Chapter 5

In the meantime, back at the village:

Nobody made their way up the hill that first morning after the hanging. Most felt at least some shame at the way they behaved the night before. They watched Samuel and his family leave the village and did not speak to each other for they knew not what to say. They went about their morning duties in brooding silence.

The first to go up the hill was Abigail. She felt confused and disoriented. At first, she had felt glee to see her rival brought down so abruptly. But she had expected the people to chase her rival from the village. She had not expected the village to rush through a trial without a judge and hang her as they had done. That had truly shaken Abigail.

Abigail stood under the tree and stared in confusion at the cut end of the rope hanging from the tree. Nobody had gone up in the morning to remove the body. What had happened to Constance?

Then she noticed the message drawn thickly onto the trunk of the tree with a brush dipped in ink.

First was the year, 1662.

Under that, it said, “Evil was done here. Innocence murdered. God abandoned. Pray! The only way back to God is though Grace but you have destroyed the only Grace in this cursed place.”

Abigail was sorely troubled. She fell to her knees and prayed. In that moment, she saw her actions for the Evil that they were, and she wept. She prayed but heard no answer. Her heart was empty. That emptiness conveyed to her that she had abandoned God and that God had abandoned her. She cast herself into the dirt at the base of the tree and wept again.

Abigail finally stood and read the message one more time. She staggered down the hill in a daze. She knew the message was aimed at her, but she did not fully understand it. Most of it was obvious but the overall meaning was a mystery.

Others who later read the message also felt that it was directed at them but felt the same confusion.

Noah saw the message and remembered the words Prudence had spoken to him as Samuel drove his wagon away from the village. Noah told the others that he had set aside Charity as being unworthy to be his bride. He said nothing of the conversation between himself and Samuel.

There was a lot of praying in the village, but the prayers did not bring answers.

Later that day it was discovered that Saul had slipped out of the village and was gone. Saul was a young man who had disputed with Symeon over the placement of the border between their farms.

The elders of the village talked together and wondered if they had done a great wrong. Perhaps Saul was responsible for Symeon’s death. In which case they truly had murdered an innocent. They were sorely troubled. The message on the tree had even greater import. But still none could decipher its full meaning.

The next morning Abigail carried a small ladder up the hill and some other supplies. She lit a fire in a small brazier and stoked it until she had glowing embers. Then she heated a short poker in the brazier until it glowed. Holding the poker carefully, she climbed the ladder and burned markings into the trunk of the tree over the ink writing left by Constance’s family. In this way the message, scorched into the trunk, lasted for as long as the tree did. It was a constant reminder to the village of what they had done on that terrible night.

It took Abigail many hours to complete her task because she had to frequently climb down and reheat the poker in the brazier. She did it as a kind of penance for her own part in the Evil that had been done. When she finally finished, she stood there, her hands blistered from handling the hot metal, and knew that she hadn’t done enough. God had not forgiven her. Her penance was not over.

Nobody else was ever hung from that tree and from that day onwards the villagers were careful to invite a judge and hold a proper trial for any major crime.

Nobody dared to visit Samuel’s old house until two days after he and his family had left in their wagon. The first little group who did make their way up the track included Noah, who was vaguely thinking that perhaps he could claim something from within the house as partial payment towards his lost bride.

The group stopped before the house and stared. The flagstones in front of the doorway had been lifted and a fresh grave dug directly across the front of the doorway, beyond which the door was clearly nailed shut. Standing upright before the grave was one of the missing flagstones with the following message scratched into it. There were no dates, no names, just the following message:

“Here lies our beloved: daughter, sister, inspiration. She now rests safely in the arms of God, all duties fulfilled. And yet still she strives to carry out God’s Purpose from beyond the grave. What greater victory can there be?”

There was a gap, and then a second message scratched into the stone in smaller writing than the first.

“In the end she led us to Grace. But for you who abandoned God, and who destroyed the only Grace to be found, the only way back to God will be through Grace. We pray you will find your way.”

It was the same message as on the tree, except perhaps in different words. It was a mystery.

Noah kicked the stone in frustration. The stone jerked and then sank down until it lay flat at the head of the grave. Noah saw the fallen gravestone as a final accusation. He could hide behind his bluster no longer. He turned and walked away, leaving the others to do what they willed with the house.

The remainder of the group stared at the house and then at the grave that guarded its threshold. They had come to see if the family had abandoned anything worth salvaging, but to investigate the house they would have to step over the grave of the victim of their madness.

Their already frail courage deserted them. They backed away and left.

And so, even in death, Ezekiel fulfilled his duty to his hearth, given to him by God, to guard the threshold from thieves and brigands who would despoil his home.

Samuel and his family slept the night under the wagon.

The next morning, Charity woke slightly before dawn. She stretched and wriggled and then propped herself up on one elbow so that she could look down at her sister. Seeing that Constance was blinking sleep from her eyes, Charity leaned down and kissed her soundly.

Constance’s eyes widened in surprise. Then her arms reached over behind Charity and pulled her close so that she could return the kiss in full. After a moment they pulled away from each other. Constance lay there, blinking up at her sister and smiling.

“What was that, my sister?” whispered Constance. “Did you not get your fill of this yesterday?”

“Yesterday I was kissing Ezekiel,” replied Charity, also in a whisper. “I wanted to find if there was a difference between kissing Ezekiel and kissing Constance.”

Constance laughed quietly at her sister. “And... ?”

“And I am not sure,” whispered Charity. “I may have to try some more of both before I can decide.”

Constance laughed some more. “Oh, my dear sweet Charity. You are surely the most outrageous person I have ever known. I thank God that He has placed you in my life. You are truly a gift to me.”

Next to them, Hope stirred in her basket and started to cry. Constance quickly scooped her out of the basket and scrambled out from under the wagon. Charity followed and held Hope briefly so that Constance could unfasten her dress. Soon Hope’s cries were silenced as she suckled.

While she fed her babe, Constance smiled and closed her eyes, letting the rising sun warm her skin. Then she felt a soft kiss on her neck below her ear. She smiled quietly but did not open her eyes. Then a second kiss landed on her uncovered shoulder and then a third on the skin at the rise of her breast, just above where it was covered by Hope’s head. Then a final kiss landed on her other, unoccupied breast, just above her nipple. That last made Constance’s eyes open in surprise. She stared at Charity who grinned back at her without remorse.

“What... ?” said Constance.

Charity leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. Then she stood and strode away without saying another word. Constance watched in amazement as Charity started collecting firewood as if she had done nothing more than wish her a good morning.

Shortly afterwards, Samuel first and then Prudence rolled out of the blankets on the other side of the wagon. They brushed down and straightened their clothes and then moved around to begin the day. Samuel smiled and nodded at Constance when he saw her sitting there, feeding Hope, but he took no more notice as he bustled around, getting the fire started and milking the cow.

Constance finished feeding Hope and then changed her diapers.

Then, with Prudence’s help, Constance removed her dress, rebound her breasts and donned trousers and shirt to become Ezekiel again.

A short time later, they sat down together to break their fast. Prudence and Charity rebound their hair and put on their bonnets. Afterwards, the blankets and the stool were reloaded onto the wagon and the lead rope for the cow was tied once more to the back.

Then Ezekiel and Charity resumed their place on the back of the wagon.

The family had agreed that it would not be safe for Constance to be seen in public until they had travelled for many days, possibly weeks. Ezekiel did not mind that so much. After all, Ezekiel and Charity were newly married, and they had much to learn about each other.

Their joy in living was infectious, and as they travelled Samuel and Prudence also found a new joy for themselves. Ezekiel and Samuel would swap the duties of driving the wagon, their respective wives sitting beside them while the other couple rested in the back.

During their turn at sitting up front, the younger pair would wait until they were on an isolated stretch of track and then tease their parents, calling back “We are alone now, Father. Are you kissing your wife? You should! For the back of the wagon is perfect for that! Kiss her, Father. Tell her of your love and demonstrate your passion under this wide blue sky. Kiss her Father, out here in the light, for God is watching and is surely pleased to see us live our lives. Embrace your wife, Father, out here in the light, for Grace is with God. Let her see you and rejoice.”