Inside, she heard the click-clack of the loom. She followed the sound and found Sister Tabitha sitting before the warp and weft of a half-finished blanket. Tabitha beamed when she saw Anna.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“It is a beautiful pattern,” Anna assured her.

“These are my f-favorites,” Tabitha said, indicating the scarlet and golden mustard colors she had chosen.

“I can see why,” Anna offered. “The loom is still working well for you?” she asked, running a hand along its wooden frame.

“Oh yes! B-better than e-ever!” Tabitha replied, passing a woolen thread through the weave.

Having fashioned some rudimentary tools, like those she remembered watching her father use, Anna had begun making small repairs for the Sisters—most recently carving a new warp beam for Tabitha’s loom.

Tabitha paused in her labors. “I almost forgot! I was to t-tell you that Sister Ruth wishes to s-s-see you,” she said.

Anna nodded. “Do you know where she is?”

Tabitha went suddenly still. “Sh-sh-she is—” she stuttered, unsure whether or not she should reveal the Sister’s location.

“Who are you looking for?” a voice demanded from behind.

Sister Joan filled the doorway.

“Greetings,” Anna said. “I am looking for Sister Ru—”

Joan lifted a hand, silencing her. She leveled a sharp stare. After a long moment she said, “Follow me.”

Keeping up a brisk pace, Sister Joan led Anna down to a dead-end passage. When they stopped at the wall, Anna expected her to press a palm against the rock and open a secret door, but instead she said, “Close your eyes.”

Anna heard Joan rustle in her robes. Then she heard the sound of metal scraping metal followed by a loud click. She felt the cool breeze of a doorway being opened, and Joan led her forward. “You may now open your eyes.”

Anna stood in an unlit passageway. Joan remained on the other side of the door. It did not swivel like the others, but opened at one side as if on a hinge. “Continue walking forward,” Joan said. “Toward the light.” Without further instruction, she closed the door and left Anna in total darkness. A loud clank sounded from the door, followed by complete silence.

Anna felt her throat constrict.

Where was she?

Then, from somewhere in the dark, a voice.

“Hello?”

Anna recognized Sister Ruth’s lilting tone. “It is me. Anna.”

“Come in, come in!”

Anna tried to follow Ruth’s voice but got trapped behind a maze of rocks that blocked the passageway. Whichever way she went, she found herself at a dead end.

“Go back to the beginning and always choose the left,” Ruth called.

Anna did as instructed and was soon standing in a room filled with tall clay jars. Ruth stood at a narrow table and balanced a thin stick between her fingers. “Welcome to the scriptorium,” she said, smiling.

Anna stared in wonder.