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Mariah threw herself on her bed, sobbing her heart out. “Why?” she asked between cries. “Why did they have to die? They didn’t do anything wrong, did they? What did they do to deserve this?”
“Mariah?”
Mariah heard Breanna speak, but she did not acknowledge that she had heard. She stayed in her prostrate position on her bed.
Breanna saw her back and shoulders heaving as she cried, and her heart went out to the lonely orphan girl that her best friend now was.
“Breanna?”
Breanna turned at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Yes, Mom?”
“I think you should leave Mariah for a while yet,” her mother said, putting her hands on Breanna’s shoulder. “Leave her to grieve, and meanwhile you can pray for that she will be comforted and that some relatives or friends will discover that she is alive and be able to take her into their home.”
The pair quietly left the room.
Two days passed. On the third day, Breanna and her mother were preparing the midday meal in their kitchen when there came a knock at the door.
“I’ll get that,” Breanna said, quickly wiping off her hands with a clean, dry rag and hurrying into the hallway.
When she opened the door, she saw two women and a man standing before her. One lady she recognized immediately. It was the person who had been Mariah’s chaperone on her train trip, Mrs. Johnson.
“Breanna?” Mrs. Johnson asked.
“Hello, Mrs. Johnson.” Breanna replied.
Mrs. Johnson turned to the other people with her. “This is Mr. Jon Matthews and his wife, Miriam. Jon is the cousin of Mariah’s mother.”
“Won’t you come in?” Breanna invited. She went into the kitchen. “Mom, some people are here. I think it’s something about Mariah.”
The visiting trio appeared at the kitchen door at that moment.
“Hello, Mrs. Johnson,” Mrs. Freeman said politely. “How do you do?”
“I’m doing well,” Mrs. Johnson said. “I trust you are well?”
“I couldn’t be any better than is expected with a baby on the way,” Mrs. Freeman chuckled.
“Well,” Mrs. Johnson said, turning to Jon and Miriam Matthews, “these are the cousins of Mariah’s mother. Their names are Jon and Miriam Matthews.”
Mrs. Freeman shook their hands. “Nice to meet you.”
The couple returned the greeting, and then Jon said, “How is Mariah doing?”
“She’s so upset that she won’t leave her room and she will not eat anything that we try to give her,” Mrs. Freeman explained.
“She won’t talk to anyone but herself,” Breanna added.
“Hmm.” Jon stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Not unusual, I guess.”
“Would you like to try to speak to her?” Mrs. Freeman offered.
“We could try, but I don’t think it’s going to work,” Jon said, and Miriam nodded in agreement.
“She knows us even less than she knows you,” she said. “Maybe Breanna, here, could write a note and leave it in the room. Mariah will find it eventually and she will at some point be ready to speak to us.”
“That’s a good idea,” Mrs. Freeman said, turning to Breanna. “Why don’t you go do that right now?”
“Alright,” Breanna replied, hurrying off.
Mariah sat on her bed, looking down at her lap and twisting her skirt. She let her tears flow, outwardly showing grief at the death of her family, but inside she was boiling with anger toward God.
Why? she thought to herself in fury. Why did you have to kill them, God? What am I going to do now? Why did you have to wipe them off the face of the earth? What did they do to deserve this? Thanks to you, now sweet little Martin and adorable Joyce are gone, my fun, encouraging older brothers are dead, and I’ll never see playful Peter, Sara, and Adah on this earth again. Not ever. Why? It’s not fair! She pounded her fist on the soft bedspread and pillows and the hard surfaces of the bedside table and dresser.
She threw herself face down on her bed and let her sobs come forth. She did not hear Breanna enter the room, leave a note on the desk, and depart again.
When she was able to calm down some, Mariah sat up. Her gaze roved over the room, and when she saw the note, her eyes settled on it.
She slid off the bed, padded over to the desk, opened the note and read its contents.
Mariah:
Some of your relatives, cousins of your mother, have come and they would like to see you. When you feel up to it, would you please come down and meet them?
Breanna
Mariah stared at it, her eyes not blinking. “Why? Why would I want to see people that remind me of my family?” she said aloud. “What relatives are they, anyways? And are they really my relatives?”
She wiped her face with a tissue and set the note down again. “When I feel up to it? I’ll feel up to it in about a million years!”
But as she returned to her bed and sat and thought for several moments, she decided that she should just get it over with, see the relatives, and then come back to her room.
Jon and Miriam stopped talking with the Freeman parents and Breanna as Mariah entered the room. She had washed her face and changed into a clean skirt and shirt.
Miriam was on her feet quickly. “Mariah?”
Mariah looked at her warily. “Yes?” she asked.
“Do you remember me? I’m Miriam, and this is Jon. He’s a cousin of your mother,” Miriam explained.
Mariah walked toward them, looking them over carefully. She allowed them to hug her warmly before sitting down.
“Mariah-I’m-I’m sorry about your family,” Miriam said gently.
Mariah looked at her lap and nodded.
“Do you need anything?” Jon asked.
“I need them to come back,” Mariah replied softly. “That’s all I need.”
“Do you need another family while you’re on earth?” Miriam queried.
“I don’t want one, but necessity is above that, so technically-I do need another family, but I just want my own back.” Mariah looked cautiously at them. She was able to detect several family features on Jon’s face and figure, but she didn’t let down her guard. She didn’t know if she could totally trust them yet. She didn’t know if she wanted to trust them at all.
Jon pulled something out of his pocket. It was a picture from several years before of some relatives with Mariah’s mother. “Do you recognize any of these people?”
Mariah took it and looked at it carefully. “This is my mother…and this is her father and mother and her grandparents are right there….and this looks like you and Miriam with some children.”
“Those are our three oldest,” Miriam explained gently, “and we also have three more daughters.”
Mariah handed back the picture. “So, what exactly are you here for?” she asked.
“We wanted to see if you needed any help,” Jon explained.
“If you were willing-“Miriam began, pausing before continuing-“we could take you in.”
Mariah looked at them. Her eyes were wide and pained, yet she didn’t speak.
“Your stay could be temporary-or we could adopt you,” Jon added.
Mariah looked at her lap. “I need time to think,” she said after a long pause. “This suggestion was thrown out too suddenly for me to make such an important decision right away.”
Jon and Miriam glanced at each other. Mariah was right. They had given the idea too soon, and at a time when Mariah didn’t know them very well.
“Alright,” Jon said finally. “How much time do you need?”
“A few days,” Mariah answered. She stood stiffly, tipped her head politely, and left for her room.
Jon looked at Miriam and the Freemans. “Should we go find a hotel in town to stay at?”
“Oh, no!” Mrs. Freeman shook her head vigorously. “The town hotels are far too expensive, and more luxurious than you would probably care for. Not to mention they’re all in the middle of Greenston, where there is a lot of traffic. That makes for too much noise, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” Miriam agreed. “Do you have any other suggestions as to where we could stay? A country inn, or another place?”
“Yes, I do have another suggestion.” Mrs. Freeman smiled. “You can stay here while you wait for Mariah’s answer.”
“Well,” Jon said slowly, “I suppose we could. Miriam?”
“Yes. Thank you!” Miriam said gratefully. “And maybe Mariah could get to know us better if we are nearby.”
“And we can pay by helping with work around the farm,” Jon added.
Jon and Miriam brought in their few bags from the buggy they had rented, and Mrs. Freeman helped them settle comfortably in the guest room, which was down the hall from the room where Mariah was staying.
At dinner, the two couples discussed what should be done if Mariah decided to go with the Matthews’ and what should be done if she didn’t.
“First, we need to find a trustworthy judge who can help us take her in or adopt her,” Jon pointed out as he hungrily ate the tasty mashed potatoes.
“There’s probably one nearby,” Mr. Freeman said.
Mrs. Freeman put down her fork and looked at him. “Daniel! What about Judge Davidson, who lives right down the road?”
Mr. Freeman blinked. “You’re right. I completely forgot about him!”
Mrs. Freeman sighed as she cut into her chicken. “When you meet him, maybe you’ll be able to remember him better. Only Brea and I have met his lovely little family.”
Miriam looked at Jon and smiled. “Is he home much? Asking him to let us take in Mariah sounds like a good idea at this point.”
“And that’s if she lets us take her home,” Jon cut in. “She might not want to. Either way, we won’t find out her answer ‘til the end of the week!”
Miriam shook her head as she speared some sliced carrots with her fork. “Poor child. Barely fifteen and her family is dead.”
“What if she doesn’t want to leave?” Breanna broke into the conversation. “Will she have to stay with us?”
“Breanna-“Mrs. Freeman warned reprovingly.
“That’s a good question,” Mr. Freeman said agreeably, even though he gave his daughter a look of rebuke. “If she doesn’t want to go to the Matthews’ household, she probably should stay here.”
“Or she would have to stay with a relative she knows better,” Mrs. Freeman added.
Jon nodded as he swallowed a bite of food. “That’s a good idea.”
Breanna listened silently for the rest of the meal. She was thinking…
“Jon!”
Jon looked up.
Miriam was standing on the back porch of the Freeman home. “Mariah needs to talk with us!”
Jon looked at Mr. Freeman, who was nearby picking potatoes out of the ground and throwing them in crates. “Daniel!” he said. “Mariah has her answer.”
Mr. Freeman straightened. “Jake!” he called to the hired hand. “Come finish harvesting the potatoes. I have to go inside for a few minutes.”
“Yes, sir!” Jake trotted over as Mr. Freeman and Jon hurried inside.
Mariah was sitting on the couch in between Breanna and Mrs. Freeman. She looked at the two men as they came inside and settled themselves on wooden, straight-backed chairs.
Mariah took a deep breath. “I decided-to go with you to your home,” she said, addressing Miriam and Jon.
Miriam and Jon briefly glanced at each other, and then Miriam said gently, “If you desired it, Mariah, we could adopt you, and you could become part of our family.”
Mariah stared at her, almost horrified at the very idea of it. Not keep her family’s name? How could they even suggest it?
“Mariah, we would love it if you would become our daughter,” Miriam added.
“If you just want to stay at our house until you can figure out something more permanent, that’s alright,” Jon added.
Mariah started fiddling with her skirt again. She sank deep into thought, and the room was very silent.
Just as Jon was going to get up and go back to work, Mariah spoke again. “What do you think would be best?”
“Whatever’s best for you,” Jon said.
Mariah sat up a little straighter. “Could you tell me all about your family and farm?” she asked. “Maybe if I know more about you, I can make my decision more easily.”
Miriam smiled as she complied.
Mariah was soon swallowed into the story of the Matthews’ family: how Jon and Miriam had met, their marriage, detailed biographies of their six children, and what they did on their farm in Pennsylvania.
When they had finished, nearly two hours had passed and the sun was leaving the sky in all its red, orange, yellow, and purple glory.
“Please,” Mariah said when they were finished, “may I have some more time to make my decision?”
“Of course,” Jon said gently, and Miriam nodded in agreement.
Mariah joined everyone for breakfast the next day, although she sat and ate quietly, listening closely to the Matthews’ parents talk with Breanna and her parents.
“Our corn and wheat crops are doing well,” Jon said, “but there are some animals getting into the vegetable gardens and decreasing the amounts of food there.”
“My gardens had the same problem last year,” Mrs. Freeman said, “but we set up pinwheels in the gardens and our animal problems stopped almost immediately.”
“That’s curious,” Miriam said, “and also very funny. “ She smiled. “I wondered why you said that you didn’t have any problems with moles and rabbits and such when you told us about your crops earlier.”
Mariah half-smiled, but no one really noticed, so she turned back to her cooked carrots.
Throughout the rest of the meal, Mariah listened closely to the topics that Miriam and Jon brought up, and she was genuinely interested in the talk that went on.
The gentle smiles that her relatives gave her every so often warmed her some, and although she knew she needed more time to think, she thought she might know her answer already.
Over the next several days, Mariah spent many hours with Jon and Miriam, who brought up topics of interest to Mariah and did their best to comfort her over the loss of her family.
Mariah shared many things with them about what had happened before and after the tornado, and how her family had been doing and everything that had been going on at their farm before the disaster had occurred.
They shared in her tears and shared memories of times spent with her and her family when she had been much longer.
A week and a half passed before Mariah came to a final decision.
“I would be willing for you to adopt me.”