| 14 Comforting Stranger |
| All three sat silently for some time, then Nick initiated a topic of conversation. �So, Mike. What�s happening upstairs these days?� �Do you really expect me to disclose any information to you?� Nick placed his empty mug on the table. �Guess not.� Peggy jumped up. �Stop acting like this is some kind of tea party! You�ve accomplished what you came here for, so why don�t you leave now?� �You haven�t come to a decision, Peggy. We can�t leave,� Mike answered. �Alright. You want my decision...fine. I think that everything you told me is the truth. Satisfied?� she replied testily. �Come now, Peggy, you don�t really believe that. Do you?� Nick responded. Mike stood up but remained at the table. �Do you believe it?� �I think I do.� �How can you? Do you really believe you�ll see your darling Rick again? I think not.� �Nick!� Mike moved around the table and stood beside him. �Will you keep quiet?� �No. I have as much right to voice my opinion as you do.� �Look, I�m not sure what I believe. I want to believe that God loves us enough to keep us around.� Peggy bit her lip. �You humans are so gullible, you�ll believe anything.� Nick laughed. �I need time to think. Alone. I�m going to my room.� She walked to the doorway, then turned back and looked at Mike. �I�d like to believe everyone will be resurrected one day, and that the earth will be a peaceful place to live.� She turned and left the room. Sitting alone on her bed in the quiet solitude of her room, Peggy wondered why these angels had been sent exclusively to her. The bible said God didn�t do that anymore. What difference could one person�s loss of faith mean to him? She stood up, walked over to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer. Inside, on top of folded nightwear sat her mother�s bible, the cover and pages worn with repeated use and devotion. She picked it up, closed the drawer, walked back to the bed and sat down. She stared at it for a long time without opening it. Mike had had her read selected scriptures earlier, but she was still just as lost and confused as she had been before he arrived. She sighed. �What should I do?� She suddenly felt the need to get down on her knees and pray. She shook her head. �No! I can�t.� Maybe Nick was right. Maybe God would destroy everyone on the planet and start again...if that was the case, what good would praying do for her now? But, what if Mike was right? It sounded so wonderful. She slid off the bed and kneeled on the soft purple rug, resting her arms on the jade quilt and joining her hands. �Dear Father...where do I begin. Why was Rick taken away from me? I don�t understand the purpose in that...I need him so much. I love you, I always have...I guess I forgot that for awhile. And I don�t blame you for what happened to Rick. I know you could never do something like that. You are LOVE, and that love will always remain the same no matter what we do.� She took a deep breath. �I do believe Mike...it feels right. Please forgive me. I promise I will never disbelieve again. And thank you for loving me enough to want me back.� Peggy remained with her head resting against her praying hands in quiet reflection for some time. She realised now that one person�s loss of faith meant everything to God, and because of that, he had sent someone to guide her back to him. Feeling emotionally drained, she decided to lie down, just for a moment. Then she would go and tell Mike her decision. The real one this time. She placed her mother�s bible on the nightstand next to her, then laid back and closed her eyes. When Peggy woke up, the first thing she glimpsed was the sun pushing its way around the edges of the drawn blind. She glanced at the bedside clock, 6:30 a.m. She had been so exhausted by the events of the previous evening that she had fallen asleep unintentionally. She stretched languidly and yawned, realising she actually felt good, like some burden had been lifted from her shoulders. |