The Kick; Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder

60,000+ words.

An unfortunate event was misinterpreted with tragic results. The misinterpretation was gleefully perpetuated by several actors for their own gratification.

An Amish family found their oldest child, their only daughter, dead in the weeds with a hole in her forehead.

An investigation found no reason for the hole in her head nor for her death. Therefore, it was assumed the father killed his daughter. When a hammer was found that perhaps could have been used to commit the crime, the father was charged with murder.

An especially gung ho detective pushed the charges as far as they could be pushed, past the point of reasonableness.

The bishop of the Amish church, who had personal reasons for doing so, convinced the church elders that God said to shun the entire family — father, mother, sons — of the dead girl.

Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder got involved.

Amid resistance from the bishop and his Amish, the dead girl was exhumed. The real reason for her death was determined (story spoiler has been omitted).

The charges were dropped. Still, the unreasonableness of the murder charge could not reverse a shun declaration that had been dictated by God.

To bypass the shun, Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder helped the damaged family start their own church. The new church had the same rules as the shunning church except there was one rule missing. Nobody would be shunned at the new Amish church, ever.