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Jacob and his daed stood outside, looking at their crops, which were standing in at least an inch of rain water.
“Daed, if this rain and the wind keep up, we won’t have a harvest next fall. We’ve gotten twice as much rain as we should for this time of the year. It’s only early summer. What’s going to happen if we get very much more rain?” asked Jacob.
“Our crops will not grow correctly, and we won’t have enough of a harvest to see a profit for next spring’s planting. It’s times like this that I’m grateful I don’t have any loans to pay back,” said Mr. Lapp.
“Ya. I think we’d better start talking about a different plan, just in case. It’s not too late to plant a crop that can withstand this much rain.”
“We have that field to the south lying fallow. Let’s think about what we can plant. Good idea, Jacob!”
“Denki. I work with you, so we have to put our heads together to come up with a good plan.”
***
Two weeks later, Jacob and his daed had just finished planting their newest crop. As Jacob had predicted, the rains and blustery weather had continued – the corn stalks were dried and yellow from the force the wind. Looking at the ears, he was stunned to see that they were stunted, even though he had half-expected their smallness. He was about to show his daed the ear of corn when he looked up and saw that the weather had taken an ominous turn – the clouds were gray-black and piled high. They churned with activity. Bolts of lightning jagged down from different areas of the sky, and the air had taken on a metallic, greenish tint.
“Daed! Look at the weather!” Jacob shouted.
“Ach! This is tornado weather, son! Let’s finish out here and get back home right away.”
The two men hastened to finish their work before the storm hit. However, as they worked, Jacob’s straw hat flew off his head, and only by his very quick reaction was he able to grab it. He glanced at the sky and his stomach plummeted. The clouds had grown to a near-black color by now.
“Jacob! Inside, now!”
Both men began running for the wagon, wanting to be inside and in the basement before a tornado hit. They jumped in at the same time and the horse, feeling spooked, began running for the safety of the barn. Mr. Lapp looked up and saw a familiar sight: the formation of a wall cloud, indicating that a tornado was about to begin.
“Jacob! Get off the wagon and into that ditch! It’s here!”
They jumped off the wagon; the horse continued running for the barn, wanting only to be safe inside. Jacob and his daed ran headlong for a ditch that bordered one of their fields. Flinging themselves in, mindless of the water at the bottom, they lay face-down, covering their heads.
Jacob squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, trying not to breathe in the cold, brackish water in the ditch. His heart pounded in abject fear as he heard the wail of the wind increasing to eardrum-splitting levels. He thought of a huge freight train passing by, blowing its warning horn. To him, this was what the tornado’s winds sounded like. He felt his body being buffeted back and forth by the force of the wind, so he tried to make himself as heavy as he could. He startled for a second when he felt his father’s arm hook itself around his calf.
Both men lay on the ground, trying to make themselves as small and insignificant as they could until the high, spinning winds had passed by. Mr. Lapp realized how insignificant all of them were in the face of nature’s and God’s fury. Lord, you are a forgiving God. For any sin we have committed, please forgive us! If it be Your will, let us survive this storm!
Finally, the storm passed by – the shriek and howl of the wind abated and Jacob no longer felt as if his body was about to fly, spinning, into the air. He looked up cautiously. He and his father still lay in the ditch. He stood up, offering his hand to his daed, who got up shakily. They both looked at the damage wrought around them. Many of the corn stalks lay on the ground, as if trampled by a giant foot. Large tree limbs lay scattered about, like a giant child’s toys.
“Daed, are you hurt? Let me check you!”
Both men checked each other for injuries. Finding none, their concern shifted to Jacob’s mamm. They were forced to run for the house, still quite a distance away. The horse had bolted straight for their barn. They ran through mud, slowed down by the sucking action. They didn’t care if they trampled downed stalks of corn – these were damaged, anyway. Finally, panting hard, they arrived at the house.
“Daed, the roof! It’s blown away over the kitchen and storeroom!” Jacob shouted. He took the porch steps in a huge bound and ran into the house. “Mamm! Mamm! Are you okay?” Listening, he heard a faint response. Running to the closet, he pulled the door open, finding his mamm, huddled on the floor.
“Mamm, thank God you’re all right! Daed’s fine. We were together when the tornado hit. We jumped into a ditch . . .”
“No wonder you’re so wet! Change clothes now, before you take a chill! Throw your dirty things into the laundry hamper and I will try to . . .” Mrs. Lapp stopped speaking and began to cry.
Jacob gathered his trembling mamm into his arms, comforting her and rocking her gently. This was how his daed found them.
“Mamm’s okay, daed. Just shaken up. She told us to go change clothes. Jenny! The tornado headed in her direction!”
“Change first, Jacob! We will leave in a minute,” ordered Mr. Lapp.
Because he wasn’t sure if the road was unobstructed, Jacob and his daed saddled their horses and galloped to the King house. Arriving in a steady rain, they saw that part of the house had been damaged by the storm.
“Daed, I’ll go find Jenny and Mrs. King,” Jacob said, shaken by the extent of the damage.
“I’ll see if I can find John and look at the damages here. Go. She needs you,” said Mr. Lapp.
Jacob bounded into the house without knocking. Running through the rooms, he found Jenny and her mamm in the quilting room. Rebecca was sitting up and trying to move a part of the quilting frame from her lower leg. Jacob lifted it and checked Rebecca’s leg for injuries. Finding none, he asked her, “Jenny? Where is she?”
Rebecca pointed shakily to a corner of the room – Jenny was lying, unconscious, on her back. A large, jagged piece of wood lay next to her.
Jacob and Rebecca ran toward Jenny. Jacob didn’t want to move her.
“Mrs. King, stay here with her, please. I’ll go to the shop and call for medical help,” Jacob said. Outside, he saw his daed and Mr. King looking at the walls and roof of the house
“What did you find?” asked his daed.
“Mrs. King is okay. She had a piece of a quilt frame on her leg, but she’s not hurt. Jenny – she’s knocked out, so I’m calling for the emergency services,” Jacob said.
Hearing the news, John King ran into the house, calling out Rebecca’s name. As he ran into the damaged room, he saw Jenny’s arm come up as she began to regain consciousness.
“Mamm? Daed? What happened? My back! My neck – they hurt!”
“Be still, daughter. Jacob’s calling for medical help now,” said John as he smoothed a shaky hand over Jenny’s hair and kapp.
Fifteen minutes later, an ambulance, its siren wailing, pulled up to the front of the house. EMTs ran into the house, guided by Jacob. Two EMTs assisted Jenny while two others checked everyone else out for injuries. After determining that Jenny had suffered an injury to her back and neck, she was transferred to a gurney, then to the ambulance. Rebecca climbed into the back of the ambulance with Jenny while Jacob called for an Englisher driver to take him and John King to the hospital.
After several hours, the doctors in the emergency room diagnosed Jenny with severe bruising to her neck, a broken shoulder blade and a hairline fracture to one of the bones in her spinal column. Because she had also taken a hit to the head, she was admitted as a patient for several days. She stayed in bed, recovering and wanting to get back home, so she could resume work on the quilt she had in progress for Ken Carey. Rebecca and John King visited every day, driven by an Englisher driver who had promised to bring them to the hospital every day that Jenny was a patient. For the first two days, Jacob stayed at the hospital around the clock. On the third day of her stay, Jenny put her foot down and forced Jacob to go home, where he could get badly needed rest.
“Go! My doctors tell me I’ll be out the day after tomorrow, if I continue to recover well. Just come with mamm and daed. Promise me?”
“Ya, okay! I’m just . . . I’m worried about you, Jenny. That piece of wood could have done much worse damage. What does your doctor say?”
“I have to wear a back brace for several weeks. I don’t know how this will affect my ability to work on my quilts. I sit for long hours at my sewing machine, Jacob! Lying here in bed, I start to hurt after a few hours. I think I’m going to have to take several breaks - which will make me slow down on how quickly I can finish a quilt for Mr. Carey.”
“You will do what you need to do. He’s a hard man, hard to work for, but if you explain that you were injured in a tornado, he can’t help but give you the time you need.”
“Hmmm, ya. I’ll call him or send him a letter after I see how much time it takes me to get through a day. There’s no need to cause trouble,” Jenny mused.
“Nee, there isn’t. Okay. When the driver comes to bring your parents, I will go home with them. But . . . my Jenny, promise me something. Promise that you’ll do everything the doctor says. If he gives you a foul-tasting medicine, swallow it. Just get better!”
Jenny giggled at Jacob’s words.
“Ya, I will. I want to go home!”