Stuck Together

January 21, 2016January 21, 2016 ~ ~M ~ 8 Comments

escaping bride 3 — Photo credit: favim.com

Since I home school, I decided to participate in the Writing Fiction class in 2014 that my daughter was taking. I thought it would be fun to periodically post some of the short stories that I wrote during that time. For this particular writing exercise, I had to write a scene in which two people were stuck together and find a way to get them unstuck. Here’s what I came up with…

As soon as the words were spoken, she knew that the bond could not be broken. Just two little words had sealed her fate. Such simple words, “I do”. Anguish overwhelmed her and her body grew weak. Shock and bewilderment showed upon the faces of the people that had gathered around her lifeless body; which was now collapsed in a heap of white chiffon splayed across the soulless earth beneath her. Indeed, this was the beginning of the end. The end of a life that knew no boundaries, the end of a life who knew no despair, the end of a life that had only beautiful dreams of a future and a hope that couldn’t be contained.

The moment she awakened, she suddenly remembered what had happened and she screamed as if she had just seen a ghost. When in fact, what she was really experiencing, was the haunting fact that she was now married to one of the most ghastly men in all of London. Through no fault of her own, she had been condemned to this fate. She had been kidnapped from her home in Scotland, brought to London, and forced to marry a man who had practically raped her with his eyes at their first introduction. He was repulsive in every way possible and his vile behavior was completely unbearable. The way he looked at her, filled her with such fear, that she lost her composure whenever he was near.

She had to think of a way to break free from her tormentor, but how? She had no idea how to get back to Scotland even if she did succeed at escaping and then there was still the fact that she was legally married to this wretched man. The only solution was plain and clear. She had to find a way to kill him, before he completely destroyed and ruined her life. Another problem was that everyone around her was against her. She couldn’t trust anyone or could she? She had seen a poor maiden beaten half to death for stealing scraps of food in the kitchen just before the wedding day. Perhaps she could make friends with the girl and persuade her to help her escape. It was a long shot, but considering the circumstances, it was probably her only choice. She had seen the girl come and clean the ashes from the fireplace every so often. So, she decided to wait and see if the girl would make an appearance.

It was late afternoon by the time the girl showed up. She had been lucky that her husband had not come into check on her yet. The marriage had still not be consummated and she wanted to keep it that way. From her bed, she watched the girl carefully sweep up the ashes. Rebecca knew that the girl was oblivious to the fact that she was there watching her, so she quietly cleared her throat as to not alarm the girl too much. The girl immediately picked up her cleaning supplies and was about to hurry out the door when Rebecca called to her. The girl stopped and looked at her with large frightened eyes. To disrupt the lady of the house would not be tolerated and the girl knew it. Rebecca tried to reassure her that she only wanted to talk and told the girl not to be afraid. Then Rebecca proceeded to explain to the girl her circumstances and asked the girl for her help. The girl agreed and carefully led Rebecca through a secret passageway in the wall.

It was cold and damp once inside and almost too dark to see clearly. The girl quickly pulled Rebecca along down the steps and seemed to know the way as if she had been there many times before. At the end of the passage way, Rebecca could see a faint light coming through a small crack in the wall. She peered through and noticed that they were in a space adjacent to her husband’s study. She quickly pulled back as she noticed her husband pacing the floor of the study. His back was towards her, but she didn’t want to take any chance that he might notice her. There was a small door that led into the study and Rebecca thought of a plan. What if she could sneak up on her husband and strike him from behind with a blunt object and then hide his body in the secret passageway so that nobody would find his body until she was long gone.

Finally with her mind made up, she slipped quietly out of the small door, grabbed a candlestick that was on the mantle and struck her husband from behind with all the strength she could surmise. Immediately the man’s lifeless body collected at her feet and the servant girl came running quickly over to help. They both worked quickly to drag him into the secret passageway. Safe at last, and with the bond of her captor finally broken, Rebecca escaped into the night and never looked back.

Premonition

November 30, 2015November 29, 2015 ~ ~M ~ 17 Comments

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Even though I’d had an early start, I was restless and eager to get to where I was headed. My mind was preoccupied with venturous thoughts and little did I know that my carefree attitude would soon lead to my demise. The drive was relaxing and gave me time to think about what it would be like when I finally got to my destination. These feelings of excitement left me giddy and it was with great anticipation that I drove onward in my quest for adventure.

After a quick stop, I was refreshed and ready to drive the last remaining distance. Once back on the highway, I became briefly flustered, forgetting which way I needed to go. Just as the thought crossed my mind, I passed an alternate highway on my left and wondered if I had just missed my turn.

Panic stricken, I looked into my rear-view mirror and watched the road to the left quickly disappear from view. Remembering that I had seen an exit to the right coming up ahead, I shifted my eyes to the front and began to slide over to the right lane to head for the exit. I suddenly realized that the road was now two lanes instead of three, and the lane I was trying to slide into had suddenly disappeared.

Panicked once again, I veered to the left to avoid the ditch that I was headed for. The sudden swerve left me facing oncoming traffic and after realizing my mistake, I pulled the steering wheel to the left in hopes of avoiding a collision.

Now in a tail spin, the velocity forced me back against my seat. The spinning continued and left the car moving closer and closer to the concrete barrier that now separated the highway. The car skidded towards the barrier faster and faster. The force thrust me against the driver’s side door and at that moment I knew that my life was over.

I thought of my family and how I would never get to see them again; never say goodbye… I thought even if I did make it, I would surely be battered and broken beyond repair. The impact hit with tremendous force and I felt as if I were suffocating. The world became pitch black in that moment. A heaviness engulfed my entire body and I couldn’t move. I didn’t feel any pain, but felt as if I had been buried alive.

I continued to breathe, but the breath was not my own. I felt as if I needed to open my eyes. I needed to awaken and wanted so badly to be able to speak. I had a strong will and desire to break free of whatever constrained me. Even with this overwhelming desire, I couldn’t make my body do what it asked. My chest grew heavier, more constricted. The weight of a thousand bricks was surely upon me and still my chest rose in breath, but no breath did I take. I was frightened by the darkness that I couldn’t escape. Lost in a world that was neither here nor there. Surely this couldn’t be death… or could it?

Thoughts on the Trials of Life

April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 ~ ~M ~ 7 Comments

Do you ever find yourself lashing out irrationally at people, just because you’re having a bad day? Well, this has been me over the last few weeks. My whole world seemed to cave in on me suddenly, when I learned something about the past that I didn’t know before. This little bit of information has literally changed everything for me and I am not sure what to do about it. I feel like I am losing control of myself and plummeting like a fighter jet that has been shot down. Life is never easy is it? Just when we think we have it all together, our flight path changes directions and we are thrown off course. Why do you think this happens? Do you think it’s God’s way of waking us up? Is He doing this to cause us to turn in a new direction? Is He trying to point out a weakness in ourselves that we just never saw before? Does God even have anything to do with this; or is it by chance that things like this happen? I tend to believe for the most part, that most things happen for a reason. I believe that God is always looking out for our well-being, even in the darkest moments of our lives. He thinks eternally, we think years. I am generally a very open-minded, positive person. But am I really? If I was, than why is this affecting me so much? Sometimes I wish the world would just stop turning for a moment so that I could jump off. The drama in life is just overwhelming and absolutely painful at times. Maybe time is the only real cure. God’s time…

The Perfect Day

January 10, 2015January 22, 2015 ~ ~M ~ Leave a comment

Photo credit: www.adventist.org — Photo credit: http://www.adventist.org

My perfect day will be the day Jesus returns. I can think of no better place in time than that one glorious day. I can imagine myself simply doing my normal daily routine and then suddenly in the midst of it all, I hear this faint trumpet sound slowly getting louder and louder. I run outside and to my unbelieving eyes, I see Jesus! He’s coming down on a cloud filled with light and unrecognizable colors, displaying His awesomeness for all to see! The angels are flying from all four corners of the earth, filling the sky with shouts of, “Glory to God in the Highest! May the Son of God Reign Forever!” My face will be radiant because of the sight of His glorious face. Some people will be horrified, some simply bowing, and still others jumping for joy like me. Tears are running down my face, I am beyond words, I am finally seeing for myself the miracle of Jesus and marveling at His return. He is so far away, yet for some reason I see Him as if He is only inches away from my face. He has kind compassionate eyes and wisdom seeps from His innermost being. He is completely illuminated by the brightest light I have ever seen and He radiates love like no person I have ever known. He is astounding to me and I revel in His beauty. He is the purest most beautiful being that I have ever laid eyes upon and I feel as if I know Him intimately. I am finally seeing Him for the first time, yet it feels as if I somehow, we have met face to face long ago. I know Him and He knows me. He calls me home and calls me his.

This is my idea of a perfect day. What’s yours?