Prologue for Grace and Despair:

Hickory Hollow, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania 1950

The young woman raised her hand in a wave to the driver, and with a tip of his dark, wide brimmed hat, he was off and back to Springfield. It'd been two years; two long years, since Angela Cast had seen this scene. A two story white farmhouse with the parallel barn and outhouse, along side the house ran the Cast field, had long faded her mind; in it's place the friendly Mennonite's house was put. When she looked toward the barn, no longer did she see the shiny black car of the Hangs, but instead an Amish buggy took it's place. There was a short walk up the lane to the Cast house, but the walk seemed ever so long with the heavy luggage cramping her hands.

Remembering back to the summer's of her past, Angela wiggled her toes and they felt the warm air. Out of respect, the girl dressed as she once did, as her Plain family always had. She hadn't worn her navy blue dress with the lace collar and matching white shoes to the reunion as she'd wished. She'd simply put on the purple dress, black apron, and parted her hair and fixed a bun at the nape of her neck, and even tied the usual hanging strings of her prayer cap like she hadn't in a long time.

The luggage began to wear at her fingers, making her even more eager to see her family that had been left behind. She remembered her father. He was a strong, ill-tempered man that would do anything and everything in his power to make things right; only with Angela had he failed. He had this queerness to him when you stopped and looked. Dark brown hair with streaks of white, covered his head, with a nearly white beard trailing from his chin. His eyes were green with a hint of blue and ceased to make a person sad. Her mother, Katy, was such a jolly soul; always wanting to sit and chat with her. Just the opposite of her husband, Katy was a blonde, without the slightest telltale sign of grays. She was strikingly beautiful, her blue eyes not hurting her a bit. Most likely the children looked about the same as she remembered. 'No' she thought, 'then again, it's been two years'.

She'd have to wait and see.