When the wind changes...

Resumption of the story...Luthers Baggage

With Havdalah over, Freyda lit a fire in the stove and passed around some bread and cheese. When the fire got hot enough she warmed up some soup that she had taken from the cellar. As she stirred the soup she summarized the plan, addressing them all as they sat around the table. “Everything is ready with the wagon. Heinrich, you’ll load all of the food and blankets in the morning. Sarah and Rebekah, you can carry your personal things in packs on your back; you’ll head out before Heinrich does, just before dawn. Do you think you’ll be able to make your way in the low light of the morning?” Sarah responded, “I think so.” Freyda wondered, “when’s the last time you hiked it?” “Oh, it’s been a few years.” Mom countered, ”Heinrich, why don’t you and Sarah go check it out after supper? Just a short distance - to make sure it’s not overgrown.” Heinrich really didn’t want to, but said, “Sure Mom.” 

Once the meal was over, Heinrich and Sarah headed out with Sarah taking the lead. She had to think a bit about where it was; her memory and imagination were trying to reconstruct the landscape as she turned around in a circle. She remembered seeing the house to the left of that tree, though it was bigger now. Which meant that on the other side of this bush.. there it was - the path. They looked along both vistas and thought it was usable. Heinrich looked in the direction where they’d go and asked, “how long before you cross a road?” Sarah seemed to be looking somewhere else when she said,  “just a few minutes away is the road that goes right by our house. We would cross that when everything was clear and go into some light woods on the side of the farm that’s across the street from us. Unfortunately, the trail kind of dies out there and it could be a little scary in the dark and all. But then in a few minutes we should come out on the road that will take us to the intersection. It shouldn’t take us too long. We should make sure we wear sturdy clothes, shoes and socks because the ground cover is long and close, not to mention the morning dew.” Heinrich was getting concerned for them, “Are you sure it’ll be safe?“ Just then it started to rain a little. 

As Rebekah was looking out the window at Sarah and Heinrich checking out the path, Freyda said, "When Hans and I bought this home we wanted to be on the edge of town since we had things we wanted to keep confidential. It has served us well, though I wonder how much longer we'll be here." Rebekah was surprised, "it's a very nice home; what would make you leave? Freyda spoke wistfully, "Oh, if it was up to me I'd stay but the world is changing and I may not have that luxury." Rebekah asked, "is it because of all the trouble I've caused?" "You haven't done anything wrong, our leaders and authorities are the ones at fault. And I can't and don't want to control what my children do. When the wind changes, you are sometimes caught up in its wake." As Rebekah was contemplating an answer, they heard rain hit the window and immediately thought of Heinrich and Sarah.