“Sorry, Dad, we’ll move them.” I gave Jace a smirk and tried to cover up my laugh behind my hands.
“Yeah, yeah, sure you will.” My dad walked over and kissed the top of my head.
“Hey, I forgot to show you this a while ago.” I grabbed the lamb figurine from the mantel in the living room and handed it to Jace. A grin spread across his face.
“You found it. I forgot I gave it to you.”
“It meant more to me than you would ever realize.” I sighed, thinking of the Bible stories. “I do miss it sometimes. Being where Jesus walked and seeing the places where all the stories actually happened. I know it all did really happen. It wasn’t just a story. But I miss actually being there.”
“Your mom would have been happy to see it.”
I smiled at Jace and nodded.
“She also would have loved this too.” My dad slapped two envelopes onto the table.
“Dad, what are these for?” I picked up the one with my name on it and held it up.
“Open it.” My dad crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He had a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.
I glanced at Jace and we tore the tops of our envelopes open. I pulled a slip of paper out and stared at the words at the top.
Jace cleared his throat to break the silence. “They’re…airplane tickets.”
My dad pushed himself off the wall and knelt down to look at me. I was frozen in place, staring at the little paper in my hands. I looked at him, tears collecting in my eyes.
“We’re going to Israel.”
Jace hugged me, his smile lighting up his face. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
My Dad chuckled. “We’re all going. You get to see Jericho, and ride on a boat on the Sea of Galilee, and stay in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.”
I flipped over the brochure that was in the envelope. There was a mountain pictured at the top, one I recognized. “And see Masada?” I looked at him slowly.
“That can be our first stop.”
I held back tears, wondering if I’d be able to see the house Sarina once lived in.
My dad put his hand on Jace’s shoulder. “Your mom’s outside. You want to go talk to her about the trip?” Jace nodded and followed my Dad out the back door.
I set the brochure on the table. The attic door was slightly ajar, part of the light from the windows shining into the staircase. I opened the door wider and climbed the stairs.
The library was lit with bright sunlight. The sunrays danced on the floor, illuminating the books on the shelves. I rubbed the cover of the book with my thumb and placed it in the spot where the old Bible used to be. The lettering turned golden in the sunlight.
I hope you find these pages as truthful as I did.
I smiled. “We all did.”
Acknowledgments
It’s crazy to think this all started back in 2013 when a little girl had an idea for a book. Seven years later, that idea finally became a reality, and I have a few special people to thank.
First of all, I’d like to thank my mom, for always believing in me when I lost hope. My dad, for always having encouraging words when I didn’t. And my sister, for always reminding me who I really was inside when I would forget.
Thank you to the team at Elm Hill for doing an amazing job bringing my thoughts onto paper. Even more, thank you for being so understanding when my circumstances changed so drastically and for sticking with me as patiently as you all did.
Last of all, thanks to the crew I met at Harvard, because I promised I would. You all will hold a special place in my heart.
Elizaveta Fehr has lived in Illinois most of her life and has been writing books since she was eight years old. Elizaveta, who also goes by Lizel, self-published her first book, Heart Over the Horizon, in the fifth grade. Her poetry was also published in a poetry anthology, Navigating the Maze, along with many other teen poets. She will pursue her passion of writing and publishing in college and hopes to inspire young writers with her books.
Author’s Note
Although this book is fictitious, all of the Bible scenes in it were based off of written scripture from the Bible. I took care to stay as accurate to the stories and the time period as possible, but I used creativity to fill in the gaps that were not in the original stories. If there are adjustments to the Bible scenes in this book that were not mentioned in the original Bibles stories, it was for storyline development purposes only. These versions should in no way replace what is written in scripture.
Worthy of Rain Page 31