Diverting Amish
Author's Note: The majority of this takes place twenty years after the walls go up around Chicago and the fraction system had been established. When it's scenes involving Four and his mother Evelyn, it takes place two and half years after the events of Divergent.
Present Day
Four sighed as he came home. Today had been a long day at work. It didn't help that he missed Tris terribly. Today was the anniversary of her death. He found his mother, Evelyn, sitting on a chair in the living room reading a book. It looked aged. Like over fifty years. He was surprised his mom had it. Most reading material stayed at Erudite. Then again, his mom had been born in Erudite.
"What are you reading?" He asked curiously.
"The diary of Sara Miller" Evelyn replied. "She has been quite an inspiration to me over the years."
"Who is she?"
"She was an Amish woman." Evelyn explained. "She and her husband left their Amish community of Arcola when their children died. They ended up in Chicago twenty years after the fraction system had been established and the wall was surrounding the city."
"Amish?"
"I'm not surprised you don't know what the Amish are." She remarked dryly. "Anyone alive today wouldn't know what the Amish are."
"So, what are the Amish?"
"They are a deeply religious community." She replied. "They originated in northern Switzerland. They came to America in the sixteen hundreds seeking religious freedom. They weren't that different from everyone else in the sixteenth century. No one would really know how different they were until technology was introduced during the Industrial Revolution. They refused to own any technological devises and use electricity in their homes. People saw the Amish way of life as being frozen in time since their life hadn't changed much since the 1800s."
"So, why did this woman and her husband come to Chicago then?"
Evelyn smiled at him. "You just have to read and see." She handed him the book. "I decided to give this to you. I hope she helps you through today and other days when you really need it."
"Why would she?"
"Sarah Miller was a tough woman." Evelyn explained. "She's not just inspirational, Tobias. She is a very fascinating woman to read about. I've had this book since I was in Erudite."
"How did you get it?" Four asked skeptically.
"Someone found it in Dauntless." Evelyn replied. "They told me that it helped them a lot. It inspired them to leave Dauntless to go to Erudite."
"And you to leave father" Four said dryly.
She blushed. That was one area of their life that was sore. Evelyn had left her son at the mercy of her abusive husband, Marcus. She regret not bringing her only son with her. She didn't want him to be fractionless though. "Yes, yes she did"
"I don't know if it will help me, Mother."
"It will." She assured him. "Sara had gone through a lot of heart ache. I hope she will help you deal with your grief over Tris." She handed the book to him. "I'll go ahead and make dinner. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask." She headed to the kitchen.
The diary's pages had turned yellow with age. It had a musty smell to it. He took the book and sat down on his bed. Then, he began to read the diary of Sara Miller.
From the journal of Sara Miller
Today had been hard. We buried our oldest child, John. He was just ten. It's not fair. I've been told by the bishops that life is not fair. I'm getting fed up of hearing this line repeated to me constantly over the last six months.
I have lost all six of my children these last six months. It started with my youngest, Elizabeth. She was just a month old. Then, the next two younger ones began to go. Their little bodies couldn't handle the wrath reaped upon them by the poisons in the ground and the toxins in the air. My older children were the next to go. My ten-year-old being the last to die.
I had sat beside each of them and watch Hell be released upon them as they died slowly. It has taken a part of my soul each time they died. Right now, I don't believe I have a soul left. If I do, it's a very tiny piece.
I prayed to God each time to help my babies. He didn't listen. I felt betrayed. I have done everything I was asked by him, the Bishops, and the priests. I have tried to live a sin-free life. I confessed my sins when I did sin. And yet, God never answered my prayers about those that I lost.
I feel alone. I know my husband is still here with me. My lovely husband of ten years, Jeremiah. I know he's on the verge of becoming lost to me too. He's sick too. It's the same way for him as it was for the children. I fear losing my husband. He's all I have left.
My children aren't the only ones that I have lost. My parents are gone. So are my brothers and sisters. My aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins are gone too. My friends have either died or left this place months ago, which they risk being shunned if they return. Half of the community of Arcola has died. Would you believe that Arcola used to be the largest community of Amish in Illinois? Now, we're reduced to twenty. The poisons in the ground and toxins in the air are slowly killing us. They are a result of the war. A war we had nothing to do with. Yet, we're punished despite our lack of involvement. God didn't spare us.
As I write this, I hear my husband speak heatedly with the remaining bishop and priest. He wants to leave Arcola. He wants to get away from this toxic environment. Bishop and priest don't agree with his idea. They say that everywhere is probably as toxic as it is here. The cities like Chicago are probably more damaged than it is in the country side. My husband doesn't mind the risk of setting forth and seeing that for himself. They probably have fixed most things by now compared to here. The bishop and priest point out to him that if we leave Arcola, we're leaving the Amish. If we leave the Amish, we will be shunned. My husband counters with a "That is fine. We have no one left to miss us any way."
He's right. We don't. It would be one thing if our loved ones were still alive. It would've hurt if they had shunned us for leaving the Amish. However, since they're dead, it doesn't matter. Tomorrow we leave this place. Starting tomorrow, we will be shunned. I don't care. It's about time I break free from being Amish. Sticking to our old ways didn't help us in this situation. I don't see how it could get any worse. I don't want to be left alone when my husband does finally pass on to meet our Maker. I don't want to be in this toxic place when that happens.