(CHILDREN PLAYING)
(ROOSTER CROWING)
(STRUMMING OUT-OF-TUNE CHORD)
(STRUMMING)
(HUMMING)
BENJAMIN: What do you
think you're doing?
Benjamin.
Don't bother explaining,
Katie.
Just be thankful it was me
that heard you up here.
Not Mam or Dat.
I just wanted to
hear it one more time.
This isn't how
you want to start
your new life with
the Bishop, is it?
Sneaking around.
Keeping secrets.
Now, you'd best go
help Mam with supper
so they don't
wonder where ya are.
Got the first 10
acres harvested today.
Lord willing, we'll be harnessing
up the hay-mower next week.
We better.
That ol' draft horse is
about to give up the ghost.
Mmm.
Smells like heaven.
Mam must have cooked it.
Benjamin Lapp.
I'd best get to my
own dinner table.
See you in the morning, Dat.
SAMUEL: Yeah, okay. Gut, Son.
Katie.
Before we bless the meal, your mam
and I have something for you.
SAMUEL: It's your dowry.
We've been saving it up
since you were just a baby.
I'm right proud
of you, Katie.
Not every man's
daughter marries a bishop.
What are me and John Beiler going
to do with all this money?
Maybe build an extra
room onto his house.
For all them grandbabies
we pray you'd be bringing us.
We'll be sure to
put it to good use.
Invite the Bishop and his
boys for supper tomorrow.
We should all have one more meal
together before the big day.
# A cool summer night was
spent watching the fireflies
# dance in
the light of the moon
# Who would have guessed
that what we thought was real
# was so fragile
and ended so soon?
# I miss what we had together
# Promise each other forever
Whoa!
# Was it a long time ago?
# I don't even know
# I barely recognize the
places where we used to go
# I've lost track of time
# It seems like just yesterday
# But you're slipping away
# You're slipping away #
Hello, there, Jacob.
I just finished the milking.
I can see that.
Here, you want me to help you?
No, ma'am. Papa says I'm big
enough to do my own chores.
Papas always
know what's best.
Of course he does.
He's the Bishop.
What were you
singing just now?
Singing? Jah, I heard ya.
It was awful nice.
Oh, 'twas nothing.
I don't remember anything
like that from the hymn book.
Welcome, Katie Lapp!
Yeah, it was.
Just a different one, is all.
Hello, Hickory John.
John, help your brother
to the kitchen with his milk.
Dat told me to take it.
I got it.
Give it here.
He told ya to help.
Get the door.
He'll warm to you in time.
It's only been a few years
since his mama's passing.
So, what brings you out
so early in the morning?
On my way into town to
clean for the Millers.
My dat wanted me to
come by and invite you
and the boys to
supper this evening.
Jah. Jah. That would be gut.
By the way, I want you
to tell those English
that it's time for them to start
looking for a new housekeeper.
Once you and I are tied, you'd
be plenty busy with those boys,
not to mention
some of our own, I hope.
See you tonight then?
Jah.
(SIGHS)
(POP MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)
DANIEL: I got ya something.
Where did you get it?
When I went to the city last
month to visit my cousins.
Katie Lapp.
You are the most beautiful
creature God ever made.
In a few years,
when we're both old enough,
I'm going to marry you.
Then I'll be sure
to grow up fast.
(CAR DOOR CLOSING)
Help you, ma'am?
Yes, I'm trying
to locate someone.
An Amish woman
named Rebecca.
I'm sorry to say
I don't have her last name.
Well, there's more'n 350
souls in Hickory Hollow.
Must be at least a dozen
or more named Rebecca.
It would be a start if you could
point us to where they live.
No, ma'am.
Not without permission.
Please, sir.
It is important
that I find her.
She would have a daughter,
about 20.
Sorry, ma'am.
Thank you, anyway.
It's the same thing in every
one of these little towns.
No one knows anything.
If they do, they're not
willing to say it.
The Amish are
very private people.
You just have to keep knocking
until someone opens up.
What if that
door never opens?
Then I'll crawl
through a window.
Let's stay on this road.
Maybe I'm the problem.
I haven't seen another brother
within 100 miles of this place.
(CAR ENGINE STARTS)
Couldn't help but
overhear ya in the store.
Old as I am, I suppose I know just
about every soul in this county.
The Rebecca I'm looking for
would have a daughter,
born 20 years ago.
EPHRAM: Ella Mae Zook!
You have left your
groceries in the basket.
What I was saying was
she would have been born on...
June 5th.
Yes.
EPHRAM: If you ain't coming back, I'm
gonna put your stuff back on the shelf!
ELLA MAE: Hold your horses,
Ephram Yoder.
I'll be in presently.
It would mean everything to me if
you could give this to Rebecca.
Do what I can, child.
(EXHALES)
Mam, did you ever
love anyone before Dat?
Even if I did, I wouldn't
be telling ya now, would I?
The answer is no.
Once your dat sets
his mind to something,
there's no changing it.
Well, he set his mind on me
and I'm grateful he did.
I just...
I thought I'd be sewing my
wedding dress for someone else.
I know.
Your days with Daniel,
the memories you made,
they'll always
be a part of you.
But you can't build the rest
of your life on memories.
ELLA MAE:
Sorry for interrupting.
Come in, Ella Mae.
I can't stay, child.
I was just hoping to have a
word in private, Rebecca.
Ella Mae.
Happened to pay a visit to Ephram
Yoder's store this morning.
There was a fancy English
woman there who give me this.
I don't understand.
What made her
give this to you?
What ya say?
She was a determined woman.
And I didn't want this letter to
fall into anyone else's hands,
except yours.
Should you need me,
I'll come.
Leave me
to do this, Katie.
Go upstairs and finish
stitching your wedding dress.
I'd rather
be here with you.
No, I insist.
Go on. Right now.
Mama.
You'll be awful busy being a
wife and mother to those boys.
We likely won't
see much of ya,
except for
the Sunday preachings.
Never far away, Mama.
Never far away, Katie.
So, have you chosen
a side-sitter yet?
Jah,
my youngest brother, Noah.
Boys, what do you
think of the shoofly pie?
Delicious.
I'm gonna need
another slice right quick.
It's Katie's recipe,
you know.
Our good fortune, then.
Katie'll makes us lots of good pies
when she's our mam, won't ya?
You'll have to patient with me, little Jacob.
Never been a mama before.
Dat, can we play
checkers after supper?
Jah, Benjamin will
get out the card.
Maybe Katie can
sing to us, too.
The song you were singing today,
from the other hymn book.
You must be confused, Son.
We only have one
hymn book, the Ausband.
We do not sing
the songs of the English.
That is what sets
our world apart.
JACOB: All I know is
it's real nice.
Katie, will ya
please sing it?
Jacob, that's enough
about the singing.
Finish your pie.
Now stop your worrying.
She's a willful child.
But she knows
right from wrong.
It's not that.
An English woman gave this to
Ella Mae Zook to pass along.
I've been too
afraid to open it.
Oh, dear God.
This woman promised
to leave us alone.
We all made a promise.
She's staying at
the fancy hotel in the city.
She's not leaving, Samuel.
What are we going to do?
Nothing.
If we don't respond,
the matter's dead and buried.
No one can find out.
If anyone finds out,
it would change everything.
Our whole life here.
Guess who?
(LAUGHING)
When I heard that
clacking at my window,
I thought maybe Noah King was
finally coming to call on me.
I thought you were
sweet on Elam Glick.
Can't choose between the two.
(BOTH LAUGH)
You're blessed to be marrying
John Beiler, you know?
He's a good man.
I just wonder if I'm fit
to be the Bishop's wife.
How can I be the kind
of wife he needs,
the kind of mother
those boys need
when I can't
even control myself?
What are you talking about?
Little Jacob overheard me
singing one of my songs today
and told everybody
at supper.
Katie, I thought you
was clean past all that.
I prayed and prayed for God to
take the songs out of my heart,
but I can't
get rid of them.
I don't understand
why he'd put music
in your heart and
not let ya sing it.
But it ain't
just the songs. Is it?
He understood me, Mary.
Like no one else.
Some mornings I wake up
and look out my window
and expect to see him
walking down the road.
The river took him, Katie.
It's been three years now!
God called
Daniel Fisher home.
But they never found him.
Katie, he's gone.
You have to accept it.
But God has
given you a new man,
a man that any
single gal in this county
would be honored
to call her own.
It's time you
accept that, too.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
(SNIFFLING)
I got your prescription,
Mrs. Bennett.
I'm fine for now.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Don't you want to
stay ahead of the pain?
Maybe later.
Were there any messages
at the front desk?
None.
Speaking of messages,
Mr. Bennett's been starting to
leave them for me every hour.
He's worried.
You've been avoiding
his calls since we got here.
When are you going
to tell him why we're here?
I don't know.
Soon, maybe.
Since the Amish don't have
phones, please finish your lunch
and then go back
down and check again
to see if anyone left a
message at the front desk.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Oh!
I might as well
get it over with.
Hi, Dylan.
Laura, thank God.
It's been two weeks.
I'm your husband,
I deserve more than
a text message
every other day.
I know.
I'm sorry we haven't talked.
No, sorry is "I forgot
to make dinner reservations."
I was seconds from calling out the
National Guard to come look for you.
You're right. We've just been so busy.
With what?
I get that you love the Amish,
but what's so fascinating there
that you can't pick up the phone
and let me know that you're okay?
Nothing.
And everything.
I don't even know
what that means.
But what I do know is that you shouldn't
be traipsing all over the country.
I want you to come home.
You need to be home.
I'm not ready yet.
I still have something to do and
I can't tell you about it yet.
I thought husbands and wives are
supposed to share everything.
I just need you to trust me
for a few more days.
And then if you want, you can
come and get me yourself.
All right.
You know I love you.
I love you, too.
We'll talk soon.
(SIGHS)
(SIGHS)
I suppose you
know why I came by.
Figuring it had
something to do
with all that
singing business.
A confession is
a redemptive thing, Katie.
It's good for the soul.
I guess you already know that
I've been singing English songs.
And I've been
fibbing to my dat, too.
He told me to get
rid of my guitar,
but I've been
playing it in secret.
Are you truly sorry
for these transgressions?
I suppose I am.
And do you agree
to turn your back
on songs not
found in the Ausband?
I do.
Then, Katie Lapp, today you have
been restored to your faith.
And the church forgives
your indiscretions.
Just as God does.
But there is one more thing.
The scripture tells us that
"if thine eye offend thee,
ye must pluck it out."
I think you know
what you must do.
Destroy the guitar.
DANIEL: B chord.
Gut.
And then E.
Excellent. Now F-sharp.
And E again.
That's it. You've got it.
# A cool summer night was
spent watching the fireflies
# dance in
the light of the moon #
I'm just not sure if
we should be doing this.
Because the ordinance
say not to?
They say it's prideful.
Well, I suppose
it would be.
If we were trying
to impress the world.
Like rock stars.
(IMITATING ELECTRIC GUITAR)
(LAUGHING)
But what if the music
comes from the heart
and is our way
to please God?
Wait, can we try that again?
What's the matter?
Was the kiss not right?
I can do better if
we practice more.
No, the problem was,
that kiss was perfect, Katie.
Everything I had imagined
it would be and more.
Could you ever
leave Hickory Hollow?
You mean move
to another Amish community?
I wouldn't want to live
far away from my family.
Listen to me, Katie Lapp.
If anything should
ever happen to me,
I want you to promise me
that you'll keep on singing.
Why are you acting so strange today?
Nothing's gonna happen to ya.
Just promise me.
Okay. I promise.
I'm sorry, Daniel.
I'm so sorry.
(GRUNTS)
So you spoke to
the Bishop then?
Jah, confessed.
Like Dat asked me to.
It's gut to set
things right, Katie.
Get to the plain truth.
You'll feel better.
Mam, who's Laura Mayfield?
Mama.
You cut yourself.
I'm okay.
What happened down there?
She found a scrap of
the letter in the stove.
Tea, Mam.
With two sprigs of mint,
just how you like it.
Go see to supper, Katie-girl.
Let your mama rest.
How much did she see?
Just a name.
What if she starts
asking questions?
What do I say?
Nothing.
We say nothing.
For 20 years,
I've been praying this
day would never come.
She's been our daughter since
the day we brought her home.
I will not allow this English woman
to interfere with our lives.
Mam, whose dress is this?
Where did you get that?
In the attic
with my keepsakes.
There's a name stitched into it.
Katherine Mayfield.
Same name that was
on that scrap of letter.
It's an English name.
Ain't so?
REBECCA: Katie, I...
Katie, go.
What are you not telling me?
Go. Go.
Samuel! Time has come.
Katie.
That fancy dress there.
It's yours.
I'm Katherine Mayfield?
Jah, you were.
Please, explain.
Since the day we
laid eyes on you,
we've loved you like our own.
What are you saying?
We're saying that you
are English by birth,
and you are Amish
by adoption.
I'm not your daughter?
You have always
been our daughter!
You just weren't
born to us.
Why didn't you tell me?
It would have
made no difference.
Yes, it would,
I'm not Amish!
You are Amish
through and through.
The name on the letter.
Laura Mayfield. She's...
Yes.
The letter was
from her, wasn't it?
What did it say?
It don't matter none, Katie!
Yes it does, it matters to me!
Why did you burn it?
Because some things
are better left unsaid.
All that matters is
we are your family.
But, Dad.
Katie.
Please, trust me on this.
You're better off not
digging up old graves.
Does Benjamin know?
No, just the three of us.
And that's how we're going to
keep it for everyone's sake.
(DOOR OPENS)
(WHISPERING)
Not a word about it.
BENJAMIN: Morning, all.
ELLA MAE: Don't suppose you can
pretend not to have seen this
when it shows up
as a wedding gift.
It's for me?
Cow's out of the barn now.
Please,
pour yourself some tea.
What's weighing
on you, Katie-girl?
Last time you stopped by
unannounced was three years ago.
Talking to you lifted
my spirits, Ella Mae.
The only thing that got
me through some days.
Well, I still
have ears to hear.
That envelop you
give Mam the other day.
May I ask how
you come by it?
You and your
folks have a talk?
Jah, they told me
about the English woman.
But they wouldn't tell me
what the letter said.
Plainly, it weren't meant
for my eyes or yours.
All I know
is that I was the baby catcher
in this community for 50 years.
Of all those
hundreds of babies,
only one I didn't catch.
Me?
Your folks brought
you home all bundled up
from the hospital
in Lancaster.
Why do you think
she gave me away?
Perhaps the better question
is why has she come back?
My folks won't say.
Maybe they're doing
what's best for you.
They kept it a secret
from me my whole life.
How is that
what's best for me?
Don't be so quick to judge.
You don't have all
the puzzle pieces.
But don't I deserve to?
What if I was supposed to have
a whole other life, Ella Mae?
Out there,
among the English.
Oh, I won't deny this
is powerful news.
But no matter
where God puts us,
it's up to us how
we choose to live.
Can I help you?
I want to look like you.
Excuse me?
I mean, I would like to dress in
something like you are wearing.
Not like this.
Okay. All right, then. Yeah.
Trust me.
You were born to wear these.
(CHATTERING)
EPHRAM: God has said, "It's not
good that man should be alone.
"Let us make him
a partner like himself."
And for this reason,
a man should leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife.
And the two shall
become one flesh.
So,
we stand here today
to join this couple,
John Beiler with Katie Lapp,
in the eyes of the Lord.
If there's a soul present
who could give cause why these
two should not be united,
let them speak now,
for after this, not one
complaint should be heard.
If there be no objections
and our sister
and brother agree...
I... I...
I'm so sorry, John Beiler.
I cannot marry you.
I'm so sorry.
Katie, are you in here?
Katie!
Katie, are you out here?
Please, answer me!
I'm not angry with you!
I just want to know you're okay!
(CRYING)
Katie!
Katie!
Katie! Where have you been?
Have you any idea
of what you've done?
What will the people
think of us now?
Your conduct today has put
shame on this entire family.
I don't expect
you to understand.
But I did John
a favor today.
What you did was
leave a widower
with no wife and no
mother for his boys!
John thought he was marrying
a good Amish woman.
But that's not what I am.
Is it?
Daughter.
Don't let your willful
spirit get you shunned.
Benjamin, take little Eli.
Go home to your family.
Katie.
You are to go to
the Bishop tomorrow.
You are to repent for what you did
and beg him to take you back.
If he will still have you.
I will not. I will not
obey you in this, Papa.
All my life, I trusted you
to know what's best for me.
But you never
trusted me enough
to tell me
the truth about myself!
I have a right to know
what that letter said.
I demand you tell
me what it said!
You demand?
You speak to me with respect, you hear me?
I'm your father!
You are not my father!
(REBECCA GASPS)
Oh, Katie.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(DOOR OPENS)
She's here.
Thank you for coming.
Please, won't you sit down?
We made a promise to each
other all those years ago.
We took her and
raised her as our own.
And you were never to
come looking for her.
I know,
but things changed.
Not for us.
For her own sake,
we never told her about you.
But you coming here,
sending letters,
snooping around,
forced us to tell her about you.
I am so sorry.
I just wanted to
meet with Katherine.
Katie.
Katie. I just...
I just wanted to see
her for a few moments.
You may think that I'm naive.
But I know what you want.
You want to take her from us.
No.
I would never do that.
If that's true,
write another letter.
Another letter?
One that says you're
sorry for coming here,
for trying to see us.
And that once you got here,
you realized that it was all
a foolish mistake, that you
lost your heart to see Katie.
And that you're going home,
never to return.
I could never
write those things.
You would if you wanted
what's best for Katie.
Not what's best for you.
But I couldn't
say what isn't true.
Then we have nothing more
to say to one another.
I've come to you
seeking counsel.
I'm at my wits'
end with the girl.
We sympathize, Samuel Lapp.
It's a good thing you want to bring
some order back to your household.
It looks to me
as if the poor lamb
has just lost her way.
Let us not forget,
our Lord left
the 99 to go and bring
the one lost sheep
back to the fold.
True, Ephram, but what
if all this ruefulness
is evidence that she wants
to run from the flock?
Leave the people behind.
Samuel, this is the question
only you can answer.
Are you fearful she's on the
brink of leaving the church?
I pray to God
it's not the case.
But I can't promise
that it ain't in her mind.
Then the scripture
is clear on that.
If she will not
listen to admonishment,
then for her own good,
she has to be disciplined.
"With such a one,
you shall not even eat!"
Bishop John,
as grievous as this is, as our shepherd,
this matter now falls to you.
John.
I was planning
to come see you,
but I didn't want to upset the
boys any more than I already had.
Were you planning
to make a confession?
No.
(SIGHS)
This confirms it then.
You are drifting
away from the people.
As of today,
you are shunned.
None of us in Hickory Hollow
can speak to you.
You may not eat at the same
table with other church members
nor do business with any
plain soul until such time
that you come to your senses
and we see that your actions
meet with your convictions.
Then you may be able
to offer a kneeling
confession before
the congregation.
And it is only then
die Meinding can be lifted,
even if it takes
the rest of your life.
Mama, why is Katie
sitting at the kids' table?
(SHUSHING)
Just eat your food.
Did you run into Abe Stoltzfus
at the farmers' market today?
No.
He was going to give you some
medicine to deliver to Ella Mae.
What's the matter
with Ella Mae?
Must be the
old girl's arthritis.
Acts up with
the change of seasons.
I'll go by tomorrow,
take it to her.
Or you could let
me take it to her.
SAMUEL: Horses need
their supper, too.
I'll help.
Ephram, please.
You don't have to say nothing.
Just let me buy
the thread I need.
I've always been able to help
her when she's suffering.
And now there's
not a thing I can do.
I can't speak to her.
I can't hold her hand.
I know I've been hard on the girl.
Have been all her life.
Give her some time.
She'll come to her senses,
do a kneeling confession.
All will be well again.
It's what
the shunning's meant for.
You'll see.
But this pain, Samuel?
Is this God's
way of showing us
what Laura Mayfield
has felt all these years?
Just wanted to be
close to her child,
just to see her one time,
but having a wall
separating her.
(GUITAR PLAYING)
She has no respect at all.
I'm not trying to
be disrespectful.
It's the only way to
get your attention.
We've given her every opportunity.
How does she repay us?
Please, Dat, talk to me.
Samuel, please!
She brings this English
instrument into our home!
Dat, please talk to me!
I don't know what to do.
I need my papa's help
to help me to know what to do!
REBECCA: Samuel,
maybe we could just...
What?
We could what?
You want to defy the order?
No.
You want to walk away
from everything we believe in?
No.
Everything that
sets our world apart?
Please, talk to me.
No!
(CRYING) Talk to me,
please. I need you.
DANIEL:
Remember the fireflies?
They were everywhere,
weren't they?
DANIEL: Shining all around us
as I took you home in my buggy
on this very road.
The night we first
fell for each other.
Everything was perfect.
Everything was right.
The people have always
been there for me, Daniel.
When you drowned, they gave
me the strength to go on.
Now I've lost them, too.
Is this what my
faith has been about,
being banned for
the rest of my life?
I don't even know
who I am anymore.
Then maybe it's
time you find out.
The only people
who know the truth
about my birth
are Mam and Dat.
And even if they wanted to,
they can't tell me anymore
because I'm shunned.
I don't have anyone left.
Is that true?
You mean her?
But I don't even
know who she is.
I don't know how I
would even find her.
Deep down,
you know what you
need to do, Katie.
Why did you have
to leave me, Daniel?
Mrs. Lapp?
Hello, I was hoping
to see Mrs. Bennett again.
Oh, I'm sorry.
You're too late. She's gone.
Gone? But she said she was...
MAN: Jessica.
Out front. Your flight
leaves in 90 minutes.
I'll be right there.
Can you give
this to her for me?
I suppose so.
I really have to go.
She left so suddenly.
Her husband arranged
for an air ambulance
to fly her back
to her doctors.
She collapsed this morning.
Collapsed?
You mean she
didn't tell you?
Tell me what?
Her vitals have stabilized.
BP 90 over 60.
She's been in and out of UC
all the flight over here.
Laura, can you hear me?
What's wrong with her?
Please, tell me what's wrong.
Laura, I want you
to look at me.
That's very good. Okay.
I love you.
Prep her stat,
I'll be right behind you.
The good news is, I don't
think she's had a stroke.
But I did warn her
this could happen.
That tumor's pressing
on her spinal cord
and interfering with the
blood flow to her brain.
Oh, dear God.
We should have done this
surgery a month ago.
I know.
She kept insisting there was
something she had to do first.
Whatever it is,
I hope it was worth it.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Hello?
Yeah.
Yeah, she's doing great.
The surgery was a week ago.
Yeah, she made it through
with flying colors.
Yeah, so about our deal...
You went through
a major surgery, honey.
It's normal to
feel a little down.
We'll have you back on your feet soon.
You'll see.
How's she doing today?
Singing the blues.
We need to give her some space
to heal, so keep it short. Hmm?
I understand.
I know, but I just need to have
a reasonable rate of return.
Morning, Mrs. Bennett.
What's that?
Rebecca.
She came by the hotel when I was
leaving and she gave me this for you.
Oh! Oh!
Hey, look, I'll have to get
back to you later. Thanks.
Sweetheart, what's that?
Could you give
us a few moments?
Mam.
I want you to know
everything, Katie.
It's time you come
to know what happened
the night you came
to be our baby girl.
But the ban, you shouldn't
be talking to me.
I would rather be
shunned myself than have
another minute in
silence with you.
I was eight
months pregnant, Katie.
We loved your brother
more than anything,
but your dat and me had been
praying for more children.
And God answered our prayers.
Just not in
the way we expected.
LAURA: There was a time
before my inheritance
that you don't know about.
And it's the reason that I
went to Lancaster County.
My mom was an alcoholic
and a drug addict.
And my grandmother
disinherited her.
And when I was 16,
I met this boy
who made me feel
like I mattered.
And with no one
really watching over me,
things happened.
After Ben was born,
we tried having more babies.
I got pregnant three
times and lost each one.
I wasn't taking
chances with this baby.
I was going to
fight for this one.
But the baby
started coming too early.
Your dat wanted
to fetch Ella Mae,
but I knew
something was wrong.
I just knew I
needed an English doctor.
LAURA: I begged and begged
him not to leave me.
But he did.
He did leave me.
REBECCA: Our precious
baby girl was born,
but something was
wrong with her heart.
There was
nothing they could do.
She lived
only a few minutes.
The doctors said my
child-bearing days were over.
Said we'd never again hold
a little one of our own.
LAURA: I remember sitting in the
wheelchair wondering what I was gonna do,
when I saw...
REBECCA: That's when
she came to us.
She was no more than 16.
She wanted you to
have a good life,
the kind of life she didn't think
she could provide at the time.
She offered you
to us in secret
when no one was watching.
That buggy driving away was
the last I ever saw of her.
All that searching
and you didn't get to see her?
No.
I realized that's
the greatest gift
a mother could ever
give her daughter,
putting her needs
before her own.
REBECCA: All anyone knew was that
we left the Hollow pregnant
and we returned with
a beautiful baby girl.
Why did you keep it a secret?
Because we loved you
so much.
We were afraid
if anybody knew,
that some people would come
and try to take you away.
And that's a risk
we were never willing to take.
It mightn't have been legal
in the English's eyes.
But we knew in our hearts,
it was legal in God's.
You were a gift to us.
Straight from heaven.
But I now see you
were a gift to her, too.
She just realized it
too late.
Where is she now?
She went back home.
To New York.
There's something else.
She's dying, Katie.
And that's why
she came back.
She wanted to
meet the daughter
she gave away
all those years ago
and to ask for
your forgiveness.
I know you can't speak to me, but I
was hoping you might just listen.
You're just
in time for tea.
Thank you for talking to me, Ella Mae.
Breaking the ban, I mean.
Half the folks
in this community
think I'm as
senile as a loon anyway.
They'll think I forgot
there even was a ban.
Besides,
there are times
the human heart
needs more than the
old ways can give it.
My mam also talked to me.
She told me everything.
Thought she might.
The reason Laura Mayfield
came looking for me
after all these years is
she's dying.
She wanted to see me
while there's still time.
Then I guess you've
got a decision to make.
If I don't go now, Ella Mae,
I might never get to see her.
I might never find
out who I really am.
Who you really are?
That's a peculiar
thing to say.
What do you mean?
Well, I know who you are.
You're that
little girl who loved
picking flowers
of every color.
Squabbling with
her ornery brother.
Listening to her
mama's stories.
And always at
her father's feet.
Taking late-night buggy rides
with Daniel Fisher.
All of that, child.
That's who you are.
If you need to go
see Laura Mayfield,
then go.
Or if you just need
to discover the world,
then go.
And God be with you.
But don't go thinking you're
gonna find something out there
that you ain't
already found right here.
The miracle
ain't the life
you missed, Katie,
it's the life you've got.
Twenty years ago,
love brought you
to Hickory Hollow
and if you're gonna leave,
let it be that same love
that sends you off.
When are you leaving?
There's a bus out of
Lancaster later today.
You're going to see her then?
Yeah. I'm going to try.
But even if I don't,
I have questions I need
answered for myself out there.
If you do find her,
what will you say to her?
I'll say thank you.
Maybe she regrets
giving me away,
but I'm grateful
that she did.
Because she gave me to the best
parents a child could hope for.
She gave me
to my true family.
How will we know you're
all right out there?
I have money saved
up from housekeeping.
And I'll write you.
Katie, I'm so sorry
if we hurt you.
I'm sorry for
all the secrets.
Can you forgive me?
Mama, I already have.
No matter how far you go,
or how long you're gone,
we'll always be right here.
And when you're ready to
come back, we'll be waiting.
I love you, Mama.
I love you, too, Katie-girl.
Never far away.
Never far away.
I suppose if I was
going away on a journey,
a little extra
cash might help.
Dat.
MAN ON PA: Attention, passengers
for Buffalo, New York.
All passengers
for Buffalo, New York.
The bus will now
begin boarding.
Katie!