A Place Called Eden

by R. H. Hull

  Sarah thought for a moment and then replied, “But, if what you need comes from you Rebecca, I know that it will be good! It cannot be bad; I just know it!”

  “Oh, Sarah,” Rebecca exclaimed, “You are my best friend and my strength in time of need.”

  Sarah listened, almost holding her breath as Rebecca continued,

  Rebecca continued, the words nearly pouring from her, “Here is what I need. Jacob and I, as I have said before, would like to be together and not be afraid as we would otherwise be if my father and others of our church would see us together. I need for you to be there for me, to be the one who my parents think I am with. In other words, I would be lying to my parents, because you would pick me up from home as though we are going someplace together, and then later bring me back home after Jacob and I have been together.”

  “Oh, Rebecca,” Sarah exclaimed with a sigh, “How romantic. How brave!” Then Sarah exclaimed, “I’m ready to help! Just let me know when and where you need me!”

  “You mean that you will help us?” Rebecca responded breathlessly!

  Sarah replied in a calming and supportive manner, “I’m not risking my life, you know. But, if my parents find out what I have done, I am sure that I will be risking the opportunity to drive a car for the rest of my life! If my parents find out what I have done to help you and Jacob, I am sure that they will take my driver’s license away—probably for a long—long time. And, if members of our church found out, I would probably be shunned by them. But I am going to risk it any way! You are my best friend, and you need me!”

  “Oh, Sarah,” Rebecca replied, again with eyes filled with tears that were from a combination of both fear and relief, “Will you do this for me? If my father found out what I have asked you to do, I am not sure what he would do. I am afraid to think of what he might do to me!”

  But Rebecca also thought of what Sarah was risking, for they both knew what being “shunned” meant. It meant that in the eyes of the members of their conservative Mennonite faith, perhaps their neighbors, and even sometimes the members of one’s family, the person being shunned essentially does not exist. They are ignored, no one communicates with them. You are for all practical purposes non-existent. Of course, Rebecca was risking the same punishment, and was fully aware of what might happen when one disobeys one’s family. The punishment can be awful!

  Rebecca was certain that Jacob was not aware of the risk that she and Sarah faced and the degree of fear that both were about to experience. Rebecca wondered if she should tell Jacob. She was, however, afraid that because Jacob was such a good person, he might decide that he would not want to be the cause of what she would have to go through to see him, and perhaps decide that it would be best not to see her again, that is just isn’t worth the risk and the trouble.

  The next day at school, Rebecca saw Jacob as she entered the front doors. She called his name rather softly. He heard her, then stopped and walked over to her.

  “When can we be together?” Rebecca said quietly, but in her most forthright manner. She was surprised at her own sudden courage!

  Jacob looked somewhat surprised, and replied, “What do you mean, Rebecca? To do what?” He also was surprised at her apparent boldness. But Rebecca knew that they didn’t have much time to talk. She was concerned that someone might see her talking to Jacob, then tell someone from her community, and the word might get back to her parents. One never knew what might happen.

  Rebecca was just as forthright as before in her reply. She said almost urgently, “Friday evening. I will meet you at my church parking lot—the Eden River Mennonite Church. Of course, you know where it is.” Jacob affirmed that he did since he had met her there before.

  “But you will have to modify your car somewhat so that it won’t be as noticeable in our community as being from ‘the world’. Do you remember that you said you would do that?”

  “Yes, I will do that. But, how will you get there?” Jacob asked. “Your parents don’t let you drive their car at night, and I know that Tom won’t drive you there, or let you drive his pickup.”

  “My friend Sarah will bring me. She is willing to take the risk for me as her friend,” Rebecca confessed.

  “But, Rebecca,” Jacob replied, “You are taking a great risk—your family—your church!”

  “I am willing to accept the risk, Jacob, for you—for us,” Rebecca said bravely, although she wished that she was as brave as she was trying her best to be in front of Jacob. “It is urgent that we talk—alone,” she continued. “At least it feels urgent to me. My parents do not seem to understand what I feel. I do not care that you are not a part of our heritage, that you are not of our faith, our Mennonite Order, or that my family and my church feel that you are a part of ‘the world’.”

  She continued with greater boldness, “In fact, what is the world? It is actually where we are standing right now! It does not seem to be a bad place, at least not when I am with you. My community can, I feel, be terribly biased, discriminatory, pious, purposely rejecting of others who, I feel, are very good people. My father does not seem to realize that the bias that he holds against those of the world is not a healthy way to live, although my mother seems to realize it. She has tried to tell my father that many people of ‘the world’ are good people, including your family, but he won’t listen to her.”

  “You are a good person, Jacob. My father simply does not realize it yet. But, he will. I know that in time, he will! He just needs to get to know you. And, the only way he will get to know you will be to meet you. But, before that, we need time to be together to talk about how that can be done. That is the reason for my feelings of urgency. I am now eighteen years old, going on nineteen. I am old enough to know these things. I will be in Sarah’s car in our church parking at 7:00 pm on Friday evening. It is important for you to be there on time. I do not want anyone to wonder why Sarah and I are sitting there in the dark parking lot at night!”

  Jacob paused, not knowing at the moment what to say. His first inclination was to take Rebecca into his arms and hold her close to him—this petit young woman with her golden hair and her beautiful blue eyes, appearing to be nearer fourteen or fifteen years of age rather than her current age of eighteen, nearing nineteen years. But they were standing near the front doors of the high school, and Jacob hesitated to put his arms around her, particularly since they were not even supposed to be talking to each other. Instead, he took her hand and squeezed it softly while looking deeply into her eyes.

  Jacob had never had such strong feelings of what he felt must be love, and finally said softly to her, “Thank you, Rebecca, for your feelings for me. And, I want you to know that I have always wondered what love feels like. But now I think I know. My feelings for you are more than I can express, Rebecca.” He paused again, and then said even more softly, “I do think that the feelings I have for you are those of love.”

  Rebecca looked just as deeply into Jacob’s eyes and replied without hesitation, “And, I love you Jacob Swenson.” And, then she looked down and hurriedly walked down the hallway of the high school building, trembling from their intimate exchange of feelings. The first bell rang, and she rushed into her classroom.

  Chapter 16

  Rebecca’s parents were sitting that evening in their usual places at the kitchen table. Her mother was talking to her husband Abraham about their children, as she often did. In this instance it was about their daughter Rebecca, thinking about her future. She said thoughtfully, “Rebecca is now eighteen years of age, Abraham. She is moving on toward nineteen years. At this age, I seriously feel that she should be seeing young men, dating, going to church activities with young men, but she is not. Sarah, her best friend, has been seeing young men for almost two years, since she was sixteen years of age. One of these days, Rebecca will be of marrying age, and if she has not met and dated young men, that time in her life will pass, and will be gone!”

  Rebecca’s father thought for a moment, and then remarked, “Do you suggest t
hat I call Joseph Koehn and recommend that his son Saul give Rebecca a phone call? He is a strong young Eden River Mennonite man who is already assuming the duties of half of his father’s farms, and is a stalwart member of our community.”

  Rebecca’s mother quickly replied, “And, Saul is one of the homeliest and roughest and most conceited young men in our community. He is also abrupt, brusque, and does not seem to be a pleasant person to be around. Rebecca will not be seen with him!”

  “Yes,” Abraham agreed, “Rebecca made that quite clear to me one day at the store when Saul apparently came to see her. She surprisingly told him in a rather direct way to leave!”

  “In fact,” her mother continued, “At school, her brother Tom has said that he has seen Rebecca talking to Jacob Swenson, talking and walking with him as they enter the school building. Of course you know him…he is the son of Milo Swenson, our neighbor, the one who met Rebecca at the General Store when you were there, the young man about whom she asked us if she could go to a school activity, and you said an absolute ‘No’! Well, she has been seen talking with him without our permission, which I suppose she is free to do since they both attend the same high school and take the same classes.”

  Rebecca’s father was looking down at the table, avoiding direct eye contact with his wife, a shade of red creeping up his broad muscular neck. He thought for a moment longer and then began his response to Elizabeth with an angry, yet controlled manner, “That is the problem with sending our children to a public school! I knew this would happen! Our children are being exposed to young people from families ‘of the world’!” he said in self-righteous anger. “I want our children to be with others who are from our world, and no one else’s world! But we have allowed Tom and Rebecca to be exposed to their world, and at this point, I do not know what to do since our community does not possess its own high school! We cannot find teachers who are willing to work for what we can pay them, and those who might be willing to accept it do not possess the education to be a teacher!”

  “Perhaps,” he continued reflecting controlled anger, “We should return to the days when all of the children from our community did not attend school beyond the eighth grade. But we desired that Rebecca and Tom have the opportunity that a larger school in town can provide them, and that they should have the opportunity to further their education beyond what we were offered in our community when we were young. Meeting other young people from ‘the world’ was a risk, but one that we had to accept.”

  Rebecca’s mother replied without hesitation, “I recall that Rebecca, in referring to her friend Jacob, reminded us that many people from ‘the world’ are good people who are from good church-going families. Both Rebecca and Tom have confirmed what we already know, Abraham, that Jacob comes from a good family who has farmed in our community for five going on six generations. They are an established church-going farm family, and if Jacob carries on their family farming tradition, he will be the sixth generation of one of the largest and most prosperous farms in this part of the state! But of course his family is not Eden River Mennonite, but rather are Methodist.”

  “And,” Abraham added with an angry reply, “He is a young man who Rebecca will not see outside of school! I have forbidden it!”

  “So, Abraham,” Elizabeth continued, “You will deny Rebecca the opportunity to see Jacob simply because he is not Old Order Mennonite and not a member of our church? Because remember Abraham, Jacob is a member of this community since as I said, his family has farmed here in our community for nearly one hundred years! Is that not true?”

  “Yes, it is true Elizabeth. But, his family, although they have lived and farmed in this community for many years, is not of our heritage, our culture, or our traditional social and religious beliefs! His family is of ‘the world’. For those reasons, and I will not repeat this again, Rebecca will NOT see Jacob Swenson other than when she must at school! No dating—no being with him alone—and not to be seen with him in public!”

  Rebecca’s mother sighed, and said quietly, “I must say, Abraham, as your wife who loves you, I do not understand your reasoning. I must go back to our earlier discussions when I say that I am wondering whether your reasoning is simply the result of fear for your status in our community. Truthfully, Abraham, I do not greatly care about status in the community. I do, however, want what is best for Rebecca, and not necessarily what is best for my status or the social status of our family in our community.”

  Abraham shifted noisily in his chair, avoiding eye contact with his wife. He began to say something, opened his mouth, but then said nothing. After a slight pause, he left the table and walked away before Elizabeth had said all that she had intended. But he did not want to hear more from her. He walked quickly outside, not even noticing the warm late afternoon sunshine as he walked toward the barn. The barn and the pleasant aroma of fresh hay, leather harnesses, and the scent of cattle was his favorite place to think and sometimes pray.

  He knew well his commitment to their Eden River Mennonite community, his commitment to his family, his children, his beliefs in the religion and culture of their Mennonite heritage, the beliefs of their religious and social traditions that included not being a part of “the world.” He remained committed to their culture of a simple life, no extravagances of television or radio, flashy cars, or fashionable clothes, and their commitment to a life of peace that included avoiding service in the armed services. Rather, their young people served in non-combatant Voluntary Service that helped to rebuild and support areas of the world that had been destroyed by natural disasters or war.

  Abraham’s dream for his children was that they become well educated to the degree possible, and to go beyond the traditional eight years of schooling that had been typical of their Mennonite tradition. He felt strongly about that commitment. His dream for their son was to assume the farm when he became too old to work in the fields, and to make their farm bigger and even better. However, he was concerned that assuming the farm was not in Tom’s plans, that it was not what he wanted in his life. The thought that brought pain to Abraham was that young men such as Rebecca’s non-Mennonite friend Jacob Swenson was preparing to eventually assume the leadership of Fall Meadow Farms, the largest and most productive farms in their county—perhaps even the state, and his own son may decide not to do likewise.

  His single dream for their daughter Rebecca was to find a young Old Order Mennonite man who she would marry and bring children into the world, to carry on their traditions. Further, he hoped that her husband would be a good farmer. But his dreams did not seem to be the same as those of his wife Elizabeth who apparently desired that their children do what feels important to them in their lives, to do what their heart tells them, as opposed to being told what to do by their parents.

  Their children had been raised to be respectful, truthful, and good church-going members of their community. But, their mother, Elizabeth felt that they also needed the opportunity to see what the rest of the world looked like, and to not be afraid to be friends with those who are not necessarily members of their religious faith and culture.

  It was difficult for her husband Abraham to accept that degree of freedom for his children. He felt that even though they were growing into fine adults, they should also be monitored and directed by their parents to do what their parents felt was best for them rather than what their children may have felt was right for themselves.

  Chapter 17

  It was Thursday, and Rebecca was being driven home by her brother Tom. They rode in silence for much of the way before he, with a slight knowing smile, asked, “Have you seen Jacob recently?”

  “Yes,” Rebecca quickly replied. “And, we have spoken,” she said bravely.

  “Like I’ve said before, he does seem like an upstanding young man,” Tom replied. “And, he has a nice singing voice. As you know, we sing together in the school choir. He is singing a solo in our next concert program.”

  Rebecca and Tom drove on in silence toward home. Rebec
ca had not realized until then that Jacob could sing well enough to sing a solo. The ability to sing is a good trait in a young man, Rebecca thought.

  They remained rather silent for the remainder of the ride back to the farm. Rebecca liked to think of Jacob singing. She felt that she had a rather sweet voice, but not one with which she felt confident enough to audition for the school choir. Now, she wished she too had auditioned so that if accepted, she would be able to see Jacob in another environment. And, if, as her brother Tom had mentioned, he was going to sing a solo in the school choir concert, his voice must be quite nice!

  Before they arrived home, Rebecca broke the silence. She felt that she could trust her brother, although she was still hesitant to say what she wanted to say. But she decided to go ahead and ask the question that had been bothering her, “What would you think if Jacob and I went to a restaurant together sometime to have a soda?”

  He replied without hesitation, “I do know that if you dared to do that and our father found out, you may as well be dead!”

  “I know,” Rebecca responded almost silently, “But, I feel so trapped at home. Father wants me to be with young men who I do not want to be with, and with no one else! I feel as though I am in a prison, rather than a young woman who is free to be with someone who I want to be with—a nice and upstanding young man who I would think that my parents would be proud for me to see! It just doesn’t seem right!”

  “I know it doesn’t seem right, Rebecca, but that is the way of our culture—our heritage. In our culture, our parents rule, and we do not break their rules!”

  “But,” Rebecca replied, “I have a thought that mother would feel that it is okay for me to see Jacob. She does not seem as biased against those who are not of our faith and culture as father obviously is. If she had her way, I am sure that it would be alright to see Jacob, to at least meet some place to have a soda and so that we could talk.”