Runaway Amish Girl by Emma Gingerich

Author:Emma Gingerich [Gingerich, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press, LLC
Published: 2018-07-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6:

Mission in Action

We must build dikes of courage to hold

back the flood of fear.

~Martin Luther King, Jr.~

I woke up from a bad dream. I looked at the clock—it had only been an hour since I had gone to bed. How can it be that, within an hour of falling asleep, I was already dreaming of being home for a visit and trying to run away again? In the dream, four weeks had passed since I had gone home to visit, and I was still trying to leave. After dreams like this, I am always relieved when I wake up to find myself in my own bed in my own apartment far from home. To make sure it was only a dream, I got up and snapped on the light switch and looked around. Thank God—I am no longer Amish. I walked into the living room and turned on the television. I have dreamt many times I am trying to get away from the Amish again, and it is always so much more miserable than what happened in real life. I often wonder why I never dream of going back home and being happy instead of returning and wanting to find my way out again. Instead of making me question my decision, I see each nightmare as a sign I have done the right thing by leaving.

§

It was a cold afternoon the day I walked away from the only life I ever knew. That morning, when Mem and Datt said they were going to town about eighteen miles away, my heart skipped a beat. I knew instantly this was my chance to make my escape. My parents could not be at home when my break finally came.

I could not wait to tell Sarah my plans. She was out in the barn milking our two Guernsey cows before breakfast. I decided to wait to tell her until after Mem and Datt were already gone, just to make sure she would not accidentally say something.

Sarah had always stuck with me while I planned my escape. Out of all my brothers and sisters, she was the only one I could pour my heart out to, and she rooted for me. She wanted to leave the Amish too, but we decided I should go by myself first, then come back for her.

Around ten o’clock, I pulled Sarah into the basket shop and cautiously whispered, “Today is the day I am leaving.” There was nobody in the shop, but it felt better to whisper.

Sarah looked at me for a few seconds, scared, but she put on her best smile and said, “Go for it, and get ready for me to come too. How are you going to let me know when I can come?”

“I don’t know yet, I have to wait and see where I will end up. We also have to wait and see what Mem and Datt’s reactions are after they find out I am gone. I don’t know if I can write you a letter because Datt is going to want to read everything that comes through the mail.

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