Anna listened, feeling all the more uncertain as to what they could depend on from Mammi’s memories . . . and what they could not.

During most of Anna and her mother’s visit with Wanita and the children in the sitting room, Mammi Eliza sat there snoozing. Anna’s eyes were drawn to her grandmother’s peaceful countenance, and she felt impressed to memorize her dear face. Oh, she loved being with her . . . and with Mamm and Wanita and the children, too. But there was something about Mammi Eliza’s restful state that made Anna thankful for this particular visit.

“Who wants a strawberry popsicle?” Wanita asked. “I made a batch yesterday.”

Bethie and Bonnie followed her out to the kitchen, and soon little Rogene wiggled off Mamm’s lap and toddled out there, too.

Just then, Mammi Eliza’s eyes fluttered open, and seeing Anna there, she sat up a bit, her shoulders rising with a deep breath. “Ach, Anna . . . you’re here,” she whispered.

Nodding, Anna moved her chair closer. “I’ve sure been missing you, Mammi.” She reached for her hand and patted it.

“Well now . . .” Mammi looked pleased.

“I pray for you every day; don’t forget.”

Mammi’s eyelids fell to half-mast now. “Did ya find the stone wall?” She murmured it so softly that Anna wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.

Frowning, Anna turned toward her mother. “What do you make of that?” she whispered. “She’s talking about the wall again.”

Mamm’s smile was faint as she motioned for Anna to go with her to the front room. “You can’t trust what she says anymore, Anna,” Mamm told her, looking concerned. “She might be hallucinating or coming out of a dream. The doctor says that can happen sometimes.”

Anna didn’t know what to think. All the same, Mammi’s repeated mentions of a stone wall were hard to ignore.

“I tend to believe Mammi,” she told her mother quietly. “Honestly, it seems like she’s trying to tell me something important.”

Her mother paused uneasily, then said, “Just don’t let your imagination run away with you, Anna.” Her Mamm held her gaze, and Anna let it be.

Before they left, Anna asked her sister if she could run up to the attic and look around.

“If you’re thinking about the journals you wrote about, I went through Mammi’s blanket chest. There are no journals anywhere to be found, and I searched quite thoroughly,” Wanita said.

“Well, would you mind if I look?”

Wanita shrugged. “Not at all,” she said. “Guess it’s possible I overlooked something.”

“I’ll search carefully,” Anna said, feeling only slightly hopeful.

Chapter 27

SUNDAY, JULY 11, 1948