All this time, the house had been rejoicing for all the attention and care it was receiving. Occasionally, when Jonas was alone, the house would whisper to him that it felt like it was being reborn, that it was being given another chance at happiness and worth, that it believed it would never be lonely again. Jonas smiled at these sentiments, rarely responding, but the house knew that he too was pleased. Other than these brief communiqués with Jonas, the house was silent. It did not want to disturb the industry that was taking place within and without it. Only once did it dare to share its thoughts with anyone but Jonas.
It was the day that the master bedroom was completed and Jonas asked the Heartswell family and Mariah to stay after all the others had left. He suggested that they celebrate the room’s completion by making a ceremony of placing the quilt on the bed. Hannah and Jemima gasped with delight and were very eager to participate. Their parents acquiesced and Mariah beamed at Jonas. Hannah and Jemima’s parents held their two younger brothers, both of whom had fallen asleep after a long day of playing hide-and-seek in the orchard. Jonas brought the bundle from the closet and placed it at the foot of the bed.
Each girl took the end of the binding string and pulled. The paper wrapping fell away and Jonas and Mariah and the girls’ parents made the appropriate oohs and aahs. It was a beautiful quilt and the cotton was as soft as an infant’s skin. The girls let Jonas caress the quilt, filling with pride over his pleasure. Then he stepped back and they slowly unfolded the quilt and arranged it over the bed. They went to Mariah’s side by the far wall to also admire their work, when both of them started.
“Thank you. You are forgiven.” A low voice had just spoken inside each of their heads. They looked sideways at each other and then at everyone else. No one had seen them start, but no one apparently had heard anything either. They were all looking at the quilt, and their mother was softly explaining to Mr. Buckthorn some of the details of their craftsmanship. They looked up at Mariah but she staring at Jonas’ back. They frowned. They were a bit jealous of the time that Mariah spent with him. Until this house, she had spent most of her time with the girls and their friends. She was like every girls’ big sister. They looked back at the quilt and then again at each other. They didn’t need to speak. They knew what they both had heard. They were relieved to know that they had been forgiven, but now their fear of the house was reawakened. Forgiven or not, the voice had sent chills down their backs.
