Jacob was getting old. With his joints being stiff and his breathing ragged, he knew he didn't have much time left on Earth. But before he said his final goodbye, there was something he needed to know: What had happened to Hannah Yoder.
Thirty years ago, he had intended to marry her only to have her disappear weeks before the wedding. He had searched for her everywhere, leaving no stone unturned, but still, he had come up empty-handed and after waiting five long years in hopes that she would return, he moved on and married another.
The Amish community never shared a word about the incident. It was like Hannah had never existed. Her desire to marry an outsider had alienated her from their religion and so, they cast her off and never bothered to look for her again. It did not matter how much Jacob pleaded with them or begged in the name of God — it always fell on deaf ears.
This troubling time in his life haunted him each and every day. Lately, it seemed to be sucking the life right out of him. His eyes were dull and glazed over with a thick coating of white. Most thought he was blind but others knew that all he could see was that wife that never came to be.