next snow arrived.
    A week later, the government men came and took Paris away. Sadie refused to watch, throwing herself on their bed, shutting out any sound with the pillow clamped over her head as tightly as possible. She lifted it cautiously to listen for any sounds before emerging from the bedroom, her ears red, her eyes swollen from crying.
    Catching sight of herself in the mirror, she was shocked to see how old and careworn she appeared. So she took a shower, changed to a dress the color of cranberries, brushed her teeth, and decided to grow up and stop being so immature about Paris. She was just a horse.
    Then Sadie thought of Paris stepping down from that trailer after a long cold journey, her large brown eyes with the thick, bristly lashes looking at everyone and everything with so much trust in them. Sadie’s lips trembled, her nose burned, and she started sobbing all over again.
    Mark told her to go home and spend the day with her mother and sisters. She needed it.
    And that’s exactly what she did, being greeted with cheers and hugs and coffee and French toast, maple syrup and chipped beef gravy, fried cornmeal mush, and Mam’s perfect dippy eggs.
    Leah was working at her cleaning job, but Rebekah and Anna were at home. They caught up on the latest news, the life of dating, being with the youth, their work, Reuben turning 16 before too long, and Mam’s concern about Reuben’s time of rumspringa , literally translated as “running around,” which is exactly what the youth did after they turned 16.
    Mam was in high spirits, making them all laugh with stories about the last quilting she had attended. She had to get started piecing Leah’s Mariner’s Star quilt, with the feeling goading her that Kevin had marriage on his mind.
    “But, can you imagine, a Mariner’s Star in black and beige? It’s enough to give me the blues. All that black!”
    “Get Fred Ketty to piece it,” Rebekah suggested.
    “Fred Ketty?”
    “They said she did one with black and … I forget what else, but she got over 900 dollars for it.”
    “Where?”
    Mam was so incredulous her mouth formed a perfect O , then closed tightly after she pronounced the “where.”
    “She sold it