1*******Leap of Faith********
Dedicated to Cherlyn Woods Nagy who struggles with Lupus and Fibromyalgia bravely everyday. :)
******By Annie Marie Perreault******
...
She wondered how long it would be. She had been walking for ages and she was very tired. She looked up. The sky was skewed with blue and green.
It was hot, unbearably hot, and the wind was blowing her dark hair harshly around her face. She was about to fall over.
"Help me lord," she whispered. "You're my only chance."
The cross bounced against her chest. Her faith was wavering. She had to do something. She wasn't sure what but it had to be done soon.
She carefully walked down the stone steps. In front of her was a stone church. She didn't want to go inside but she knew she had to.
Something was calling her and she had to find out what it was.
She opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark and musty. "Hello," she called.
...No one was there. She was starting to get uncomfortable. She didn't like surprises, especially when she was unarmed.
"Hello," she patiently called again. Right away, there was no answer.
Realizing she was on her own, she decided to go forward.
There were old paintings hanging on the rock walls. Many of them appeared to have a renaissance and religious theme.
One of them caught her eye. It was an oil painting of Jesus of Nazareth. It depicted him healing a leper.
Her heart stopped...
Anna...
That was her name: Anna Sterner. She didn't understand how she could have forgotten her name. It was too odd. She wondered what was stealing her memory.
...She looked down at her pale, white hands. It was eerie; her hands always seemed to be white. Even in this heat the blood flow wasn't consistent. Something was really wrong.
Every step required effort. She walked like the tin man, no grace or flow to her movement.
Her faith had slipped through her fingers. When she first got sick, she disowned God. She didn't want to believe he was real.
Because...if he was so real...why on earth was she so sick?
People always asked her why she was so sick. She never knew how to answer them.
Even now she still didn't know the answer.
People called her a liar. She was labeled a slacker for missing so much school. She failed even though she diligently studied the material. She always seemed to lose memory of what she had worked so hard to study and recall.
...
She was the problem child, the dumb kid, the loser girl who always was sick and let people down.
She had lost all faith in herself and others. What would become of her?
She had no future as long as she was incapacitated by her illness. She hated it. She would do anything in the world to be healthy for one day.