Against the Stars

Chapter 52

“What do you mean he’s gone? He’s gone like dead gone, or like not here gone?” Ginny asked her heart beginning to race.

“He left to join the army. He came by this morning and told me to give this you,” Nelly said, handing Ginny a small scrap of parchment.

“Did you read this?”

“Maybe,” Nelly said skipping off, leaving Ginny wondering.

Ginny unrolled the scrap of paper, her hands shaking. She was almost too scared to read that words. Almost.

The penmanship was sloppy and clearly written in haste. It took a minute for Ginny to disperse.

Dear Ginny,

I’m sorry I had to leave, but I had no choice. I thought it over and knew I had to go. You know why I did. I promise you I’ll be careful and write to you every chance I get.

If you want to see me, you know where to find me.

Love,

Benjamin Abram Eby

For a while, Ginny just stared at the sheet in her hand. She reread it three times just to process the words. She couldn’t believe Ben was gone. He had really left.  It took some time before Ginny could convince herself that this was real. When she did realize that, she felt alone and forgotten. She felt as if her world had come crashing down. With Ben gone, it would be much easier for her mother to marry her off to Christian, and there would be nothing Ginny could do to stop her. If she stayed home, she was doomed.

Then there was the option of running away. Ginny knew where Ben was and she could find him, work as a nurse, and when the war was over, and live happily ever after. She wouldn’t have to worry about marrying Christian, or her mother’s tight hold around her neck. She could be truly free.

But could she leave her family? They had already lost so much and it didn’t seem fair to leave them. They, whether they realized it or not, needed her. She was their strength and kept them carrying on. Could she really leave them? Ginny realized she was pacing the room, and stopped right by the window. She leaned over and looked at the sun rise that beheld Virginia. The sun had painted the sky shades of pink, and orange, yellow and blue. Looking at the sky, Ginny remembered her dream.

Adventure, Mother Elena had promised. Adventure lay in store. Yet, with the adventure came trial and los. Was she ready for that? Then in the back of her mind she remembered what the third card was, love.

Would she find that love in Williamsburg or was she destined to travel elsewhere? Was the dream even true? Was Ginny crazy to believe in a dream where a strange woman told her of her future? It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t.  Yet part of Ginny couldn’t help but believe it was true. Part of her knew she had seen her future before her eyes.

Ginny jumped as she heard a loud pounding on the door. Ginny nearly screamed, she was caught so off guard. “Ginny!” a voice outside the door cried. “Let me in!”

Ginny opened the door to reveal Celia standing there, red faced and sweating. “Ginny! I came as soon as I heard the news.” She paused. “Do you have any water?”

Ginny nodded and poured Celia a glass of water from the pitcher on her table. Celia grabbed it eagerly, then chugged it in a matter of seconds.

“Thank you. May I sit down?” Celia asked, collapsing onto Ginny’s bed, not waiting for an answer. “Can you believe it? HE’s gone! I cannot believe he just left? I wonder where he went.”

Ginny sighed. Celia deserved the information as much as she did. “I know where he is, or where he’s going at least.”

“Really! Where?” Celia asked, leaping to her feet.

Ginny leaned over and whispered the destination into Celia’s ear. Celia gasped, and then she stood there silent for a moment.

“My friend, Davis Longing, lives there,” Celia mumbled to herself.

“We could go you know. Ben had wanted me to come with him. We could be nurses and start fresh.”

Celia’s face lit up at that. “We could do that! And oh, I could see –”

“Shh! Not so loud! We don’t need anyone to hear us!” Ginny paused. “But you are right, we should go.”

Ginny could scarcely believe she said that. But it was true. They should go. They could start over. No one would know her past, and she could write her own future. She wouldn’t have her mother controlling her anymore. She could scarcely believe that.

“WE will go,” Celia said, smiling from ear to ear. Ginny wished she knew what was going through her head.

“We will.”

“Come to my house as soon as you can and we’ll plan.”

They were going.