“You have a sister named Manda?” Emma’s heart flipped with regret that
her mother had kept such a secret from her. “What happened to her, Mom?”
“The Kinsman house is what happened to her, and the family who lived
there. She was in love with one of the Kinsman boys―Henry. He had this look
about him like he was looking for something he knew in his heart he’d never
find. Then one day word came he’d disappeared without a trace, leaving all his
things behind. Manda was frantic with grief and loneliness when she came home
that night, but Father turned her away.”
Emma waited in silence as a tear slid down her mother’s softly wrinkled
cheek. She tried to remember the last time she’d seen her mother cry, but
couldn’t.
“Father warned her to stay away from Henry, but her heart defied any
sense of our family pride.”
“Manda actually went against Granddad’s word?” Emma tried to picture
anyone strong willed enough to defy him.
“Yes. Our Manda had never done anything against Father before.
Not until she met Henry and his crazy family, anyway,” Mabel said, settling
down slightly.
“Crazy, as in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Or just different
from everyone else?” Emma asked, handing her mother yet another tissue.
“Just different, I suppose. Anyway, she seemed to always be with Henry’s
family for everything. Father told her since she liked the Kinsmans so well,
she’d best go live with them because as far as he was concerned, she was dead.
So, she left. The need to be with Henry cost her quite a lot, but she loved him
regardless.
“Manda’s been gone ever since, up until this journal, a word has never
been spoken or written about her. Father wouldn’t allow it.”
~~~~~
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