Sofia paused, swallowing her tears as she thought of Ludwig. "God will give me a home, too, when the time comes. But until then, I'm happy to continue the journey, because I know that God is with me. When I was alone on Ellis Island, He showed me Psalm 66. It says to sing the glory of God's name, and that's what I've been trying to do. It also talks about how God sometimes tests us. It says, `You brought us into prison-' "
"Don't remind me!" Elin said.
"'And laid burdens on our backs....' "
"You mean like this trunk we've been lugging around?" Kirsten teased.
"Yes," Sofia said, laughing, "like our faithful trunk. And it says, `We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.' I think we're finally finding that place."
"Amen," Elln murmured. "Amen."
The carriage plodded slowly through the congested city streets. Finally the traffic began to thin and Sofia sat forward in her seat, growing excited as they neared the Swedish neighborhood.
"I've asked the driver to take a little detour," she said. "There's something I want to show both of you." When she spotted the billboard she was looking for, plastered on the side of a building, she asked the driver to stop. Kirsten and Elfin were astonished to see her name on it: Sofia Carlson, the Swedish Songbird.
"And I have another surprise for you. Mr. Lund gave me free tickets for both of you. You're going to come and hear me sing tomorrow at the matinee."
"I haven't seen her show yet," Kirsten said. "I can't wait."
Elfin hugged her tightly. "Me either."
Sofia was surprisingly nervous the next day as she prepared to perform for her sisters. She always wanted to do her best, but especially at this performance, with people she loved in the audience. She drew a deep breath as the curtain opened and walked to the center of the stage. With the spotlight shining on her, she couldn't see Elin and Kirsten in the darkened theater, but she knew they were there, cheering for her. The pianist played the prelude to the Swedish love ballad that had become Sofia's theme song. She closed her eyes, thinking of Ludwig, and sang the words just for him.
As she neared the end of the song, Sofia thought she saw a shadowy figure moving toward the stage down one of the aisles. She tried not to let it distract her as she poured her heart into the final heart-stirring chorus. Then, in the brief silence before the applause began, the shadow in the aisle called out to her.
"Sofia! ... Sofia Carlson!"
Her heart began to race. She shaded her eyes and hurried to the edge of the stage to peer down. An usher was trying to pull the man away from the stage, away from her.
"Sofia!" he called again.
Ludwig.
It was him! It was Ludwig! Oh, thank God he's here at last! But a second usher was hurrying down the aisle to help wrestle Ludwig out of the theater.
"Let him go," she cried. "That's Ludwig!"
Sofia raced to the side of the stage and down the steps to the auditorium, praising God for bringing Ludwig back to her. The applause went on and on, and she realized that the audience must think this was part of the show-two lovers were being reunited, just like in the song.
She could barely see through her tears of joy, and without hesitating, she ran straight into his arms. She had forgotten how tall he was, how handsome. He lifted her off her feet as they hugged each other.
"Ludwig!" she wept. "Ludwig, it's really you!"
"I find you! At last I find you." It took her a moment to realize that he had spoken in English. And that she had understood him.
The audience was on their feet, cheering and applauding, believing this was the climax of her act. Sofia took Ludwig's hand and bowed again, then led him up the stairs the way she had come and through the curtain to the backstage area.
"Great ending to your number!" Mr. Lund said as he came forward to shake her hand. "The audience loved it! How did you think of it?"
Sofia shook her head, still too emotional to reply.
Mr. Lund's eyes went wide. "You mean that was real?"
"Yes," she managed to say. "This is Ludwig. I haven't seen him for ... for ... I thought I'd lost him."
Mr. Lund smiled and patted her arm. "Why don't you go in the back and talk."
Sofia and Ludwig held each other again in the privacy of the dressing room. At last she wiped her tears. "I know English, a little," she said.
"I, too. But I learn how to say one thing in Swedish." He held her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "Jag dlskar dig. I love you, Sofia."
"And I love you, Ludwig."
She went into his arms again and he held her tightly. "I thank God I find you," he said in English. "I am looking for a long, long time to find you. In the fire, I lose everything. I know your name but not your house in Chicago. I am walking all around, looking and looking. I will knock on all of the doors in Chicago if I have to. I pray to God for help and then I see a big sign: `Sofia Carlson.' And I am wondering if it is you-and it is!"
"The newspaper is telling about the fire on Ellis Island," she said, looking up at him. "I am fearing you are there."
"The ship is going to take me back to my country and I am thinking to swim, but before I do, there is the fire. I help some little childs to escape and the American officials see this, and they say that because I am strong enough to save those childs I am strong enough to live in America. They let me stay, but I have no money. My money burns in the fire, too. Some people from my country who are in New York, they find for me a violin to play and a job making music so I have money to come to Chicago. I tell them I have to find my Sofia. I cannot forget her."
"I knew you would find me."
"I love you, Sofia. All this time, I am hoping you love me, too."
"I do!" she wept. "I do!"
They talked until the show ended. Then Sofia led Ludwig to the lobby, where she had promised to meet her sisters. "This is my sister Elfin, and you already met Kirsten," she told him in English. "This is my friend Ludwig Schneider," she said in Swedish. "He came for his violin and his Bible."
"We thought so," Elin said, smiling.
Ludwig reached for her hand and held it up to show them. "I come to find my Sofia," he said, "and I will not let her go again." And even though he spoke in English, Sofia knew that her sisters understood.
"See? I knew he would find me," she told them. "I knew he would."
f eer Z&ono(er Jfou) an 2ufror
chose a certain time period? plotted the book? named her characters?
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Lynn Austin, Until We Reach Home
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