“I will.” Maaike dashed off through the door. Lena thanked God that her daughter was becoming less anxious, her nightmares fading into the past. It had been Wim who’d helped Maaike chase away her fears, assuring her as they walked to school and back every day that the Nazis were gone for good.

The beautiful strains of Miriam’s violin drifted down from upstairs as Lena worked. She would miss hearing Miriam play. Her music had blessed all of them as they’d shed the last layers of gloom from the war. Pieter had invited the Leopolds to live with them while they regained their strength and decided what came next. Truus and the other gossiping villagers now knew the truth about Bep. Ans’s reputation had been vindicated. These past months with her parents had given Bep a chance to get to know them again —and Lena’s family had time to say goodbye to her.

Bep was fascinated with Miriam’s violin and comfortable sitting on her lap in the evenings as Avi read from the Psalms. They were leaving soon, and Lena would miss them all —but especially little Bep. She was Lena’s beloved daughter, and yet Lena couldn’t hang on to her any more than she could hang on to her other children. The time would come when she would release all of them into God’s capable hands. Miriam had taught her that.

The potatoes were done. Lena had cooked them with apples, and she mashed them together now to serve with the meatballs that were staying warm in the oven. It was one of Ans’s favorite meals.

“She’s here! She’s here! Ans is here!” Maaike called from outside.

Lena smiled to herself. Ans had left home a strong-willed teenager and had suffered much during the war, enduring trials that Lena never would have wished on her beautiful daughter. But Ans had allowed God to use hardship and suffering to transform her into a strong woman of faith. Lena hurried through the door to welcome her home. Ans had regained the weight she’d lost in prison and looked wonderfully healthy again.

“Are you hungry?” Lena asked after hugging her tightly. “You must be after your long bicycle ride. Come inside and eat.”

“Look at Ans’s new bicycle, Mama,” Maaike said.

“It’s not brand-new,” Ans said, laughing. “I got it at a sale of bicycles that were confiscated during the war. Maybe you can get one too.”