by Sarah Holman
“I think you gave me food poisoning,” Jasper complained.
Adara bit her lip to keep from retorting. More likely Jasper was sick from something in the water as he and Nelson were the two that had suffered from it this morning and she, Chris and Philip (who had drunk the purified water because he didn’t want to go the creek) were just fine.
“Thanks to your sister and her first aid kit, we are doing better, though,” Nelson said. He looked a shade paler but wasn’t gripping his stomach anymore. “Thankfully, we only have about an hour before we get to our destination.” He moved to where Chris stood and picked the boy up, as if he hadn’t suffered at all that morning.
“Wait till Mom and Dad hear about you giving me food poisoning,” Jasper grumbled, gripping his stomach with one hand as he shouldered his back-pack with the other.
Philip grabbed his own light pack and started to follow.
“Grab her pack, Philip. She has been working all morning cooking and tending to the sick,” Nelson commanded.
Philip opened his mouth to protest, but he closed it again and grabbed Adara’s pack and carried it.
She wondered if Nelson had seen how tired she was or if he knew that she had been considering staying behind because her shoulders ached too bad to carry the pack far.
It was much easier for the hour-and-a-half walk to not have a heavy pack or a small child. She was easily able to keep up with the group, though they were traveling at a much slower pace.
“This is it,” Nelson said, holding up his hand.
Adara looked around. There was nothing but trees, just as there had been this whole trip.
Nelson motioned them forward. Between two trees, they saw a fence and a lush lawn that rose up slightly toward a house like the mansions Adara had seen in movies or passed by on her way to some event. It was two stories and boasted a swimming pool.
“Some place,” Jasper breathed.
“Like a guilded cage,” Nelson said before setting down Chris. “You stay here while I go turn off the alarm.”
“How will you do that?” Philip asked.
“I have done my research,” Nelson replied nebulously. He walked away and was soon hidden by the trees.
Adara closed her eyes for a moment. She started mentally looking at the pieces of the puzzle that made up Nelson. Something wasn’t adding up here, or else was adding up to something very different then she what had originally thought.
“How do you think he knows what to do?” Jasper asked.
“Who cares, so long as we get the money? I am going to start by buying something for these bites. I guess your sister wasn’t as crazy after all for bringing that tent.”
Nelson reappeared and waved them forward. Adara held Chris’ hand as they walked forward.
“Don’t worry, the alarms are all off and it looks like no one is home.”
“What!” Jasper said loudly. “You mean the Beast isn’t home.”
“That isn’t what I said. He has to stay here or he risks being caught,” Nelson reminded him. “Now, once we get into the house, we can split up and look for him. As soon as we are done, we can use one of the cars.”
“We are not stealing a car!” Adara said, her heart rate execrating.
“We aren’t stealing it. We are using one of the servant’s cars who gave us permission.” Nelson said.
Adara squinted at him.
“I told you, I did my research.”
“Come on!” Jasper moved forward and they all followed.
Moving across the lawn and into the back door felt very odd, and Adara at first felt as if they were trespassing. She watched Nelson follow the others. He walked just in front of her as they entered the house, and he immediately turned to the right. She turned with him, and he walked down a narrow hall to a staircase and took the steps two at a time.
He had known right where to go.
She followed him, Chris in tow. When she reached the top of the stairs she found they were in a loft area, and Nelson was seated in a chair fingering a book that lay open on the table beside him. He looked so at ease. In one moment the truth hit Adara.
“I have a question,” she said, letting Chris sit on one of the fluffy couches.
“What?” His tone was as gruff as the first time they had met.
“Why did you lead everyone out here and stir them all up against yourself?”
Nelson sighed and dropped his head into his hands. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“I might if you explained.”
He sighed again and stared out the window. “I was the mastermind behind the plot to rob the bank. We weren’t supposed to have real guns though, and we definitely were not supposed to hurt anyone, but it happened. My dad protected me from the trial, but I had to stay here.
“About a month ago he threatened that if I didn’t start making something of myself and do something with the second chance I had been given, I wouldn’t get any of the inheritance that had been coming to me. Unless I could do two things, the first was to show that I could have a group of friends that weren’t a bunch of troublemakers.” He fell silent.
“That explains the expedition to find the Beast, but what is the second thing?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Nelson mumbled curling up in the chair like a frightened child.
“It matters to me,” Adara said boldly.
“He wanted me to get a girlfriend and be able to treat her right.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard.”
Nelson laughed, but it was mirthless. “Right. I wouldn’t wish me on any girl. I might be able to do it, but I wouldn’t. I am a beast and no girl should have to put up with me.”
Adara sank to the floor praying for wisdom. A story came to her mind and she smiled. Perhaps fairy tales had a place after all.
“There is a story called “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Anderson,” she began. “The tales starts when these demons make a mirror. When a beautiful person looks into it, they see themselves as ugly. If you held it up to a lush landscape it would look like a desert. In short, the mirror distorted everything.
“One day, the demons tried to lift the mirror up to heaven, but instead, they dropped the mirror and it shattered into a million pieces. Some of the pieces were carried by the wind and would stick in someone’s eye. They saw the whole world from then on with a distorted view. They saw themselves as awful people and the world around them as colorless.
“You see yourself as a beast, but that is not how I see you, and more importantly, that is not how God sees you. God loves you just as you are, but also sees you as you could be. You see yourself as ugly on the inside, but I have seen your acts of kindness toward others. You see yourself as unable to fulfill your father’s wishes, but I have seen your bravery when you faced Wolf. You see yourself as some kind of beast, but Jesus is waiting to make you a new creature.”
Nelson sat up and turned toward her, moisture pooling in his eyes. “Is that how you see me? Is God really able to do that?”
“If you let Him,” Adara said leaning toward Nelson. “And yes, that is how I see you.”
“I can’t find him!” Jasper yelled. “Nelson, where is that beast hiding?”
Before Nelson could answer, Adara went to the door and shouted down to her brother; “He isn’t here. I don’t think you will ever be able to find him.” She turned and smiled at Nelson, but he was on his knees, the light from the widow making his light hair glow and there was no more beautiful sight than to see a heart being transformed by the love of Christ.
Chapter 7
Six months later
“Keep your eyes closed,” Nelson said, holding both her hands tightly.
Adara felt him maneuver her around a piece of furniture and down a hallway. “Where are you taking me?”
Nelson laughed, a clear melodious laugh that he had acquired only after he had appeared before the judge, just two weeks before the statute of limitations ran out on the robbery. Even though he had been ordered to serve a fe
w years on probation, it had freed him to know that he had done what was right.
“Wait right here,” Nelson whispered in her ear, placing her hands on smooth wood.
Adara nodded and rubbed her hands along the sloping surface. She allowed herself to replay the memory of walking out of the courtroom with Nelson and him picking her up and swinging her around.
“It is like the last bar to my prison has been taken away,” he had said with joy. “Praise God, I am free from the guilt that has hounded me for so long.”
She had rejoiced with him, but it was in that moment that something had changed for her. Up until that point, Nelson had been her friend and someone she was helping to teach about God. But as he had spun her around, her heart had soared and hadn’t wanted to come back down.
She prayed silently once again that she would be able to guard her heart and treat Nelson as a friend. She hadn’t even been sure that she should have come over today, but her father had insisted that she should.
“All right, are you ready?” Nelson said, from behind her.
“Yes,” she said.
Carefully, he untied the blindfold he had placed on her the moment that they had reached his home. It fell from her eyes, and she blinked in the bright light. The next moment she clapped her hands together in pure delight. They stood in an old-fashioned ballroom, decorated for Christmas.
“Do you like it?” Nelson asked, his eyes sparling with pleasure.
“I love it! It is the most perfect thing in the world.”
“Good, because I have a big question to ask and a perfect place is a good place to ask it.”
Adara lifted her eyebrows. “What?”
Nelson took a deep breath. “Adara, I know I have a lot to learn, but I want to ask if you might be willing to be my girlfriend?”
Adara’s eyes widened and she felt her cheeks flush.
“I don’t mean like we just date for fun,” Nelson added, as if she thought she was about to refuse him. “I mean we will have fun, but… I know I have some maturing to do, and you have your school, but I am hoping that someday, if we feel it is what God is calling us to, we will get married.”
Adara took both his hands into hers. “Nelson, I would be honored to be your girlfriend.”
“Good,” Nelson said as he let out a breath of relief. “Because I didn’t know who I was going to take to the Christmas ball unless you accepted.”
“Hey!” She elbowed him.
“Ow! I was just kidding.” He said with a smile. Then he took a step back and bowed. “May I have this dance?”
Adara giggled. “You may indeed, dear prince.”
Note from the Author
I think that the reason Beauty and the Beast is one of the most beloved fairy tales of all time is because the characters get what they (and many of us) most crave: redemption. I strongly believe that this craving for redemption is God-given so that we seek Him.
Some of you who are reading this story, like Nelson, have deep hidden sins that you fear being exposed to the world. God is standing ready to redeem you, pay the price for those sins, and take away the burden of guilt and shame. I would like to refer you to the book of Romans in the Bible for the transforming power of the forgiveness of Christ.
Some of you are more like Adara who have no deep hidden sins, but still have faults and have sinned in little ways. The good news is, even after you are a Christian, God’s redemptive power is still available to you. The book of Galatians is to me a powerful reminder of the freedom we have in Christ and why we should not feel weighed down.
One of the things that God was reminding me of as I worked on this story was that where my treasure is, there lays my heart. Each of my stories is a treasure to me, and carries a bit of my heart. That is why I was reminded that I need to make sure that each of them is not only entertaining, but also reflects a bit of the heart of God. I want each of my stories to draw people closer to God. If I succeed in doing this, then my treasure in heaven will be the people that I touch, and that is a great treasure indeed.
About the Author
Sarah Holman, a homeschool graduate, lives in central Texas. When not pursuing her passion of writing, she can be found taking long walks, reading, sewing or spending time with her family. Find her on:
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Other books by Sarah Holman
A Different Kind of Courage (Historical fiction)
William must decide between his family and his friends; the truth and lies at the dawn of the American Revolution.
Kate’s Innocence
Kate Mayfield is accused of setting off bombs on her college campus. FBI agent Patrick Connor is determined to prove that she is innocent.
The Destiny Trilogy (Sci-Fi, Young Adult)
The Destiny of One
A discouraged teenage girl seeks her purpose in life as the tyrannical government's threats stir up long hidden secrets.
The Destiny of a Few
A bolder Maria heads to a distant planet in a race against the clock to find the long lost prince.
The Destiny of a Galaxy
As Maria and her allies prepare for their first strike, they will face difficult choices … and the cruelest enemies yet.
The Tales of Taelis Series (Historical fiction, Young Adult)
Adventures and Adversities
When a peasant girl takes her friend’s place to serve at the king’s castle, she must find a way to heal the hurt inside before she is destroyed by bitterness.
Brothers and Betrayal
An archer defending the defenseless, a princess trying to save a kingdom, and a young boy who is running from a murderer.
Other Short Stories
Waltz into the Waves
Amelia has always lived in a manor by the sea with her father, she and looks forward every summer to a visit from Alex. However, her perfect life is dashed one summer when tragedy strikes. Will her life ever be happy again?
Joseph of Arimathea: A Tale of the Resurrection
Joseph of Arimathea is a rich member of the Sanhedrin, yet something is missing from his life. At the advice of his closest friend, he seeks the teacher Jesus to see if he holds the answers he seeks. Little does he know the events that are about to unfold.
Continuing Destiny
What would Maria’s life look like three years after The Destiny of a Galaxy? What about James, Quint, and Winter? This collection of four stories gives readers a glimpse into the romance, faith, trails, and everyday lives of this group as they each explore their Continuing Destiny.