Monday, December 25
Do you see that?” Neil said, pointing to a crack in the roof of the cave.
Wiping her eyes with what she hoped was a halfway-clean portion of her dress, Susanna raised her head to look where he was pointing. “See what?”
“Daylight,” he said with a smile. “It’s morning now. We made it through the night.”
She blinked, her eyes and mind finally registering what she saw. Yes, indeed, there really was a narrow ray of light shining down upon them from up above.
After spending so many hours in the suffocating darkness, it felt as if the angels up in Heaven really had been listening to her fervent prayers.
“It’s good to see, jah?”
Susanna turned to Neil, so glad that she could now actually see his face. A nasty-looking scrape was on his forehead. A dark bruise marred his right cheek. His eyes looked red and tired, and his hair was sticking up every which way. But his lips were now slightly curved in a smile as he watched her examine him.
“It is very good.” She smiled back. “I don’t think I’ll ever take sunlight for granted again.”
He chuckled. “Me, neither.” Studying her, too, he said, “You look wonderful, Susanna.”
“What? Surely not.” Brushing a hand across her cheek, she attempted to smooth some of her hair back from her face. Her kapp had fallen off hours ago, as well as most of the pins securing her hair in place.
Still studying her, he said, “You are smiling. That makes you perfect.”
Though his compliment was excessive, she knew what he meant. They could have been badly hurt last night. They could have lost hope, too. That would have been just as harmful, or maybe even worse. If they had given up, then they would have stopped trying to survive.
Shifting, she winced. Her body felt so stiff and sore. “I can’t believe I fell asleep last night. The last thing I remember is talking to you about my mother’s hospital stay.”
He yawned. “I fell asleep, too. I didn’t think it was possible, but it’s good we did.” Eyeing her hurt wrist, he said, “How is your arm feeling?”
Looking down at it, she shrugged. Her wrist was black and blue and looked at least double its normal size. “It hurts, but the cold air seems to help keep the pain under control.”
“Maybe I could make a bandage for it out of your apron. Would you like me to try? I could rip the fabric into some strips. It might help.”
She supposed it would, but for what end? There was nowhere for them to go. No place where she would be able to climb, even with two healthy arms. “Maybe in a little bit.”
Some of his enthusiasm faded. “All right. Just, um, tell me when you are ready.”
“I’ll do that.” Now, wishing she would have let him bandage her arm, if only to let him feel like he was doing something useful, she sighed.
Then, suddenly, she realized what day it was.
“Neil, guess what?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s Christmas!”
“I guess it is.” He smiled slightly. “Merry Christmas, Susanna.”
“Merry Christmas to you.”
They looked at each other. So much lay between them. Fear about being stuck in this cavern for days. Fear about never being found. Confusion about how they’d fallen into the cave in the first place.
Slowly, her smile faded away. And on its heels, tears threatened to return.
He noticed.
Scooting toward her, he shifted so he was leaning against the wall of the cavern. “Come here,” he said, reaching out for her waist.
She was at first confused about what he wanted, but she followed his directives. Next thing she knew, she was sitting in between his stretched legs and leaning her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her close.
Immediately, warmth suffused her, relaxing her muscles and enabling her to lean closer into him. “Your body is far more comfortable than hard limestone.”
He chuckled. “Glad to know.” Exhaling, he shifted so she was even more secured in his embrace. “This is better. Ain’t so?”
She nodded. Behind her, she could feel his even breathing. She imagined that she could feel his heart beat as well. Its steady cadence calmed her like little else. She snuggled a bit closer to him, enjoying his comfort.
“I bet we will get rescued today.”
“I hope so. I . . . I have a plan. If no one comes for us today, then tomorrow morning I’m going to have to find a way out.”
“Neil, nee.”
“It has to be done. You know that as well as I do.”
“All right. But today you’ll stay here?”
“Today, we can sit like this all day if you’d like.”
She would like that. Not only did his arms around her feel warm and secure, she liked simply being so close to him. “I’m going to start praying even harder. I bet the Lord answers lots of prayers on Christmas Day.”
“I imagine you’re right. It’s His son’s birthday. A good time to grant wishes and prayers, I think.”
Closing her eyes, Susanna prayed for strength and continued hope and for her family. She prayed for Sheriff Brewer and Deputy Beck and their efforts. She prayed for everyone who was no doubt tired and cold, walking outside looking for them.
“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it,” she said aloud.
Neil lifted his chin. “What is that verse from? Matthew?”
“Nee. John. Do you remember how John speaks of light and darkness?”
After a moment, Neil said, “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.”
“I love that part,” Susanna murmured. “It’s fitting this morning, isn’t it?”
She felt his chin lift. “Looking at our own little ray of light, I’d have to agree.” After a pause, Neil said, “Sue, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“I . . . I think it’s my father who is behind everything.”
“Behind the accidents?”
“Jah.”
Everything inside her wanted to tell him that he was mistaken. No father would willingly trap his son in a cave. But she knew he wasn’t speaking off the top of his head. “Why do you believe that?”
“A couple of things. He hasn’t really recovered from the sale and the move. He blamed your family, himself, and my uncle.”
She wasn’t sure how that transferred to his father doing so much damage to a place that he claimed to love. Or, again, how he would go from breaking a fence to trapping the two of them in this cave. “He was really upset, I guess.”
“He needed someone to blame. When it became obvious that no one was going to take his side any longer when he blamed your parents, he transferred most of the blame to my uncle Joseph.”
“Well, the things you told me about your uncle do sound terrible.”
“I thought so, too. At first.”
“Did something change?”
“Yeah. I guess after meeting you and realizing just how much I misjudged your family, it got me wondering if I had taken too much of what my father said at face value.” He paused. Clasped his hands together tightly before releasing them. “I realized shortly after that the things he told me had been tainted by his perception.”
“Oh, Neil.”
He released a ragged sigh. “I realized that when I sat alone with Joseph. He said some things that made me think that he wasn’t the villain I had thought he would be.”
“But why would your father do so many things to hurt my family?”
“I don’t think he thought anything through. It pains me to say this, but I’m starting to realize that he doesn’t think a lot of things through. He is impulsive, I guess. Or, maybe more like he has tunnel vision. At first, he wanted to keep that farm. He wanted to do whatever he could to make that happen, even making foolish choices and going further into debt. Then, instead of admitting his mistakes to me or Uncle Joseph, he sold the land. But instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he transferred all the blame to your parents. I think that’s when he decided you needed to leave the property.”
“But even if we had left, it wouldn’t have changed the situation. It still wouldn’t have been your family’s farm anymore.”
“I know. It doesn’t make any sense.”
His voice was hoarse. Quiet and scratchy. It reminded her a lot of how his voice sounded when she’d first heard him after the accident. Filled with heavy emotion and regret, she responded to it in a way she responded to few other things. It made her yearn to help him and maybe to fight for herself. For them.
Long moments passed. She could feel the tension emanating from his body. “What made you certain?” she finally asked.
“I wasn’t sure until last night when I remembered my father and Uncle Joseph telling Roy and me stories about all the abandoned cave entrances. I realized that he would have known what this part of the cave was like. He would have known that we wouldn’t likely have gotten too injured from our fall.”
Susanna shivered. “But how could he know that for sure?”
“He didn’t, of course. When I was trying to figure it all out, I remembered my mother telling him that you and I were going to deliver cookies. Everyone knows that no one goes to visit Velma. She’s a recluse. She wouldn’t have gone outside, and no one would have come by except for us.”
“So he wanted us to fall?”
“I think he decided that it wasn’t going to harm us. Just scare your family enough to make you move.”
“I don’t know what is going to happen to us now. But I do know that my family has been very afraid. So I guess he got his wish.”
“I’m sorry, Susanna,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “I hope I’m wrong. I don’t want to be right.”
Startled, she realized his phrase was just what she’d said to him days ago, when she’d been so upset about not being believed. His apology made her ache for him. If he was right, how was he going to be able to bear that burden?
“There’s no need for apologies. If you are right, if it was your father, it certainly wasn’t your doing. And if you are wrong, well, that ain’t your fault, either.”
He didn’t reply, only tightened his arms around her.
She felt his desolation. Realized that he was hurting. But she didn’t seem to have any words for him. What could she say that could possibly ease his heart?
Instead, she relaxed against him. Showing him silently that no matter what happened next she believed in him. Looking up at the glimmer of light, she tried to think of positive things. Tried to stay positive.
Eventually, she relaxed enough that her eyes drifted shut.
Only when a loud crack and clang erupted above her did she awake completely.
“Neil? Susanna?” After a pause, the voice rang through the cavern again. “Neil Vance! Susanna Schwartz! Can you hear me?”
“We’re here!” Neil called out as he carefully slid away from her, then struggled to his feet. “You found us!”
Suddenly, Susanna was so overcome, she simply leaned back against the cave’s wall. Leaned back against the place where Neil had been just moments before . . . and looked up at the bright opening above them.
Looking down was Deputy Beck, her father, and Roy Vance.
“Susanna!” her father said.
“Hiya, Daed,” she said with a smile.
What had been lost had been found. And out of the darkness had come the light.
In all of its blinding goodness.