A Simple Song Read Online Free

is in there?” Aunt Fannie demanded. “Open this door!”
    Katrina shoved the small package into her large bundle, wrapping it snugly under the blue dress as Aunt Fannie pushed open the door.
    â€œIt’s only us,” Aunt Alma calmly told her, although her cheeks were flushed and her pale blue eyes were glittering with excitement.
    â€œWhat are you two doing in here?” Aunt Fannie looked suspiciously from one to the other. “And why was this door blocked?”
    â€œI was simply standing in front of it,” Aunt Alma said.
    â€œWhat is that?” Aunt Fannie pointed at the bundle in Katrina’s arms.
    â€œThose are the things Mamm left to Katrina.”
    â€œTo Katrina?” Aunt Fannie narrowed her eyes. “I never heard a word of this.”
    â€œAsk Daed to explain it to you,” Aunt Alma firmly told her. “I am simply obeying his instructions.”
    Aunt Fannie pressed her lips tightly together. She knew better than to question her father-in-law since he was still the head of their household. “Well, it does seem odd,” she said finally, “for Mamm to leave her things to Katrina like this.” She peered at the bundle. “But I don’t know if that surprises me. Mamm was always an odd one.”
    Katrina exchanged glances with Aunt Alma.
    â€œMamm is not here to defend herself.” Aunt Alma spoke sharply to her sister-in-law. “And one should not speak ill of the dead.” She waved her hand. “Certainly not in the departed’s own room.”
    Aunt Fannie looked slightly flustered now.
    â€œIf you’ll excuse us,” Aunt Alma continued, “I have chores to attend to, and I’m certain that Katrina is needed at home.”
    â€œJa.” Katrina nodded eagerly. “That’s right.” She tossed Aunt Alma a grateful look, then hurried out the door and down the hallway. Slipping quietly down the stairs and out the back door, she cut behind the house and down the fence line alongside the recently planted cornfield, and she went directly home.
    To her relief, her family wasn’t home yet. After taking her precious bundle up to the bedroom she shared with Sadie, she was unsure what to do. Looking around the small room, sheknew there was no place to hide all these things. And as much as she loved her spirited and precocious fourteen-year-old sister, she wasn’t sure she trusted her with Mammi’s secrets. Although Sadie, like Katrina, was only related to Aunt Fannie by marriage, she did seem to have some of the same personality traits—including a loose tongue at times. What if Sadie told her friends about Mammi’s mysterious box of items?
    Thinking of Sadie’s friends reminded Katrina of her most trusted friend. Bekka was blessed to have a room of her own now that her older sister, Louisa, had married. Not only did Bekka have a private bedroom, but because she helped with her family’s soy candle–making business, she also had more freedom than most of Katrina’s friends.
    Katrina was about to leave for Bekka’s when she realized Sadie might’ve gotten wind that Katrina had inherited some things from Mammi. Aunt Fannie might be talking about it in the kitchen right this minute. Katrina decided to leave a few things behind, including the strange patchwork dress and boots as well as Mammi’s favorite old blue dress. She put them in the bottom drawer of the dresser she shared with Sadie, knowing that although it was supposed to be Katrina’s drawer, it would only be a matter of time before Sadie discovered them. Hopefully the strange items wouldn’t invite too many questions—and if they did, Katrina would simply explain that they were from Mammi’s life before she left the English and joined the church. What was so unusual about that?
    She bagged up the rest of the things in a canvas shopping bag, left Mamm a note in the kitchen promising to be back in