Ophelia is peering around her sister to look out the window as well.
“It’s pretty incredible. Isn’t it?” I motion my head to the window. Everything is going by us so fast.
Ophelia nods. “I didn’t realize a train would go this fast.”
Ada turns her head to look at me. “When do we get to where your father is picking us up?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe around supper tomorrow?”
“So we sleep here?” Ophelia’s eyebrows are raised.
“Yes. It’s not the most comfortable, but it’s only one night at least.” I smile, looking back down to my weaving.
We remain quiet, each of us doing our own thing. I distract myself with my weaving and try to imagine I’m not on this train again, going on another long trip. But this time, instead of going to Northwood, I’m on my way home.
* * *
The sun has almost gone down over the horizon now. We spent the afternoon visiting every now and then, but mostly lost in our thoughts. We also had our simple supper at another station restaurant around six o’clock and the girls were excited about the new experience.
I’m not sure what time it is, but I feel exhausted. I know it’s from the day I’ve had. Getting onto the train this time had been less tiring than the first time. Likely because I didn’t have to worry by myself, I had other people with me.
I notice Ada has curled herself into the seat sideways and is fast asleep. Ophelia looks like she’s about to fall asleep too, her eyelids fluttering shut every now and then.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I yawn and stretch forward in my seat. I’m getting stiff from sitting here. Leaning back into the seat cushion, I put my weaving into my bag and set it on the small table.
It’s quiet in the train now. Most people have either fallen asleep or are about to.
Oliver holds his arm out, and I lean into him as he wraps his arm around me. “Big day tomorrow. Are you excited?”
“Definitely. I’m looking forward to seeing my family again, and for them to finally get to meet you and the girls,” I whisper back to him.
“I’m glad I get to come with you on your way home. At first I thought you would go home and not return to Northwood. It was a very scary thought.”
I smile a little. “It’s going to be hard for me to adjust to living there, I hope you know that.”
“Of course, I do. Me and the girls will help you get used to it, and you can write to your family as much as you need to. And I promise we will go to see them once a year at least. Maybe more if I do well with my blacksmith work.”
“I love you, Oliver.”
He yawns, rubbing his eye with his other hand. “I love you too.”
As the train goes farther in the direction of home, it feels like my heart is beating faster. I’m so excited to be going home again. The train car is dark now, and my eyes struggle to remain open. I close them, and soon feel myself falling asleep, knowing that tomorrow I will get to see my family again.
Chapter 36
We’ve been awake for quite a while now. We’ve had breakfast and lunch, and we are due to stop in about five hours. We’ve stopped a few times today, allowing some people to get off and new ones to get on or to have a meal.
Ada switched places with Oliver, and I’m now turned in my seat, braiding her hair the way Jane had taught me to do before I left. It took me awhile to learn, but I somehow managed it.
Ophelia is laughing at something Oliver said, and I smile. I get to be with these people a lot now. These three showed me so much kindness when I came to Northwood, and I’m so grateful I met them.
I finish Ada’s hair and my eyes shift to look out the window—then I see it. Willowcreek. Where I got on a train to go to Northwood and am now returning to my familiar home.
“There. That’s the train station. We’re almost there.” I point in the distance.
Ada turns in her seat to look behind her at the platform coming closer and closer to us.
My hands shaking, I grab by bag.
The train begins to slow down, the brakes squealing. My heart however, begins to quicken. I can’t wait to get off. I can hear my heart pounding inside my ears.
As soon as the train stops, I stand. It’s hard to resist the urge to run off the train right away, but I do. Oliver stands behind me, his sisters hanging onto his arm.
Once I’m near the door, the conductor standing by the door smiles and says, “I hope you all enjoyed your time on the train. Have a wonderful rest of your day.”
Carefully, I step down the steps of the train until my feet touch the ground of home. Of Nebraska.
I immediately look around, searching for a familiar face. I take a few steps, everyone close beside me.
I spy Hazel standing on top of a bench, her head angling itself to look around at the amount of people climbing off the train. I begin to cry, and Ophelia gives me a small smile.
“Hazel!” I shout, not caring who hears me. This is something I know I never would’ve done before.
Her head slowly looks toward me and as I run through the crowd toward her, she hops down off the bench and meets me.
I pull her into a hug, still crying. I realize she’s doing the same. She squeezes me so tight, and I feel so happy to see her again. The rest of my family are pushing through the crowd to reach me.
Hazel pulls away, trying to wipe her eyes. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.”
Pa wraps his arms around me. “I’m so happy for you, Lydia. Your ma would’ve been so proud.”
I then hug Darlene, who is holding Alice in her arms.
“Where’s the rest of your family?” I ask, my voice still shaking.
“They stayed with Robert. I’m so excited for you to meet Charles.”
I hug Genevieve too, and then hug Freida and the boys.
I turn to Oliver, Ophelia, and Ada who are standing behind me.
“Okay everyone,” I say over the noise of the train station. “This is Oliver Hayes, and his two sisters, Ophelia and Ada.”
Pa steps toward Oliver and outstretches his hand.
Oliver takes it smiling.
“Nice to finally meet you, Oliver.”
“You too, sir.”
“Now how about we go get your bags and then get out of this place. Once we’re on our way home, we can get to know one another.” Pa smiles.
As we make our way out of the station, I take Oliver’s hand, and he smiles down at me.
Hazel takes my other hand, her eyes still red.
“Oliver. This is Hazel.”
He smiles at her. “Nice to meet you, Hazel. Your sister talked about you a lot.”
“Well she talked about you a lot in her letters too.”
He shrugs, smiling. “I’m pretty likeable.”
We get our bags and continue making our way through the crowd and as we near the wagon, I smile. I’m surrounded by the people who mean the most to me and am on my way home. I can’t think of any other place I’d rather be right now.
* * *
We’re on our way home. Hazel’s sitting right beside me, and Darlene is on the other side with Alice on her lap.
Oliver’s next to Joel, talking with Bradley and Douglas. Joel’s explaining the size of Riverbend.
Ophelia talks to Genevieve, and Ada sits quietly beside her sister.
“Adeline wanted to come meet you here, but bringing the young twins alone would prove rather difficult for them. But they’re going to come to the house when we get back tomorrow to see you.” Darlene smiles, resting her hand on my knee.
“I understand, Darlene. How is she doing?”
“She’s doing well. The twins have started to talk a lot more than when you left, though.”
I nod. “I’m excited to see them again. How has Charles been?”
“Out of the three children I’ve had, he has proven to cry the most. Alice hardly cried, only when she needed something, and Levi was a little more than her, but C
harles cries more often than not.”
I set my hand on top of hers. “I’m sure he’ll stop doing that when he’s older.”
“Well I sure hope so, but he’s such a sweet baby. When he’s not crying that is.”
After a short pause, Darlene looks to me again. “So, Hazel told us all about how you got lost when you first got there, and some man chased you. Explain to me what that was like.”
I roll my eyes, smiling at the absurdity of it.
Darlene smiles a little too.
And I begin to tell her all about my horrifying experience.
Chapter 37
We stopped about ten minutes ago and began to get ready to sleep. We’d put blankets in the wagon for the girls to sleep, and some outside for the men.
I’m now lying on the wagon floor, a small blanket under us, and a thicker one on top. The fall air is cold and making the inside of the wagon quite chilly.
Hazel lies beside me, just like she did on the way to the train station.
We’re all packed in like a jigsaw, taking up all the floor and seat space in the wagon.
Alice instantly fell asleep. I can imagine how tiring of a journey this has been for her, but Darlene said she had been getting ready to come, and Alice had begged to come too.
Everyone is asleep, or almost asleep. Except Hazel and me.
Facing me, she asks, “What was your favorite thing you saw in Northwood?”
I think for a few seconds and then whisper to her, “I really liked going to the school Ma taught at. The teacher who was there was so kind. She found some old papers and a picture Ma had kept there. I’ll show you the picture in the morning, I have it in my bag.”
“That’s so nice for you to have gotten there. Isn’t it?” Her voice is tired, I can tell.
“Yes, I also enjoyed wandering around the city. There’s so much to see and do. There are a lot of people, and I met a lot of really nice people. I think you’d like Northwood. How have you been while I was away?”
She takes a long breath and gives me a sad smile. “Lonely. And something happened while you were away. We didn’t want to worry you during your fun stay in Northwood but—”
I grab her arm. “What happened?”
Hazel closes her eyes, taking in a shaky breath. “I was with one of my friends, you remember Lillie?”
I nod, wanting her to continue quickly.
“Well she came to our house one day when Freida was going to visit someone who was sick in Riverbend. And Pa and the boys were out in the field all day. So, Lillie came to spend the day with me. It was after lunch, and we decided to go for a walk.”
She sniffs, and I grab her hand. “Hazel. What happened?”
She squeezes my hand so tight, but I don’t move. “She died, Lydia. And it was all my fault.”
I don’t say anything, only move to wrap my arm around her, and she cries quietly. Darlene rolls over and sits up.
I look to her desperately, and she crawls over to us and rests her hand on Hazel’s arm.
“She’s had a rough month, Lydia.”
My heart is pounding in my chest. My sister, my closest friend had to deal with something as hard as this while I was away. And she had to deal with it without me here to help her.
I don’t urge her to explain, but Darlene and I quietly sit with her until she eventually falls asleep.
Darlene nods toward the door of the wagon, and I stand up. We carefully make our way over to it and climb down.
We walk a little way from the wagon until Darlene sits down on the grass. And I join her, looking up at her. “What happened while I was away, Darlene?”
She takes in a deep breath, exhaling loudly. “Hazel was with Lillie one day, about a month ago I’d say. Pa and the boys were out in the field a lot then, and Freida was going into town to care for a sick friend. So Freida suggested Hazel have Lillie come for the day.”
I nod. “And they went for a walk? That’s how far Hazel got.”
Darlene nods. “Yes, they went out for a walk and it had just rained the day before they went. Hazel said they walked through the bushes until they reached the river. They were finding rocks and throwing them into the water from the bank. And then Lillie’s foot slipped, and she fell off the bank, into the water.”
I begin to tremble as I know where this is going.
“Lillie hit her head on a large rock in the water and you know how fast the river is that goes by our house and into Riverbend. She was dragged down into the violent waters. Hazel jumped in and tried to swim to her but she was caught in the speed of the water too. She swallowed a lot of water and her leg struck into a large rock.”
I try to imagine my sister being thrown around in the water, but instantly shove the image away from my thoughts.
“Hazel tried to swim to Lillie who was still struggling a little farther up from her in the river. She said the river was streaked with red. Finally, she somehow managed to reach Lille who had fainted and was floating in the water. She hung onto Lillie and struggled to pull her to the edge of the river. Hazel found a large root hanging down and she grabbed onto it to drag Lillie onto the bank. But Lillie was too far gone, she died on the bank, and Hazel fainted.”
My eyes are wide with the horror, and my stomach begins to feel sick.
“No one knew where they were. After two days of searching, Robert and August found them by the river. Hazel was awake, but her leg was too sore to move. They got her home, and she stayed in the loft for weeks. The only time she left the bed was to write to you. Having your letter come was the only time she smiled.”
I feel tears run down my face. No one told me this had happened. Perhaps she was embarrassed. Or maybe, writing to me was the only place she could get away from the awful thing she had experienced. Thinking back to her final letters, I realize she maybe had been a little less…Hazel.
“That’s terrible.” I take in a shallow breath.
“Hazel thinks it’s her fault Lillie died because she couldn’t save her from drowning. Robert told her, though, that he thinks it was from the impact of her head hitting the rock. You should’ve seen Robert and August. Even they were bothered by what they had seen there.”
After a while of sitting in silence thinking about it all, Darlene stands. “We should get back to the wagon. I’m sure you’re tired from your trip here.”
Nodding, I stand too and follow her back.
Now in the wagon, I pull the blanket over me carefully and look at Hazel who is asleep beside me.
I wish I could’ve been here to help her get through this. And then I realize that Hazel hasn’t gotten through it yet. And I doubt she ever will fully.
It takes me some time but I begin to fall into a world of darkness with bits of dreams of Hazel trying to save Lillie.
Chapter 38
We’ve had a small breakfast and have begun making our way home again. Everyone is sitting in the wagon and visiting with each other. I sit beside Hazel, not letting go of her hand. She’s smiling but I know it’s only because other people are around her. Or maybe she’s pushed the experience away from her thoughts for a while because she’s happy to see me.
I’m not sure I will ever understand how she’s feeling about it all.
I try not to think too much about it for now.
Oliver is sitting beside me, laughing at Alice who is rolling around on the wagon floor.
I smile at him. He fits in perfectly with my family.
I know we still have quite a way to go, but I’m feeling anxious to see my home again.
And to see the lands I’ve been away from for a few months.
* * *
The wagon rolls to a stop, and I smile. Everyone grabs their stuff, and we climb out of the wagon, one at a time. I get out first and grin as soon as I see the house.
Adeline comes running from the door to greet me.
She pulls me into a hug, her curly blonde hair is all I can see. “How was your time?”
“So good, Adeline.”
I pull away and August stands in the door of the house.
“Where’s the boy?” Adeline grins at me.
I turn back and Oliver’s making his way to us, his large bag in his hand.
“This is Oliver. And, Oliver, this is my sister Adeline.”
Adeline smiles at him. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for saving my sister by the way. I had a feeling she would have something like that happen to her. She’s always getting herself into situations like that.”
I widen my eyes, slapping her arm gently. “Adeline!”
Oliver chuckles.
Ada and Ophelia make their way over to us.
“And these are Oliver’s sisters, Ophelia and Ada.”
“I’m Adeline.” She smiles at them.
I look up and Robert’s making his way over to us. I hadn’t noticed him come out of the house. He has a small baby in his arms.
I quickly make my way over to him, opening my arms.
He smiles, carefully passing me the small child. “Nice to see you, Lydia.”
I look down at the baby, then watch as Robert walks over to where Darlene is standing by the wagon and immediately embraces her. He then lifts Alice into a hug as well.
Charles has bright blue eyes and his hand rubs against his face. His hair is a light brown and I hold him close. “I’m sorry I’m late to meet you, Charles. I’m your ma’s sister, Lydia.”
His eyes meet mine as if to say he heard me.
We make our way into the house. It’s crowded with all of us trying to get inside. Levi stands by the table, his fingers in his mouth. And Isaac is beside him, with Charity hanging onto August’s legs.
I have missed this so much. Seeing everyone again has reminded me how great my family is.
We all sit around the fireplace, pulling chairs up to get comfortable. I tell them everything I’d seen and show them the stuff from the school. The kids run around in the house, and Charles cries a few times.
This is home, and I’m so glad I’m finally back here. Even if it is for only a short while before I leave again. But I know my family will support me no matter where I go, because distance cannot break my family.
The Letter (Carter Sisters Series Book 4) Page 15
