Free The Memory Jar by Tricia Goyer Page A

one,
Faithful is he;
He the great example is, and pattern for me.
    “Where he leads I’ll follow,
Follow all the way.
Where he leads I’ll follow,
Follow Jesus ev’ry day.”
    Sarah sang her mother’s favorite hymn two times through, and after the second time, just as she was about to sing again, she heard the sound of movement. Large movement, like something clambering through the forest. She thought about calling out. After all, maybe it was Jathan or Amos. Yet as the sound grew louder, Sarah wrapped her arms around herself, fear freezing her like a statue. A scream rose in her throat but stuck there. Just when she thought for certain she’d see the snout of a gigantic bear, something appeared. The form moving down the pathway was a man!
    Sarah rose and waved her arms. “Jathan! Here! I’m here!”
    Jathan tried to stop in his tracks, but his momentum slid him forward.
    She expected a scolding for going off the trail. She waited for his explanation for why they hadn’t shown up. But instead, Jathan rushed forward and stood before her, taking her hands in his. His hands were warm, and she resisted the urge to step into his embrace and let his whole body warm her.
    “Sarah, I’m so sorry. Will you forgive me?”
    “Forgive you?” She tilted her head back. Surprise arched her eyebrows.
    “First, that I left you alone on the trail. And second …” He squeezed her hands tighter. “Second, it’s my fault yer here. At the top, I was in such a hurry to get down, to see you, that I led us down the wrong trail. There are two trails leading down from the top,” he explained. “We had no idea until it was too late.”
    Sarah thought about asking about the second trail, but something else he said mattered more. “You were in a hurry to come back fer me?”
    Jathan’s mouth dropped open slightly, and he released her hands. “I, uh, I was worried about you. The view was amazing, but I felt bad you weren’t there. I felt even worse that I’d left you. I should have gone with my inner feelings and stayed by yer side.”
    “
Danki
, but I have to know … how did you find this trail, and how did you know I went down it?”
    Jathan glanced around, as if sizing up where they were. He nodded. “I will tell you, but first we need to start a fire while we have even a little light left. It’ll be a long, cold night if we don’t.” He turned to find some wood.
    “We’re going to be here all night?”
    “We can’t hike out in the dark. It’s too dangerous, especiallywith you injured.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “But I’ll make you as comfortable as I can, Sarah. I promise.”
    Dark clouds blocked out most of the fading sunlight, and Sarah blew a heavy breath, as if that alone could push the coming rain the other direction.
    Jathan dug under a pile of dead branches, looking for dry wood. When he found enough, Sarah knelt beside him and they layered the sticks. She also brushed aside other branches or foliage to give them a wide, clear ring — not that she thought a forest fire could start in this damp place, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
    Moisture from the ground seeped through her skirt and chilled her legs.
    Jathan pulled a match from his pants pocket.
    “Wait, before you do that.” She rose and hobbled over to a tree, peeling back layers of moss until she found a large, dry piece.
    He eyed her.
    “It’ll be easier to light the moss than the wood.” She handed it to him and then sat on her log, rubbing her ankle.
    Jathan packed the moss around the wood, lighting it.
    “I’m so thankful you brought matches.” Sarah rubbed her hands together.
    “
ne
, Amos did. All the others emptied their things into my backpack jest in case we couldn’t make it down to the bottom of the mountain before dark.”
    The small flame flickered and danced. A cold wind swirled, nearly blowing it out. Jathan hunched down, cupping his handsto shield the flame from the wind. A moment later, the flame grew,