《Theoterra: Emuna’s Summer Story》


 Chapter 1: Schools Out!

    ?Year Twelve Valens-Academic Year Zayin?


    "Finally, school''s out!" Emuna exclaimed out of relief for a while, when the last school bell echoed throughout the school and her Theoterrean History class was dismissed. Everyone, who wore their school uniforms, chatted with each other while they left the classroom. Her teacher waved at the students leaving the classroom, standing still in silence.


    Then after Emuna placed her yellow pencil, a couple of romantic comic books, and her drawn out comic strips inside her bag in a hurry, she left the classroom with her worried face. Sweat came down from her forehead, her eyes widened and her heart beaten a bit faster as she walked faster.


    -Okay, I gotta hurry up and meet Plionay fast before she gets hurt. I can''t allow that to happen. Ever. Only Elohim knows what people will do to her.


    Once Emuna walked downstairs towards the Electives area, she searched everywhere at one particular hallway, until she finally saw Plionay, who was a bit far away from her, walked forward, smiled and waved at her. Some boys'' cheeks blushed whenever they gazed at Plionay''s big breasts and ass, several girls gave Plionay their disgusted looks and gossiped about her, and the majority of the students just ignored Plionay and minded their own business. Plionay''s wavy, deep red hair stood still on her back. Her most beautiful facial beauty and emerald eyes glistened under the ceiling lights. Emuna and Plionay called out one another''s names and walked towards each other.


    After they hugged one another, Emuna worriedly asked, "Are you alright? Has anybody harassed and hurt you?"


    "No, I''m fine," Plionay responded.


    Emuna sighed out of relief and grinned at Plionay. "Oh, thank Elohim you''re safe. So, are you ready to eat lunch before we head home?"


    "Sure, I''m so hungry. Let''s go!"


    Emuna chuckled. "Right on."


    Then Emuna and Plionay entered the cafeteria.


    ****


    After Emuna and Plionay got their food, they began to look for a place to sit. Certain students behaved the same as those in the hallway did towards Plionay. Plionay sighed out of frustration, putting her head down, closing her eyes. Emuna turned to Plionay with her sad eyes.


    -Dear Elohim, please give us strength to overcome people''s wicked deeds. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    When the three young women around Emuna and Plionay''s age chuckled viciously and looked at Plionay, one of them with curly, blond hair stood in front of the other two, closing her eyes with her hand on her chest.


    "I''m gonna miss tearin'' down this stinkin'' whore this summer. It was so much fun," The curly, blond-haired young lady sneered.


    "I know, right?" Another young woman with orange, wavy hair asked.


    "Totally," The third one who had straight, dark black hair agreed.


    Emuna glared at those young women who walked passed her and Plionay, while Plionay sighed even more.


    -Oooh, I can''t wait to beat the shit out of those snobby dickheads, ''cause they piss me off one way or another!


    "Shut up, you three!" Emuna roared.


    The first young woman turned around and frowned at Emuna. "You shut up, Emuna. Nobody''s talkin'' to you!"


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    The students around Emuna, Plionay, and those three young ladies curiously watched and took interest in a potential fight between Emuna and the first one, whether they were sitting down to eat and chat, or getting their food. They chatted with one another.


    "Anybody, who''s gonna talk bad about my best friend, also talks bad about me! You got that?!"


    "Oh, yeah?" The first one snobbly asked. "And what? You''re gonna fight me then? I would like to see you try."


    Emuna grips her hand on her blue tray hard, frowning at the first one even more with her mouth opened.


    -I''m ready to go kick her ass!


    "Oooh, let''s do this thing!" Emuna agreed as the crowd excitedly gasped and chattered even more.


    Plionay widened her eyes and turned to Emuna. "Ugh, Emuna! Don''t!"


    As Emuna was going to place her tray at one of the brown, long tables nearby and pick a fight with the first one, Plionay quickly walked towards Emuna and called Emuna''s name, adding, "Don''t do this. You don''t have to participate in this drama, especially on the last day of school. It''s not worth it, y''know."


    Emuna sadly turned attention to Plionay. "But, Plionay-"


    "Think about it. Matthew 7:12 says don''t do to others that you don''t want them to do to you. Would you like it if she also physically hurt you?"


    "Okay, so don''t do this. It displeases Elohim, Yeshua, and your parents once you''ve done this sorta thing. Besides, I don''t want you to get in trouble again, like you did last time."


    "But, Plionay-"


    "Please, please. Do this for Elohim, not me."


    After Emuna sighed and looked down below for a moment, she turned to Plionay and whispered, "Alright, I''m gonna do it."


    "Yay!" Plionay exclaimed in a whisper, putting her tray down and clapped.


    Turning to the first one, Emuna said, "Alright, I''m totally not gonna fight you on the last day of school."


    The first one turned snobbly turned her head to the left with her eyes closed. "Hm, that''s what I thought, loser! Let''s go, girls!"


    "Mmn!" The other two shook their heads in agreement and followed after the first one.


    Plionay said to Emuna, "Okay, we gotta go find our seats."


    "Mmn," Emuna agreed, shaking her head a little. "I''m gonna be right beside you."


    "Mmn," Plionay agreed, also shaking her head with her eyes closed and a smile.


    Then Emuna and Plionay began to find their seats. They looked everywhere until they found their seats. There they saw the empty seats at the corner near the hallway that led to the courtyard. They moved in while the three young men stared at Plionay''s attractive face and body with their scarlet cheeks, chattering with one another. As Emuna and Plionay sat in their seats on opposite sides, they ate a bit and looked at one another.


    "So, Emuna," Plionay said. "How were your exams? Did you do good on them?"


    "Yea, and Elohim helped me confront my fears of failing my exams and repeating Year Zayin next year as well as going through these damn tests as correctly as possible. I''m glad they''re over. That''s for sure," Emuna responded.


    "And you took my advice as well, right?"


    "Of course, I did. I just hope I pass them all."


    "Let''s hope so."


    Emuna looked down at the table with her sad face. "But still...I can''t believe I failed those School Exit Exams though. "


    Plionay frowned at Emuna. "Don''t worry about it! You''re gonna be fine on those exams and the School Exit Exams remakes next, trust me. Elohim is using me as your guidance. You should be grateful for that."


    Emuna then grinned at Plionay with one of her guilty eyes closed. "Yeah, you''re right, Plionay. I''m sorry I''m allowing my failures to take over my heart. Please forgive me."


    "Mhn," Plionay agreed with a happy smile. "I forgive you."


    Emuna looked up at the ceiling. "Dear Lord. Please forgive me of not believing in You. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    "Amen."


    Emuna turned back to Plionay''s attention. "And you? Did you do well on your Elective Exam?"


    Plionay grinned with her eyes closed. "Yep, Elohim lead me through this. And I''m thankful for that."


    Emuna smiled. "That''s good to hear, Plionay. I hope you do well on all your spring semester exams."


    "Thanks. I will."


    "So, you''re gonna do your summer ministry work in Aigialo with your grandparents as usual, right?"


    Plionay closed her eyes and shook her head in agreement. "Mmm-hmm. Of course, I will. What about you? You''ll do your summer ministry work with your grandparents in Xenopolis, right?"


    "You bet. I just can''t wait to leave school and perform my ministry work there. I prefer to perform my ministry work over going to school any day now. Just one more academic year and we''re both done with compulsory education. Like for real."


    "I know, right?" Plionay reshook her head in agreement with her eyes closed. "Let''s just hurry up and eat, so we can go home already."


    "Right?"


    After Emuna and Plionay ate their food and put their trays away, they were beginning to leave the cafeteria, walking in haste. The three young men got up from their seats and followed after those young women. One of the young men grabbed onto Plionay''s arm and Plionay quickly turned her head towards the young man who grabbed her.


    "Hey, there, babe. Don''t be scared. What''s the rush?" The young man who held onto Plionay''s arm said, beginning to touch her ass. "I''ve heard you''re from Aigialo, the beach town in Shefayla. And you''re going there, right? Well, my buddies and I wanna go, so take us with you."


    "Uh, no thanks, Mr. ''I Can''t Control My Attractions.'' Now let go me," Plionay responded, turning her body to the side, trying to get his hand off of her.


    Noticing Plionay failed to get away from him, Emuna quickly walked towards the young man who grabbed her arm and stumped on his foot.


    "Ouch!" The young man said after Emuna pushed him away from Plionay. He touched his stumped on foot while he hopped on the white tiled floor.


    Students around them began to chatter with one another, curiously watching Emuna, Plionay and the three guys. The two other young men turned their attention to Emuna, glaring at her.


    "Hey, who do you think you are?! Hurting our friend like that?!" The second young man roared.


    "Yeah!" The third one agreed with the second.


    "Mess with my best friend and I''ll mess with you," Emuna growled.


    Once the crowd chatted louder when watching Emuna fought with the two other guys, Plionay nervously looked all over the cafeteria with sweat coming down from her forehead. She also saw a couple school administrators curiously looked at them. Those administrators looked like they were ready to walk towards her and the others. So she quickly walked up to Emuna and pulled Emuna away from those guys with a nervous smile, as Emuna was ready to fight them both.


    "Heh-heh-heh! Just ignore Emuna. She doesn''t really mean what she says! Hah-hah-hah!" Plionay said as she led Emuna to the courtyard in escaping from school.


    Emuna angrily kept her focus on those guys and continuously wanted to fight them. But Plionay successfully prevented her from doing so, and those young women finally left the cafeteria.

 Chapter 2: Leaving Kesaf

    "Whew, that was close!" Plionay said out of relief as she closed her eyes. She and her friend were finally able to escape from school without getting caught. She then angrily turned to Emuna. "You shouldn''t start a fight with them, even if you were defending me! We coulda been in so much trouble on our last day of school, y''know! I already have a bad reputation at school jus'' for my physical appearance and you gettin'' into fights alone. Do you know what happens if we get caught?! You know I woulda been blamed for causin'' a fight from the school staff, even if we were innocent in that situation! Can you imagine being embarrassed from school like that?!"


    Emuna displayed Plionay her sad face, feeling bad for her. She thought about how her actions are hurting their friendship. "Okay, okay, okay. You''re right, Plionay. Maybe I went a little too far trying to defend you there, and I''m sorry."


    "But..."


    "But, what?"


    "Thank you for keeping me safe from those young men though. I truly appreciate it."


    Emuna then closed her eyes and grinned at Plionay, displaying her straight, white teeth. "Oh, you can thank Elohim for that. He did that through me."


    Plionay smiled. "Yeah, I guess you''re right, Emuna." Looking up at the sky, she said, "Thank You, Elohim, for using Emuna to protect me. I truly appreciate what You''ve done for me. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    "So, are you excited about Summer Vacation?"


    "Yes, I am. And you?"


    Emuna turned her head and calmly looked forward. "Uh-huh! I so am! We can thank Elohim for giving us a big break from school! I can''t wait to reunite with my grandparents and friends on my return to Xenopolis!"


    Plionay shook her head in agreement, also looking out forward calmly with a grin. "Yeah¡­totally! I can''t wait to visit my grandparents, my uncle, and my cousins on my return to Aigialo!"


    Then Emuna''s eyes quickly widened for a second. "Oh, I almost forgot to show you these."


    As soon as Emuna dug through her bag and handed Plionay her comic drawn out, romantic comic strips, Plionay looked through them and smiled.


    "Oh, wow! Your comic strips are really gettin'' better and better everyday! You have a gift for making these!" Plionay exclaimed, handing Emuna back her comic strips.


    "Actually, Elohim helped me create these while I was at school today. I believe He''ll help me become a comic book writer to write my own series one day."


    Plionay agreed. "Mhn, I believe so. I also believe He''ll me become an astrologer to discover new stars and planets for human civilization to continue thrivin'' some day too."


    Emuna smiled. "I''m sure He will."


    "Mhn," Plionay agreed as she and Emuna continuously walked throughout one of Kesaf''s quiet neighborhoods. The sun peaked its brightness and height at the mostly blue sky.


    As they made it to Plionay''s appartment, Plionay began to wave her good-bye at Emuna with her excited grin. "Bye, Emuna!"


    Emuna waved her friend a good-bye back.


    "Don''t forget to meet me at the train station later on today. It''ll be the last time we''ll see each other before returning to our hometowns from Kesaf. So don''t be late, okay?" Plionay said.


    "I won''t! See you later, Plionay!" Emuna exclaimed.


    They continously waved at each other, until Plionay finally entered into her appartment. Then Emuna turned around and stood there, grinning out of sheer happiness.


    -Alright, Emuna. Time to head back home now. Here we go!


    Emuna began walking away from Plionay''s apartment and happily walked all the way back home, until her touch screen dumbphone rung inside her bag.


    -Huh?! Looks like someone''s calling me. I wonder who that is. I just hope it''s not a scam caller or anything like that.


    She searched for my phone inside her bag and gazed at the screen. It said:


    DAD


    -Oh, it''s dad. I wonder what he''s calling me for.


    She immediately answered the phone. "Hi, dad. How have you been?...Uh-huh...W-What?! Why not?!...Oh, that''s terrible..."


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    She then display her horrified face, widening her eyes and covering her mouth. "I hope she feels better...Uh-huh...Uh-huh...Uh-huh...Okay, dad. I will...I understand...Bye, dad...I love you too. Tell mom I said, ''Hi and bye, mom. I love you too...'' I will, dad. You too..."


    She hung up the phone and place it back into her bag.


    -Oh, man. My parents won''t be at home today, because my Aunt just had a terrible stroke and is currently hospitalized; they''re visiting her there.


    She turned to her right and looked up at the sky. "Dear Lord, please make sure my Aunt is cured from a stroke through these doctors. We don''t want her to face physical death. Please make sure she lives. In Yeshua''s name, amen."


    As soon as the wind blew from the west, she happily turn back left, began walking away from Plionay''s appartment complex, and walked all the way home.


    ****


    Opening the front door, Emuna entered her home, locked the door, took off her school shoes, put on her house shoes, and placed her school shoes on the shoe shelf. She walked towards her room on the left through the living room. She placed the bag on the bed and turned her attention towards her five, white fish swimming in the fish tank.


    "Hi there, fish. How have you been? What did you guys do while I was at school? Hmm? Did you have a good time today?" She walked towards her fish and fed them. "Oh, you did? Well, that''s wonderful! I''m glad you guys had a good day today! I''m so proud of you!"


    After she gave them three invisible kisses in front of the fish tank, she changed into her casual summer clothes from my school uniform for a while. Then she packed her stuff into her two different, oversized summer bags for her return to her hometown. Once she finished packing, she walk towards her fish for one last time and gave them her sad look, sighing.


    "I''ll be going away today, so this is my last time of seeing you guys for a while. While I''m gone, my parents will be taking a great care of you guys, until I return home around early September. You hear me? I''ll miss you guys, will you miss me as well? Well, of course, you will! I know you''ll miss me. Oh, yes, you will! Yes, you will!" She declared, giving the fish four more invisible kisses. "Ok, then. Gotta go. Bye now! I''ll come back to you guys when I return home."


    She waved the fish her good-bye. Grabbing her two bags, she not only left her room but also left her house. After she left, the fish continuously swam around in the tank, enjoying each other''s company and minding their own business.


    ****


    After she arrived at the train station and paid for the train ticket, she took a look around the platform and searched for her best friend.


    -Okay, Plionay. I''m here now. Where are you?


    She noticed a young lady, with deep red, wavy hair and a fat ass, standing there and waiting for the train to arrive. She carried a bag, held onto her suitcase, and wore a big hat as well as her casual summer shirt, a white miniskirt, and sandals on her feet.


    -Oh, I bet that''s Plionay. I better check and see if it''s really her.


    She walked up to the young lady and tapped on the young lady''s shoulder. "Pardon me."


    "Yes, ma''am?" The young lady turned around, wondering who it was. Once she examined the young lady''s face, she quickly recognized the young lady as the one she was looking for. Plionay gave Emuna her excited grin for finally being in her presence. "Oh, hi there, Emuna! Thank Elohim for safely guiding you here! I''m very glad to see you again!"


    "Hi, Plionay! I''m so glad to see you again! Thank Elohim for keeping you safe and sound while you''re alone!" Emuna stood on Plionay''s left, and we looked out for our individual trains and at each other at the same time. "So did you get to say your last good-bye to your relatives here in Kesaf?"


    "Why, yes, I have. Did you?"


    "Only on the phone."


    Plionay acted surprised all the sudden. "What?! What happened?!"


    "My dad called and told me that he and my mom are visiting my aunt in the hospital, because she had a bad stroke today. So there''s that."


    Plionay gives Emuna her horrified face. "Emuna...I''m so sorry to hear that..."


    She grinned at Plionay. "Oh, it''s okay, Plionay. It''s not your fault, but thanks for caring though."


    "No problem. Let''s say our last prayer together, before either train arrives for either destination."


    "Good idea!"


    The two young women both held hands, raised their arms upwards, and looked up at the sky.


    "Dear Lord, please grant us another good summer vacation, like You''ve done before. Please keep Emuna safe from harm in Xenopolis, along with her grandparents there. And please deliver Emuna''s aunt from a stroke and cure her from it," Plionay said.


    "And dear Lord, please also provide Plionay safety from harm in Aigialo, including her grandparents, her uncle, and her cousins. And please don''t allow sin to tear us away from You. In Yeshua''s name, amen," Emuna said.


    "Amen." Plionay responded, allowing their bodies to relax, letting go their hands.


    "Attention...Train C has arrived...I repeat...Train C has arrived...," The female announcer''s voice said, echoing throughout the platform.


    "Op, that''s my train! Bye, Emuna! Call me when you arrive in Xenopolis!" Plionay waved Emuna her good-bye while she rushed to her train with her stuff. Emuna waved her friend her good-bye back while she stood there. The two young women grinned at one another.


    "I will! Bye, Plionay! Don''t forget to do the same when you arrive in Aigialo!" Emuna exclaimed.


    "I won''t!" Plionay entered her train and the train left the platform.


    Emuna began to patiently wait for her train.


    -Alright, now all I have to do is to wait for my train to come; Xenopolis, grandma, grandpa, friends...Here I come!


    Seven minutes later, her train had finally arrived.


    "Attention...Train D has arrived...I repeat...Train D has arrived," The female announcer''s voice said, echoing in the platform.


    -Alright, Emuna! Our journey to Xenopolis has just begun! I''m coming, grandma, grandpa, friends!


    She rushed her way into the train to find a place to sit. She peered to the left, spotting two empty, comfy blue seats standing right next to that giant window.


    -Looks like I found a place to sit.


    She placed her two bags on the seat next to the window and sat on the other seat.


    -Op, I need to call one of my grandparents, and let them know about where I am!


    So she pulled her phone out of her pocket to give a call. "Oh, hi, grandma! How are you?...Well, I''m calling to let you know that I''m currently on a train that''ll be leaving Kesaf and heading into Xenopolis in less than a minute...Uh-huh, and I should be there in three hours...Okay, then...I love you too, grandma. Good-bye, now! And please tell grandpa I said, ''Hi, and I''ll be coming to Xenopolis soon...''"


    Right after she hung up, the train begins to move forward. She looked out the window in excitement while it left Kesaf behind for Xenopolis for good.

 Chapter 3: Returning to Xenopolis-Part 1

    When the train first entered the Woodlands, Emuna became amazed at how beautiful Elohim''s cosmos really was. While looking out the window, she saw a bunch of trees covering up the land with different animal species roaming around in there, among the birds flying above it. A few white clouds slowly moved around in the blue sky, but the sun wasn''t present from her window.


    -Oh, I''ve never seen such beauty like this. It''s good to see it again. I miss this so much!


    Then she heard people talking out loudly. Half of a dozen men and women bickered and physically fought with either one another or  the train workers. Little children, toddlers, and babies either crying out loud, running around on the train unsupervised, or flat out acting out. The train workers tried their best to keep the train peaceful and quiet, but a small group of people were a bit too chaotic for them. Emuna sadly looked to her right and sighed as she heard more disturbances from disruptive passengers.


    -Oh, man¡­people are just so annoying¡­I think they need Elohim''s help over their current sins¡­


    She then turned towards the sky and whispered in prayer, "Oh Elohim, please deliver people from their sins and be patient with them, because sin has blinded them. In Yeshua''s name, amen."


    After her prayer, she looked out the window and stared at the quiet forest. People kept being disruptive on the train, no matter how annoying they may be. Emuna tried her damnedest to ignore them and allowed Elohim to handle the situation out of patience, but her quick anger and impatience with people began to brew inside her heart. She took notice when she closed her eyes, put her head down and turned her palm hands into fists.


    -Come on, Emuna. Be patient with Elohim and let Him handle this. You can do this, girl. You just gotta snap out of it, that''s all.


    She returned her attention to Elohim''s cosmos and tried to ignore the increasingly disruptive crowd. However, her quick anger and impatience with people continued to rose more in her heart as time went on. Half an hour later, the train left the Woodlands and entered a desert.


    "Attention, passengers¡­" The female announcer''s voice echoed throughout the entire train. "Train D has officially arrived in Midbar...I repeat...Train D has officially arrived in Midbar..."


    Emuna saw the yellow sand being blown away in the wind. The land was filled with cactuses and a few animals roamed around; it lacked any water whatsoever. Emuna''s skin felt its above average hot temperature, even with the train''s cool air temperature, but she ignored it as she was used to Midbar''s hot temperature before. The sign displayed a drawing of a desert scenery, saying, "Welcome to Midbar, Theoterra''s Southern Desert Region."


    Now despite a couple more men and women arguing with the train workers and more unsupervised children running around, playing tag, Emuna ignored it with her widened eyes when she realized she finally made her way back to Midbar.


    -Wow, I''m finally here! I''m so glad Elohim had brought me back here! Xenopolis, here I come!


    Then throughout the remaining train travel, people constantly interrupted Emuna''s quiet time. Emuna sadly looked up at the sky and whispered, "Elohim¡­why are You doing this to me?"


    She kept watching Elohim''s beautiful creation, yet her quick anger and impatience with people continued to increase. Once more and more disruptions from people took over Emuna''s quiet time, Emuna then sighed, turning around, glaring at the disruptive passengers.


    -Oh, my God! People need to give it a rest already! Why can''t they just be quiet for once?! I''m tryin'' to enjoy my peaceful time with Elohim''s creation and this is what I get?! This should be the last thing I need to witness right now! How much worse can people quite possibly get?! Ugh!


    "Attention, passengers¡­" The female announcer''s voice echoed the entire train. "The train is about to crash against a car that blocks the train tracks. I repeat¡­the train is about to crash against a car that blocks the train tracks. Please remain seated in your seats and get out of the restaurant area if you eat there. I repeat¡­Please remain seated in your seats and get out of the restaurant area if you eat there."


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    "Wh-What?!" One of the passengers said, "That''s terrible!"


    "Yeah!" Another passenger agreed.


    The remaining passengers began to find their safe seats and parents chased after their unsupervised little children to take them to their safety. The children threw their hissy fit and cried while they were being carried away to their safety. People screamed as they tried to get their safety seats. The train workers calmly comforted the passengers, warning them to remain calm, from the front train car first.


    Emuna widened her eyes, watching the panicking crowd find their safety spot while she looked around the train car.


    -Aw, shit! This is just great! First, the unruly passengers interrupted my quiet time! Now the train''s about to be derailed?!


    Her chocolate eyes twitched sideways out of fear and her mouth was opened. She was lucky she sat in the middle of the train. She recalled what her mother told her about what to do in a train crash.


    ****


    "Now remember, Emuna," her mother said to eight-year-old Emuna before Emuna boarded the train. "Whenever you encounter a potential train crash, always go to the rear train car and jump out of there. Never ever remain in the car, so you won''t bounce all over the train car. Elohim will lead the way and guide you there. Do you understand me?"


    "Yes, momma," Emuna responded, "I will."


    "Good girl, Emuna!" her mother said, patting on Emuna''s head. "You make your momma proud. Now go on and be a good girl on the train."


    "I will, momma," Emuna said. "I love you momma."


    "I love you too, baby girl," her mother said as she and Emuna waved at one another. "Bye, Emuna."


    "Bye, momma!" Emuna said, getting on the train as she and her mother continuously waved at each other until the train began leaving the platform.


    ****


    -Looks like I better get out of here. I don''t wanna be squashed by other passengers nor have my body bounce in the train car during an emergency. Let''s go to the rear train car for exit!


    Emuna grabbed her bags and rushed through the crowd for the rear train car, before the train workers arrived in her car and stopped her. Her heart beated whenever she ran and her determined, serious face focused on her destination. Once Emuna reached the rear car, she placed her hand onto the door knob.


    -Alright! I made it! Bless Elohim for this! Now let''s do this!


    Opening the door, she only saw the yellow sand covering the sand while the train was moving. The hot air was a lot hotter outside the train than inside it. Other passengers looked at Emuna, wondering what she was doing.


    -Whew, it''s hot outside! Here goes nothing.


    Feeling the bump in the train behind her, Emuna and other passengers looked behind them.


    -Looks like the train jus'' got derailed! Time to jump off!


    Emuna turned around, kneeled down, tightly held onto her bags and jumped off the train. As soon as she landed on the hot, sandy land, she rolled over like a log. Then she quickly got up after she felt the land''s temperature and the sand.


    "Hot, hot, HOT!" she cried, wiping the sand all over her body and stuff, watching the train cars got derailed on either side of the train tracks.


    A certain portion of passengers jumped out of the train from its rear end. Some of the train cars crashed to one side and others crashed on the other side. The front train car was blown up and on fire with Emuna''s blurry far away vision. She couldn''t even see the car near the front train car.


    Emuna looked up at the clear sky and smiled. "Oh, give praise to Elohim who got me and everyone out of there alive! Thank You, Elohim, for keepin'' us safe!"


    Then she returned her attention and gazed at the derailed train, seeing a portion of passengers get out the train from an emergency window one person at a time. The wind blew at her from behind. She widened her eyes and opened her mouth.


    -Ah, shit! I better go call my parents, grandparents and Plionay to let them know my situation with my train!


    Digging her phone out, she dialed for her parents. Once she heard no response from them three times, she immediately hung up the phone. She raised her eyebrow.


    -Damn, no response from my own parents! Better call my grandparents then!


    Experiencing no response from her grandparents, she hung up the phone and saddened her face.


    -Dammit, no response from them either?! Plionay, it is!


    Once she had similar results, she hung up the phone and frowned at it before putting it back up.


    -SHIT! No answer from Plionay?! Great¡­just great¡­looks like I''ll have to call them back later then, huh?


    She returned her focus on the derailed train while the wind blew the sand in front of her from the right. She placed her hand over her face and the shadow protected it from the heat. The sun heated the land as her vision of the front train car became blurrier far away from her. It became abundantly clear that Emuna will remain in a spot out of nowhere, wondering when she''ll get out of that place.

 Chapter 4: Returning to Xenopolis-Part 2

    Still gazing at the derailed train for a moment longer, Emuna''s chocolate eyes spotted some train workers put out the fire on the front train car. A portion of them helped a certain number of remaining passengers get out of the derailed train cars from the emergency windows and get off of them. Others went around talking to and comforting passengers.


    The wind blew the sand near Emuna. Sweat kept coming down from her forehead and the sun heated her body. Her black skin radiated well against the sunlight while her hand still protected her face from it.


    However, a few moments later, one of the train station workers walked towards Emuna after talking to a group of passengers a bit far away from her. The train worker wore a blue, white and grey uniform. Her facial wrinkles and  ocean eyes stared at Emuna from a distance. The sunlight shone on her pale skin and a little wind blew her brown, curly hair from the west.


    "Ma''am?" The train worker said when Emuna saw her.


    "Yes, ma''am?" Emuna asked back.


    "Are you alright?"


    "Why, yes, I am."


    "Good. I want to make sure you''re okay. I''m letting you know now that the bus is coming here to pick up the passengers in about three hours. Please stay with the group of passengers, so that you can remain safe and not miss the bus once it arrives, okay?"


    -''In three hours?!'' In this hot ass desert?! Man, I better find a shade to protect me from the sun''s heat. I''m roasting out here!


    Emuna shook her head. "Alright, I will."


    The train worker smiled, beginning to walk away from Emuna. "Good."


    After the train worker left Emuna, Emuna looked around to see a passenger group in a shade. She didn''t find one so far as most passenger groups remain in the sunlight, searching for the shade themselves. Then she looked up at the sky with her hand still protecting her face.


    -Dear Elohim, please help me find a group of passengers in a shade against this heat. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    Continuing her search from the sky, she still didn''t find what she was looking for. All the passengers sat underneath from the giant reddish-orange rocks'' shadows. They appeared to have no room for Emuna. To make matters worse, every single one of them were close to the derailed train.


    -Oh, great¡­jus'' great¡­Looks like all that shade near the train is taken. I''ll have to search somewhere else then, huh?


    The wind blew the sand behind her and sweat kept pouring on her face a bit more. Her body felt the heat more than it could ever bear to handle.


    -Man, this desert heat is killin'' me! And I can''t keep standin'' here for much longer! I gotta keep tryin'' to find a passenger group under the shade! It''s hard though¡­


    Then Emuna put her head down with her sad face, closing her eyes. She felt like she wanted to give up, until her heart prevented her from that mentality. She then tightened, frowned and shook her head sideways.


    -No, persevere and keep searchin''! Elohim will lead the way. Jus'' keep tryin'', Emuna. And you''ll get what you need.


    Raising her head up and opening her eyes, she looked all over for the last time until she finally found a passenger group sitting under the big, reddish-orange rock. Its shadow covered them from the sun''s scorching heat from behind her. It had room for her to be there although it''s a bit farther away from the train. Emuna gasped, opening her mouth, putting her hand away from her face. She held onto her bags as her eyes widened.


    -Oh, praise Elohim for finally helpin'' me find a shade out of this heat! Even though it''s a bit farther away from the train, I''ll take what I can get! Woo!


    She looked up at the sky with her excited eyes and grin.


    -I thank You, Elohim, for helping me find a shade! I appreciate what You''ve done for me, and You deserve all the praise You get. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    Running towards the shade in a moderate pace, Emuna''s heart slowly beated faster. She didn''t allow the heat nor the sand being caught by the wind to bother her. Not even the sand entering her shoes didn''t distracted her as she kept running.


    -Here I come, shade! Whoo! Come to momma, now!


    Once she stopped by the rock, she walked underneath it while the passengers watched her. She sat down on the ground, leaned her back against the rock, and looked around in front of her. Her heart kept pounding faster on her chest and breathed a bit faster when she looked around in front of her. Even though she could see the derailed train, her vision became blurrier as the train was a bit far away from her. She also saw the wind blowing the sand away from the west right in front of her. Her body began to cool off from the heat.


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    -Woo-wee! I''m finally able to manage to get out of that heat. Now I jus'' need to wait for the bus to come and pick us up in such a long ass time. I jus'' hope I don''t miss it, because I desperately need to return to Xenopolis for my grandparents'' ministry work.


    Her heart began to beat slowly, her sweat disappeared from her forehead overtime and she breathed her slow breath. A few minutes in, as Emuna was about to close her eyes, she heard her stomach''s growl. She widened her eyes.


    -Huh?!


    She stood up straight and looked down at her stomach, placing her hands on it.


    -Looks like I''m hungry then, huh? Hell, I wish I have brought some food and drink with me, but the Theoterrean trains forbid outside food on board.


    After her stomach grumbled again, she rubbed on it.


    -I''ll have to fast and swallow my saliva in order to combat this.


    Then she looked up at the sky one last time.


    -Dear Lord, please help me overcome my distraction while I fast for a while. I don''t want hunger to overtake my heart. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    Leaning back against the rock, she watched the desert and the sky staring at the derailed train. The train workers and the passengers sat underneath the rocks'' shade against the sun. The sun''s heat scorched the desert and the wind blew the sand from the right. Emuna''s vision remained blurry from far away, ignoring her stomach''s growl as she recalled her time being stuck in a desert out of nowhere with her parents.


    ****


    Once Emuna and her parents left the desert village far away from Xenopolis and drove for a long time, the car  slowed itself down and stopped moving.


    Emuna''s father confusedly looked down at the wheel. "Huh? What the heck?" he asked, glaring at the wheel while he turned it on. The car didn''t budge.


    After he turned the car on twice and the car still didn''t budge, Emuna¡¯s mother leaned over the dashboard gauge for investigation. "Um, you''re out of gas."


    "Are you serious?!" Emuna''s father asked as he also leaned over the car.


    Learning about the gas being completely empty, he sighed and leaned back. "Ah, dag it¡­I forgot to add gas to the car."


    "Yeah, I figured¡­" Emuna''s mother said as she opened the car door. "Come on, now we gotta push this baby to the gas station."


    "Alright, I will, honey," Emuna''s father responded, exiting the car.


    Six-year-old Emuna leaned forward, putting down her brown doll, placing her hand onto her seat belt. "May I come out and help you push the car?" she asked.


    "No, it''s too hot for you out here," Emuna''s father responded. "I want you to stay in the car instead."


    "But daddy¡­" Emuna said, displaying her sad face.


    "No, buts, Emuna," Emuna''s mother demanded, "Just do as you''re told."


    "Yes, mommy¡­" Emuna said, looking down below her, frowning until her stomach growled. "Awe, I''m hungry. May I get something to eat?"


    "No, we''re fasting today, remember?" Emuna''s mother responded.


    "But momma, I''m tired of fasting. I want to eat something now!" Emuna cried.


    "Now what did I just say, Emuna?" Emuna''s father questioned.


    "''No buts,''" Emuna responded, guiltily looked down below her.


    "This is the second time you said this," Emuna''s father stated, "One more time, and you will have no playmate for three days. Do you understand me?"


    "Yes, daddy..." Emuna said, giving her parents her sad face as she lifted her head up towards their attention. "I''m sorry, mommy, daddy for disobeying you."


    Emuna''s mother grinned at Emuna. "It''s alright, Emuna. Daddy and I will forgive you."


    "So you will have to swallow your own spit and fast. Remember what we taught you about Yeshua fasting throughout the Gospels and how He depended on Him through prayer?" Emuna''s father said.


    "Yes, daddy?" Emuna responded.


    "So if He can do it, so can you," Emuna''s mother said.


    "Really?" Emuna questioned.


    "Yes, you can. Besides, you still need to be trained for spiritual discipline," Emuna''s mother answered, closing her eyes, smiling at Emuna. "Now if you depend on Him through prayer and swallow your own spit, you can overcome hunger."


    Emuna gasped with her mouth opened. "Okay, I will!"


    "Now that''s a good girl, Emuna!" Emuna''s father said when he and his wife closed the doors and walked towards the car rear.


    Emuna swallowed her saliva, raised her arms up and looked up at the ceiling, while her parents pushed the car forward.


    "Dear Lord, please deliver me from hunger, because I want to fast successfully like Yeshua. In Yeshua''s name, Amen," Emuna prayed. Then she continued to play with her doll in the car, ignoring her stomach growling.


    ****


    As time went on, less than ten buses had finally arrived. Emuna smiled as she grabbed her two bags and got up from the sandy ground. Then she looked up at the sky with her continued grin.


    "Hallelujah! I praise and thank You, Elohim, for providing us buses to finally leave this place! You truly are the greatest that mankind has ever seen," Emuna said, returning her focus on the bases.


    When she raced her way for the buses, she saw passengers already running towards them and lining up by then for entry.


    -Oh, great! I need to find a bus with shorter lines. I can''t remain in this hot ass sun in the desert for too long.


    So she continuously ran for the fifth bus, fighting her way against the sandy wind and the passengers. She breathed and her heart beated a bit faster while her sweat came down from her forehead. She didn''t even wipe the sand off of her body. She expressed her annoyed look on her face after the sand got on her.


    -Damn, this sand is so freakin'' annoyin''! I better hurry before I get more sand all over me!


    Her vision became clearer once she ran closer to the bus until she made it. She only lined up behind a certain number of passengers.


    -Finally, I made it. Now I need to hurry up and get this sand off of me before I get on the bus.


    Emuna quickly wiped the sand off of her body before she boarded the bus. Once she entered and searched for her seat, she placed her bags near the giant window and sat near them, leaning back against her cushioned seat. Her body felt the cool air in the bus.


    -Oooh, this cool air felt so good. It''s definitely a lot better than the desert heat, that''s for sure¡­so¡­relaxing¡­


    When the rest of the passengers got on the buses, the buses left the unknown desert area and Emuna looked out the window in silence.

 Chapter 5: Returning to Xenopolis-Part 3

    While the bus drove on over time, Emuna remained silent while she looked out the window. She stood up straight when her heart beated and her breaths breathed slower as she was sweating less. Emuna became content with people not disrupting her quiet time. They instead chatted with one another.


    -Oh, thank Elohim I''m finally able to relax without any disturbances. Better than being on the train earlier.


    Her brown eyes spotted the same sandy wilderness, with few animals roaming around and few plants bravely stood still against the sun''s heat. The sand was still carried away by the wind, and those red-orangish canyons and rocks watched the buses drive past them. Emuna smiled.


    -But still¡­this place remains one of Elohim''s excellent creations despite its hot ass weather. I miss this region so much. I can''t wait to return to Xenopolis to reunite with my grandparents and friends to do the ministry work there.


    When her stomach growled below her, she sadly looked down at her stomach. She placed her hand on it, rubbing it a little.


    "Ugh¡­stomach¡­you''re gonna have to wait until we return to Xenopolis, okay?" she whispered.


    A while later as Emuna returned to watching Elohim''s cosmos, her stomach impatiently grumbled again. She became annoyed when she looked down at her stomach. "Um, can you be patient, stomach?! We''re gonna be in Xenopolis any minute now. Geesh," she whispered.


    As time went on, her stomach roared at her for a third time. Emuna sighed and looked up at the sky.


    -Dear Elohim. Please help me focus on Your creation, and not allow hunger to distract me. Not only do I want to be able to overcome hunger, but also become spiritually trained just like Yeshua and His followers in the Gospels. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    Emuna continued to watch Elohim''s creation without paying attention to her stomach''s grumbles. She allowed her memory of being stuck in the unknown desert area with her parents to distract her. She leaned back and sighed while she looked out the window.


    ****


    After Emuna''s parents finished pushing the car forward, they began to enter back into it. Emuna''s stomach growled and Emuna looked down at it with her angry face.


    "That''s enough, stomach!" she roared. "I''m trying to be spiritually trained like Yeshua in the Gospels."


    Once her parents reentered the car, they breathed faster and sighed, feeling a bit burnt and sweaty from the sun''s heat after shutting the doors. Her father turned around for Emuna''s attention. "Hey, Emuna. We''re going to take a break out here for a while now, okay?"


    "Okay, daddy," Emuna replied.


    "Although me and daddy are not supposed to drink water today, daddy forgot to put gas in the car and we had to push the car to the gas station. So today is going to be an exception for us, alright?" Her mother stated. "We have to drink water to cool off from this hot weather right now."


    "Okay, mommy," she answered.


    "And we''ll make up one day of not drinking water tomorrow instead, does that sound fair?" Her father asked.


    "Alright, daddy. I understand," she said, as she gave her parents her determined look on her face. "And I''m going to keep fasting for the Lord."


    "Now that''s a good girl!" her father exclaimed. "You make Elohim, Yeshua, me and mommy proud. Keep doing what you''re doing, baby girl. You''re doing a great job on your spiritual training."


    "Yeah," her mother happily agreed. "And if you continue to fast all day and night, you get to drink water and any other drink you want tomorrow."


    Emuna widened her eyes and smiled at her mother with her mouth opened. "Okay, mommy! I will!"


    "Now that''s a good girl, Emuna!" her mother said, smiling at her daughter. "Now can you hand me two water bottles for me and daddy?"


    "Sure, mommy! I will get them for you!" Emuna exclaimed, turning to her left below her. There she saw a thirty-five pack of bottled water near her. She reached down to open it and grabbed two bottles of water for her parents.


    "Here, you go!" Emuna said, handing her mother two bottles of water.


    "Thank you so much, Emuna!" her mother said.


    "You''re welcome," Emuna said, smiling while closing her eyes, putting her head down sideways to the left. She showed off her white, crooked teeth.


    After her mother handed her husband a bottle of water and she and her husband drank a bit of water, Emuna looked out the window. Her parents chatted with one another. There she saw a sandy land and the red-orangish canyons and rocks staring at her and her family in the car. The wind lifted the sand off the ground and threw it forward. A few plants were radiant well against the sun''s heat. Then a greyish-white rabbit hopped out of nowhere, scanning its surroundings with its red eyes, sniffing the air.


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    Emuna gasped and opened her mouth. "Look, Tseetsa! Did you see that? I saw a rabbit over there!" Emuna whispered to her doll.


    "Mommy, daddy, look! I saw a rabbit today!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger at it.


    "Oh, you did?" her father asked as he and his wife turned around out of curiosity.


    "Yes, of course, I have. See it?" she said, quickly turning her attention to her parents and rabbit back and forth at the same time.


    After her parents investigated what their daughter was pointing her finger at, they both smiled once they saw the rabbit.


    "Oh, yes, I sure did, Emuna," her mother answered.


    "Yeah, me too," her father agreed. "We''re going to take a picture of it and put it in the nature scrapbook. What do you say?"


    Emuna excitedly gasped when she turned to her father. "Yes, daddy! Let''s do it, please!"


    "Alright, then. Let''s do this!" her father said, pulling his smart phone from his pocket. When he clicked on the camera app, he demanded, "Emuna move back behind me, so I can take a picture of the rabbit."


    "Okay!" Emuna exclaimed, moving back to the seat behind her father''s seat.


    As soon as her father took a picture of it, Emuna excitedly asked, "Did you take a picture of the rabbit, daddy?!"


    "Yep, I sure did, baby girl," her father responded, showing his daughter a clear picture of a rabbit eating some desert grass. "See it?"


    "Yeah, I see it, daddy!" Emuna responded. "I can''t wait to have it in my nature scrapbook when we get home."


    "We sure will, Emuna," her mother exclaimed when she examined the same picture her father showed her daughter.


    Once her father placed his phone back into his pocket and was about to leaned back in his seat, he examined what was in front of him. "Huh?" he asked as he saw something far away from him, nearly closing his eyes.


    "What is it, honey?" her mother asked.


    With his vision blurry for what it could look like a small building far away, he said to his wife without even looking at her face, raising his palm hand up. "I think I see something, but I can''t see it  clearly. Give me the binoculars."


    "Sure thing, honey," her mother said, digging through the storage compartment for the binoculars.


    Once she handed her husband the green binoculars and closed the storage compartment, he looked through them for the far away small building. He excitedly grinned. "Oh, yeah. Looks like we finally found the gas station!"


    "Really, daddy?!" Emuna excitedly smiled, opening her mouth.


    "Yep, you bet, Emuna!" her father exclaimed, looking back at his daughter with a smile.


    "Well, now let me see," her mother said as her father handed the binoculars to her.


    After seeing through them, she leaned back with a grin, looking up at the ceiling. "Oh, give praise to Elohim for leading us to the gas station! Whoo! We can''t wait to get there to fill up the gas tank, drop off this water at my parents'' house and head on home!"


    "Yep!" her father cried.


    "Can I see it?!" Emuna excitedly asked.


    "Sure thing, baby girl!" her mother responded, handing them over to her daughter.


    Looking through them, she saw a white building with red lines on top of it, the fascia hood and a sign. It had a cursive "SGS" letter as its logo and the sign said, "Super Gas Station." Its eight pumps stood there, watching the empty deserted wilderness.


    "Do you see it?" Her mother asked, looking back at Emuna.


    "Uh-huh, I see it!" Emuna responded, handing the binoculars back to her mother.


    "Good," her mother said, putting the binoculars back into the storage compartment. "As soon as we get done resting a bit more, daddy and I will push the car to the gas station. Right now, we''re going to pray to Elohim and sing Him a song as our thanks."


    "Yeah!" her father exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling.


    "Yeahie!" Emuna agreed as she and her mother looked up at the ceiling.


    Once Emuna and her parents prayed and sang a thankful song to Elohim and her parents'' rest was finished, they pushed the car towards the gas station and returned to Xenopolis without fail.


    ****


    "Attention, passengers¡­the bus has officially arrived in Xenopolis¡­" The male bus driver''s voice said through a microphone. "I repeat¡­the bus has officially arrived in Xenopolis¡­please prepare to depart once we make it to Xenopolis Bus Station."


    -Oh, Emuna. Did you hear that?! We''re finally in Xenopolis! Oooh, I can''t wait to reunite with my grandparents and friends there, that''s for damn sure! Yeah!


    Emuna looked up at the sky and smiled while the passengers excitedly chatted with one another.


    -Oh, give praise to Elohim for leading me back to my hometown! I couldn''t be any more happier than that! Thank You, Elohim for everything. I couldn''t have done this thing without You.


    When her stomach growled, she ignored it and continued looking out the window, placing her bags onto her shoulders out of preparation as time went on.


    "Attention, passengers...the bus has officially arrived at the Xenopolis Bus Station...I repeat: the bus has officially arrived at Xenopolis Bus Station...," The male bus driver''s voice announced once the bus finally arrived at the bus station.


    -Alright, I''m finally here! I can''t believe it! Now all I have to do is to call my grandparents and friends and I should be fine since the bus has no internet access.


    While the bus slowed down its speed and was about to make a stop at the bus station, Emuna and the passengers noticed a lot of people waiting at the platform, probably lots of families cheereding after seeing their possible loved ones survived from the train wreck.


    -Alright, maybe I can find my loved ones here too with Elohim''s help, of course! So let''s go, Emuna!


    Emuna and the passengers rushed out of the bus in search for their loved ones. Almost all of them managed to find their loved ones. Emuna failed to find her loved ones, expressing her sad face until someone called out her name behind her. That voice sounded familiar to Emuna as she widened her eyes.


    -Ah! I recognize that girl''s voice! It''s Yudia! My grandparents and friends are here after all!


    Turning around, Emuna gasped when she saw her female friend and two male friends around her age as well as her grandparents smiled and waved at her. Emuna joyfully smiled and waved back at her loved ones.


    "Yudia, Lazarus, Zaboulon, Grandma, Grandpa!" She exclaimed when she and her loved ones ran to hug one another, crying out of joy. Then she looked up at the ceiling with her continuous, excited grin.


    -I thank You again, Elohim, this time for helpin'' me find my grandparents and friends! I appreciate what You''ve done for me and I praise You for that again. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.

 Chapter 6: Reunion

    After Emuna hugged her loved ones for a while, she joyfully looked at them. "I give praise to Elohim for guiding me here, even from a train wreck! I couldn''t have done it without Him at my side!"


    "Oh, you can say that again, sweetie!" Her grandma cried. "We were glad our prayers were answered. We were worried about you."


    "Yeah!" Her grandpa agreed. "Were you okay back there? Did you get hurt?"


    Emuna shook her head. "No, I didn''t get hurt and I was totally fine, grandpa."


    "Oh, thank Elohim for that!" Her grandpa exclaimed. "I''m glad He kept you safe!"


    "So what did you do during and after the train wreck, Emuna?" Yudia asked.


    Once Emuna explained to her loved ones what happened, Lazarus crossed his arms. "Ah, I see. So that''s how Elohim led you to safety."


    "Yep, pretty much," Emuna responded with a smile on her face.


    "Got ya!" Lazarus said, grinning back at Emuna.


    "So are you glad that school''s over?" Zaboulon asked.


    "Oh, yeah!" Emuna exclaimed, raising her fists underneath her chin. "I''m definitely glad that school''s over, and I can''t wait to do some ministry work!"


    "Yeah, me too!" Zaboulon exclaimed, then curiously turned to Emuna''s grandparents. "We''re doin'' the ministry work tomorrow, right?"


    "Yea, we sure are," Emuna''s grandpa answered, pulling his smartphone out of his pocket, looking down at its clock. "Oooh¡­it''s goin'' to get dark. It''s already 17:00 (5pm). Shouldn''t y''all be goin'' home now?" He said to Emuna''s friends, putting his phone back into his pocket. Theoterra didn''t have Daylight Savings Time, nor will they ever practice it like the rest of the nations were throughout Ara.


    "Oh, it''s that time already?!" Yudia asked with her widened eyes.


    "Yeah," he said.


    "Oh¡­" Zaboulon closed his eyes and scratched his head. "Ha-ha-ha! Well, I guess we better get goin'' then, huh?"


    "Yep, we sure do." Lazarus agreed, closing his eyes, turning his head to Zaboulon with a sweat coming out of his forehead.


    "Bye, Emuna, Mr. and Mrs. Jardine," Yudia said, waving her good-bye at Emuna and her grandparents while leaving the bus station with Lazarus and Zaboulon. "I''ll see you tomorrow."


    "Yeah, good-bye, Emuna, Mr. and Mrs. Jardine," Lazarus said. "Take care."


    "Good-bye, Emuna, Mr. and Mrs. Jardine," Zaboulon said. "Have a good night and see y''all tomorrow."


    "Good-bye, y''all!" Emuna''s grandma said, waving back at Emuna''s friends with her husband and Emuna. "Take care now."


    "Good-bye, you guys," Emuna''s grandpa said, "See y''all tomorrow morning!"


    "Yeah!" Emuna agreed. "Good-bye now!"


    Once Emuna''s friends left the bus station to return home, Emuna''s grandma returned her attention to her granddaughter. "Alrighty then. Since Elohim had already led you here safe and sound, are you ready to go to our house?"


    "Oh, yeah!" Emuna exclaimed, closing her eyes, raising her fists underneath her chin. "Totally! I haven''t been at your house in such a long time."


    Her grandpa grinned. "Well, that''s good to hear, Emuna. Let''s go then, shall we?"


    Emuna shook her head. "Mhn! Let''s go!"


    Emuna and her grandparents began to exit the bus station. Emuna looked around and saw some people just sitting there and chatting with their loved ones. A portion of them talked to local reporters, and others left the bus station like her and her grandparents.


    -Wow, I''m glad Elohim saved people''s lives and brought them here safely, not just me. And I''m very happy for them. Praise Elohim. He deserves a thankful song for this.


    Turning to her grandparents, Emuna exclaimed once more, "So, when we get to your house, can we sing a song of a thankful praise for Elohim since He saved me and other passengers from the trainwreck and brought them here?"


    Her grandparents turned to one another and smiled before returning their attention to their granddaughter.


    "Why, sure thing, Emuna!" Her grandma responded, grinning at her granddaughter. "We''ll be glad to do it!"


    "Yeah!" Her grandpa said with a smile as he, his wife and his granddaughter finally left the bus station. "Our Elohim deserves a song of praise for this!"


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    ****


    Walking towards what appeared to be a decade old car, Emuna and her grandparents entered the car. Emuna sat in the back seat, her grandma sat in the front left seat, and her grandpa sat in the driver''s seat. After putting on their seat belts, Emuna''s grandpa immediately drove away from the Xenopolis Bus Station to his and his wife''s house. Then her grandma pulled out her smartphone and made a phone call. Her grandpa curiously looked at his wife in the eye a little bit, then concentrated on the road back and forth at the same time.


    "Uh, honey?" Her grandpa asked, "Who are you callin''?"


    "I''m callin'' Emuna''s mom right now," her grandma responded, looking at her husband back.


    Emuna sat back and looked out from the window. Then her grandpa looked at her through the car mirror while he focused on the road.


    "Oh, hi there, baby girl¡­" her grandma said on the phone. "Oh, stop that now! You''re always gonna be my baby girl, no matter how old you are!...Anyway, how is your baby sister doin''?...Oh¡­I''m so sorry to hear that. I hope she''s cured from stroke and gets discharged from that hospital soon enough¡­"


    When Emuna first heard that, believing that her grandma was talking to her mother back in Kesaf, she quickly turned to her grandma and expressed her sad face.


    -Oh, man! Looks like my aunt''s health condition must not be good!


    She looked up at the ceiling and raised her hands up in the air. "Dear Lord," she whispered, "Please use the doctors back in Kesaf to deliver my aunt from her worsening stroke, and have her be healed quick enough to be discharged from the hospital there. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    Returning to the window, she switched her face from sad to neutral. She continuously looked out the window, viewing Xenopolis'' beauty from the twilight for the rest of the night.


    "Oh, yes. Emuna just finally arrived in Xenopolis from that horrendous trainwreck a few minutes ago, and is currently in the car with us¡­" Emuna''s grandma continued on the phone, "Uh-huh¡­uh-huh¡­uh-huh¡­Okay, I''ll let you talk to your daughter on the phone then. Have a good night then¡­"


    Emuna immediately turned to her grandma with a joyous smile on her face as her grandma handed her the phone.


    "Here, Emuna," her grandma said, "Your mother wants to talk to you."


    "Okay, grandma," Emuna exclaimed when she took the phone from her grandma''s hand. "Thank you."


    "You''re welcome, baby girl," her grandma said, grinning back at her granddaughter, returning her focus to the road.


    "Hello¡­" Emuna said on the phone, "Oh, yes. I''m fine, mom. Really¡­and I thank Elohim for leading me out of this mess¡­I will, mom. My grandparents and I will sing a thankful praise to Elohim once we get to my grandparents'' house¡­uh-huh¡­uh-huh¡­Oh¡­that''s terrible¡­okay well, I hope she gets cured soon¡­I will, mom¡­Will I talk to dad on the phone before I hung up?...Oh, okay well, tell him I said, ''Hi,'' ''goodnight,'' and ''I love you''...Alright then, goodnight, mom. I love you too. Bye¡­"


    After Emuna hung up the phone, she looked down below and sadness distracted her heart.


    -I knew it! My Aunt''s health condition has indeed worsened, and she''s currently being taken to her emergency room for her surgery! She needs Elohim''s help to overcome her physical sickness.


    "Emuna¡­" her grandma yelled, yet Emuna didn''t notice her voice. "Emuna¡­"


    -However, it''s too bad my dad went to the bathroom. I wish I got a chance to talk to him on the phone this time though. Oh, well. Maybe tomorrow morning after my ministry work, I''ll call him for sure.


    After Emuna ignored her grandma''s voice the second time, her grandpa screamed, "Emuna¡­"


    Once Emuna heard her grandpa''s loud voice, she turned to her grandpa. "Yes, grandpa?"


    "Your grandma''s calling you," he answered, looking at Emuna through the mirror for a few seconds above.


    "Oh¡­" Emuna turned her attention to her grandma. "Yes, grandma?"


    "Can you hand me my phone back, please?" her grandma asked, raising her opened palm hand up.


    "Oh, sorry about that, grandma," Emuna said as she placed the phone onto her grandma''s hand. "I didn''t hear you callin'' me. It was my fault."


    "It''s alright now, Emuna," her grandma said with a grin. "Mistakes happen sometimes. It''s just part of life, that''s all."


    "Now that your mom let you know about your aunt''s worsening condition. So when we get home, we''re not only goin'' to pray for her but we''ll also fast, until she recovers from stroke and gets discharged from the hospital," her grandma continued. "Starting tonight-you know what that means, don''t ya?"


    "Yep, no food and no water until the third day," Emuna responded with her determined face, "If it''s what Elohim wants, so be it."


    "Oh, that''s our baby girl!" Her grandpa exclaimed, looking at his granddaughter through the mirror while her grandma smiled at him. "I knew she would have that kind of faith!"


    "I know, right? That''s our Emuna we know!" Her grandma cried out of joy as Emuna returned to look out the window for a while.


    After a memory of calling Plionay at the train station resurfaced in her heart, she quietly gasped. She widened her eyes, opened her mouth and covered it with her right hand.


    -Awe, man! I almost forgot to call Plionay as soon as I returned to Xenopolis! I better call her now, or she''ll get angry with me like she did earlier today. I bet she heard the news of the train wreck in Midbar by now, and was worried sick about me.


    She searched for her phone in one of her bags and held it in her two hands. Looking at her grandparents while they had a conversation with one another, she said, "Um, excuse me, grandma, grandpa."


    "Yes, baby girl?" Her grandpa asked, looking at Emuna through the mirror above him.


    "I''m gonna call Plionay and let her know that I''m alright," Emuna answered.


    "Oh, yeah, sure. Go ahead, baby girl," her grandpa said.


    "Alright then," Emuna said as she dialed Plionay''s phone number and called her best friend. "Hi, Plionay!...I''m good. How are you?...I''m glad to see you too¡­Yup, I made it back to Xenopolis unharmed from that trainwreck, and I''m on my way to my grandparents'' house right now¡­I knew you were worried sick ''bout me¡­I tried to call you and my grandparents, and I didn''t have a chance to call y''all¡­Yep, and I''m glad Elohim helped me made it out alive. Otherwise, I wouldn''t get to reunite with my grandparents in Xenopolis¡­


    "What about you? Did you made it back to Aigialo?...Oh, that''s great, Plionay! Did you suffer from the trainwreck too?...Cool! You''re lucky you didn''t get to experience that, especially in the hot weather, like I did¡­How are your grandparents, uncle and cousins?...Oh, that''s good...


    "Well, my grandparents are okay in Xenopolis¡­My parents are alright in Kesaf. However, my aunt''s health condition is much worsen that she''s been taken to the emergency room for it¡­our grandparents and I are gonna fast and pray for her to be healed and discharged from the hospital with Elohim''s help¡­Thanks for your support, Plionay¡­How are your parents in Kesaf?...Well, that''s good to hear¡­okay well, have a good night then. I''ll call you tomorrow night. Bye¡­"


    After Emuna hung up the phone and


    placed it back into one of her bags, her grandpa exclaimed, "Whoo-wee! We''re almost there, baby!"


    She and her grandma continued to enjoy the ride while my grandpa turned right, driving forward on Noton Street.

 Chapter 7: Ministry Work

    "Alrighty now. We''re here!" Emuna''s grandpa said, as he drove through the neighborhood. He slowly made a stop in between two cars and was careful not to hit one of them.


    Emuna turned around behind her and her eyes displayed their amazed, shocked look on her face. Her eyes were wide open with her mouth open. There they spotted a townhouse building, along with the street house staring down at Emuna and her grandparents.


    -Welp, we''re finally here at my grandparents'' house at last! I can''t wait to go in, and be at ease, after my long ass trip all the way here from Kesaf! Whew!


    After my grandpa finally made a stop, he said, "Alright, everybody. Let''s get out of the car and come right in."


    She and her grandparents unbuckled their seats, and Emuna grabbed her stuff onto her shoulders. While her grandpa easily got out the car, she and her grandma looked both ways before they got out of the car. Seeing no cars present on either side, Emuna and her grandma got out of there. Once they closed the door and Emuna''s grandpa locked the car with his keys, Emuna and her grandparents entered the house.


    Although Emuna''s grandpa unlocked the front door with his keys and turned the lights on, Emuna and her grandparents took off their shoes and placed them on the shoe shelf before they stepped further throughout the house. Emuna looked around and saw the living room, the kitchen, the laundry room and the staircase all tightly separated yet squished together in one floor. Then she placed her stuff on the couch and formed a circle with her grandparents.


    Her grandpa leaned forward a little. "Alright now, we''re gonna read and sing Psalms 113 for our almighty Elohim. I sing first and you guys sing next, alright?"


    "Uh-huh," Emuna and her grandma responded, shaking their heads.


    "Well, that''s settled then," her grandpa said. "After that, we''ll pray. Let''s get the bibles out."


    Emuna and her grandparents read and sang Psalms 113, looking up at the ceiling with a smile on their faces, holding up their bibles up in the air.


    "Amen," they added when closing the bibles. They placed them back to the way they were. They regathered around in a circle for prayer.


    "Well, that psalm was well and good, wasn''t it now?" Emuna''s grandpa asked.


    "Oh, yes. It sure was, honey," Emuna''s grandma answered, smiling at her husband.


    "Oh, yeah. I''m very happy to sing a thankful psalm to Elohim, ''cause He rightfully deserves this!" Emuna exclaimed while her grandpa grinned and held out his hands for his wife and granddaughter to hold onto. Emuna and her grandparents looked up at the ceiling one last time, before they returned to their normal lives.


    "Dear Heavenly Father¡­" Emuna''s grandma said, "Please use the doctors back in Kesaf to heal one of my daughters from a stroke today. Give her strength to overcome her physical disease and have her be discharged from the hospital soon as soon as her health improves. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    "Amen," Emuna and her grandpa said as she and her grandparents broke up their prayer circle.


    Emuna sat on the couch to turn on the TV. Her grandparents went upstairs. While her grandma continued upstairs, her grandpa stopped halfway on the staircase, bending himself forward and setting his eyes on his granddaughter. "Your grandma and I are about to get ready for the night and prepare ourselves for tomorrow''s ministry work. You should too, Emuna. We''ll provide you some pillows and a cover, so please don''t stay up for too long, okay, baby girl?"


    "I won''t, grandpa. You can count on me for that," Emuna said.


    "Now that''s the spirit! I''ll come back here with the pillows and a cover, so make yourself at home."


    "I will, grandpa."


    After Emuna''s grandpa continued to move upstairs, Emuna began searching for her night clothes and hygiene products in her bags. Once she got those things, she heard footsteps coming downstairs while she set her eyes on the bathroom. Her grandpa arrived in the living room with a couple pillows and a cover, setting them on the couch near her bags. "There you go, baby girl."


    "Thanks, grandpa," Emuna said.


    "No problem. Let me know if you need anything else."


    "I will. Goodnight."


    "Goodnight, baby girl. Don''t forget to say goodnight to your grandma now, at least before you get ready for the night."


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Alright, I will."


    Emuna and her grandpa walked upstairs to the master bedroom, looking around the room. Seeing her grandma not present in the room, she looked for her grandma in the bathroom. She saw her grandma washing her face with her hands, drying it with a towel. "Goodnight, grandma. I''m getting ready for the night and preparing myself for tomorrow''s ministry work."


    Emuna''s grandma looked her granddaughter in the eye. "Oh, goodnight, baby girl. And have a good night''s sleep."


    "I will, grandma. You too and three, grandma, grandpa," Emuna said as she hugged both her grandparents.


    "Oh, we will, baby girl," her grandpa said when Emuna walked downstairs to the bathroom for nighttime preparation.


    After that, she placed her stuff back into her bags and made herself a bed on the couch.


    -Alright, Emuna. Think about what chapter you''re gonna read in the Bible tonight.


    Once she thought about it for a while, she finally found a chapter that she wanted to read.


    -Ah, I got it! Matthew 8 , it is then!


    After reading that chapter in the Bible, it reminded her of her aunt''s health condition.


    -Yeah, it makes total sense now! Elohim must''ve helped me thought of this chapter of what my aunt''s goin'' through right now!


    She placed the Bible back into one of her bags, turned around and smiled at the ceiling. "I give praise to Elohim on that one! Hallelujah! Whoo!" She whispered.


    Then she laid down on the couch and covered herself up from her feet to above her chest, trying to sleep while watching TV at the same time.


    ****


    After waking up in the morning, praying to Elohim and preparing herself for the day, Emuna and her grandparents met with her friends in one of Xenopolis'' busiest, sinful streets; involved prostitution and sex tourism where mostly foreigner and travellers visited there. They handed out lots of Interlinear Bibles to people passing by them. Some people ignored them, a portion of them were rude to them, and others accepted the Bibles. They spread the Gospel every Friday and Sunday mornings out of worship for the almighty Elohim. Emuna¡¯s grandpa stood in the middle of the street while his wife, his granddaughter and his granddaughter''s friends stood near him. Zaboulon, Lazarus and Emuna''s grandma stood to the left, and Yudia and Emuna stood to the right.


    Emuna''s grandma held the Bible up in the air with her two hands and excitedly smiled. "You''ll be accepted into Elohim''s Kingdom, if you accept the Gospel and Yeshua as the Messiah. Yeshua Himself says in Luke 13: 18-21:


    "''What is Elohim''s Kingdom like? And what shall compare it to? It''s like a grain of mustard, which a man has cast into his garden and it grew into a tree, and the birds encamped in its branches.


    "''What shall I compare Elohim''s Kingdom to? It''s like leaven bread in which a woman hid three measures of meal until it was all leavened.''


    "So if you accept the Gospel, You''ll receive a much better life in Elohim''s Kingdom than this wicked, Earthly kingdom."


    "Amen," Emuna, her grandpa and her friends said. Emuna couldn''t be anymore happier than to spread the Gospel, especially with her friends and family.


    -Man, I''m so glad I got a chance to spread the Gospel with my grandparents and friends here. I haven''t done so in such a long time, yet here we are. I hope more people accept the Gospel to be saved from Gehenna!


    While they handed out Bibles to random people on the street for half an hour, only a few more people accepted the Gospel. Emuna sighed out of frustration, looking down at the ground.


    -Damn, looks like most people won''t enjoy havin'' a better life in the Elohim''s Kingdom, huh? Well, that''s a damn shame. I jus'' hope Elohim will help them change their hearts through our faith, our obedience to Him-both publicly and privately, our good actions with our right motives in our hearts, and our prayer. We gotta save them from Gehenna.


    Yudia turned to Emuna and smiled. "So, Emuna."


    "Yes, Yudia?" Emuna asked, looking Yudia in the eye.


    "Did you get a goodnight''s sleep last night?"


    "Oh, yeah. I sure did, and you?"


    "Uh-Huh, so did I. Did you have a good school year back in Kesaf?"


    "I did for the most part. The biggest letdown for me was that I failed the School Exit Exam¡­"


    Yudia then quickly turned to Emuna and quietly gasped. "No way! Did you really fail the School Exit Exam?!"


    "Yep. I did," Emuna disappointingly responded. "Not only did I have to do all my Spring semester exams but I also will have to retake the School Exit Exam in my Senior year. It jus'' sucks ''cause I wanna draw Romantic comics for the comic book industry, and I can''t become a comic book artist if I don''t have a Secondary School Diploma."


    "Oh¡­Emuna¡­" Yudia said, "That''s awful. May Elohim guide you on your School Exit Exam Retake, and help you become a comic book artist."


    Emuna smiled. "Thanks, Yudia. I appreciate your prayers. I''ll depend on Him too. I jus'' hope I passed these Spring Semester exams. I don''t wanna repeat my Junior year, cause that''ll be too embarrassing."


    "Oh, yeah. I hear ya."


    "What about you, Zaboulon and Lazarus? Did you guys have a good year as Juniors?"


    "Oh, yea. We definitely did. We even passed the School Exit Exam."


    Emuna gave her friend an annoyed look on her face.


    -Oh¡­you guys are jus'' as lucky as Plionay. I guess I''m the only one who failed the School Exit Exam, huh?


    Then she looked up at the sky.


    -Elohim, why did you allow me to fail my most important exam in my lifetime?! Why do I get to be the only one who failed it while everyone else passed it?! Why, Elohim?! Why?!


    "Oh, and ''bout tomorrow," Yudia said


    "Yeah, what ''bout it?" Emuna questioned.


    "Will we make an art project in our Harashim club?"


    "Thinking ''bout it, yes, we will. But we don''t know what art project we''ll be doin'' yet. So we''ll try to figure it out later on today."


    "Okay, sounds good enough."


    "And have you thought about which Psalm we''ll be singing tomorrow? ''Cause I know you''re into music more than I am."


    "Oh, no. Not yet. I''ll let you know about it later on today too."


    "Alright, sounds good. Jus'' take your time."


    Yudia grinned at Emuna. "I will."


    After an hour and a half of ministry work, Emuna, her grandparents and her friends began to place the rejected bibles back into the box and carried the box into the car''s trunk. Then they entered into the car, and her grandma drove the car to her and her husband''s house.

 Chapter 8: Harashim

    As soon as Emuna, her grandparents and her friends arrived at the townhouse and carried a box full of rejected bibles back into the house, Emuna and her friends left the house. They told her grandparents that they were going to explore Xenopolis for a  day, then they turned to the left and walked towards the street. After they looked both sides, they crossed the street towards the bus stop. Once they got there, Emuna¡¯s stomach growled at Emuna and her friends noticed it.


    "Oh, looks like we could get something to eat today. Who''s with me?" Lazarus said.


    "Yeah, me too!" Zaboulon exclaimed. He excitedly looked at Lazarus.


    "Me three! Count me in!" Yudia also exclaimed, performing the same actions as Zaboulon did.


    Looking down at her stomach, Emuna closed her eyes tightly shut.


    -Now don''t eat out, ya hear? Don''t eat out! Never forget that my aunt''s still in the hospital. Not until she''s cured from a stroke and is discharged from the hospital at the very least!


    "Uh, Emuna?" Zaboulon asked. He and his friends looked at Emuna, like she was doing something really weird in public.


    Then Emuna opened her eyes and returned her attention to her friends. "Oh! I''m sorry I took so long to respond. I''m jus'' goin'' to decline eatin'' out today."


    Her friends became surprised out of shock.


    "W-Why, Emuna? Is there something wrong?" Lazarus asked, giving me his sad face.


    "Yes, there is. You see, my aunt suffered from a stroke yesterday and is currently hospitalized as her health condition worsens. Me and my grandparents are praying and fasting for her to get better and be released from the hospital in Kesaf. We haven''t heard anything from her yet, and we didn''t eat nor drink anything since last night."


    "Oh¡­we''re so sorry to hear that, Emuna¡­" Zaboulon said as he and his friends felt sad for Emuna.


    "Yeah¡­" Yudia said.


    "Okay, guys," Lazarus declared, looking at both Zaboulon and Yudia side to side. "Looks like we won''t be eating out nor getting a drink except on a third day, until Emuna''s aunt is healed and discharged from the hospital. Instead, let''s go to the park in downtown Xenopolis. What do you say?"


    "Yeah, totally, bro," Zaboulon exclaimed, smiling at Lazarus, raising his fist up underneath his chin. "Count me in!"


    Yudia gasped with only a smile. "Yeah, me too, man."


    Emuna happily smiled at her friends and her eyes became watery out of joy, looking up at the sky. "Oh, give praise to Elohim for His spiritual support through my friends!" As her heart became content, she and her friends looked and grinned at one another. "Thanks, guys! I truly appreciate this!"


    "You''re welcome, Emuna," Lazarus said.


    "Me too," Yudia said.


    "Me three, bro," Zaboulon exclaimed, "Let''s go to the park then!"


    "Yeah!" Lazarus also exclaimed, closing his eyes.


    "Uh-huh!" Emuna also exclaimed, shaking her head.


    "Mmm-hmm," Yudia exclaimed as well, raising her fist up in the air out of excitement, closing her eyes and joyfully grinned.


    Then the phone rang in Yudia''s purse. Yudia displayed her shocked, fearful look on her face, looking down at and digging through her purse to search for her phone. Emuna and her friends noticed her fearful behavior, giving her their sad faces.


    "Uh, Yudia. Are you OK? ''Cause you''re acting like someone''s followin'' you or something," Emuna said.


    "Oh, I''m fine, Emuna," Yudia answered after she got her phone out of her phone.


    "Are you sure? You don''t look like you''re fine." Emuna gave Yudia her skeptical look on her face and placed her hands on her hips.


    "I''m really fine, Emuna," Yudia said out of annoyance. "I''m sure of it."


    Emuna sucked her teeth and glared at Yudia for a moment. "Uh, I was jus'' makin'' sure you''re okay. You don''t need to get an attitude with me. Gheesh!"


    After Yudia glared back at Emuna for a while and examined her phone screen, she sighed and raised her eyebrows upwards towards one another. She answered her phone, placed it on her ear and said, "Hi, dad¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Okay, I will¡­Bye now¡­" Once she hung up the phone and placed it back into her purse, she sadly looked at her friends for a moment.


    "What?" Emuna asked. "What is it?"


    "Sorry, everyone. Looks like I''ll ride the bus home today, instead of goin'' to the park with you guys," Yudia answered.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "W-Why not? Is there something seriously wrong, Yudia?" Zaboulon asked.


    "No-no, not at all, Zaboulon," Yudia replied. "My family jus'' gave me some extra work to do today, so I won''t be able to hang out with you guys. I''ll see you tomorrow, okay?"


    "Okay, well. Have you thought of what Psalm to sing from yet?" Emuna asked.


    "No, not yet," Yudia responded. "I''ll text y''all ''bout it later on today or tomorrow morning. How''s that sound?"


    "Yeah, that sounds pretty good to me," Emuna said, turning to her friends with her sad face. "Has anyone thought of what we''re goin'' to make and what materials we''re gonna bring? We''ll be meeting at the same place for our Harashim club tomorrow morning, and I haven''t thought of any yet. Any suggestions?"


    "Beats me," Lazarus responded, raising his palm hands up, shaking his head sideways, while Zaboulon placed his hand on his chin and looked up at the sky.


    "Oh, I don''t know either. Sorry, Emuna," Yudia answered.


    "Oh¡­I know! We''ll make a 3-D project based on the New Pentateuch-first from the Book of John! We''ll do Yeshua appearin'' at the beginnin'' of Genesis with Elohim right out of different colored layers!" Zaboulon widened his excited eyes and raised his fist underneath his chin. "I did that with my grandma during my Junior year. All we need is different papers of color, glue pencils and scissors. How''s that sound?!"


    "Yeah, that could work. Are y''all down with that?" Emuna said in agreement.


    "Yeah, totally," Lazarus agreed.


    "So who''s gonna bring the materials tomorrow morning? I''ll bring some pencils," Emuna said.


    "I''ll bring some glue," Zaboulon said.


    "I''ll get scissors," Lazarus said.


    "And I''ll get different colored paper," Yudia said, waving at her friends before she look both ways. "Well then, see y''all tomorrow. Bye now!"


    "Bye, Yudia. We''ll see you tomorrow too!" Zaboulon, Lazarus and Emuna said, waving their good-byes back at Yudia, as she looked both ways and crossed the street to head for the bus stop, just in time before the bus arrived there.


    Although she got it and it left the bus stop, Emuna and her friends waited for their bus to arrive at the bus stop near them. Once the bus finally arrived at the bus stop, they entered it before it drove off to their destination within Xenopolis.


    ****


    Emuna and her friends finally arrived at and returned to their usual, abandoned spot in the back alley on a Saturday morning. The area appeared to be a dirty, rusty room where lots of boxes stacked on top of each other on the left, right and rear walls. A couch, a comfy chair leaned against the bricked wall, and an old, wooden table as well as four wooden chairs watched Emuna and her friends examined the room. Emuna and her friends smiled while they ignored their stomachs'' growl.


    "Oh, Elohim! It''s good to be back at Harashim!" Emuna exclaimed. "I missed this place so much."


    "Uh-huh," her friends agreed, looking at one another, shaking their heads with their eyes closed.


    "Time to get to work, guys!" Emuna exclaimed, placing the pencils in the middle of the table.


    "Right on!" Her friends agreed, also placing the art and crafts materials in the middle of the table; Yudia brought different colored paper, Zaboulon brought glue and Lazarus brought scissors.


    "Alright, looks like we''re settled on makin'' our first 3-D layered project of Yeshua and Elohim together in Genesis 1:1-5. We haven''t done any art projects for the Lord in a long time since last summer," Emuna said.


    "Oh, yeah. That''s true," her friends agreed.


    Then Emuna turned to Yudia. "Have you picked out a Psalm for yet?"


    "Uh-huh," Yudia answered, shaking her head. "I have."


    "Okay, so what is it?" Emuna asked.


    "It''s Psalm 128," Yudia said, pulling four folded papers out of her purse, handing out three others to Lazarus, Zaboulon and Emuna.


    Emuna and her friends read through it.


    "Okay then. Let''s sing then. I sing the verse first and y''all sing the same verse next," Emuna said.


    After her friends shook their heads in agreement, Emuna exclaimed, "Alright let''s sing it!"


    "Yeah, totally, man!" Zaboulon exclaimed.


    "Whoo-hoo!" Yudia also exclaimed.


    After they sang Psalm 128, they sat on the chairs and scooted themselves in, working on their art project. They kept working despite their stomachs'' continuous growls.


    "So, what did you guys do on your Electives and after school extracurricular activities?" Emuna asked. "Did you guys do good or bad on them?"


    "I did well in my home economics class and child development club," Yudia replied.


    "For me, I did well in my P.E. class and my track team so much that our team never lost. Ever," Zaboulon responded.


    "I did good on my vocational course and cooking club," Lazarus answered.


    "Well, that was great, you guys! Y''all made Elohim and His Son proud," Emuna exclaimed, closing her eyes, smiling at her friends. "And I did well in my art class and arts and crafts club."


    "That''s amazing, Emuna!" Her friends exclaimed.


    They depended on and worked with Elohim through their hands for a while. They made their creative project so well done, that they thanked Elohim for everything He''d done.


    "We couldn''t have done this without His help," Emuna said while her friends agreed with her statement.


    "So, Emuna?" Yudia asked.


    "Yes, Yudia," Emuna replied, turning for Yudia''s attention.


    "How''s your aunt doing? Is she feeling any better so far?"


    "Why, yes, she is. I heard my grandpa called my dad yesterday evening a few moments after I got home from hanging out with Lazarus and Zaboulon¡­"


    "Oh, that''s good to hear, Emuna!"


    "Yeah, that''s very good news!" Zaboulon exclaimed.


    "Thank Elohim she''s alright!" Lazarus also exclaimed.


    "Oh, yeah. I kept prayin'' for her last night and this morning," Emuna added. "However, she won''t be released from the hospital for a little more than two weeks."


    "Oh, I see¡­" Yudia said with her eyes closed, until her phone echoed in front of Emuna, Zaboulon and Lazarus.


    Yudia''s face became shocked and sad as she looked down at her purse, pulling her phone out of it. Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon sensed something was going on in Yudia''s life right now. Something terribly wrong. When she looked at the phone screen, her face became even more sadder than ever before, answering the phone.


    "Oh, hi, dad¡­again? I''m almost done with my group project¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Okay then. As you wish. Bye now¡­" Yudia hung up the phone, looked at its screen for a few seconds and placed it back into her purse.


    "Uh, Yudia. Is there something wrong?" Emuna worriedly questioned while Yudia pulled out her bus schedule for the bus'' arrival at one particular bus stop. Yudia widened her eyes after she examined it for another few seconds, placing it back into her purse.


    "Yes, I have to return home for more extra work," Yudia responded, quickly standing up from her chair.


    "Again?" Zaboulon asked.


    "But we''re almost half way done with the project," Lazarus said.


    "I know that. But I really need to go. I''ll see y''all tomorrow morning, okay?" Yudia said, quickly waving at her friends, leaving the club.


    "Bye!" Emuna, Zaboulon and Lazarus said, waving back at Yudia with their gloomy faces before they finished the project without Yudia present.

 Chapter 9: Gone Missing

    On a Sunday afternoon, Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon sat on the bench near the junk playground. They watched children either play by themselves or with each other and the play workers supervised the children there. People walked or ran by Emuna and her friends, either by themselves, with other people, or with their pets. There were alot of empty barbecues in the woods area the brown benches on one side. A big, green field where children play tag on the other side. Children''s laughter echoed into Emuna and her friends'' ears. Emuna drank her orange soda and her friends just sat there. The wind blew their hair.


    "It''s nice to be out here in this nice, cool weather, especially in Midbar," Emuna said with her eyes closed and a grin. "We desperately need it, y''know. Midbar''s really hot out here, y''know."


    "Oh, yea. That''s true, bro," Lazarus agreed.


    "Mmm-hmm," Zaboulon also agreed, doing the same action as Emuna did. "We thank Elohim for that. He does a great job taking care of us."


    "Yep, He sure does," Emuna said, shaking her head with her eyes closed. "So do you guys have part time jobs tomorrow? Because I sure as hell do."


    "Yeah, I do," Lazarus responded.


    "Me too," Zaboulon replied, "I''ll be working at the amusement park which is Beach Castle."


    "And I''ll work as a waiter at a restaurant called Star Palace," Lazarus answered.


    "Oh, okay. Cool," Emuna said. "I''ll be working as a cashier at a fast food joint called Speedy Food."


    "Ah, pretty cool, Emuna," Lazarus said, shaking his head.


    "Yeah," Zaboulon agreed. "I hope you do well tomorrow."


    "Uh-huh, me too," Lazarus said.


    "Aw, thank you, guys," Emuna said, closing her eyes.


    "You''re welcome, Emuna," The young men said.


    "And I hope you guys do well too tomorrow," Emuna said, sipping her drink.


    "Oh, thanks, Emuna. We will," the young men replied.


    "So have you heard any news of your aunt back in Kesaf?" Zaboulon asked.


    "Yeah," Emuna replied. "My grandma told me that my aunt''s slowly getting better as time goes on, through my mother on the phone call. We jus'' need to be patient with the Lord''s work through the doctors to help restore her, and she should be fine."


    "Yeah, that I agree." Lazarus shook his head with his eyes closed.


    Emuna sadly sighed, looking at her friends sideways. "I wish Yudia was here with us to experience this with us. Too bad she had to do some more extra work at home as usual¡­"


    "Yeah, that''s quite true," Lazarus agreed. "I hope her family hasn''t overwork her."


    "Oh, yea," Zaboulon also agreed. "That would be devastating if she is."


    "So what do you guys wanna do for the rest of the day before we head home and get ready for work tomorrow?" Emuna asked, sipping her drink.


    "Uuuummm¡­" Lazarus answered, looking around the park. "I don''t know¡­"


    "Yeah, me neither¡­" Zaboulon said, performing the same action as Lazarus did.


    "Hmmm¡­" Emuna said, scratching her head, doing the same thing as her friends'' similar actions.


    After they failed to find something of what they wanted to do for a while, Emuna drank her soda and looked at her friends sideways. "How about we walk around the park until¡­" Then she looked at her phone for the time. "Let''s say ''round the sixteenth hour (4pm)?"


    "Sure, let''s do it." The young men agreed as they got up from the bench and walked with Emuna.


    While Emuna and her friends walked around the park, their skins felt the cool wind and the sun''s heat at the same time. The young men placed her hands inside their pockets and they and Emuna looked around them.


    "So what did y''all do for the rest of the day?" Emuna asked.


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    "I did some workout with my dad in a gym, and look how ripped my muscles are," Zaboulon said as he and his friends stopped moving and Emuna and Lazarus looked at his squeezed arm muscles.


    "Wow, that looks amazing, Zaboulon," Emuna exclaimed when she and Lazarus walked closer to Zaboulon and examined Zaboulon''s muscles.


    "Yeah, man," Lazarus agreed. "Keep up the good work, man."


    "Ah, thanks you guys," Zaboulon said, closing his eyes with a smile, scratching his head.


    "No, prob, my man," Lazarus said, grinning at Lazarus.


    "Yeah, bro," Emuna said, turning to Lazarus. "And you?"


    "Me?" Lazarus asked. "I helped my grandma cleaned out her garage;we put some stuff in the trash and gave others away to charity."


    "Oh, that''s good, Lazarus," Zaboulon said when he and his friends continued to walk around the park.


    "Yea¡­" Emuna agreed, looking at Lazarus like he was a strange thing. "Keep up the good work, bro."


    "Mhn," Zaboulon agreed, shaking his head with a grin on his face.


    "Oh, thanks, you guys. I will," Lazarus exclaimed.


    "No, problem, my friend," Emuna and Zaboulon said.


    "Okay, so what about you, Emuna? What did you do for the rest of the day?" Lazarus asked, looking Emuna in the eye.


    "Well¡­" Emuna responded, looking up at the sky. "I picked up some trash with my grandparents in the neighborhood, and¡­"


    "And what, Emuna?" Lazarus asked, raising his eyebrow at Emuna.


    "We went to the movie theaters together," Emuna responded.


    Zaboulon gasped. "Oh, that''s pretty sweet, Emuna. What did you watch?"


    "Yeah!" Lazarus agreed, widening his eyes, smiling at Emuna, raising his fists up underneath his chin.


    "Oh¡­uh¡­we watched¡­Married under the Sunlight¡­" Emuna put her head down below her as a shadow disguised her forehead and eyes.


    "Ah, okay cool. Was it a good movie?" Lazarus asked.


    "Unfortunately, no¡­that was a terrible movie, and I highly don''t recommend y''all watch it...ever¡­" Emuna answered.


    "Oh¡­I''m sorry to hear that, Emuna¡­" Zaboulon said, expressing his sad face.


    "Yeah¡­" Lazarus agreed.


    "Oh, it''s okay, guys," Emuna said. "It''s no biggie, really. I''m really glad Elohim exposed this movie to me and my grandparents, so that we won''t get this movie as soon as it comes out with Indi-ray."


    "Oh, yeah. I feel ya," Zaboulon said.


    "Mhn," Lazarus agreed, shaking his head.


    Then a tan-skinned woman ran up towards Emuna and her friends. She wore her orange dress and sandals with some white designs on them. The wind blew her short, black hair. Her big, black sunglasses covered her eyes.


    "Hey! Hey!" That woman yelled from the top of her lungs. "Oh, thank Elohim. I found you guys."


    Emuna and her friends turned to the woman, recognizing that it was Yudia''s mother.


    -I don''t expect Mrs. Valmont to be here. Looks like she wants to tell us something serious. I wonder what it is.


    "Yes, Mrs. Valmont, how can we help you?" Emuna curiously asked.


    "It''s Yudia," Yudia''s mother responded, "She ran away from home this afternoon."


    Emuna and her friends widened their eyes and gasped out of shock.


    -Whoa! This can''t be real. Did Yudia really run away? She would never do something like that.


    "No way!" Lazarus cried.


    "You can''t be serious!" Zaboulon also cried.


    "Uh-huh, my husband and I looked everywhere in our home and we couldn''t find her there. We contacted the authorities about this and they''re going to find her and bring her back home."


    "Mrs. Valmont¡­I''m so sorry to hear that¡­" Emuna said.


    -Okay, this is really bad! We gotta go help Yudia''s parents find her! Who knows what kind of danger she''s in!


    Emuna displayed her serious, determined face. "Alright, Mrs. Valmont. My friends and I will help you and your husband find your daughter."


    Emuna''s friends looked at Emuna like she was crazy.


    "Whoa, Emuna. We can''t just go out to find her jus'' like that," Lazarus cried.


    "Yea, Lazarus is right. Leave it up to the authorities instead," Zaboulon agreed, shaking his head.


    "Well, are you guys busy with your family this afternoon then?" Emuna questioned.


    "No, of course not," her friends roared.


    "Okay, so we''re goin'' to find her then," Emuna said.


    "Emuna, that wouldn''t be necessary," Yudia''s mother said, shaking her head sideways with her palm hands positioned like she was pushing something.


    "Please, Mrs. Valmont. Let us find her," Emuna pleaded.


    "No, Emuna, don''t," Yudia''s mother said. "Let the authorities handle this now."


    "But-" Emuna pleaded more.


    Yudia''s mother angrily yelled Emuna''s name and added, "It''s quite alright now. The authorities will handle it, so leave it up to them. Besides, you don''t wanna get hurt while searching for your friend now, do you?"


    "No¡­" Emuna guiltily sighed. "I apologize to all of you. I jus'' wanna help find Yudia. That''s all."


    "We''ll we forgive you, Emuna," Emuna''s friends and Yudia''s mother said.


    "Let''s get a group hug and  pray for Yudia to return home, before we can get you guys home. Shall we?" Yudia''s mother said.


    "Sure," Emuna and her friends agreed, forming a group circle to hug and pray with Yudia''s mother.


    "Dear Lord," Yudia''s mother prayed, "Please deliver and guide my daughter home safe and sound through the authorities. We''re worried sick about her. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    "Amen," Emuna and her friends said as they walked towards Yudia''s mother''s red car with a silver-colored striped in the middle of its sides.


    Emuna looked forward with her determined, serious face.


    -Hey, you know what? Screw these guys right here! I''m gonna search for Yudia whether they like it or not, dammit. I don''t care what they got to say. I will find Yudia, period. No excuses about it.

 Chapter 10: Life Without Yudia

    Although Emuna and everybody else went to work and heard news of her aunt feeling better, they were worried about Yudia and they missed her being around. They even cried for her. They prayed for her return and safety, but the authorities haven''t even found her yet. As the week went on, they patiently waited for her return and they still haven''t heard anything from her.


    Emuna tried to find Yudia on her own on a late Friday evening, and she couldn''t find her. On a Saturday morning, Emuna and her friends continued to work on their art project at their hideout-this time on John 2. Emuna was doing hers and Yudia''s task while Zaboulon and Lazarus were working on their own individual tasks. Emuna sighed and sipped her apple juice when looking down at her art crafts. Zaboulon and Lazarus stopped working and gave Emuna their sad faces.


    "Hey, Emuna. Are you okay?" Lazarus asked.


    "Yea, I''m fine¡­" Emuna replied.


    "You don''t look like you''re fine." Zaboulon stated.


    "But I am." Emuna responded.


    "Look, don''t let Yudia get to you. Elohim will keep her safe and not abandon her," Lazarus said.


    "Yeah." Zaboulon agreed. "We all miss her, too. Jus'' depend on Him through the authorities. Where''s your faith?"


    Emuna guiltily smiled at her friends. "Yea, you guys are right. I apologize to Elohim and you guys for my distraction."


    "It''s alright, Emuna. We forgive ya," Lazarus said while Zaboulon shook his head.


    While Emuna and her friends went back to work, sadness began to take hold of Emuna''s heart. She redrank her apple juice. Emuna''s eyes were watery and moved sideways while she kept crafting her artwork.


    -Oh, Yudia. Where the hell are you? And why did you run away? I miss havin'' you bein'' around. Jus'' why did you do this? Why? Why did you have to do this to us-your friends?!


    Sniffing her nose, Emuna scooted her chair out and cried. Lazarus and Zaboulon stopped working on their tasks and went to Emuna to comfort her, rubbing and patting on her back.


    "Emuna, please remain focus on Elohim''s work. Crying for Yudia isn''t goin'' to make things better," Lazarus said.


    "Yeah, Lazarus is right, man," Zaboulon agreed. "You gotta stay focused if you want to make Elohim proud."


    Emuna rubbed her eyes and stood up from her chair. She looked down below her with her shadow covering her eyes and forehead. "You know what, guys? I''m jus'' gonna walk ''round to take a break from all this. I''ll make up for this when I get back. You guys keep working on your stuff. Once you''re done, you can leave."


    "Uh, are you really sure ''bout that? I mean, I don''t want ya to overwork yourself because of Yudia," Zaboulon said while Emuna exitted the hideout.


    "I''m fine, Zaboulon. Don''t worry about me. Jus'' keep workin'' on your tasks, alright?" Emuna said, walking, taking her apple juice with her.


    "Alright, whatever you say." Lazarus said as he and Zaboulon continued working on the project.


    Emuna sniffed the fresh morning air with her eyes closed, while the sun shone on her as soon as she exited the alley.


    -Oh, fresh air. Jus'' what I need. Now I need Elohim''s help to overcome my sadness.


    She looked up at the sky and covered her eyes with her hand, praying for His help in regaining her focus. Then she walked downstairs and took a look around. There her eyes spotted a bunch of people walking past a lot of small shops, while others examined the products from the merchants. People''s chatter echoed throughout the area once Emuna entered it.


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    -Ah, cool. The shopping area. It''s so nice to be back here for a while, y''know.


    Then she exited the area and walked throughout a somewhat empty neighborhood. Children were playing with a red ball and took turns with it, and housewives talked to each other and laughed together. The housewives and children greeted Emuna a hello and Emuna did the same to them in return.


    Emuna looked both ways and walked towards the bridge to the right. More small shops appeared one another among the apartments above them. People either walked or ran on the sidewalks, and vehicles roamed the streets.


    Once she stopped in the middle of the bridge, she turned to the right and leaned on it. Her eyes saw a blue river containing nothing and it streamed up south. When images of Yudia reappeared in her heart, her face was saddened. She closed her eyes and put her head down, sniffing her nose as tears poured down onto her cheeks.


    -Oh, God. I miss Yudia so much. I want to know where she''s been, y''know.


    ****


    "Hey! Give me my ball back, you guys!" Seven-year-old Emuna yelled, waving her arm sideways.


    "Never!" One of the three boys said as he kicked the blue ball in the river.


    "Noooo!" Emuna cried, putting her hand out forward, running after her ball. She stopped by the bridge once the ball slammed and splashed onto the riverbed.


    "Try to go get the ball now, Emuna!" One of the boys said.


    "Yeah!" The two other boys agreed as all three boys ran away from the bridge.


    "Oh, yeah? You are going to be sorry once Elohim judges you all!" Emuna roared, clenching her fists. She then closed her eyes and turned to the left. "Hmph!"


    Watching the ball going south from the river''s current, Emuna''s face was saddened. She looked up at the sky and prayed for her ball to return to her.


    "Here." A little girl''s voice echoed behind Emuna, tapping on her shoulder.


    Emuna turned around and saw a little girl around her age giving her the same blue ball as the one that was thrown in the river. She gasped and turned to the other side of the bridge, then back at the little girl. "Did you get the ball from the river and dry it up so quickly?!"


    "Nuh-uh," the little girl responded. "I asked my parents to buy a ball for you."


    Emuna gasped with her mouth opened, grabbing the ball with her two hands. "Oh, well, thank you so much."


    "You''re welcome," The little girl said. "Say, we should go play ball together."


    "Yay! That sounds like a great idea!" Emuna exclaimed with her excited smile on her face. The little girl turned around as she and Emuna ran toward another street from the bridge.


    "What is your name?" The little girl asked. "My name is Yudia."


    "Hi, Yudia. My name is Emuna," Emuna answered.


    "It''s nice to meet you, Emuna," Yudia said.


    "It''s nice to meet you too, Yudia," Emuna said when the girls laughed and played ball with one another on that day.


    ****


    Emuna continued to cry for a while until she finally stopped crying. She wiped the tears off her eyes and looked around her surroundings. After she watched the river, she stood up still and took a look around one last time before she returned to her hideout.


    She then looked up at the sky and had her hand cover her eyes. "Thank you, Elohim for addressing my sadness. I appreciate what You''ve done for me. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    She turned around and headed back to her hideout. She drank her remaining apple juice and threw it in the black trash can. After she performed her ministry work on a Sunday morning, she hung out with her friends at a downtown park in Xenopolis in the afternoon. She and her friends still haven''t heard anything about Yudia. They looked around them and took a stroll around the park.


    Their eyes spotted families were either sitting at benches, walking around the park or feeding ducks at the lake. The people there chatted with one another.


    "So what did you guys do today?" Emuna asked.


    "Oh, I got ripped again at the gym with my dad," Zaboulon responded, showing off his muscles.


    "Ah, that''s pretty cool, Zaboulon," Emuna and Lazarus said.


    "And I visited my mom''s house for a while," Lazarus answered.


    "Awesome, Lazarus," Emuna and Zaboulon said.


    "And you?" Lazarus asked.


    "I went to the arcades with my grandparents," Emuna replied. "We definitely had a great time there."


    "That''s pretty sweet, Emuna!" Lazarus and Zaboulon gasped.


    "So how was your aunt?" Zaboulon questioned.


    "She''s been gettin better and better each day!" Emuna exclaimed with her eyes closed. "I jus'' hope she keeps goin'' in that direction, because I want her to be discharged from the hospital as soon as possible."


    "Yeah, let''s hope so," Zaboulon said.


    "Jus'' keep dependin'' on the Lord, and your aunt should be healed and discharged in no time," Lazarus said.


    "Yep, I guess so," Emuna said, smiling at the sky.


    Then once she took her eyes away from the sky, she saw something that was a bit far away from her. There she saw a girl who looked kinda familiar to her.


    -Wait a minute. That girl looks mighty familiar to me. Could that be Yudia?


    Once that girl scanned her surroundings, Emuna immediately recognized her face. She widened her eyes and quietly gasped.


    -That is Yudia! I finally found her after she went missin'' for a week!

 Chapter 11: Reunion with Yudia

    Emuna stopped moving, turned around and looked Lazarus and Zaboulon in the eye. "Hey, guys. I think I found Yudia." She made a U turn and pointed her finger at Yudia. "Look!"


    Lazarus and Zaboulon examined Yudia and agreed with Emuna.


    "Let''s go get her!" Lazarus added.


    "Yeah!" Zaboulon agreed as he and his friends chased after Yudia.


    "Hey, Yudia!" Lazarus yelled, waving his hand at Yudia.


    "Shooo!" Emuna said, fearfully turned to and stared at Yudia. Realizing Yudia didn''t notice her and her friends, she turned back to Lazarus. "Don''t yell!"


    "Why not?" Lazarus asked.


    "''Cause you''ll scare her away if you do that, bro," Emuna responded, returning her attention to Yudia. "Besides, we can''t have her run away from us."


    "Alright, whatever you say," Lazarus said.


    "Okay, so how ''bout this? I''ll call her parents and tell ''em we found Yudia and we''re gonna go get her. What do you say?" Zaboulon suggested, pulling out his phone from his pocket.


    Emuna turned to Zaboulon. "Yeah, go ahead." Then she returned her attention towards Yudia. "At least Yudia''s parents will know ''bout our situation, even if we fail to catch her."


    "Got it!" Zaboulon said, dialing his phone, calling Yudia''s parents.


    Emuna smiled when she gazed at Yudia and the sky back and forth.


    -Oh, thank You, Elohim. You lead us towards Yudia, and we''ll sing praise for You because of that.


    "Okay, I got that shit done," Zaboulon said, hanging up his phone, putting it back into his pocket.


    "Good." Emuna said while she and her friends continuously rushed their way towards their friend.


    When Emuna and her friends were halfway there towards Yudia, they saw her turned right and walk through the crowd. She didn''t even notice them coming after her. Emuna grinned at her.


    -Alright, we''re almost there! Now if the walkin'' traffic lights would turn white, we should be able to get to Yudia in no time.


    Once the walking traffic lights turned from orange to white, Emuna and her friends saw the waiting crowd finally walking across the street. Emuna grinned even more when looking up at the sky.


    -Thank You, Elohim for turnin'' the walkin'' traffic lights white. Now me and my friends will definitely get to Yudia soon enough.


    Emuna and her friends successfully made it to the walking traffic lights and crossed the street before those lights turned back to orange. Emuna sighed out of relief while she and her friends fought through the crowd, trying to get to their lost friend.


    -Phew! We made it jus'' in time! Now we''re gonna make it for sure!


    As soon as Emuna and her friends get to Yudia, Emuna shook her head at Zaboulon a little, signaling him to grab Yudia. Once he grabbed Yudia, she frightenedly jumped a little and turned around. She recognized her friends and tried to break free from Zaboulon''s hands, yet Zaboulon proved to be too strong for her. Zaboulon pulled her into the dead end away from the crowd.


    "Wh-What are you guys doin'' here?! And why is Zaboulon grabbin'' me like I''m some sorta criminal?! I''m innocent, y''know!" Yudia nerviously cried.


    Emuna glared at Yudia. "Ya ran away from home a week ago! If we jus'' ran to ya, ya would''ve ran away from us! Why did ya even do that?! My friends and I miss ya. I especially miss you so much that I jus'' got a break from workin'' on an art project and cried my heart out yesterday morning! That''s how badly I missed ya, Yudia!"


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    "Yeah, Emuna''s right!" Lazarus and Zaboulon agreed. "We all missed ya!"


    "Well, I''m sorry, you guys. But I have to do that for my own safety reasons," Yudia replied, still resisting Zaboulon.


    "''Safety reasons?!'' What do ya mean ''safety reasons?!'' You were safe at home before you ran away! Do you not realize how dangerous it is for you to run all over the city especially at night?!" Emuna confusedly asked.


    "I don''t wanna go back home! It''s a lot more dangerous there than it is out here as long as he''s still ''round. I don''t want him findin'' me at all," Yudia answered. "Now let me go, Zaboulon!"


    "No!" Emuna roared. She stomped on the ground, clenched her fists and tightly closed her eyes. She opened her hands and glared at her, nearly closing her eyes. "What do you mean you don''t want him to find him?! Who exactly?! I want to know the truth, Yudia!"


    Yudia didn''t answer and still resisted Zaboulon.


    "Well, if you don''t answer me, You''re gonna end up all alone once you return home. You''ll no longer hang out with us, perform ministry work with us, and be kicked out of Harashim," Emuna said.


    "Fine, kick me out then. I don''t wanna be with you guys anyway," Yudia roared, "Now let me go!"


    -Oh, so she wants to be a badass loner, huh?! Time for plan B.


    "But Yudia, did you forgot about what happens when you break up with us?" Emuna asked. "''Cause once you do that, you''ll have a very hard time findin'' new friends, especially among the locals. You know how slow each person in Xenopolis is when it comes to gaining trust among new people.


    "Sure, sure, you can befriend a foreigner here. I mean, afterall, Xenopolis is the most popular city among foreigners and travellers than everywhere else in Theoterra. But they mostly speak Akkadian and you suck at it." Emuna and her friends noticed Yudia stopped resisting Zaboulon;Yudia panted and expressed her sad look on her face. "Well, are you gonna tell us or what?!"


    "Alright, alright, alright. I''ll say it¡­" Yudia responded, putting her head down for a while, before she returned her attention to Emuna.


    "Well?" Emuna questioned.


    "The reason I ran away was¡­my step¡­''dad''¡­he sexually abused me and he got me pregnant for a week," Yudia replied.


    Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon widened her eyes out of shock when they heard what came out of Yudia''s mouth.


    "Yudia¡­I''m so sorry to hear that, bruh¡­" Emuna said, then she glared at Yudia once more. "Why the hell didn''t you tell us after all this time?! You really think we wouldn''t believe ya or somethin''?!"


    "No¡­it''s somethin'' else¡­" Yudia answered.


    "What?" Emuna asked.


    "He tracked my phone wherever I went and recorded my every word. That prevented me from tellin'' you guys or even my mom about his abuse, and he expected me to lie to you guys whenever he called me," Yudia replied.


    "If I didn''t, he will lie to my mom about me losin'' my virginity to one of classmates. He''s such a good liar that my mom would always believe anything he says, even if it isn''t true," Yudia added.


    "You mean you lied to us last weekend about havin'' to do extra work?" Lazarus asked


    "Yes¡­" Yudia answered.


    "I see¡­" Lazarus said.


    "So when you guys found me, did you call my parents?" Yudia asked.


    "Oh, shot! I did!" Zaboulon cried when Yudia nervously looked up at him.


    "It''s alright, Zaboulon. It''s my fault, not yours," Emuna said. "I gave him permission to call you. So you didn''t take your phone with you, did you?"


    "Nope, I sure didn''t. I didn''t even bother in the first place," Yudia responded with her eyes closed.


    "Good," Emuna said, looking up at Lazarus and Yudia back and forth. "How ''bout this? We''ll look out for your parents and you hide by the trash can here, got it?" Emuna pointed at the green trash can near Lazarus. Yudia shook her head.


    "We''ll lie to your parents about you managin'' to get away from us. Once we did that, we reunite again and discuss about gatherin'' evidence for ya, as well as sleepin'' at one of our friends house," Emuna continued.


    "Got it," Yudia said as Zaboulon let her go from his hands. She hid at the trash can''s side, placing her fingers on her nose, squeezing it. She couldn''t stand its stinky smell near her. "I wish I could find a different hiding place, because this area stinks." She looked around one last time and couldn''t find any.


    Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon exited the dead end. They surveyed their surroundings and chatted with one another, until Yudia''s parents arrived.


    "Hi, Mr and Mrs Valmont," Emuna exclaimed as she, Lazarus and Zaboulon waved at Yudia''s parents.


    "Hey, there, you guys!" Mr and Mrs Valmont exclaimed, waving back at Yudia''s friends. "Where''s Yudia? You guys said you found her."


    "Yeah, we did see her on this street, but she saw us and managed to ride the bus on time away from us over there," Emuna said, pointing at the blue bus stop sign far away from her.  Then she expressed her sad face and looked down below her.


    Yudia''s parents looked at where Emuna was pointing at. "It''s alright, Emuna. Thanks again, you guys. And may Elohim bless y''all." They dashed their way towards the bus stop through the crowd and waved at Yudia''s friends.


    "May Elohim bless y''all too!" Emuna and her friends waved back at Yudia''s parents.


    Once Yudia''s parents took a picture of the bus stop sign and headed back home, Emuna and her friends returned to Yudia, discussing their plans.

 Chapter 12: Recording the Evidence

    During the week, Yudia stayed at Lazarus'' house in his childhood tree house while Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon went to work on Monday through Thursday. Lazarus sneakily provided Yudia with some food and water as well as Emuna and Zaboulon visited her at that time. Emuna blessed Elohim of the good news for her aunt''s health was doing a bit so much better, that she expected her aunt to be discharged from the hospital in Kesaf on Friday.


    Yudia''s parents tried to find their daughter all over the city including the authorities, and they still couldn''t find her. Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon comforted them while their hid their anger towards Mr. Valmont. They patiently waited for their time to carry out their plan against him.


    After Emuna, Zaboulon and Lazarus performed their ministry work on Friday morning with Emuna''s grandparents, they headed for Lazarus'' house and snuck Yudia out of his house from the backyard. While they exited his house, they walked forward on the sidewalk. They saw cars sitting there at the sidewalks'' edge on both sides of the road, clear sky, shiny sun, children either playing in their front yards or throughout the neighborhood, and neighbors chatting with one another.


    Emuna turned to her friends. "Alright, guys. You guys know the plan, right?"


    "What''s the plan again?" Zaboulon asked.


    "Y''know¡­how to gather some evidence against Mr. Valmont," Emuna annoyedly answered.


    "Oh, yeah. Of course! I can''t believe I  forgot! Sorry ''bout that! Ha-ha-ha!" Zaboulon embarrassingly stated, scratching the back of his head, closing his eyes.


    "So we''re headin'' for Red Alley, right?" Yudia questioned.


    "Yep," Emuna replied when turning to Yudia with a smile on her face. "And once we get there, we''ll contact Mr. Valmont to go there. When you and your dad are alone, we''ll closely record you from Zaboulon''s camcorder while we''ll be a bit closer to you.


    "Once we get the evidence, one of us will call the authorities and prevent Mr. Valmont from takin'' Yudia. When the authorities arrive, they''ll arrest and place him in jail;Yudia gets to go home with her mother and our friendship will get back to normal in no time."


    "Yep, you got that right, bro!" Lazarus exclaimed.


    "Mhn," Yudia agreed, shaking her head while they exited Lazarus'' neighborhood.


    ****


    Once Emuna and her friends made it to Red Alley, Yudia leaned against the wall as well as Emuna and her friends hid behind the window inside the abandoned building. Emuna curiously surveyed the alley in amazement.


    -Ey, yo! This place is amazing. I wonder why people abandoned this place though is a total mystery to me.


    The alley was red-colored and abandoned. Silence echoed across the area. No one was around in there, and some vines spread across certain spots on each wall.


    Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon watched her with Zaboulon pulling out his orange camcorder from his pocket. Emuna turned to Lazarus. "Well, Lazarus. You know what to do."


    Lazarus shook his head. "Right."


    Lazarus pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed it, waiting for a few seconds. "Hi, Mr. Valmont. How are you doin'' today?...Oh, great. I''m doin'' jus'' fine¡­Well, I found your daughter this time¡­Oh, yea. She''s standing right here with me¡­We''re in Red Alley¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Oh, your wife''s not home?...Uh-huh, I see. Well, I''ll see you when you get here, sir¡­Good-bye¡­"


    After Lazarus hung up his phone and placed it in his pocket, Emuna widened her eyes when she looked him in the eye. "Well? What did he say?"


    "He said he''s on his way and his wife was too busy helpin'' out her parents with their Mom and Pops store," Lazarus responded.


    "Perfect! We should be able to capture the evidence soon!" Emuna exclaimed with her eyes closed.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Yep, totally, bro," Lazarus said.


    Then Emuna turned to Zaboulon. "You got the camcorder ready to go, right?"


    "Oh, yeah! I got that covered, Emuna!" Zaboulon exclaimed, turning to Emuna with a smile on his face and his eyes closed.


    "Good!" Emuna said, shaking her head. She looked up at the sky and grinned, covering her forehead with her hand.


    -Thank You, Elohim. For helpin'' us in providing Yudia justice. We appreciate what You''ve done for us as we couldn''t without You. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    Emuna and her friends waited for a while until the footsteps echoed from the right. A shadow stretched forward from the sunlight. Yudia quickly turned to that sound''s direction, widening her fearful eyes.


    Emuna turned to Zaboulon, whispering, "Alright, Zaboulon. Turn on the camcorder."


    Zaboulon turned back to Emuna and whispered, "I''m on it."


    Zaboulon quietly turned on his camcorder and pressed the record button, aiming the camcorder at Yudia. Once the shadow closed in on Yudia, Emuna and her friends saw a man walk up to her. Yudia took a couple steps back when she saw her Mr. Valmont''s face again.


    Mr. Valmont wore his casual, blue summer shirt and shorts, along with his traditional men''s watch. He had brown hair with some white hair on his head. He had a mature face and his hazel eyes.


    "Yudia!" Mr. Valmont exclaimed, hugging Yudia for a bit. Then he moved his body away from her and curiously searched for Lazarus, still grabbing onto her arms. "Uh, where''s Lazarus? Shouldn''t he be supposed to be with you?"


    "He''s quickly taking a restroom break in one of the fast food joints," Yudia responded. "He should be coming out here to meet ya."


    "Great! Good thing I got here just in time before you could escape," Mr. Valmont said out of relief. "We''ll wait here for him to return here to meet us, as well as thanking him for capturing you before we head home." He then curiously returned his attention to Yudia. "So why are you traveling out here in a place like this?"


    "I was curious about this place and I jus'' wanna check it out, that''s all," Yudia responded, getting Mr. Valmont''s hands off of her, moving backwards. "I really don''t wanna go back home with you, especially after what you did to me in the last several months!"


    "Shush!" Mr. Valmont cried, turning behind him for a look around. He noticed people were just passing by and Then he returned to Yudia, walking towards her, grabbing one of her arms. "Don''t talk about this, girl! Have you lost your damn mind?! Wait until we get home!


    "Now what the hell were you thinkin'', runnin'' away from home like that, huh?! Do you have any idea your mother and I were worried sick ''bout you?! Once we get home, you''re not only goin'' to be grounded. You''ll get a lot worse punishment than that. Much, much worse¡­"


    Yudia glared at Mr. Valmont, resisting his hand. "Well, my point still stands. I will not go anywhere with you, especially since you sexually abused me and got me pregnant with your child. Never. Now let go of me!"


    "Now don''t you talk to me like that and fight me, little girl!" Mr. Valmont roared, grabbing Yudia''s other arms, aggressively pulling her towards his angry face. "Not only I''m going to smack the shit out of ya, but I''m also going to lie to your mom about you losing your virginity to one of your homeroom classmates. You got that?!"


    Yudia pretended to fear Mr. Valmont as she stopped resisting him. "No, please don''t!"


    "Yeah, that''s right. You little bitch! I can publicly dishonor your family once I told your mother about this, so you better keep your mouth shut if ya know what''s good for ya. You hear that?!"


    "Yes, sir¡­" Yudia reluctantly agreed to his request, sadly looking down below her.


    Mr. Valmont sighed in relaxation and grinned at Yudia. "Good¡­"


    "What a sick bastard!" Zaboulon roared in a whisper.


    "Uh-huh!" Lazarus and Emuna agreed in a whisper as well, shaking their heads. Emuna glared at Mr. Valmont more and more.


    -Oooo, that man is clearly the worst! I can''t wait to deliver him to the police with the Lord''s help. I''m depending on Him more than ever.


    Emuna looked up at the sky.


    -Dear Elohim, please give me and my friends strength to deal with Mr. Valmont and save Yudia from this wicked man. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    As soon as Emuna returned to her focus on Yudia and Mr. Valmont, Mr. Valmont scanned his surroundings behind him, wondering what took Lazarus so long to return.


    "Now, what''s takin'' Lazarus so long? He should be out of the bathroom by now," Mr. Valmont said.


    "Oh, I dunno," Yudia answered, looking at Mr. Valmont''s direction.


    As soon as Mr. Valmont returned his attention to Yudia, Emuna turned to Zaboulon and whispered, "Okay, Zaboulon. You can stop recordin'' now."


    "Okie dokie!" Zaboulon said, quietly stopped recording. He powered off his camcorder and placed it back into his pocket.


    Then Emuna turned to Lazarus, whispering, "OK, Lazarus. Take off your shoes, sneak out of here and call the authorities."


    Lazarus shook his head. "Got it." He obeyed Emuna''s words and successfully left the alley. Then Emuna and Zaboulon quietly sneaked up behind Mr. Valmont and yelled, "Hey!"


    "Huh?!" Mr. Valmont cried, quickly turning around. He only saw Emuna and Zaboulon''s angry eyes and their hands placed on their hips. They leaned forward a little.

 Chapter 13: Justice is Served

    When Mr. Valmont''s eyes remained staring at Emuna and Zaboulon, pretending to be confused with his mouth opened, he asked, "Whoa, what the hell is this?!"


    "So you got Yudia pregnant and plan on ruinin'' her reputation for not goin'' along with your plans, huh?" Emuna questioned back, glaring at Mr. Valmont.


    "Yea!" Zaboulon agreed, also glaring at Mr. Valmont.


    "What?!" Mr. Valmont requested, glaring back at Emuna and Zaboulon. "I don''t know what the hell are you kids talkin'' ''bout. I would never do such a thing to my own daughter. Not ever."


    "Don''t ya play dumb with us!" Emuna snapped. "You literally abused my best friend sexually, liar!"


    "Yea! Yudia doesn''t deserve to be your daughter, and you don''t deserve to be her father after what you did to her," Zaboulon roared, pointing his finger at Mr. Valmont.


    "Now look here, you!" Mr. Valmont said, pointing his finger back at Zaboulon while Yudia frowned and leaned back against the wall. "You don''t have the right to accuse someone of somethin'' that the person didn''t do, especially without proof! Do you understand me, son?!"


    -Looks like we already got the evidence. As soon as the police get here, you''ll be goin'' to jail big time. Let''s jus'' hope to Elohim Zaboulon doesn''t mess this up.


    Luckily for Emuna, Zaboulon was smart enough not to tell Mr. Valmont of his evidence.  "I don''t need to obey a man like you," Zaboulon snapped as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms, turning his head left. "I bet if you weren''t so abusive towards her, Yudia wouldn''t even run away from ya and be safe ''round ya in the freakin'' first place."


    "Alright, that''s it, you! I''m goin'' to take your punk ass down!" Mr. Valmont roared, getting ready to strangle Zaboulon.


    -Oh, no, he doesn''t! I won''t allow him to hurt Zaboulon! I jus'' can''t allow that to happen. Dear Lord, help me fight against this wicked man!


    Yudia turned to Mr. Valmont and put her hands on him. "Don''t! Don''t fight Zaboulon! It''s jus'' not worth it!"


    "Move out the way, Yudia!" Mr. Valmont commanded without even paying attention to Yudia.


    "Please don''t fight him! It''s not worth it! It''s jus'' not!" Yudia cried, holding onto Mr. Valmont tightly.


    "I said, ''Move out of the way,'' dammit!" Mr. Valmont said, shoving Yudia against the wall.


    "Ow!" Yudia cried with her mouth open, placing her hand on her arm.


    -Oh, that does it! You wanna get your ass beat, Mr. Valmont? So be it!


    As soon as Mr. Valmont violently put his hands on Zaboulon''s neck, Emuna slammed her fist against his eye.


    "Ow!" Mr. Valmont cried, placing one of his hands on his injured eye.


    "Get your freakin'' hands off of him, you jackass!" Emuna pushed him away from Zaboulon and he took a couple steps back.


    Zaboulon turned to Emuna. "Thanks, Emuna."


    Emuna shook her head. "Mhn," she responded, looking Zaboulon in the eye. "You''re welcome, Zaboulon."


    After he glared at Emuna for a few seconds, he stood up straight with his black eye closed. "You!" Mr. Valmont snapped, pointing his finger at Emuna. "I''m gonna kick you and your friends'' asses before Yudia and I leave here without saying goodbye to Lazarus. I can''t wait to report your parents and grandparents of what you two did to me. You guys should''ve been ashamed of yourselves."


    Stolen story; please report.


    "Oh, you''re not goin'' anywhere with Yudia!" Emuna snapped back at Mr. Valmont. "Not on mine and my friends'' watch! You can try to report us to our caregivers all you want, but you still won''t get away from justice. Elohim will punish you for what you''ve done."


    "Plus, you were goin'' to strangle me earlier despite Yudia warnin'' ya not to anyway!" Zaboulon yelled, glaring at Mr. Valmont.


    "Oh, what the hell ever, man!" Mr. Valmont said, smiling viciously at Emuna and Zaboulon. "I can''t wait to take you guys down physically so bad that you guys will be hospitalized." Then he widened his shocked eye. "What the hell?!"


    Lazarus pointed his finger at Mr. Valmont with two policemen behind him. "There''s the abuser."


    The policemen ran towards Mr. Valmont as he turned around and tried to run away from them. One of them however managed to catch him. Once he slammed Mr. Valmont against the ground, another officer handcuffed Mr. Valmont.


    "Thanks, Lazarus!" Emuna exclaimed when she turned to Lazarus.


    Lazarus winked at Emuna. "Oh, no problem."


    Emuna smiled after she and her friends watched Mr. Valmont got arrested out of satisfaction. She excitedly turned to her friends and high fived them, even with Yudia. "Elohim did it, guys! He helped us provide justice for Yudia! He''s amazing, isn''t He?"


    "He sure, did!" Emuna''s friends agreed as they and Emuna grinned at one another for a while and continued watching Mr. Valmont and two policemen a bit far away from them.


    Once Mr. Valmont was placed in custody within the police car, Yudia reunited with her mother and her mother chatted with the police for a while. Zaboulon gave the evidence to the police of what he recorded earlier. The police left them as well as Emuna and her friends alone, Yudia''s mother walked towards Emuna and her friends with a smile.


    "Oh, thank Elohim, you guys saved my daughter from that horrible man," Mrs. Valmont said out of relief. "I used to believe in him until he did this wicked thing to my own daughter. I''ll never forget what he did to her and I''ll divorce him and change my surname for this."


    "Oh, you''re welcome, Mrs. Valmont," Emuna responded. "We''re sorry you had to go through that. And¡­" Emuna looked down below with a frown.


    "And?" Mrs. Valmont asked, raising her eyebrow at Emuna.


    "We''re sorry we lied to you about losing Yudia last week," Emuna said, guiltily looking back up at Mrs. Valmont.


    "It''s alright, Emuna," Mrs. Valmont said, shaking her head. "You have to worry about that now." She then looked down at her daughter, then back at Emuna and her friends. "Welp, it looks like Yudia and I will go home today."


    "Good-bye, Mrs. Valmont, Yudia!" Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon said, waving at Mrs. Valmont and Yudia.


    "Bye now!" Mrs. Valmont and Yudia said, waving back at Emuna and her friends.


    Once Mrs. Valmont and Yudia left Emuna and her friends alone, Emuna turned to her friends as soon as her, Lazarus and Zaboulon''s stomach growled. "Alright, who''s hungry?"


    "Me!" Lazarus and Zaboulon said.


    "Alright! Let''s go get something to eat!" Emuna exclaimed. "We all deserved it!"


    "Yeah, totally, bro!" Lazarus and Zaboulon agreed as they walked with Emuna to get something to eat.


    ****


    When Saturday morning arrived, Emuna, Lazarus, Zaboulon and Yudia came to their usual area to work on their individual tasks of the same exact Art project, this time on John 3. Her mother grounded her for a month for running away except for ministry work, summer job and Harashim. Her mother even gave Yudia birth control to prevent her from giving birth to her incestuous baby.


    Despite being grounded, Yudia was happy to get back to normal, especially reuniting with her friends on her art project. Emuna and her friends smiled at one another while they worked on their project.


    "Ah, it''s good to be back to normal¡­." Emuna said out of relief. "I mean, my aunt''s finally healed enough to be discharged from the hospital, Yudia was found and Mr. Valmont was delivered to justice¡­it was all Elohim''s doing and we thank Him for it."


    "Amen, Emuna!" Emuna''s friends agreed in excitement.


    Then Emuna placed her hand on Yudia''s shoulder while Yudia was constantly working on her task. "It''s good to have y''all back, Yudia."


    "Yeah," Yudia agreed. "I''m glad to be back here with you guys again, doin'' stuff like this."


    "Did you get a good night''s sleep last night?" Emuna asked.


    "Yea, of course I did," Yudia replied. "Did y''all?"


    "Yep, we sure did," Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon answered.


    "Oh, that''s good," Yudia said.


    "So are ya goin'' to work soon?" Lazarus curiously asked.


    "Yep," Yudia answered, shaking her head.


    "Oh, really?!" Zaboulon excitedly asked. "That''s cool, Yudia. So where will you be workin'' at?"


    "Oh, I''ll be workin'' at the animal shelter, and my mom''s contactin'' them about gettin'' me my job back," Yudia answered.


    "That''s great, Yudia!" Lazarus exclaimed. "So when will ya be workin''?"


    "I should be workin'' on Monday, I think," Yudia replied, looking up at the ceiling.


    "Well, that''s good," Emuna answered.


    "And what about you guys? Do y''all have jobs this summer? If so, when and where did y''all work?" Yudia questioned.


    After Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon answered Yudia''s questions individually, Yudia said, "Ah, that''s cool. I''m glad you guys are able to make some money this summer."


    "Yea, tell me ''bout it," Emuna said while she and her friends continued finishing up their project. Once they got done with their projects, they said and waved their good-byes at one another and called it a day. While Yudia''s mother picked her up from the usual spot, Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon immediately went to get something to eat without Yudia around them. They wish to have Yudia eat with them, yet they understand there''s nothing they can do about it while Yudia''s under punishment.

 Chapter 14: Back to Normal

    After Emuna and her friends worked for another week and  spread the Gospel on a Friday morning, they ate out at Space Food. The sunlight shone through those enormous windows, people''s chatter and some children''s screams vibrated throughout the restaurant, and the art design of food floating in space stood on the walls and the tables. People either stood in line, got their drinks or sat at the tables and waited on their orders or eating their meals.


    Even though people''s chatter was loud, they weren''t annoying to Emuna as much as she was on the train earlier. So she was perfectly content with that. She and her friends sipped their drinks and waited for their orders.


    Emuna smiled while she raised her large cup in the air. "We give praise to Elohim for gettin'' Yudia out of her punishment and allow her to eat with us today."


    "Amen to that," Her friends exclaimed, ramming their cups against hers.


    Then Emuna turned to Yudia. "I''m glad you''re able to eat with us today."


    Yudia grinned back at Emuna, sipping her large drink. "Yea, me too. Thanks, Emuna, for everything."


    "Don''t thank me," Emuna said. "Thank Elohim for this. He deserves this more than I do."


    Yudia shook her head. "Yea, I guess you''re right, Emuna." She then looked up at the ceiling. "Thank You, Elohim, for everything."


    Once Yudia returned her attention back to her friends, Emuna asked, "Okay, what are we gonna do after we eat here? I mean, I''m tired of going to the park. So any ideas?"


    "Do you mean any type of park?" Zaboulon asked, sipping his large soda.


    "Yes¡­" Emuna answered with her tired face. "It''s exhaustin'' and pretty borin'' too."


    "I hear ya," Lazarus said, placing his hand on his chin, looking up at the ceiling. "Hmmm¡­"


    "How ''bout we go to the beach?" Yudia questioned.


    "Oh, hell nah, girl," Emuna responded when turning to Yudia. "It''s too hot outside, especially in Midbar."


    Then one of the Space Food workers called out Emuna and her friends'' orders. They turned to their orders.


    "Well, let''s go get our orders then," Emuna said.


    "Agreed," her friends answered as they and Emuna got up from their seats and got their orders.


    Once they returned to their table, they began to eat their foods and watched each other eat. Emuna sipped her drink after she ate some of her food. "Alright, gang. What else can you guys think of?"


    "Hmmm¡­" Lazarus relooked up at the ceiling, wiping his hands and mouth with his brown napkins. "Maybe we can go to a bowling place."


    "Nope, we already went there a couple days ago. Maybe next time," Emuna said, sipping her drink.


    "But we went there without Yudia there," Lazarus said. "I''m sure we can go there with her around."


    "Look, I understand what you''re sayin'', Lazarus, but I''m jus'' so damn tired of bowlin'' though," Emuna said.


    "Or maybe you''re sayin'' that because you suck at it, bruh," Zaboulon teased with a sly smirk on his face.


    Yudia gasped and widened her eyes before she ate and chewed on her food. "Ah!" Then she turned to Emuna while Emuna put her head down;Emuna''s shadow covered her forehead and eyes. Yudia chuckled a bit. "Was that true, Emuna?"


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "Can you guys please not talk ''bout it? I really don''t feel like talkin'' ''bout it right now," Emuna said.


    "Awe, c''mon, Emuna," Zaboulon said. "There''s no need to be embarrassed. We were tryin'' to help you and¡­"


    "I still sucked at it, okay?!" Emuna cried, lifting her head up at Lazarus and Zaboulon.


    "Hey, don''t be like that now! You can always do better next time," Lazarus said while he was about to eat his food.


    "Yea, Lazarus got a point there," Zaboulon said.


    "Yea, well, I still don''t wanna go. So please think of somethin'' else," Emuna pleaded. "I wanna do something different like we have never done before."


    "Alright, alright, whatever you say, crybaby," Zaboulon said as he pushed the air with his hands a couple times.


    After Emuna growled at Zaboulon a bit, Zaboulon asked after he ate and chewed his food. "Okay then, how ''bout we go to the amusement park?"


    "Yea, that might not sound like a bad idea," Emuna agreed, returning her attention to her friends. "But where will we go?"


    "We should definitely go to Aqua World," Yudia suggested, sipping her drink.


    "Oh, yea, bruh. Totally¡­" Emuna agreed when she shook her head, chewing on her food, drinking her drink. After she and her friends ate their food and drank their soft drinks, they exited the Space Food fast food joint and headed their way for Aqua World.


    ****


    When Emuna and her friends paid their way inside Aqua World, they widened their eyes and smiled. There they saw lots of people strolling all over the park. People''s chatter and some children''s screams roamed around it. The rollercoaster, merry-go-rounds, sea animal show, the aquarium and more were standing there, grinning at the crowd.


    -Wow! This place is amazing! I can''t wait to get in there and check it out!


    Emuna turned around while people passed by them. "Alrighty, guys. Are you ready to have some fun?!"


    "Yea, totally, broh!" Emuna''s friends exclaimed, raising their fists up underneath their chins.


    Emuna turned back around and raised her fist above her head. "Okay, then! Let''s go!"


    -Alright! Time to have some fun!


    "But what should we do first?" Lazarus questioned.


    "Yea," Zaboulon and Yudia agreed.


    After Emuna scanned her surroundings, she couldn''t think of anything. She frowned as she continued to have a look around. And for a while, she still couldn''t find anything to do in Aqua World. Then she put her head down and leaned forward all the sudden.


    -Oh, great! I couldn''t think of anything that my friends and I would enjoy together. Jus'' great¡­


    "Uh, Emuna? Are you okay, bro?" Lazarus asked as he placed his hand on Emuna''s back as well as Zaboulon and Yudia just stood near her.


    Emuna stood back up and turned around with her continuous frown. "No¡­I couldn''t think of anything to do ''round here."


    "Oh, well, that''s okay, Emuna," Zaboulon said, pointing his finger at the ball stand on the right, moving it left. "How ''bout we''ll decide to go around in a circle from right to left together? What do ya''ll say? Do y''all agree with that?"


    "Mhn!" Emuna, Lazarus and Yudia shook their heads.


    "Alright, it''s settled then!" Zaboulon said as he turned to the ball stand. "Let''s go over there then!"


    "Yea!" Emuna, Lazarus and Yudia agreed as they ran towards the ball stand with Zaboulon.


    -Okay, Emuna. Looks like we''ll go over there instead.


    Emuna had her share of fun with her friends over. Bumping cars into people, the aquarium, the sea animal show¡­even with the rollercoaster which she despised.  Those were all her memories which she had the pleasure of having some fun with them. After Emuna and her friends completed doing their fun activities in Aqua World, Emuna turned to her friends.


    "Okay, guys. Let''s go get some snacks first before we go home," Emuna suggested, grinning at her friends.


    "Sure," her friends agreed, looking around the area. Then their eyes spotted an ice cream cone stand.


    "Hey, let''s go get some ice cream stand! What do y''all say?!" Yudia announced, pointing her finger at the ice cream stand.


    "Yea, sure thing¡­totally," Emuna, Zaboulon and Lazarus agreed as they walked towards the ice cream stand with Yudia.


    After Emuna and her friends ordered some ice cream, they sat at the bench and ate it there.


    "So did you guys have some fun today?" Emuna asked.


    Yudia, Zaboulon and Lazarus took a spoonful of their ice cream. "Yea, we sure did!"


    "Good," Emuna said, eating her vanilla ice cream. "So are y''all ready to work on our art project tomorrow morning?"


    "Yep, we sure are," her friends responded.


    "We''re doin'' John 4 tomorrow, right?" Yudia questioned, eating her strawberry ice cream.


    "Yea, we will," Emuna answered.


    "Alright, I''m jus'' makin'' sure," Yudia said.


    "And what do y''all wanna do on Saturday after we work on our art project and on Sunday after ministry work?" Emuna asked.


    "Ummm¡­" her friends tried to come up with an answer, but couldn''t come up with any. "I don''t know."


    "Okay, well¡­" Emuna placed her finger on her chin and looked up at the evening sky. "Hmmm¡­" After a while, her eyes widened and returned her attention to her friends. "How ''bout we go to the arcades on Saturday and go out skating on Sunday? We haven''t done those things in a while."


    "Yea, that doesn''t sound like a bad idea," her friends agreed, eating their ice cream.


    Once Emuna and her friends completely finished their ice cream and threw their trash into the trash can, they immediately left Aqua World. Once they walked a bit far away from Aqua World, Zaboulon felt something pulled out of his back pocket.


    "Huh?!" Zaboulon quickly checked one of his back pockets. He widened his eyes when he realized something was very wrong. "Oh, no, no, no. My wallet''s been stolen!"


    "What?!" Emuna, Lazarus and Yudia asked when they watched Zaboulon turn around to search for the thief.


    -No way, this can''t be happenin''! I can''t believe someone pick pocketed Zaboulon! Unbelievable!

 Chapter 15: Catching the Thief

    While Emuna, Lazarus and Yudia continued watching Zaboulon search for the thief, Zaboulon turned his head back to them and widened his eyes. "Guys, you gotta help me find the thief!"


    Emuna, Lazarus and Yudia shook her heads with serious looks on their faces. "Right, we''re with you, Zaboulon. We''re gonna help you bring the thief to justice. Let''s go look one last time before we split up," Emuna said.


    "Yea!" Lazarus and Yudia agreed, shaking their heads.


    Emuna and her friends scanned their surroundings but couldn''t find the thief until Zaboulon''s eyes caught the boy running across the street towards one of Aqua World''s walls with a brown wallet in his hand.


    The boy wore a white T-shirt, blue shorts and a pair of sandals. He appeared to be in Upper Elementary, in between the ages of ten and twelve. The sunlight radiated on his pale skin and blond hair.


    Zaboulon pointed his finger at the boy while he turned his head to his friends and the boy back and forth. "Hey, that boy''s the thief! After him!"


    "Mhn!" Emuna, Lazarus and Yudia shook their heads as they began to look both ways. Once they waited for the cars to stop at the lane, they crossed it and raced against the boy with Zaboulon.


    Emuna displayed her serious, determined face while Zaboulon''s voice yelled, "You stop, thief!"


    -Dear Elohim, please help us deliver the thief to justice and get Zaboulon''s wallet back. You know we can''t do this alone. We need You know more than ever. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    Emuna and Yudia however never caught up with Lazarus and Zaboulon, as Lazarus and Zaboulon were fast runners. So the young women slowed down and just walked forward, watching the young men not only caught up with the thief. They also grabbed him before he managed to escape Aqua World.


    "Oh, thank Elohim that little thief being brought to justice big time, broh!" Yudia exclaimed, smiling at the young men.


    "Oh, yea! Tell me about it," Emuna also exclaimed when she and Yudia watched their friends confronting the thief, yelling at him.


    Once the young ladies finally caught up with the thief and their friends, their friends turned around to them while they held onto the thief. The thief resisted the young men, glaring at Lazarus above him. "Hey, let go of me. Give me back the wallet. I need the money, y''know."


    "Ha, no way, bruh!" Zaboulon roared when he glared at the thief. "


    The young women looked down at the thief with their serious faces. "What does he want the money for anyway?" Yudia questioned, looking at the young men and down at the boy back and forth.


    "Well, we tried to get him to answer us, but he doesn''t even want to talk to us in the beginning," Lazarus answered in a disappointing voice.


    "Ah¡­I see¡­" Emuna said, kneeling down at the boy''s level. She glared at him. "So can you explain to me why ya steal my friend''s wallet?"


    The moment the boy turned to Emuna and glared at her, he spit on her face. Emuna''s eyes closed tightly just in time to prevent the spit from entering into them. "Ugh! Gross!" Emuna snapped, wiping the spirit off of her face, sighing her deep breath.


    -Dear Elohim, please help me prevent my anger from hurtin'' this child! In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


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    When Zaboulon and Lazarus saw that, they angrily looked down at the thief with Lazarus tightened his grip on him.


    "Ow! That hurts! Let go of me!" The thief cried, trying to pull himself away from Lazarus. Yet he failed to do so.


    Yudia gasped and looked down at Emuna out of shock. "Emuna, are you okay?"


    "Yea, I''m fine," Emuna responded with her eyes still tightly closed.


    "Do ya need a napkin?" Yudia asked.


    "Yes, please do."


    Yudia looked up at Lazarus and Zaboulon with her serious look on her face. "Alright, guys. I''ll be right back."


    "Mhn!" The young men agreed, shaking their heads, watching Yudia run her way towards the entrance of Aqua World. Then they returned their attention to the thief with their angry faces, while the thief still resisted Lazarus.


    "Hey, why the hell did you spit on Emuna?!" Zaboulon roared.


    "Yea!" Zaboulon agreed, "You apologize to her right now!"


    "Never!" The thief yelled as he constantly resisted Lazarus. "Now let go of me!"


    "Hell nah, ya little brat!" Lazarus snapped. "Not until you answer our questions, repent of what you''ve done and be punished!"


    "I said, ''Let go of me!''" The thief shouted, leaning towards Lazarus'' arm.


    As soon as the thief opened his mouth, Lazarus and Zaboulon broadened their eyes out of shock.


    Lazarus raised his hand. "Oh, you''re not goin'' to bite me, kid!"


    Once Lazarus'' hand struck the thief in the cheek, the thief put his hand on his injured cheek.


    "Ow!" The thief said as he frowned at Lazarus. "That hurts!"


    "Well, that''s what you get for tryin'' to bite my friend Lazarus, bro," Zaboulon said, smirking at the thief.


    The thief glared at Zaboulon. "Wh-what?! I wasn''t tryin'' to bite your friend! I was tryin'' to help him! What are you talkin'' about?!"


    "Liar!" Lazarus snapped, glaring back at the thief. "Zaboulon and I literally saw you tryin'' to bite my arm! Don''t play dumb with us!"


    "Nuh-uh!" The thief said as he still resisted Lazarus.


    "Yah-huh!" Zaboulon and Lazarus said.


    While Emuna''s friends argued with the thief, Yudia returned to Emuna with a napkin in her hand.


    "Here," Yudia said, tapping and placing the napkin on Emuna''s shoulder.


    Emuna touched her shoulder and grabbed the napkin from Yudia, wiping the spit off her eyes. "Thank you, Yudia."


    "No, prob," Yudia responded as Emuna looked up and smiled at her.


    Then the young women returned their attention to their friends and the thief for a moment. "Now, back to business," Emuna said with her focus on Yudia. After Yudia shook her head, Emuna then turned to the thief. "So, let me ask you again, little one. Why did you steal my friend''s wallet?"


    But the thief didn''t hear her, so Zaboulon said to him, "Hey, Emuna wants to talk to you."


    The thief looked at Emuna out of disgust. "Oh, what do you want now?!"


    When Emuna repeated her question, he said to her, "Oh, I don''t need to answer that question. It''s none of your business anyway."


    Emuna glared at the thief. "Oh, it''s my business if you steal somethin'' from my friend! Now tell us why you did it!"


    Then the thief stomped on Lazarus'' feet and Lazarus'' eyes widened when he felt pain.


    "Owwww-wah!" Lazarus said as he looked down at his feet and lessen his grip on the thief.


    Zaboulon placed his hand on Lazarus'' shoulder for comfort. "Hey, man. Are you alright?"


    "Yea, the brat jus'' stomped on my feet!" Lazarus cried.


    The thief expressed his vicious smirk on his face when Emuna and her friends comforted Lazarus. Then once the thief resisted Lazarus one last time, and he finally broke free from Lazarus'' hands.


    Emuna saw the thief run away from him. "Hey! Get back here, thief!"


    As Emuna ran for the thief, Yudia turned to Lazarus and Zaboulon before she ran with Emuna. "Zaboulon, you stay with Lazarus while Emuna and I will chase after the thief."


    "Right, I''ll do that," Lazarus agreed while Zaboulon just shook his head.


    Then Yudia ran as fast as she could to catch up with Emuna and hopefully the thief. Emuna looked at the thief with a serious, determined face. "Hey, stop! Thief!"


    -Dear Elohim, please help us capture this thief and bring him to justice. He''s much tougher than he looks. We can''t do this without Your help. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    As she ran however, she noticed that people just either walked by or watched her and Yudia chased after the thief. The thief turned to the front and back with a smile back and forth a couple times. No matter how many times she yelled, "Stop, thief!" People will still ignore the thief, Emuna and her friends. Emuna began to frown out of disbelief.


    -Why the hell do people not help us capture the thief?! Why do they allow injustice to plague society?! The Earth is jus'' so wicked.


    As soon as the thief bumped into a couple of police officers however, he looked up at them and widened his eyes, shivering. When the police greeted him, he took a couple steps back and Emuna and Yudia were relieved. They finally managed to capture him and thanked the officers for stopping the thief despite them not being aware of the situation.


    Then they began to walk with the police to the car with the authorities and the officers drive them to Aqua World to pick up Lazarus and Zaboulon. They were happy with the fact the thief was now in custody. Emuna thanked Elohim for everything He''d done for her and her friends yet again, placing her stronger emphasis on her faith.

 Chapter 16: Distractions

    After the police interrogated the thief in custody within Emuna, her friends and the thief''s mother were present there, Emuna and everybody else left the police station. Then Emuna turned to the thief''s mother. "Excuse me, miss."


    "Yes?" The thief''s mother turned to Emuna, watching her walk towards her. The sunlight radiated on that gorgeous brunette''s pale skin. Her blue eyes gazed at Emuna.


    "Me and my friends are so sorry your husband''s very sick in the hospital, and you can''t afford to get him treated right now," Emuna stated with a frown.


    The thief''s mother grinned while the thief crossed his arms and glared at Emuna. "Oh, it''s quite alright, ma''am. Don''t worry about it."


    Emuna shook her head. "No, we want to help your family heal. We''re gonna give you some of our money." She turned around to her friends'' attention. "Right, guys?"


    Her friends closed her eyes and raised their fists up in the air. "You betcha, Emuna!"


    Emuna already discussed assisting the boy''s family over their financial troubles on the hospital bills. They wanted to do this to prevent the boy from recommitting crime.


    The thief''s mother flustered, pushing the air a couple times. "Look, guys. I really do appreciate what you''ve done for me and my family, but we''re pretty much good on our own."


    "But please, miss," Emuna pleaded. "Please let us help you and your family."


    The boy''s mother gave Emuna and her friends her annoyed look while the boy frowned at first, then turned to his mother. "Look¡­I really appreciate what you''ve done for us, but I really have this under control. We''re just going to ask family members and friends for some money to heal my husband. There''s no need for you guys to help me and my family, okay?"


    "But mom¡­" The boy cried. "All our family members and friends are also financially struggling too though. We''re going to need as much money as possible. Please let them give us the money. I don''t want daddy to die from being sick in a hospital."


    The thief''s mother angrily turned to her son. "Don''t make some assumptions now, son! I''m sure they got some money in hand. So let''s go home, shall we?"


    "But moooom¡­" The boy cried even more, making his baby face. "Please¡­"


    The boy''s mother then glared at him. "Now look! I''m not going to tolerate a child like dishonoring his parents! When I say, ''We''ll get some money from my friends and family, and not request financial help from anyone else besides them,'' I really mean that. Do you understand me?!"


    The boy frowned and put his head down. "Yes, ma''am. I''m sorry I doubted you..."


    Realizing that there''s nothing Emuna and her friends can do to help out their situation, they turned to each other with a frown, before they returned their attention to the boy''s mother.


    "Excuse me, miss¡­" Emuna frowned at her, slightly tilting her head down, looking down below and at the boy''s mother back and forth. "We''re sorry we doubted you too. Will you please forgive us?"


    The boy''s mother turned back to Emuna and her friends with a smile on her face. "Oh, it''s alright now. I forgive you. We''ll be heading home now. Good-bye, you guys!"


    "Good-bye to you guys too!" Emuna yelled while she, her friends, the boy and his mother waved at one another. "Take care now!"


    "You too!" The boy and his mother replied, heading towards the blue car.


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    Emuna and his friends continuously waved at the boy and his mother until they drove away from the sidewalk home. Seeing the sun about to set, Emuna turned to her friends. "Look, it''s about to get dark. We should head home. I''ll see you guys at the usual spot tomorrow."


    "Okay, byyyyeeee! You tooooo!" Emuna''s friends yelled as they went home on their separate ways, waving at one another while they left.


    ****


    When Emuna and her friends continued to work on their project Saturday morning, they worked on their tasks individually on John 4. Memories from yesterday evening began to haunt Emuna''s heart while she was working on her task. She stopped working a bit and closed her eyes tightly, trying to fight against her distractions.


    But her memories were able to overcome her heart. C''mon, Emuna, dammit! Focus on your task for the Lord, not on memories from yesterday! C''MON!


    Emuna''s friends noticed this and stopped performing their individual tasks.


    "Hey, Emuna. Are you okay, broh?" Zaboulon questioned, raising his eyebrow at Emuna.


    Emuna turned to Zaboulon. "Yea, I''m fine¡­it''s jus'' that-" She then put her head down below. "Hmm¡­how do I say it?"


    "Say what though?" Zaboulon asked, raising his eyebrow at Emuna.


    "Well, I try to prevent my memories ''bout yesterday evening distractin'' me from workin'' on our project, yet it keeps on holdin'' me down," Emuna responded, shaking her head sideways while she remained putting her head down. "It jus'' drivin'' me crazy, y''know."


    "Well? Have you tried turning to Elohim?" Lazarus asked.


    Emuna turned to Lazarus. "No, not yet¡­"


    "Well, turn to Elohim," Yudia suggested. "Pray to Him ''bout your problem and He''ll probably help you on your problem."


    Emuna turned to Yudia, smiling at her. "Thanks, Yudia"-she turned to Lazarus-"Lazarus"-she turned to Zaboulon-"and Zaboulon. I truly appreciate y''all helpin'' me and stuff."


    Emuna''s friends grinned at her. "You''re welcome, Emuna!"


    Emuna looked up at the ceiling. "Dear Elohim, please help me prevent my memory from distractin'' me. I''m tryin'' my best to create some artwork for Your ministry work, yet I believe I can''t do this on my own. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    "Amen!" Emuna''s friends said as they and Emuna continued working on their individual tasks.


    As Emuna continued working on her project, her memories from yesterday evening kept pestering her. She frowned when looking down at her unfinished work.


    -Oh, c''mon now! Go away already! The thief''s mom made it perfectly clear, when she says her friends and family have some money for her sick husband, she really has this shit in the bag! Ghosh!


    Emuna slowly continued her work on her project. Very slowly. But she feels Elohim keeps allowing her memories to distract her. She looked up at the ceiling once more with a frown on her face.


    -Elohim¡­why are You doin'' this to me, huh?! Why?! Why?! WHY?!


    Yudia noticed Emuna gazing at the ceiling while working on her task, looking at her and her project back and forth. She frowned at Emuna. "Uh, Emuna? Are you alright? You''ve been starin'' at the ceiling for a while now."


    But Emuna didn''t answer Yudia. Zaboulon and Lazarus also stopped working on their individual projects and turned to Emuna. Zaboulon leaned forward to tap on Emuna''s arm, calling her name.


    "Huh?" Emuna responded, turning to Zaboulon. "What''s up?"


    "Yudia''s callin'' ya," Zaboulon replied as he leaned back against his chair.


    Emuna turned to Yudia. "What''s goin'' on, Yudia?"


    After Yudia repeated her words from earlier, Emuna put her head down with a frown, shaking her head sideways. "No¡­not at all. I feel like for some reason. Elohim hasn''t answered my prayer. These same memories kept distractin'' me, and¡­"


    "And what?" Yudia questioned, raising her eyebrow at Emuna.


    "And¡­after I prayed to Elohim a couple more times, I feel like¡­um¡­uh¡­" Emuna tried to give her response, yet her guilt kept building up inside her heart, which prevented her from giving her friends her immediate answer.


    Yudia gave Emuna an annoyed look on her face. "Feel like what, Emuna?! Jus'' spill it out and get it over with already! You''re doin'' nothin'' but waste our precious time!"


    "Yea, broh!" Lazarus and Zaboulon agreed, also giving Emuna their annoyed look on their faces.


    "Yudia''s right, ya know," Lazarus added.


    "I feel like I need to¡­um¡­" Emuna swallowed her own saliva and lifted up her head towards her friends'' attention. "Leave¡­that''s right¡­I''ll leave and call it a day for me. I feel like if I kept working on the project in this condition, my distractions will jus'' keep hammerin'' me more and more to the point that I''ll jus'' put the project and ministry behind, and I jus'' can''t risk that, y''know."


    Then Emuna''s friends understood what she meant, grinning at her.


    "Well, why didn''t you say so earlier?! Sure, you go on ahead, Emuna. I''ll take over from here," Yudia said as she moved towards Emuna''s seat.


    "Huh?!" Emuna loudly asked out of confusion. "Are ya sure ''bout that?! ''Cause I don''t wanna ya to be overworked, y''know."


    "Girl, don''t worry ''bout me," Yudia said, standing near Emuna with her eyes closed and a wide grin. "I can handle this, jus'' like ya did for me a weekend ago, remember?"


    Recalling what Yudia just said, Emuna grinned back at Yudia and shook her head. "Mhn. Alright, Yudia. You can take it from here." Turning to Lazarus and Zaboulon while they also grinned at her, she said to them, "Bye, guys. I''ll see ya at the bridge when y''all get done."


    "We will!" Emuna''s friends said as Emuna left her usual spot and Yudia sat in her seat, working on two individual tasks. She sighed out of relief.


    -Alright, I''m glad I''m out of there, ''cause my distractions are causin'' Elohim''s ministry to fall behind. And I can''t allow that to happen, can I?

 Chapter 17: Emunas Bad Day

    After Emuna''s friends finished their tasks for the day, Emuna sighed while she stood by the bridge, gazing out at the same river as she did a weekend ago. She frowned and put her head down. She still felt guilty over her failure to prevent her memories from distracting her during her ministry work as well as making Yudia perform double tasks.


    -I can''t believe it¡­I can''t believe I let Elohim and my friends down¡­I had this amazin'' opportunity to stop my distractions with Elohim and¡­I¡­failed to do that¡­what was I thinkin''?!


    Her eyes were watery as tears began to pour down on her face, nearly closing her eyes. Her gritted teeth was displayed when her mouth was opened, as she sniffed her nose. She leaned forward while she wiped the tears off her eyes. People walked past her in opposite directions; they didn''t bother to comfort her. No one.


    -Why¡­?! Why the hell did I do that?! WHHHHY?!


    Her hands covered her guilty cheeks with her eyes remaining broadened. She tried to stop crying yet her guilty heart prevented her from doing so. She then placed her hands on her face and cried onto them.


    -Like, I disappointed Elohim and my friends, thanks to my utter failure! How the hell am I supposed to get the hell out of this mess now?! HOW?!


    She cried even more, this time without her palms serving as pillows for her to cry on. She continued on crying until someone''s footsteps stood near her.


    "Um, miss?" Someone''s voice asked near her. "Are you alright?"


    "Huh?" Emuna asked back, sniffing her nose, wiping her eyes from her very own tears. She turned around and saw no one but the boy from yesterday. She and the thief widened their eyes when they reunited with one another for a brief moment.


    -Ah, it''s this boy again! I wonder how his family''s doin'' so far.


    "Uh, I gotta go. Bye!" The boy said as he turned around and tried to run away from Emuna.


    Unfortunately for him, Emuna grabbed his wrist quickly. "No, wait!"


    "Huh?!" The boy turned around rapidly and tried to get her to let go of her hand. "Let go of me, you freakin'' bitch!"


    Emuna growled at the boy for a moment with her head down, while she still held onto his wrist so tightly, that the boy still had trouble getting her hand to let go of him. Then she calmly asked him, "I want to know how your family''s doin'' financially to make sure you''re okay and all."


    "Uh, I don''t wanna answer you, bitch! Now let go of me!" The boy snapped, glaring at Emuna while he still resisted her.


    "Answer me!" Emuna roared and glared back at the boy as she was starting to lose patience with him. "Is your family doin'' okay financially or not? I''m not tryin'' to hurt ya, y''know¡­"


    "I said, ''Let go of me,'' dammit!" The boy roared, respitting his saliva on her face.


    "Ah!" Emuna cried, letting go of the boy''s wrist as she quickly wiped her tears off her eyes. She heard his footsteps running away from her on her right. She opened her eyes and studied her surroundings to the right of her until she spotted the boy running towards the end of the bridge. She glared at me more and sighed deeply with her mouth closed before she chased after him.


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    -Oh, Lord. Please deliver me from tryin'' to hurt this child! Because this boy is seriously pissin'' me off! Ugh!


    She ran, ran and ran after him as fast as she could, fighting through the crowd, saying her "Excuse mes" when coming through, but he ran a bit faster than her. She widened her eyes when she noticed him running faster than her. She couldn''t believe an Upper Elementary school kid could outrun her a bit that fast.


    -Wow, that boy sure does run fast for an Upper Elementary school kid! I''ll have to find another way to catch him, ''cause chasin'' him isn''t gonna cut it.


    Emuna looked around to see if she could find a short cut, but she couldn''t find any. The boy and Emuna entered the street shopping area where a lot of Mom and Pop''s stores thrive there. Emuna looked sideways out of excitement-widened eyes and opened mouth.


    -Whoa! This place is amazin''! I can''t wait to visit here someday.


    Then she shook her head sideways and remained focused on the boy with her serious, determined look on her face.


    -Okay, Emuna. Snap out of it! Gotta stay focused, ya hear?


    Then the boy threw the bag in the air and marbles came falling down. Then Emuna stopped moving and took several steps back. As the marbles hit the ground, some people tripped them over while the boy turned right once he reached the end of the sidewalk.


    -Goddammit! I lost him! It''s my fault I soulda jus'' stayed focused on my target. Jus'' Goddammit!


    She tried to look sideways for shortcut, yet couldn''t find any.


    -Goddammit! No shortcut anywhere! Looks like I won''t be able to catch him now. Better head back home while I''m at it.


    She put her head down and clenched her fists while people still walked past her. She quietly growled and stood there in the middle of the sidewalk.


    -Oh, man. Today''s my worst day ever. First, I allowed my distractions to not finish my art project. And now I also allowed them to not get to my target and know about that boy''s family situation? Ugh!


    She turned around and began to head back home disappointed. Lifting her head up a bit, she scanned her surroundings with a frown.


    -I can''t believe this is happenin'' to me today!


    Then she looked up at the sky and her destination back and forth.


    -Ugh! Why is Elohim allowin'' this shit to happen to me?! Why isn''t He helpin'' me?! I did stuff for Him, but He won''t do stuff back to me?! Like, huh?! Like why, Elohim?! WHY?!


    ****


    Opening the door, entering her grandparents'' house, Emuna switched her shoes with her slippers. Her grandparents were happy yet surprised to see their granddaughter at the same time. They were watching TV from their couch.


    "Hey, Emuna! How have ya been?!" Her grandpa asked. "You''re home early."


    "Yea! That''s what I was gonna ask ya!" Her grandma said, looking at her husband and granddaughter back and forth.


    "I''m fine¡­" Emuna forced herself to smile with her eyes closed, pretending to be okay.


    "Oh, good. I''m glad to hear that," Her grandma exclaimed, also closing her eyes with a smile, except she bobbed her head.


    "Yea, me too," her grandpa also exclaimed.


    "I''m gonna go take a bath," Emuna said, getting her hygiene products from one of her bags and some night clothes. "Do either of you want to go to the bathroom before I bathe?"


    "No, we''re pretty much good," her grandparents responded with a smile.


    Once she got her things out of her bags, she headed her way to the bathroom, shutting the bathroom door. Looking in the mirror, she brushed her teeth as well as combed and brushed her black, wavy hair. After she completed these things, she put her comb, brush and her toothpaste away, then put her head down for several moments.


    She felt guilty for lying to her grandparents about having a bad day. But she didn''t feel like she wanted to talk to them about it. Too embarrassed to do it. She then lifted her head up and moved her eyes right.


    -Man¡­I feel bad over lyin'' to grandparents ''bout havin'' a bad day today. But at the same time though, I''m not in the mood to talk to them ''bout it. Ugh!


    Then she turned to the bathtub.


    -I better start runnin'' the bathtub then.


    As soon as she turned it on, the bath started pouring out water from the sink. She closed the sink stomper and added bubbles to it from the running water from the bubble liquid.


    Then she laid in the hot bathtub with bubbles covering her entire body, once her bathtub was filled and she turned off the running water. She already got her body used to the temperature before she started to wash her body, face and hair. She sighed out of relaxation, as well as she had her eyes closed and her hair tied up into a bun.


    -Aaaaah! I love the hot bath water. Mmmm¡­so relaxin''...I would wanna do it all day, y''know¡­


    Then Emuna opened her eyes and expressed her determined look on her face, as memories from earlier today resurfaced in her heart.


    -Alright, Emuna. I need to go to that place again. I need to search for that boy again. I need to know if his family is financially secure or not. I may need to even follow him to know where he lives, so that I won''t have to chase his rude ass again and throw marbles in the street, jus'' like he did today. I''m gonna do it, dammit! I jus'' have to get to the bottom of this shit!


    Then Emuna began to wet and rub her soap to wash her arms.

 Chapter 18: A Day to Eat Out

    After Emuna and her friends spread the Gospel with Emuna''s grandparents, they leaned their bodies forward like they were exhausted or their backs were hurting. They all frowned with their mouths open. They walked their steps forward as if they were a group of zombies.


    -Oh, man¡­I can''t believe none of the people accepted the Gospel. None. What a horrible, horrible day.


    "Man, this morning was awful," Yudia said.


    "Yea, tell me ''bout it," Zaboulon said.


    "I can''t believe people refused to accept the Gospel," Lazarus said. "I feel so bad for their souls refused to be saved."


    "Yea¡­" Emuna said sadly, then she turned her frown upside down. "But on the bright side, like what my grandparents said, ''There''s always next time.''"


    Lazarus grinned at Emuna. "Yea, you''re right, Emuna." He also turned to Yudia and Zaboulon. "There''s always a next time. We can save people''s souls from Gehenna next time, for sure."


    Yudia and Zaboulon smiled back at Lazarus and Emuna. "Absolutely!"


    When Emuna and her friends'' stomachs growled, they moaned and placed their hands on their stomachs, frowning down at them.


    "Ohhhh, I''m so hungry," Yudia cried.


    "Yea, me too¡­" Emuna, Lazarus and Zaboulon agreed.


    Emuna stood up straight, flicking her fingers. "Hey, let''s go get something to eat."


    "Yea, but where are we gonna go to get something to eat though?" Yudia questioned, also standing up straight, yet still frowning.


    "Oh, I don''t know," Emuna frowned, tilting her head left, frowning again. "But that''s a good question. Where would we eat then?"


    Zaboulon took a look around until he saw something far away from him and his friends, pointing his finger out forward. "There! We can eat at Kingdom Burger."


    Emuna, Lazarus and Yudia examined where Zaboulon was pointing at, broadening their eyes when they saw Kingdom Burger fast food joint just across the street. They gasped and opened their mouths out of relief. Then they happily looked up at the clear, blue skies, before they returned their attention to Zaboulon.


    "Oh, thank Elohim for getting us something to eat through you, Zaboulon!" Emuna exclaimed. "We thank you as well, broh!


    "Yea!" Lazarus and Yudia agreed.


    "Oh, that was nothing, guys!" Zaboulon responded, scratching the back of his head with his eyes closed, flushing.


    "Alright, now let''s say, ''Let''s go get something to eat!''" Emuna exclaimed, raising her fist up in the air, closing her eyes with her big smile on her face.


    "Yea!" Emuna''s friends agreed as they looked both ways and crossed the street with Emuna.


    Arriving at Kingdom Burger, where the line was short yet there were a lot of people sitting at their tables, Emuna and their friends gasped and grinned with their mouths open and broadened eyes. They scanned their surroundings for a few moments before they turned to one another. People''s chatter and laughter along with the children''s tearful screams echoed across the restaurant.


    -Man, this place is so amazing. I haven''t been to this place in such a long time. Like honestly, I miss this so much, that it made me happy to be back to this place. It''s great to be back here.


    "Alright, let''s go order our foods and drinks while we''re at it," Emuna declared joyfully after her and her friends'' stomachs regrouped at them.


    "Mhn," her friends agreed, shaking their heads with their eyes closed.


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    After they ordered their food and filled up their sodas, they searched for a place to sit and couldn''t find their seats at the playground set inside.


    -Okay, maybe on the other side of the restaurant?


    They checked the other side of the restaurant and found their table near the restrooms. They grinned when they saw their unoccupied table, gasping, widening their eyes with their mouths opened. They quickly walked towards their table before anyone could occupy it next.


    -Alright! Our seats are here! And they''re near the restrooms too. That''s great that we don''t have to walk all the way over there too, y''know.


    Once they sat down and sipped their large cups, Zaboulon turned to Emuna. He called her name and she immediately turned to him.


    "Yes?" Emuna curiously questioned.


    "So are you still suffering from distractions yesterday?" Zaboulon asked back.


    "Oh¡­uh¡­" Emuna frowned and slightly turned her head right, moving her eyes in that direction.


    -Oh, man¡­I really don''t feel like talking about that¡­I don''t want those distractions coming back to life though¡­


    "Can we not talk about it?" Emuna asked uncomfortably. "I really don''t feel comfortable talking about that."


    "Uh, are you sure?" Zaboulon asked, raising his eyebrow at Emuna.


    "Yes¡­" Emuna responded, putting her head down;her shadows covered her eyes and forehead. "I''m positive, Zaboulon¡­"


    "Oh, okay. If you say so, Emuna," Zaboulon stated as he sipped his drink and never went on to discuss it further.


    Emuna sighed out of relief when there was no further discussion on that topic.


    -Oh, thank Elohim, that discussion was officially over jus'' like that. Now I can get back to enjoy bein'' with my friends.


    But after a while, memories of yesterday and today before yesterday returned to Emuna''s heart. Emuna frowned and placed her hands on her head after she sipped her drink. Her eyes twitched sideways a little and broadened.


    -Oh, man! No, no, no, NO! Not again! Why the hell are these memories botherin'' me?! I really don''t understand this¡­at all!


    Emuna put her head and hands down, with her shadow covering her eyes, while friends continued to chat with one another. She tightly closed her eyes as she tried to get rid of her annoying memories, yet she failed¡­hard.


    -C''mon, c''mon, C''MON!


    Then she looked up at the ceiling with her angry face after failing to prevent her memories from taking over her heart.


    -Elohim, why are You doin'' this to Me?! Why are You botherin'' me with these memories?! I want to know now?!


    Then Lazarus noticed this and raised his eyebrow at her. "Um, Emuna? Are you alright?"


    "Oh!" Emuna returned her attention to one of her friends as the rest of her friends also turned to her, closing her eyes, smiling at him. "Yea, of course, I am."


    "Are you sure?" Lazarus gave Emuna his skeptical face. "''Cause you looked like you were angry at the ceiling or something. Are you angry with Elohim?"


    Emuna opened her eyes wide when she heard that. "Whaaaat?" Then she closed her eyes and waved her hand down a couple times, chuckling a little bit. "Of course not. Why would I be angry with Elohim?" She chuckled out of embarrassment.


    Lazarus then glared at Emuna. "Uh, I literally saw ya did that! Now just be honest with us, Emuna. Are you mad at Elohim or not?"


    Emuna frowned with a sigh, slightly tilting her head down, moving her eyes right. "Yes¡­I was¡­" Then she returned her attention back to her friends with still a frown. "After I praised Elohim for not allowing Zaboulon to discuss my memories from yesterday and the day before it, I was accusin'' Him of revivin'' them, after I tried my damnest to get rid of them.


    "I wanted to avoid havin'' this discussion with you guys because I thought it was a way to bury these memories. However, sometimes they worked, other times they didn''t. My memories are about the boy and his family. And yes, I met with the boy yesterday. I didn''t call you guys yesterday, because he was literally runnin'' away from me after I asked him about his family explanation. He didn''t even answer me."


    "Ah¡­I see¡­" Emuna''s friends said.


    "Oh!" Yudia''s eyes widened when she thought of something. "I think Elohim''s tryin'' to tell ya somethin''."


    "Really?" Emuna questioned.


    "Yea," Zaboulon agreed, sipping his drink. "I think He was tryin'' to tell ya that the boy was hidin'' somethin''."


    After thinking about it, Emuna widened her eyes. "Aaaaah. I see now." She looked up at the ceiling with a smile, sipping her drink. "Now I understand why these memories are botherin'' me. Elohim, I apologize to you for my lack of faith in You earlier. Will You forgive me?"


    A moment of silence was passed, and Yudia said to Emuna while she sipped her drink, "I think He forgave ya, Emuna."


    Emuna chuckled a little when she returned her attention back to Yudia, closing her eyes with her big grin. "Yea, I think you''re right." Then she frowned at her friends, moving her head up and down, back and forth."Look, I''m sorry I lied to you guys about that, please forgive me."


    Emuna''s friends grinned at Emuna''s confession, sipping their drinks while they gazed at her.


    "It''s alright, Emuna," Lazarus said. "We forgive you."


    Emuna smiled at her friends and sighed. "Oh¡­you guys¡­"


    "Now what else are goin'' to talk about?" Zaboulon asked, sipping his drink.


    "Oh, I know, I know, I know¡­!" Yudia exclaimed as Emuna continued to chat with her friends, eating their food as soon as their orders arrived.


    Emuna finally had a good time eating her food and drinking her drink there. Then she looked out the window for a city view until she saw the boy walking past people to the end of the sidewalk, waiting to cross the street. This gave Emuna an opportunity to go after him again without fail.

 Chapter 19: The Chase

    After Emuna gazed at the boy for a moment, she quickly turned to her friends. "Hey, you guys. I saw the same boy yesterday and the day before yesterday." She turned to the boy and pointed her finger at him. "He''s over there, you see him?"


    Her friends turned to the boy that Emuna was pointing at. They gasped and widened their eyes when they saw him. Lazarus stood up from his seat and sipped his drink. "Alright, looks like we found him." Then he grabbed his tray and was getting ready to head over to the trash can. "We gotta go catch him before he crosses the street."


    "Right!" Zaboulon, Emuna and Yudia agreed, quickly taking their trays, following Lazarus to the trash can.


    As soon as they put their trash in the trash can and placed their trays on top of other trays, they saw the walking traffic light turned white. Emuna anxiously widened her eyes when she saw that.


    -Ah, shit! The walking traffic light jus'' turned white! That means that our target will cross the street! We better hurry up and catch him before we lose him!


    They quickly chased after the boy after they looked both sides of the street and waited for the cars to drive past one another. They watched the boy cross the street with the crowd, while they waited for the cars to drive past them. There were only five cars driving by in front of Emuna and her friends.


    Yudia impatiently sighed. "Ohhhh, I wish these cars would hurry up and pass by now, so we can cross the street. We''re losing him."


    "I know, right?" Zaboulon agreed, sighing, frowning at the cars driving by.


    "C''mon, guys. Jus'' be patient, alright?" Lazarus snapped. "We''re not losin'' him jus'' yet. As long as we pay attention to him, we''ll never lose him."


    Emuna shook her head when she looked Lazarus in the eye. "Yea, Lazarus was totally right. Jus'' pay attention to him and we sure as hell shouldn''t lose him in no time."


    When Yudia and Zaboulon still saw him continuing to cross the street, he was halfway there to the other sidewalk. They shook their heads while they still frowned at him. "Yea, I guess you guys are right, Lazarus, Emuna!"


    Lazarus and Emuna grinned when they heard Yudia and Zaboulon say this to them.


    "Excellent, you guys! I know I can count on you guys!" Lazarus exclaimed.


    "Yea, like he said!" Emuna agreed with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.


    Once the coast was finally clear for the gang to cross the street, they immediately crossed the street. However, they saw the boy finally made it to the other sidewalk and the walking traffic light turned orange. Zaboulon and Yudia both sighed when they saw that.


    "Oh, great! We''re too late! The boy''s on the other sidewalk! There''s no way we could catch him now!" Yudia roared when she glared at Lazarus and Emuna.


    "Yea, Yudia''s right!" Zaboulon agreed while he also glared at Lazarus and Emuna. "It''s impossible to catch him now! We can''t jaywalk, not only because it''s illegal but also the locals in Xenopolis take that shit very seriously! The adults will record that shit on their smartphones if we do that! So what the hell are we gonna do now, you two!"


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    "Guys¡­guys, jus'' calm down," Emuna calmly said. "We can still manage to catch him. We jus'' need to follow him, that''s all. We''ll be given a chance to cross the street and catch him. All you have to do is to be patient."


    "Yea, Emuna''s right, y''know," Lazarus agreed as he and the gang watched the boy turn right and walk forward. "Jus'' stay together and watch him go. That''s it. That''s all we''ll have to do for now."


    Zaboulon and Yudia calmed down a bit while they watched the boy go, then they turned to Lazarus and Emuna.


    "Okay well, I hope you guys are right," Zaboulon said, giving Lazarus and Emuna a serious look on his face.


    "Yea, ''cause I won''t take y''all''s advice seriously ''bout it next time!" Yudia said as she also gave Lazarus and Emuna a serious face, crossing her arms, tapping her foot on the ground.


    "Right?" Zaboulon agreed as he and the gang watched and followed after the boy on the sidewalk. "Me neither."


    Emuna''s heart began to beat hard and fast when Zaboulon and Yudia''s warnings haunted her heart. Her anxieties were building up inside of it. Her heart was beating harder and faster than ever before.


    -Oh, man! I better hurry up and catch that boy before he gets away again. I jus'' hope he doesn''t see us, or we''re doom. I jus'' need to know if his father''s healed or not. I really need to know.


    Then she looked up at the sky while she turned to the boy back and forth.


    -Dear Elohim, please help me and my friends catch this boy. Please help us get to know his family''s situation. We need to know how they''re doin'' financially. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    Once Emuna and her friends were halfway there to the end of the sidewalk, Emuna scanned her surroundings and saw the traffic lights were present. The horizontal traffic lights still remained green and vertical ones were red.


    -Okay, great! I''ll advise my friends to run faster towards the walking traffic lights, and press the button before the lights turn green. That''ll be a piece of cake! But I jus'' need to hurry though before that happens.


    She turned her head back at her friends and forward at the sidewalk and the horizontal traffic lights. "Alright, you guys. We need to get to the end of the sidewalk and press the button there on time, before the traffic lights turn red. It''s the only way we''ll ever gonna get to him. Hurry!"


    Her friends studied their surroundings, then turned back to Emuna. "Yea! Now you''re talkin''!"


    "Great thinkin'', Emuna!" Zaboulon grinned at Emuna.


    "Yea!" Yudia agreed.


    Emuna and her friends ran, ran, ran as fast as they could, yet the horizontal traffic lights turned yellow. Emuna widened her eyes when she saw that.


    -Ah, shit! We''re almost there! We better get there quickly, or we won''t be able to cross the street!


    Then they saw an old woman stopped by the traffic lights with her cane and pushed the button before them just in time, before the traffic lights turned red. Emuna''s face became relieved when she saw the elderly woman save their day.


    -Oh, thank Elohim He sent that woman to press the button for the walkin'' traffic lights. That was a close one. I thought we''re seriously done for.


    Once the horizontal traffic lights turned red, the vertical ones turned green, as well as the walking traffic light turned white. Emuna and her friends made it there just in time, for them to cross the street with an old lady. Their eyes turned to the boy and he was halfway there to the traffic lights. Emuna turned to the boy and at the end of the sidewalk back and forth, with her serious, determined look on her face.


    -Oh, man. I better tell my friends to turn toward the traffic lights before he sees us. We really can''t afford to let him see us.


    Emuna then turned to her friends. "Alright, turn your faces that way while you still look forward." She pointed her thumb right and moved her hand right a couple times. "That boy is ''bout to come into our position over there." She pointed at the end of the sidewalk. "Otherwise, he''ll see our faces and run away from us. We can''t afford to lose him today. Now ever."


    After her friends surveyed their surroundings, they returned their attention to Emuna and shook their heads. "Alright, you got it, Emuna."


    "Great!" Emuna exclaimed when she and her friends turned their heads right, while they still looked forward.


    Once they made it to the end of the other sidewalk, the old lady continued walking forward, humming to herself with a smile on her face all the sudden. Emuna and her friends stopped near the traffic lights and stood there, turning toward the light in the opposite direction. They waited for the boy to come up to them like a predator would.


    They were lucky that the boy didn''t even see them, while he was continuing his journey down the hill on the sidewalk. The vehicles moving prevented their ears from hearing the boy''s footsteps behind them, so they waited for a while. After they waited for a while, Emuna slightly turned her eyes towards her target.


    Her eyes spotted the boy turning his direction to the sidewalk that she and her friends were on earlier. She smiled at him cockily.


    -Alright, time to capture this boy and get the info out of him, shall we, Emuna?


    She turned around and grabbed his shoulders, looking down at him with her smile on her face. "Huh?!" The boy fearfully looked up at her, widening his twitchy eyes once he recognized her face, frowning. "Oh, no. Not you again!"

 Chapter 20: Hospital Visit

    After the boy gazed up at Emuna for a moment, the boy tried to get away from her, moving sideways. Yet she held onto him tight enough that he was unable to escape from her. Her friends turned around and also grabbed hold of him.


    "Hey! Let go of me, you stupid bitch!" The boy roared, resisting her and her  friends within eyes closed.


    "No!" Emuna snapped back at the boy, glaring at him. "I wanna know ''bout your family situation. Are you financially able to get him cured? Is your father gettin'' better in the hospital? We really wanna know about that."


    "Uh, you don''t need to know about that! It''s none of your freakin'' business!" The boy roared at Emuna yet again. "Now let go of me! Ugh!"


    "Hey now, why don''t you answer us first, then we''ll let you go?!" Zaboulon roared at the boy.


    "Yea!" Emuna, Lazarus and Yudia agreed, glaring at the boy below them.


    "No!" The boy yelled his answer.


    "Alright then. You''re not goin'' anywhere, punk!" Lazarus snapped.


    "Yea!" Yudia agreed. "We''re not gonna let you go until you answer us!"


    The boy screamed. "Let me go, dammit! Let me go! Let me go!"


    No matter how hard the boy tried to escape, he still hadn''t succeeded. Then after a while, he stopped moving and panted.


    "So are ya goin'' to answer or not?!" Emuna asked as she and her friends saw him leaned forward.


    He shook his head. "Yes! Yes! Yes¡­"


    "Good," Emuna said, repeating those questions to the boy.


    The boy looked up at Emuna and frowned. "No¡­we''re still too poor to pay the hospital bill and my family members and my mom''s friends are broke."


    "Ah!" Emuna and her friends widened her eyes when they heard his answer.


    "My mom tried to get financial help from the Midbar government, but they denied our request. So I had to steal some money from people in order to help pay for the hospital bill. He''s gonna die soon, y''know."


    -Oh, no! This is terrible! Now I know why Elohim kept hounding me on those memories last weekend. Quick! We gotta do something to help this man financially! Even though I don''t condone him stealin'' money from others, I don''t want this boy to continue doin'' this shit any longer.


    She and her friends gave the boy her serious, determined look on her face when they let him go. "Okay, we''re goin'' to help ya."


    The boy happily stood up from the ground. "Really?! You guys would?!"


    Emuna shook her head and closed her eyes with a smile. "Yea, sure we would. All of us would as long as you don''t steal again, right guys?"


    "Oh, yea!" Her friends agreed loudly.


    "I promise I won''t steal ever again!" The boy exclaimed.


    "Good!" Emuna opened her eyes and looked at the boy, kneeling down on the sidewalk. "Now tell us how much money do ya need and we''ll give it to you."


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    The boy shook his head. "Mhn! I''ll follow you guys to your homes for money, and I''ll take you guys to my house for my mom to pay for hospital bill."


    "And can we visit your father in the hospital?" Emuna questioned.


    "Mmm-hmm," the boy answered, shaking his head. "Of course you guys can. You guys are welcome."


    "Mmmm¡­" Emuna said with a smile.


    ****


    After the nurse escorted the boy, Emuna and her friends into the hospital room, they turned to her and shook their heads. "Thank you, ma''am!"


    The nurse shook her head back at them. "You''re welcome. Have a nice visit!"


    "You too!" They shouted, waving their good-byes at her.


    After the nurse waved her good-bye back to them and left them alone in the room, they turned around and scanned their surroundings. There they saw a brown skinned man sitting up from his bed, watching some television near the window. He turned to the boy, Emuna and her friends.


    "Hi, daddy!" The boy said, dashing his way towards him to give him a hug.


    "Uh, son? Who are they?" The boy''s father asked.


    "Oh, right! Sorry ''bout my manners. You see, I can''t believe I forgot ''bout that," the boy answered, scratching the back of his head with his embarrassed eyes closed.


    "Mmm-hmm¡­" the boy''s father said.


    Then he turned to Emuna and her friends, pointing his palm hand at them individually. "Dad, I would like ya to meet Emuna, Zaboulon, Lazarus and, uh, Yudia."


    "Oh, howdie!" Emuna and her friends said, waving their hands at the boy''s father.


    "Hey! It''s nice to meet ya!" The boy''s father waved back at them.


    "Oh, yea. Me and my friends are very happy to see ya, sir," Emuna said, shaking her head.


    "Well, it''s nice to meet you guys too," the boy''s father said, shaking his head back at her and her friends.


    The boy excitedly looked up at his father. "Hey, dad. I''ve got some good news for ya!"


    The boy''s father widened his eyes when he turned to his son. "Oh, really?" Then he smiled. "Well, tell me! What is it?!"


    "Emuna and her friends helped  provide me enough money to keep ya alive, and my mom paid the hospital bill before you''re discharged from the hospital!"


    "Oh, that''s wonderful, son!" The boy''s father said, happily turning to Emuna and her friends. "I thank you guys. You''ve been a great help."


    "Oh, thank Elohim," Emuna said. "He did it through us."


    "Ah, so you''re that very devoted to Elohim, aren''t ya?"


    "Mmm-hmm." Emuna shook her head and grinned with her eyes open. "Of course, I am, sir." She then opened her determined eyes. "Always."


    "Ah, I see¡­Amen to that," the boy''s father said.


    "Amen!" Emuna, the boy and her friends said.


    Yudia took a couple steps forward. "So how are ya feelin'' today, sir? I heard you''re in critical condition."


    The boy''s father turned to Yudia next. "Oh, of course I was in critical condition, but I haven''t been unstable just¡­yet."


    "Oh, we''re so sorry to hear that, sir. I hope you get better soon," Lazarus said, giving the boy''s father his sad face.


    "Oh, don''t worry, man," the boy''s father said with a relaxed smile. "I''ll be fine. Hopefully I''ll be cured enough to be discharged from the hospital."


    "Yea¡­us too¡­" Zaboulon said as he frowned at the boy''s father.


    "Okay, so maybe we should pray for ya to be healed faster and be discharged from the hospital, if that''s alright with you, sir." Emuna took a couple steps forward.


    The boy''s father grinned at Emuna. "Oh, sure thing, Emuna. That''ll be lovely."


    Emuna gasped and grinned back at the boy''s father, then turned to her friends. "So then, are you guys ready for prayer?"


    "Uh-huh!" Her friends responded, shaking their heads with their eyes closed and smiles on their faces.


    But before they walked near the boy and his father, the boy''s father began to have a huge seizure. Emuna, her friends and the boy gasped when they gazed at the boy''s father. His seizure was so bad that the light outside the room rang with its alarm sounding like a doorbell.


    "Father!" The boy cried, giving his father his worried look on his face, placing his hand on his father''s.


    Emuna, her friends and the boy weren''t expecting this to happen at this moment. Their eyes twitched sideways a bit when they watched the boy''s father''s seizure, with their mouths open a bit.


    Emuna looked up at the ceiling. "Dear Elohim, please deliver this boy''s father from this terrible seizure. We don''t want him to become fatherless. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    Then the nurse and doctor quickly entered the room, with their fearful eyes staring at them. "Okay, everyone. Time to leave."


    While Emuna and her friends exited the room, the boy remained with his father, yelling "Father!" a couple times. His eyes were watery and tears poured down onto his cheeks. The nurse carried the boy out of the room and placed him near Emuna and her friends in the hallway. The blue light continued to vibrate its sound across the hall.


    After Emuna and her friends watched the nurse enter the room and close the door, the boy hugged Emuna and cried onto her. Emuna frowned at the boy and gave him a soft hug, before she broke it up. The boy looked up at Emuna with her hand placed on his shoulders.


    "It''s time to go," Emuna said with her determined face. "Let Elohim take care of this through these doctors. He''ll save your father. Have faith in Him, okay?"


    "B-B-But-" the boy disagreed, turning his head back to the door where he, Emuna and her friends exited from, gazing at it.


    "Hey, it''s goin'' to be jus'' fine. Your father will make it out alive, okay? Elohim will make sure that it happens. Trust Him. Trust Him," Emuna reassured.


    "Yea, Emuna''s right, y''know. Elohim got this," Emuna''s friends agreed, shaking their heads with their eyes closed and a couple of smiles.


    The boy wiped off the tears off of his eyes and sniffed his nose a couple times at the same time. He turned to Emuna, then that door as he frowned and gazed at it one last time. He turned to Emuna and her friends. "Alright, let''s get outta here."


    "Mhn!" Emuna and her friends said, just shaking their heads when they walked through the halls to exit the hospital.

 Chapter 21: A Sad Day

    When Emuna arrived home from the hospital visit, she switched her casual shoes with her house slippers and closed the door behind her. Her grandparents turned to her with their smiles on their faces;her grandmother leaned back on the couch watching TV while her grandfather was cooking some dinner.


    Her grandmother sat up straight while she continued her grin at Emuna. "Oh, hi there, Emuna. Did you have fun today?"


    Emuna didn''t answer and sat on the chair with a frown on her face, sighing when she turned her head right. Her grandmother''s smile was turned upside down. "Well, what''s wrong, baby girl?"


    Emuna gave her grandma her full attention.   "It''s about the boy that I met last weekend, grandma¡­"


    "Oh, so is he your boyfriend or something?" Her grandmother curiously asked with her eyebrow raised.


    Emuna widened her eyes and blushed when she heard her grandmother say that.


    -Huh?! Why would she think that anyway?!


    She then closed her eyes, leaned back a bit and put her hands out forward, waving her hands sideways. "Oh no-no-no, not at all, grandma."


    She opened her eyes and returned her attention to her grandmother. "He''s waaaay too young for me-he was, like, ten-twelve years old. You know, the one that you and grandpa met earlier today?"


    "Oh¡­that one¡­" her grandmother said.


    "Yea¡­that one¡­Aaanyway¡­" Emuna returned to the topic. "What I''m talkin'' ''bout wasn''t about the boy. It was ''bout his father.


    "After my friends and I gave the boy some money for the hospital bills, the boy, my friends and I visited the boy''s father in the hospital. He was in critical condition and he was fine when we visited him, until he developed seizures."


    Her grandmother gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh¡­no¡­"


    Her grandfather frowned when he heard that, completing his finishing touches to the meals. He felt sorry for the boy''s father and hoped that the boy''s father would be healed and discharged from the hospital soon.


    "Yea, it was horrible and we were all forced out of that room¡­I felt bad for the boy, ''cause I don''t want him to become fatherless. I just hope his father''s okay."


    "Yea, me too¡­" Emuna''s grandmother said. "So did you pray for him to get healed and discharged from the hospital soon?"


    "Yep, I sure did. But only I did that, no one else did, not even ny friends."


    Her grandma gasped with her eyes widened, leaning back a bit. "Not even your friends pray for him?!" Her grandfather quietly gasped when he heard what came out of his granddaughters mouth.


    "No, not even them," Emuna responded.


    Her grandmother grinned when her granddaughter mentioned her prayer for the boy''s father. "Anyway, now that''s the spirit! That''s the Emuna that we know! Hallelujah!" She chuckled a bit.


    Her grandfather grinned at Emuna too before he straight up finished his cooking. "Alright now! Dinner''s ready!"


    "Okay!" Emuna and her grandmother responded as they got up from their sofas.


    Her grandmother turned to Emuna. "Alright, Emuna. We''ll start praying for that boy''s father after we eat dinner, and will probably visit him in the hospital tomorrow-and that means you, me and your grandpa, if Elohim was willing to let us do it. And don''t forget to invite your friends and that boy to go with us, if Elohim lets us."


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    "Mhn," Emuna agreed as she shook her head. Then she and her grandmother headed for the kitchen to assist her grandfather with setting the food up. After they ate their food and prayed their thanks for their food and the boy''s father, they got ready for the night.


    Once Emuna finished her bedtime hygiene, she put her hygiene products back into her bags and prepared to go to bed. She turned on the television and watched it.


    "Good night, Emuna!" Her grandparents yelled from upstairs.


    "Oh." Emuna sat up straight.


    -Goddammit, I almost forgot to tell ''em my good nights.


    "Good night!" Emuna yelled back.


    As soon as she was about to lay back down, her phone rang from one of her bags. She curiously turned to her bags and got up from the couch.


    -Huh?! I wonder who''s callin'' me all the sudden?


    "Uh, Emuna," her grandfather''s voice yelled from upstairs yet again.


    "Yes, grandpa?" Emuna yelled back while she dug through one of her bags where her phone was ringing.


    "Who''s callin'' ya?"


    Emuna pulled her phone out from her bag and examined its screen, as it said:


    CALLING PLIONAY


    -Ah! Plionay''s callin'' me! Awwwe dammit, I almost forgot ''bout callin'' her! Damn!


    "Emuna? Hello?" Her grandpa impatiently questioned.


    Emuna turned to the stairs. "It was my best friend Plionay."


    "Oh¡­"


    "Sorry for my failure to answer ya earlier."


    "Oh, it''s alright. Don''t stay up too long now."


    "Oh, don''t worry, grandpa. I won''t."


    "Good."


    Then she returned to her head to her phone and answered it, placing it in her ear. "Oh, hi, Plionay! Sorry I almost forgot to call ya. How are ya?!...I''m fine. So how was your ministry work in Aigialo comin'' along?...Oh, that''s great. Mine was too. And we visited the boy''s father in the hospital today. It was goin'' well until he had a seizure and my friends, the boy and I were forced to leave¡­Oh, thanks, Plionay. I knew I could count on ya¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Uh-huh¡­Alright, good night! I''ll call ya tomorrow night."


    After Emuna hung up the phone and placed it back into one of her bags, she laid back down on the couch and watched television. She sighed for a moment, thinking about the boy''s father at the hospital.


    -I hope Elohim healed that man enough for my friends, grandparents, the boy and I to revisit him in the hospital. I wanna see him so many times until he is discharged from the hospital and reunited with the boy and his wife.


    When she watched television for a while longer, she was about to close her eyes and go to sleep. Then suddenly something clicked inside her heart that she quickly sat up from the couch. Her eyes expanded while she gasped.


    -Oh, man. I also almost forgot!


    She frowned when she looked up at the ceiling.


    "Dear Elohim, please forgive me for almost forgettin'' to perform my personal relationship with you through Bible study," Emuna pleaded before she pulled her Bible out from her bag and read her nightly chapter.


    ****


    Although Elohim saved the boy''s father''s life through the doctors in the hospital, her grandparents tried to call the hospital to visit the boy''s father. Yet the hospital refused to allow any visitor in the room with him, until he was stabilized.


    Emuna, her friends, her grandparents and the boy prayed for the boy''s father to be stabilized and waited for an appropriate time to visit him. But they still heard no word, no permission from the hospital as of yet however.


    Even when a week had gone by, they still heard nothing from that hospital of the boy''s father''s status. Nothing at all. So one Friday afternoon, Emuna and her friends took a walk in the park with their faces all gloomy all the sudden.


    -Oh, gosh. It''s been ''bout a week and I still haven''t heard from that boy''s father as of late.


    Then she looked up at the cloudy sky and whispered, "Elohim, when will You allow us to visit the boy''s father in the hospital? We waited for a week now. How much longer will we wait to visit him, Elohim? When?"


    Zaboulon noticed Emuna looking up at the sky and asked, "Yo, are you alright, Emuna?"


    "Huh?" Emuna turned to Zaboulon while Lazarus and Yudia turned to Emuna and Zaboulon. "I''m sorry, I didn''t hear ya. Can ya, like, repeat that question?"


    "Sure," Zaboulon answered, repeating the same question to her.


    "Uh-huh. I''m perfectly fine, Zaboulon," Emuna responded. "Honest."


    Zaboulon gave her a skeptical look on his face. "Are ya sure ''bout that? You were lookin'' up at the sky all the sudden."


    "Yea, I was," Emuna admitted. "I was jus'' prayin'' to Elohim, that''s all."


    "Oh? ''Bout what?" Zaboulon asked.


    "I was prayin'' to Elohim ''bout that hospital visit," Emuna answered.


    "Ohhhh¡­right¡­" Zaboulon understood when he shook his head.


    "Well, don''t worry ''bout that, Emuna," Lazarus said.


    Yudia shook her head at Lazarus, then she returned her attention to Emuna. "Yea, Lazarus was right. Where''s your faith? Whatever happened to persevere, like what you''ve been tellin'' us? You don''t wanna sound like a hypocrite now, do ya?"


    Emuna smiled out of guilt. "Yea, I guess you guys are right ''bout that. I''m ''bout to loose my faith, which isn''t a good thing at all, would it now?"


    Her friends smiled back at Emuna. "Yep, ya sure are."


    When Yudia scanned her surroundings, she quietly gasped when she saw something. There she saw the same boy sitting on the green metallic bench, looking down at the ground below him, while people walked past him.


    She turned back to her friends and pointed her finger at that boy. "Hey, there''s that boy from last weekend. Look!"


    Once Emuna and her friends investigated what Yudia was pointing at though, they looked at one another, then back at the boy back and forth.


    "Alright, let''s go visit him," Emuna said with her determined face.


    "Got it!" Her friends responded as they ran towards the boy with Emuna.

 Chapter 22: Boy Alone in the Park

    When Emuna and her friends ran after the boy, the boy just sat there with his head down, putting his hands together. Emuna frowned at him while she and her friends dashed towards him. Then she looked up at the sky.


    -Dear Lord, please help us cheer that boy up from his anxieties of his father in the hospital. My friends and I can''t do this alone and without You on our side. In Yeshua''s name, Amen.


    Once they got to the boy, he didn''t even bother to look at Emuna and her friends. They panted with their hands on their knees for a while. Then Emuna sat next to the boy and placed her hand onto his shoulder.


    "Huh?" The boy jumped and was finally looking up at Emuna and her friends. "Emuna? Lazarus? Zaboulon? Yudia? What are you guys doin'' here?"


    "We were walkin'' ''round the park together for a while until we found you here," Emuna said. "Are you okay? You not only haven''t noticed us, you also didn''t even look at us nor move a muscle."


    "Yea, we were really worried ''bout ya, broh," Emuna''s friends agreed.


    "Yea, I''m fine, I guess," the boy answered, putting his head back down towards the ground. "I was jus'' worried ''bout my dad in the hospital, since I haven''t heard anythin'' from him as of late."


    Emuna sighed and frowned, turned to her friends first, then she turned her head back to the boy. "It''s alright. You''re not the only one who thinks this. We haven''t heard anythin'' from your dad either. My grandparents tried to contact your dad''s hospital for a visit and¡­that hospital turned us down."


    "Yea, bruh. We''re so sorry ''bout your father," Lazarus agreed.


    "Yea, man," Zaboulon and Yudia also agreed.


    "Oh, it''s alright, you guys," the boy said without even looking at Emuna and her friends. He sniffed his nose and his tears came out of his eyes.


    Emuna patted the boy''s back a couple times, then rubbing on it while she watched him wiped the tears off of his eyes. "It''s alright. It''s alright. It''s alright."


    Her friends looked at each other with their sad faces before they gave Emuna and the boy a group hug. After that they broke up the hug and walked back away from Emuna and the boy a little bit. Emuna kept looking at him with her smile remained upside down.


    -Man, I felt so bad for him. Not havin'' his dad physically on his side at the moment. I could imagine how his mother felt. Jus'' awful.


    "Hey¡­" Emuna calmly said.


    "Huh?" The boy sniffed his nose and curiously turned to Emuna.


    "Do you wanna walk with us jus'' to help ya get over it at least for a while?"


    "Sure," the boy replied, shaking his head. "I don''t see why not though. It''s a good thing to get this shit outta my head a bit "


    "Mhn..." Emuna closed her eyes and grinned at the boy. "Great!" Then she stood up from the bench. "Let''s get goin'' then! I can''t wait to get goin'' then. I don''t wanna sit in this bench any longer, y''know."


    "Mhn," the boy agreed as he also stood up from the bench and sniffed his nose.


    Emuna''s friends just stood there and smiled at the boy as they, Emuna and the boy began to walk around the park.


    "So¡­" Emuna continued when she looked down at the boy. "How''s your family goin''?"


    "My family''s doin'' good, especially my mom," the boy answered without even looking at Emuna. "Even though she was horrified ''bout my dad''s situation at the hospital recently."


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "Ah, I see¡­Well, at least she''s doin'' alright though."


    "Yea¡­"


    After walkimg around the park for a while, and once Emuna, her friends and the boy got tired of walking around the park, the boy''s eyes investigated his surroundings until they spotted an ice cream cart arriving at the park, serving ice cream to his customers near him. The ice cream interested him, so he turned to Emuna and her friends and said, "Uh, hey guys."


    Emuna and her friends responded to the boy''s calling out of curiosity.


    "Hm?" Emuna asked as she tilted her head sideways a bit.


    "Can we go get some ice cream over there?" The boy pointed his finger at the ice cream cart.


    Seeing what the boy was pointing at, Emuna and her friends gazed at that cart for a brief moment. Then Emuna returned her attention to the boy, closed her eyes and grinned at him. "Sure thing, broh." She turned to her friends. "What do y''all say?"


    "Oh, yea! We''re so in!" Her friends responded with their eyes closed and a grin on their faces.


    She happily turned to the boy. "Alrighty then. Let''s go get some ice cream!"


    "Mhn!" The boy shook his head before he headed his way for the ice cream cart with Emuna and her friends.


    As soon as they arrived there, the man serving the ice cream turned to Emuna, the boy and her friends. He smiled at them with his eyes closed. His blond hair lustered from the sunlight poking through a few clouds.


    "Hi there!" The man exclaimed. "How do I get you guys today?"


    "Hi!" Emuna, the boy and her friends replied as they looked at the main menu paper.


    After they examined it as well as ordered and paid for their ice cream, they took a look around while they ate their ice cream.


    "Have a nice day and take care!" The man said, waving at Emuna, the boy and her friends with his eyes closed and a smile.


    "You too!" They shouted, waving at the man with their smiles. Then they went back to look around for a while.


    -Okay, where can we find a place to sit at?


    Then Emuna''s eyes spotted a couple benches sitting near the pond area. The wind moved the tall grass backwards, and a couple of ducks quacked with one another and stood near the pond, while several others swam in it. The water waves moved right slowly.


    -There!


    Emuna turned to the boy and her friends. "Hey, guys!"


    "Hey, what?" They said when they turned to Emuna.


    "I think I found a place to sit down." Emuna pointed her red, plastic spoon at those benches, when she turned to those benches and her friends back and forth a couple times.


    After her friends examined what Emuna was pointing her finger at, they turned back to her. "Yea! Great idea, Emuna!"


    "Mhn," Emuna said, shaking her head with her eyes closed and a grin.


    Emuna and her friends sat at the benches and continued eating their ice cream. They watched and enjoyed the beauty of the public pond. People constantly chatted with one another while they still walked around in all sorts of directions. Emuna was amazed watching Elohim''s beautiful creation.


    -Wow, it''s nice to see how beautiful Elohim''s creation really is. Such a beauty. I haven''t seen such beauty in such a really long time. It''s nice to be here once in a while, seeing Elohim''s beautiful creation like this. It''s such a wonder, y''know.


    Hearing footsteps heading for the pond, Emuna turned left and saw the woman with short brown hair taking her two children towards the pond. The woman was carrying bread in her hand. She watched the children jump up and down a couple times.


    "Mommy, mommy!" The little girl with two ponytails said. "Can I feed the ducks please?"


    "Yea," the boy near the woman with bread. "I wanna feed the ducks too!"


    "Well, hold on now, children, and be patient now," the woman responded when she opened the bread.


    "Yes, ma''am," the children responded.


    Emuna chuckled a little bit while she continued to eat her vanilla ice cream.


    -Such lovely children, aren''t they?


    After the woman gave her children a couple of pieces of bread each, the children slowly walked towards the duck and threw little pieces of bread near the ducks. The several other ducks swam towards the shore for the bread. The children fed those ducks too. Emuna smiled even more when she watched the children feed the ducks with bread.


    -I wish I had some bread with me. I haven''t fed the ducks in a very, very long time.


    After she and her friends ate their ice cream and threw their trash in the trash can, Emuna''s phone rang in her pocket. She pulled out her phone and found out her grandmother was calling her.


    -Huh?! Grandma''s callin'' me. I wonder what she''s callin'' me for?


    After she chatted with her grandma on the phone and placed it back into her pocket, she turned to her friends. "My grandma called me and told me that the hospital will allow us to visit the father in the hospital tomorrow." Her friends gasped when they heard that.


    "Do you really mean that, Emuna?" The boy asked.


    "Uh-huh," Emuna replied, shaking her head with her eyes closed and a smile. "I''m sure of it."


    "Alright!" Her friends exclaimed, especially the boy. He was very excited to visit his father now that his father was now stabilized in the hospital. Then Emuna and her friends went home and prepared themselves for another hospital visit.

 Chapter 23: Last Visit

    After Emuna and her friends finished their art project at their usual hideout on a Saturday morning, Emuna, her friends, her grandparents and the boy arrived in the hospital to see the boy''s father. They all saw the boy''s father laid in bed, darting his eyes at them. He smiled and waved at them, as if he was happy to see Emuna, her friends and his son''s arrival. "Hi, there, everyone. It''s nice to see y''all again."


    "It''s good to see you too as well, sir!" Emuna, her friends and grandparents waved at the boy''s father.


    The boy happily dashed towards his father and hugged him tight, closing his eyes with a grin on his face. "Oh, dad! Thank Elohim I''m so glad you''re still alive! I thought you wouldn''t make it!"


    His father looked down at him and smiled. "Me too." Then the boy''s father hugged him back with his eyes closed. "Well, I''m glad to see you too as well, son."


    After the boy and his son hugged one another for a while, they broke up their hugs and returned their attention to Emuna and the gang. For some reason, the boy''s father curiously examined her grandparents. Emuna wondered why he was looking at her grandparents like that, until something popped in her head.


    "Oh, right!" Emuna closed her eyes and scratched her head out of embarrassment. "I almost forgot." She turned to her grandparents and the boy''s father back and forth, pointing her palm at her grandparents individually. "Sir, this is my grandma, grandpa."


    "How do you do, sir?" Emuna''s grandparents said, nodding. "Emuna told us about you. It''s nice to meet you."


    "Well, now it''s nice to meet you too," the boy''s father responded, also nodding. "Did she tell you that she and her friends financially assisted me from my hospital bills, before I get discharged from the hospital?"


    "Oh, yes. She sure did, sir," Emuna''s grandmother said, turning to Emuna and the boy''s father with a smile back and forth.


    "Oh, that''s good," the boy''s father said. "I could tell by her actions already. Elohim has already blessed me through her already."


    "Yep," Emuna''s grandpa agreed, turning to his granddaughter with his joyful smile. "That''s our Emuna alright!"


    The boy quickly returned to his father. "So when will you be discharged from the hospital, dad? I missed you back home."


    "Oh, I don''t know, son," his father answered. "Only Elohim can tell us that. Nobody else doesn''t. So don''t worry about it and be patient, alright?"


    The boy put his head down with a frown. "Okay¡­"


    "Elohim will get me out of here and take me home soon;it''ll be alright," the boy''s father calmly reassured.


    "So, uh¡­" Yudia took a couple steps forward. "How are you feeling today, sir? Are you feeling a lot better?"


    The boy''s father turned to Yudia. "Oh, yeah. I''m doing fine right now. Hopefully I''ll get healed soon enough to be discharged from the hospital."


    "Oh, yeah. We hope so¡­" Zaboulon said, frowning at the boy''s father.


    "Yea¡­" Lazarus said, also frowning at the boy''s father.


    Emuna turned to her friends. "Awwweee, c''mon, guys. Where''s y''all''s faith in Elohim? He''ll get the father healed through the doctors right here in the Xenopolis Hospital, remember?"


    Her friends felt guilty over their lack of faith and turned to Emuna, smiling at her.


    "Yea, I guess you''re right about that, Emuna," Lazarus agreed.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Yea, me too," Zaboulon and Yudia also agreed.


    Emuna''s grandparents grinned at Emuna and her friends, particularly Emuna due to her faith, after they watched her friends pray to Elohim for their forgiveness. They turned to one another.


    "There goes our baby girl, doing the work for the Lord," Emuna''s grandma exclaimed with a grin.


    "Oh, yea. Now you''re talkin'', honey," Emuna''s grandpa also exclaimed and grinned at his wife, then he smiled at Emuna with his wife. "She keeps making us and the Lord proud, does she?"


    "She sure does, honey," her grandma agreed. "She sure does."


    Emuna and her friends smiled at each other, then she turned to the ceiling.


    -Thank You Elohim for reassuring my friends'' faith in You. Please keep up the good work.


    As soon as Emuna and the gang continued their chat with the boy''s father for a long while, they prayed for the boy''s father''s recovery one last time, before they left the hospital with the boy happy. Their faith in Elohim had been reassured in their hearts, depending on His timing, no matter how long it took for the boy''s father to be healed and discharged from the hospital.


    ****


    A couple days passed by, and the boy''s father''s health was improving so rapidly that he finally was discharged from the hospital. His arrival home made the boy''s family have a barbecue party to celebrate, inviting Emuna, her friends and even her grandparents along side with his other family members and neighbors over to his house. It was Sunday afternoon and Emuna and the gang arrived there right after they accepted the boy''s family''s invitation.


    While most people there were inside the boy''s family''s house, Emuna stood outside right after she ate some food inside. She smiled and looked up at the cloudy sky that covered the sunlight. She was not only glad that the barbecue was made on time, but also it wasn''t raining just yet.


    "From healing my aunt from a stroke, providing Yudia justice from her abusive step father, and healing this man from his seizures in the hospital¡­" Emuna stated, "I thank You, Elohim. For everything. I love and appreciate what You''ve done for us. In Yeshua''s name, Amen."


    The boy''s voice called Emuna''s name, echoing behind her. "Huh?!" Emuna asked as she turned around. She saw the boy close the door and dashed towards her. "What''s up?"


    "I was jus'' checkin'' to see how are you''re doin''," the boy responded.


    Emuna closed her eyes and smiled at the boy. "Why, I was doin'' fine. And you?"


    "I''m doin'' fine myself," the boy responded, looking up at the sky. "I thank you and your friends for helpin'' me out on saving my father. To be honest, I thought I wanted to save him on my own at first."


    Emuna opened her eyes and raised her eyebrow at the boy. "Oh, really?"


    "Yea." The boy shook his head. "But now after seein'' your kindness, I realized now that, without your help, my family would struggle financially. And I thought Elohim wouldn''t help us out until I reunited with you guys, and I thank Him for it. It was my fault that I should''ve asked for others for help, y''know."


    "Hmm!" Emuna reclosed her eyes and smiled at the boy even more than ever before. "You''re welcome! And I''m glad you regained your faith in Elohim! I''m so happy for ya!"


    "Yea, I sure have." the boy grinned back at Emuna, then he returned his attention to the sky. "I''m very happy that everything went back to normal."


    "Yea," Emuna agreed as she also turned to the sky with a smile. "I''m so glad everything went back to normal too."


    The boy returned his attention to Emuna. "So anyway. How are ya doin'' today?"


    "I''m doin'' fine actually," Emuna answered, turning back to the boy with her constant smile. "How are ya?"


    "Same."


    Then Emuna turned right and sighed with a frown. The boy curiously wondered what was going through Emuna''s head.


    "Uh, Emuna?" The boy curiously asked.


    Emuna returned her attention to the boy without a frown on her face. "Yes?"


    "Are you okay?"


    "Yea, I''m fine." Emuna turned right again and put her head down. "It''s jus'' that¡­" She stood there for a few moments.


    "''It''s jus'' that,'' what, Emuna?"


    "It''s jus'' that I have to go back to work, as it gets tirin'' at times, and¡­" Emuna stood there in silence again, moving her eyes sideways.


    He became annoyed by Emuna''s brief silence. "''And¡­,'' what?!"


    "And I won''t be here in Xenopolis," Emuna finally answered.


    "Really?" He raised his eyebrow at her.


    Emuna shook her head. "Yes¡­"


    "Where?"


    "Back to the village in the desert with my grandparents, where my parents started to take me there when I was little. I haven''t been there since last summer."


    "Oh well, where to?"


    "Barash."


    "Oh, I never heard of that place."


    "I''m sure you haven''t. People only recognize cities like Xenopolis."


    "Oh¡­" The boy turned left and put his head down. "I see¡­"


    "And it''s not jus'' me who''s goin'' this time though."


    He returned his face to her. "Oh? Well, who?"


    "My friends."


    "Oh, so only jus'' your friends?"


    Emuna shook her head. "Mmm-hmm. Jus'' my friends, that''s all."


    "Oh¡­I see¡­"


    Then when thunder roared across the sky, Emuna and the boy curiously looked up at the sky. "Huh?" It began to rain¡­hard.


    "Ah, shit! It''s raining here!" The boy yelled as he and Emuna closed their eyes and wiped the rain drops off of their eyes.


    "You don''t have to tell me ''bout it!" Emuna said, opening her eyes, turning to the boy. "Let''s go inside before we get sick."


    "Mhn!" The boy shook his head as he and Emuna quickly dashed back inside the house. They couldn''t believe that the rain ruined their time being outside for enjoyment. But they were finally relieved when they went back outside though, not being completely wet.

 Bonus Chapter: My Promised Land

    -My First Night Out-


    Opening the door slowly and quietly, I exited the house and shut the door the same way I opened it. I couldn''t risk waking up the entire household, besides I want to see and explore the world myself. This is my first time exploring things on my own without being accompanied by my own mother, even though I''m not a child anymore-I''m eighteen years old now.


    I was going to go to the city on my own during the daytime, yet my mom was always at home and would never allow me to explore the city on my own until I turned twenty-one. I never understood this whatsoever. It''s like no matter how many times I explain to her over and over again that I''m not a child anymore, yet my mom still doesn''t care. My brown skin radiated under the nightlight. Then I took a look around and took quick breaths produced from fear.


    There my eyes spotted the yellow sand lying down on the entire ground. My skin felt the cold air and the wind blew some sand across the land. The full moon cast its light upon the land. The clouds floated across the sky while numerous stars watched the entire world sleep.


    I turned my head back and forth a couple times with my fearful heart pumping a bit. I sighed out of relief. Looks like no one''s awake. Alright now, Hadara. Let''s get the hell outta here while we''re at it, were the first things that came out of my heart. There''s the city up in just up ahead of me. I need to explore there for a while, then head back home. I need to check out that amusement park. I gazed at the scenery before I ran across the desert.


    While I rushed my way through, the air was getting colder and colder. It surprised me as I didn''t expect the night to be this freaking cold. My body started shivering and I wrapped my arms around me.


    Damn, this shit''s getting cold! Sure, night time''s supposed to be cold, but I did not expect it to be this cold. Too bad I didn''t bring my jacket though, but I can''t turn back now.


    Now if the night''s cold weather wasn''t bad enough, the wind blew sand on my face in opposite directions. I spit it out of my mouth and wiped it off of my face and head. Man, this sand here''s getting annoying! I better hurry up and get there, before the amusement park ends.


    But that didn''t allow me to back down from my destination. Not ever. I kept going, going and going, no matter how hard I tried. My movement was already getting tired from all that running. My heart beated faster than what it could handle. My skin was getting cold from the nightly breeze in the desert.


    So I stopped moving and panted, crossing my arms, sitting down on the sandy ground. She turned back and forth with a frown on her face. Oh, man. There has to be another way to get to that amusement park. There has to be. But how? How am I supposed to get there?


    My eyes searched for something useful around me, yet they couldn''t find any. My body shivered a hell lot more than it could handle. Oh, man¡­I should''ve at least brought a blanket, y''know¡­Ugh!


    But as soon as I turned my eyes back to my destination, I saw a brightly lit city halfway to my destination. Moving my eyes sideways, I saw a colorfully lit area to the keft of the city. I gasped and grinned when I realized that area was the amusement park. Ooo, how exciting it is to be there! I''ll rest up here first and warm up a bit, before I continue running there.


    After a while, I slowly stand back up and looked at the amusement park with a determined look on my face. Okay, Hadara. You can do it, woman. Just keep going.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I ran forward a bit, trying to desperately not miss the amusement park. I fought off the cold and the sand while I continued my journey towards that city. I pressed on forward without showing a display of struggle. Alright, Hadara. You can do it. Just keep going, going and going, and you should make it in no time.


    And before I got there though, I stopped moving and gasped with my eyes widened, frowning when the war cry siren echoed into my ears. No way! This can''t be! Y-You can''t be serious!


    There I saw numerous warplanes and gigantic robots attacking the city, destroying everything there. My brown eyes widened when I saw that. Oh, no¡­this can''t be happenin''!


    I turned around and moved my eyes sideways. Forget that amusement park! Time to head home now!


    I began to run away from my destination. My ears heard the gunfire and destruction behind me while I continuously ran as fast as I could. However, the wind blew the sand in my face a bit longer than anticipated.


    I kept running forward with my eyes closed, wiping the sand off of my face and head, especially my eyes. Yet the wind kept blowing the sand in my face. Damn, this breeze kept blowin'' the sand in my face. It''s getting really annoyin''. Like for real. C''mon, now! Jus'' make it stop! Please make it stop!


    I kept running with my eyes closed until the wind finally stopped blowing. Aaaahhh, finally it stopped blowin'' ''round ''ere! ''Bout damn time too! I wiped every last bit of sand off of my face and head as best as I could. But I know there is some sand that I missed, yet I didn''t want to get them off completely.


    Okay, I can''t wait to wipe off the sand off of my face and wash my hair when I get home! It''s gettin'' cold out ''ere too! Shit! Then the wind blew sand into my face and head, this time right in front of me.


    Oh, shit! I immediately turned my head right and kept charging forward-very slowly. It blew so hard I wondered if there was going to be a sand storm or not. I stopped wiping the sand off of my face and head and kept going forward.


    But no matter how hard I tried, the breeze kept blowing so hard that I stopped moving and turned around, crossing my arms, sitting down on the ground. My body kept shivering in the cold. Ah, great! Jus'' things couldn''t get any worse, can they?!


    Although the wind hadn''t stopped blowing, my ears heard a male voice above me right after a light was shone on me, yelling, "Hey! Are you alright there?"


    I also heard footsteps heading towards me-from that moment on, I knew that voice came from a pilot controlling one of those gigantic robots. I was relieved when I heard his voice. "Yes, I am! Please save me!"


    "Oh, don''t worry, ma''am. I''ll save you from that sand storm!"


    Once that green, huge robotic hand gently grabbed me, I was quickly pulled into its heart. I felt no more sand blowing towards me. It was a miracle. Oh, thank Elohim for savin'' me from that sand storm and that cold breeze. I couldn''t have survived without His help. Whew!


    Once the heart of that gigantic robot opened itself up and placed me inside it, its hand was pulled out of its chest and the doors were shut. I opened my eyes and took a look around my surroundings. I noticed a lot of machinery in the room being shined on by the red light. It was nearly dark there.


    And to be honest with you, I wasn''t expecting the room to be barely lit. I became very confused about it. Huh, how weird. Why is this room barely lit in here?


    "Night, night," the pilot''s voice said near me.


    "Huh?!" I cried with my eyes widened out of shock and confusion, turning to that voice''s direction. No way!


    He was standing under the red light, wearing a foreign military uniform and a gas mask. He sprayed sleeping gas in my face.


    "Aaahhh!" I screamed when I turned my head away from the gas. Even though I tried to cough it out of my lungs, it was too late-my eyes were already tired by the time that happened. "N-N-Nooooo!" I collapsed to the metallic floor and fell asleep.


    The pilot chuckled viciously as he watched me fall asleep for a bit. As soon as he put up the gas sprayer, he tied me up and carried me away from this room into his arms. He hummed while he walked his way throughout the mec.


    Then silence was brought back to life in that room, continuing its business as usual. The entire room was very happy when two people left that room for good. It hoped those humans never returned there to ruin its quiet night ever again.

 Glossary

    *Locations*


    Kesaf (??????)


    The name of Theoterra''s capital city for "money" or "silver;" it''s an Aramaic correspondence to the Hebrew word kesef (??????) for its similar meaning.


    Theoterra


    A country''s Latin name within Ara for "God''s land."


    Xenopolis (¦®?¦Í¦Ø¦Ð?¦Ë¦É?)


    A Greek name of Emuna''s hometown for either "desert city" or "The city of foreigners."


    Midbar (????????)


    A Hebrew name of one of Theoterra''s major regions for "mouth," "speech," "south," or "desert."


    Aigialo (A?¦Ã¦É¦Á¦Ë?)


    A Greek name of Plionay''s hometown which devries from a Greek term aigialos (¦Á?¦Ã¦É¦Á¦Ë??) for "the seashore," "sea-coast," "(sandy) beach," "shore (of a lake)," or "land." It devries from a Greek word aix for "(water) wave."


    Shefayla (????????)


    A Hebrew name of one of Theoterra''s major regions that''s pronunced in Biblical Hebrew She-fay-lah, not She-fe-lah for "lowland."


    Ara (?????)


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    The Hebrew name of the world where Theoterreans and others live in for "the earth;" it''s an Aramaic correspondence with another Hebrew word erets (?????) for "earth, land."


    Noton Street (N¦Ï¦Ó¦Ï¦Í)


    A Greek name that devries from a Greek term notos (¦Í?¦Ó¦Ï?) which either means "south wind" or "southern quarter."


    *Characters*


    Emuna (????????)


    A Hebrew name for "faith," "fidelity," "steadfastness," or "firmness."


    Plionay (¦°¦Ë¦Å¦É?¦Í¦Ç)


    The Greek name that''s based on Koine Greek pronunciation of Pli-oh-nay, not Play-oh-ni. It devries from the term pleion (¦Ð¦Ë¦Å?¦Ø¦Í) that''s pronunced pli-own, not play-on for "more excellent," "greater," "many," "very great," "of higher value," or "more."


    Lazarus


    A Biblical Latin version of a Biblical Hebrew word Eli''ezar (??????????) for "my Elohim is help."


    Zaboulon (¦¦¦Á¦Â¦Ï¦Ô¦Ë?¦Í)


    A Biblical Greek version of a Biblical Hebrew name Zebooloon (????????) which devries from a Hebrew word zebool (??????) for "exalted house." That term also devried from another Hebrew term zabal (?????) for "to exalt honor" or " to dwelt with."


    Yudia (E?¦Ä?¦Á)


    A Greek name for "clear sky," "fair weather," "fine weather," or "good weather."


    Mr. & Mrs. Jardine


    A Scottish and English surname that means "garden."


    Mrs. Valmont


    An English and French surname meaning "valley hill."


    *Items*


    Tseetsa (??????)


    A feminine word of tseets (????) for "blossom," "flower," "plate," or "wing." It''s in Biblical Hebrew pronouncation, instead if a modern one.


    *Others*


    Zayin (??)


    Name of the seventh Hebrew alphabetical letter and its numeric value is seven.


    Harashim (?????????)


    A Biblical Hebrew name of a Youth Arts and Crafts Club that Emuna founded to mean "craftsmen;" it''s pronounced Ha-rah-sheem, not Cha-rah-sheem.

 Announcement Letter

    Alright, I thank you reader for reading my first volume of Theoterra: Emuna''s Summer Story. I truly appreciate that and may Elohim the Almighty bless you. I couldn''t be any happier and prouder than that so far.


    Unfortunately, my less satisfaction with the series'' direction overall and less people reading my content, I''m sorry to inform you that this series will be discontinued and I''ll be on hiatus from now on. But don''t worry, reader. There is hope after all.


    I''ll instead focus on fixing the plot, blurb and the cover art, using the same exact characters and names in that story, but I''ll change its genre to a Sci-fi Fantasy under the new title Galaktar: Planet Midbar instead of Theoterra: Emuna''s Summer Story. I''ll be making the majority of changes in that story. It will take a long time for me to get that established properly. I''ll also brainstorm for my new series and complete volumes 1 and 2 for it.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    But don''t worry, I won''t make too many changes to the plot overall. Other than that though, the same characters will be back. Once I get that done and placed the chapters on there, I should be able to upload my brand new series and delete the old one, along with letting you guys know about it.


    I know this is sad for me to delete my old series and to go through these changes, but this is what I have to do for the Almighty Elohim. This is the series'' redemption moment after all. Anyway, it''s very fortunate that I have readers read my first volume of the old series and I couldn''t have done that without my fans at my side.


    I truly appreciate your strong patience, time and support of my precious time. Other than that, have a great day and have a great year. Peace!