The Albrecht LegacyAn Amish Legacy Challenge

Prologue

“Aaah….Abigail, it’s so good to see you again. How is your health?”“Fine, just fine Noah. I am a bit tired from teaching today, so perhaps we could relax by playing a round of chess.”“Sounds like a good idea!”Noah and Abigail Albrecht was a couple that lived in the small Amish village of Myerstown, and founded the first schoolhouse there. Abigail was the only teacher, as was the tradition in Amish society. Noah tended their small farm and chicken coop, and traded with the other brothers in town. The elderly couple have been married for over fifty years, but unfortunately never had children. But they made up for the lack of a house full of children with taking care of other children in the village and actively participating in the Church.

They settled down to their game, which they did every evening after supper, and after Noah’s outdoor chores were completed.“I don’t know why, but it appears as if I forgot if it was my turn or yours.”“No matter dear, you can go. I doubt you can beat me so early in the game by having an extra turn.”Knock knock knock knock!“Noah? Who would be calling on us at this hour? It is already half past 8!”“I have no idea, but I will see. Perhaps there is an emergency at one of the other farms.”

A scared and shivering boy stood on the porch of the small farmhouse, hoping he had the right address. He had walked many miles to get there, and he was close to changing his mind and bolting into the street.No, you must do this. You have no choice remember?But what if they don’t like me? What if they think I am telling stories?Don’t worry, that won’t happen.I hope so.The boy waited for what seemed like an eternity before he saw a shadow move across the window and the sound of heavy footsteps approached the other side of the door.

Noah came out onto the porch and looked down at the young boy. He surely can’t be no more than eight years old, he thought as he frowned down upon the boy.“Evening, what can I do for you son?”The boy hesitated and looked to the ground, then sighed. “I…..I…well….”“What is it?” Noah asked, getting slightly irritated.“Well, sir, you see, I am your great nephew, Elijah. And…and….well something dreadful has happened.”“Nephew? My only nephew? What has happened, son? And why are you out at this ungodly hour?”

“Well, sir, my parents and I live in the next town over in Traverstown. And we had horses, you see. Well, two days ago, my parents were tending to the horses when…..when….”Elijah sighed and looked towards the ground. “Well it started to rain and lightening hit the stables. The horses had quite a fright and trampled my parents….till…..they passed on. I was frightened and I ran away before any of the elders could find where I was. I remember coming here when I was younger, and so I walked here. I didn’t know what else to do.”“My you poor soul! Walking all of this way! Come inside please. Your Aunt Abigail can make you some supper. You are hungry right?”“Yes’m. I am very hungry.”

Abigail overheard the conversation, and abandoned the game. She took out some soup mixture and began to prepare it.“Poor boy, I hope he hasn’t caught a cold coming all of this way. My goodness, why didn’t he stay in his town? Running all the way here was not such a wise choice. Well, I am sure there is an explanation for all of this.”

After the supper was placed on the table, Elijah, Abigail and Noah sat down. They wanted some answers so they could understand the whole situation.“So your parents passed away a couple of days ago? I am so sorry to hear that.”“Yes Auntie, they did. I’m still quite sad about it.”“I can imagine. Why did you come all the way here instead of going to a neighbor’s house? You are quite too young to be wandering about alone.”

“Well, I don’t really know anyone in my town, since we just moved there not too long ago. I felt shy to ask for help from them, so I left a note in my neighbor’s mailbox and called the ambulance, then ran here. I didn’t want to be alone.”“Well, since you are here now, you will just have to stay with us. But you will learn a trade, we don’t have ne’er-do-wells in this house.”“Yes’m, of course.”“Very well then. We only have one bedroom so we will set you up a cot in there.”“Thank you very much Uncle.”

“You look exhausted, So I will set up that cot,” Abigail said, rising from the table.“Thanks Auntie.”“You are quite welcome. Make sure you wash up after supper.”“Yes’m.”

Ten minutes later, Abigail called Elijah into the bedroom. At the foot of their bed sat a small feather mattress with a thickquilt covering it.“It’s not much, but it’s warm and clean and dry. I hope it will be comfortable enough for you.”“Don’t worry Auntie this is perfect.” He yawned as he looked at the bed. “I suppose I could use some rest now.”“Very well. We will be turning it shortly as well.

Noah snuffed out the lanterns and crawled into the bed beside his wife. Elijah had already passed out as soon as he crawled under the fresh sheets. He still felt frightened from his parent’s sudden death, and the rough journey he had made to get to his aunt and uncle’s house. But he was glad to be there. He sighed as he fell deeper into sleep, thinking about the one horrible thing he knew. He held on to one secret, one very horrible secret, that he vowed to never tell anyone.

As the months flew by, Abigail continued to teach her small class every morning and afternoon, making sure each pupil got the same amount of help and attention.“Now, as you all know, today is pick a best friend day. Since there is only four of you, this shouldn’t be too hard.”“I pick Emily!” Amber, the girl in the dark red shirt said.“And I pick Paul,” the red headed girl said calmly.“Well it’s settled then. You can play with your best friend during recess. Now, please do your penmanship practice on pages fifteen and sixteen.”

Elijah didn’t participate in the school learning sessions. Instead, Noah trained him to work in the fields and in the chickencoops during the day, while Abigail taught him his academics in the evenings.“Now, make sure you till the soil gently but with a firm hand, just so you can get in a couple inches into the ground.”“Yes Uncle.” Elijah scraped awkwardly at the soil, trying his best not to drop the heavy gardening tool.“No no no, like this.” Noah slowly tilled the soil, then paused as Elijah imitated him.“Yes, that’s right my boy. We just have a couple dozen more plots then we will be finished for the day.”Elijah groaned silently but kept moving.

A few more years passed, and Elijah, now a teenager, found himself single-handedly taking charge of the chicken coops and helping with the farming even more. He had learned a good trade from his uncle, and he was determined to make Noah proud. He had pretty much adopted his uncle as a second father, even though he would never admit that in the open.

“Son, you have definitely improved in your farming. Pretty soon you will be better than me.”“Uncle, don’t say that. I couldn’t be better than you in farming.”“Elijah, sometimes the student gets better than the teacher. There’s nothing wrong with that. Now, we should hurry. Your aunt is already making supper.”There were lots of days like this one. Sometimes Noah would share happy childhood memories with Elijah, and stories about his first plot of land and how he met Abigail. Elijah learned more about his uncle than he ever imagined he would.

A year later, Abigail caught pneumonia and instead of getting better, she got worse despite all of the treatments she was receiving. She passed away in her sleep, while in her husband’s arms. Noah and Elijah buried her the next morning, planting her favorite flowers and saying a small prayer.“She is in good…..hands now.” Noah said in between violent, wheezing coughs.Elijah had a blank look on his face, but deep inside his heart was torn. He was so tired of losing the closest people in his life. It was like it would never end. As he looked at his uncle coughing uncontrollably, he realized that maybe his uncle was next. He hoped not though.“Uncle, are you alright? Maybe we should go inside for some water.”“Yes.” Noah coughed some more. “I could use some lemon tea and a lie down. I am not feeling well.”

Unfortunately, Elijah’s fears came true. A couple of months later, Noah started to feel chest pains while working in the garden one spring afternoon. Elijah had went into town for some more bread, leaving him alone.“Aaaah, Lord have mercy upon me! My chest…..it….it feels awful…burning…..”Noah’s vision doubled, and soon he began to feel his legs buckle under him. The earth spun around as he tried to walk back towards the house, but instead he collapsed on the ground.

“Uncle! I’m back! Brother Jeb only had rye bread so I got three-”Elijah was shocked as he came upon his uncle’s body curled up on the ground.“Uncle? Uncle! Wake up!” He shook his uncle hard, but nothing happened.“No….no…not again….please no!” Elijah rolled his uncle onto his back, and checked for breathing. He tried to do CPR, but nothing helped. Noah Albrecht was aged 97 when he passed away that spring. Elijah felt hurt and crushed as he cried helplessly. He now knew he was truly alone, with no parents, no kin of any sort to help him.

He called on a few of the brothers in the town to help him bury his uncle and give a small sermon. After the men left, Elijah sat in front of the head stones and sighed.“Uncle, Auntie, I am so sorry you had to go. I….I don’t know what I am going to do now. No one is going to take me in because I am just about grown now. I…..I guess I will take care of the farm until something comes up. I wont let you down. I know you are all watching me. I promise to do my best.”

That summer, Elijah matured into a grown man. He had taken over the farm, tending the crops and the chickens, but he realized that eventually he would have to get his own land and settle down. He couldn’t stay single forever. Just last month, he decided to join the Church and embrace the Amish faith completely, so he was expected to find a wife soon.Stressed out, he sought refuge in his favorite book and started reading, when he came across a page that wasn’t there before.“Hmm….what’s this?” He mumbled as he thumbed at the loose piece of paper.

Dear Elijah,I have left this letter for you to read in the case of my demise. So, if you are reading this, then I have already passed. Son, there is something that I need to tell you. I have left my entire farm to you, since you are the last surviving member of our family. But, you can’t run it yourself. I have left you a plot of land at the edge of town. You must go there as soon as possible and set up a house there. Then, you must continue the family bloodline for ten generations on this plot of land. When the tenth generation is born, the heir may come back to this farm and reclaim the rights to it. I do hope you succeed in this task I have given you. Our family will not survive if you do not start a legacy. I love you son.Your dearest uncle,Noah John Albrecht Jr.

Elijah just stared at the letter, but after reading it a few more times he knew what he had to do.

For two days, Elijah busied himself with selling off all of the contents of the house, because he was certain those things couldn’t last for ten generations. After the last chicken was sold, he locked up the house completely and said one last goodbye.“I lived in this house for quite a long time. I just hope I can fulfill my uncle’s wishes and bring the Albrecht name back tothe town.”This was the last time Elijah ever saw his uncle’s farm.

With nothing but the clothes on his back, 20,000 simoleons, and the deed to a plot of land, Elijah Albrecht set out to the edge of town to confront his destiny. The last thought he had as he walked away from the house was of his uncle, and the thought of making him proud was in his mind.

I hope to have the next chapter out within the next couple of days. Thanks to the creators for all of the CC that I am using in my game. Thanks for reading!