I knocked on Evelyn’s door, heard a soft call from inside, and poked my head in. The room was cast in natural light streaming in through the two large windows on one wall. Evelyn was perched on her twin bed, one of two that matched. Matching nightstands, a dresser, and a single closet rounded out the room. A gathering of large sunflowers was blooming in a tall glass vase and sat on the small nightstand beside Evelyn’s bed. Not a speck of dust; everything was in perfect order.

“Beautiful flowers,” I said.

She was frowning, staring at the wall.

I stepped into the room and softly shut the door behind me. “Your mother picked them for you?”

She hesitated. “Father.”

“That’s kind of him.”

She was wearing a simple sleeveless dress so the itchy red blotches that ran the length of both her arms could be free from the uncomfortable fabric of sleeves. The rash had spread all the way up her neck to the underside of her jawline. It was no wonder she was in such a foul mood. Maybe this explained Rose’s as well.

I set the salve down on the nightstand beside her sunflowers and slid the gloves over my hands.

Evelyn watched me dip into the salve, then held out her right hand. “Not too thick,” she snapped.

“Right,” I replied.

“If you make it too thick then it could get worse—my mother told you that, right?”

I looked into her worried eyes and tried to sound certain. “Yes. I just apply a thin layer.”

She finally nodded for me to continue. So I did, taking extra measures to make sure the salve covered her entire arm, but not too heavily. We were silent as I worked, her eyes on every movement I made.

“Does Dr. Charles have any ideas as to how you got this rash?” I asked, trying to reconnect with a girl who used to trust me fully.

“No,” Evelyn said, “he says it’s probably a combination of things.”

“Oh?”

“But I think he’s wrong.”

“Why do you say that?” I moved up under the collar of her dress, along her shoulder and throat.

“I know why this happened to me,” Evelyn said.

“Why?”

“It’s punishment for my sins,” the girl said quietly.

She was staring out the window. We all knew how impurity could indeed manifest in all kinds of bodily ailments. Following the law benefited not only God but ourselves.

“But Evelyn, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Her jaw flexed. “I’m the oldest. My mother always says I have to lead by example. Stephen wouldn’t have disobeyed if I’d been a better example.”

I wanted to offer her some sort of comfort, but I knew it would be of no use. She believed every word she was saying and so did I.

Didn’t I?