Puzzle House

by Duncan, Lillian;

  She touched her lips, still feeling the sweet warmth of his lips against hers. She remembered his words about wanting to fall in love—at least a little. She smiled. God had given him that, too.

  Cooper finished praying, and then his gaze met hers.

  Nodding, Nia stood and made her way to the front with her guitar. Help me do this, God. She turned and faced the group. “I didn’t know Brandon as long as the rest of you. But, oh, the time we shared was so special to me. And I like to think to him, too.”

  Nia looked at Brandon’s mother in the front row. Tears streamed down her cheeks but she was smiling.

  Nia held up her guitar. “Brandon gave me this. And then we both spent time playing it and singing together. Brandon wrote a song and then he gave it to me. Told me to fix it. And make it my own. I tried, but the truth is, it’s Brandon’s song and it was perfect just the way he wrote it. I’d like to sing it for you.”

  Darkness and trouble

  No joy

  No peace to be found.

  Only sickness and sorrow abound.

  No one around but…

  The God of Creation never forsakes.

  He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

  He is my God

  And He is so good.

  His love endures forever and a day.

  He is… Jehova Rapha

  The Lord who heals.

  The Lord who heals.

  And nothing is impossible.

  No nothing is impossible for my God.

  His love endures forever and a day.

  He is… Jehova Rapha

  The Lord who heals.

  The Lord who heals.

  He changes the darkness to light.

  His peace brings joy and delight.

  He is with us day and night.

  His love endures forever and a day.

  His promises are real.

  His promises are true.

  And He will never leave.

  His love endures forever and a day.

  My God is…Jehova Rapha

  The Lord who heals.

  The Lord who heals.

  His love endures forever and a day.

  He is…Jehova Rapha

  The Lord who heals.

  The Lord who heals.

  His love endures forever and a day.

  15

  Nia walked into the Puzzle Room. A new puzzle was on the wall. Brandon’s puzzle. She walked over and stared at God reaching for Adam. There was a picture of Brandon below it, holding a fish and looking happy.

  Rachel walked up behind her. “There’s a verse in the Bible that says draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Never forget that, Nia. God lets you be in control of your relationship with Him. He’s always there, waiting and hoping. But it’s up to you.”

  Nia nodded. “Do you think Brandon knew what his puzzle meant?”

  “I think a puzzle can mean many things. And I think Brandon was right when he said it meant that God was with him always. But, yes, I think he also knew it wouldn’t be too long before his fingers would touch God’s.”

  “I like that. That’s a nice way of thinking about it.” She thought of how nice it felt when Brandon had held her hand. “It must be amazing to hold hands with Jesus.”

  Rachel grinned. “You have no idea.”

  “Oh, yeah. I almost forgot you got to do that, too.”

  “It changes everything.”

  “Speaking of puzzles, I gotta finish mine before Auntie comes to pick me up.” Her glance lingered on Brandon’s picture, and then she walked to the puzzle table. “I just want to thank you for…for helping me with my puzzle.”

  “My pleasure. Cooper’s out snapping pictures this morning so what would you like for breakfast?”

  “One of your toasted cheese sandwiches.”

  “Coming up.”

  *

  Rachel stared at a burnt cheese sandwich. Was it savable? Probably. Edible? She wasn’t so sure about that. She nibbled at the edge of it and grimaced. Maybe it was edible, but not to her, and she wouldn’t even think of subjecting Nia to it. She tossed it in the sink. The garbage disposal could make a nice breakfast of it.

  Someone screamed.

  She grabbed her cane and hurried to the Puzzle Room.

  Nia was sitting there, glaring at her. “It’s not fair.”

  “What’s that, my dear?”

  “I did all this work. It’s finished.”

  “That’s a good thing.”

  “It’s not a good thing. There’s a piece missing.” Her finger slammed down on the card table where the missing puzzle piece was.

  “Oh, dear, really?”

  “I did all this work and now I can’t even finish it. It’s not fair.”

  “But you should feel good about that. You finished. Sure a piece might be missing, but so what? You—”

  “So what? So what? So I wouldn’t have worked this hard if I’d known this would happen.”

  “I understand what you mean.” Rachel nodded. “It’s really frustrating when we work hard, do the right things, and life still doesn’t turn out the way we expect or want it to.”

  Nia gave her an assessing glance. “Is that what this is about? Did you take my puzzle piece when I wasn’t looking?”

  “Is what what’s about?”

  “Another puzzle lesson.”

  “I promise you I did not take your puzzle piece. But do you think there’s something to be learned here?”

  Nia rolled her eyes. “I suppose I shouldn’t let little things like one little missing puzzle piece bother me that much.”

  “Sounds right to me.”

  “And I suppose you’re right. I did the best I could. I should be proud of that, I guess. It’s not my fault a piece is missing.” She tapped the table. “Sometimes life just happens.”

  “That’s for sure. We can’t always control our circumstances but we can always control our reactions to them. And we should always choose to act in a way that will make God smile.”

  Nia sighed.

  “I need to go out and make us some more toasted cheese sandwiches. The first ones didn’t turn out so well. I burned them.”

  Nia laughed. “I guess it’s just like you said, life doesn’t always turn out the way we expect it to.”

  “That’s for sure, my dear, especially when I’m the one doing the cooking.”

  Rachel touched the completed puzzle. “Notice how the pieces interlock. Each piece needs the other. Without one of the pieces, the picture’s not complete.” She touched the spot where the piece was missing.

  “I can see that. That’s why I’m aggravated.”

  “I told you about what happened in the hospital when Cooper was so sick. But there’s a little more to the story that I want you to hear.” She sat down.

  “Good. It might take my mind off that missing piece.”

  “Every one of the people who were healed in the ICU that day played a part in my puzzle.” Her arm waved around the room. “This puzzle. Without them, The Puzzle House wouldn’t exist. ”

  “Really?”

  “I believe God put each of them in that room for a reason.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, for example. The young man with the colon cancer. His name is Daniel Landers.”

  “The Daniel Landers?”

  “Oh, so you’ve heard of him?”

  “Everyone has. He’s so rich.”

  “Daniel’s been very generous. He helped us obtain this property. And built my beautiful home.”

  “Wow.”

  “He’s the reason why people don’t have to pay when they come to The Puzzle House. And then the young girl with the mother in the car accident.”

  “What’d she do?”

  “She’s a very talented artist. She created the first puzzles we used here and many more since then.”

  “Cool. And what about the pregnant woman?”

  “Well, she had those two beautiful twin girls.”
<
br />   “So she didn’t do nothing for you.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Nia opened her mouth but stopped before she actually said anything. Then she shook her head. Her fingers ran across the puzzle. Nia swallowed hard. “What date was it when you healed all those people?”

  “Now that is an interesting question, my dear, sweet Nia. Why would you ask that?”

  Nia sat at the table with a smile. “I think I just figured out why you keep saying I’m so special.”

  “Really? Well, let’s hear your theory.”

  “Was it May 12?”

  “It was.”

  “That’s the day my mom and my auntie were born. In Atlanta. I think that means my grandma was the pregnant lady who pushed that girl out of the way so the car didn’t hit her.”

  “I think you are exactly right.”

  “You saved my Grandmother that day, and my auntie and my mom?”

  “Only God saves, my dear.”

  “But it was you. If you hadn’t been there that day, I would never of been born.” Nia wiped away tears.

  “God does have an amazing way of working things out just the way they were meant to be.” Rachel wiped away her own tears as she put her arms around Nia. “And now you know why you are so precious to me.”

  “I can’t believe it. God really is so amazing.”

  “He is. That’s how life is.” Rachel ran her hand across the puzzle. “We don’t always get to know how each piece fits into our puzzle at the time we want to know. But God always works it out for our good.”

  “It’s just so hard, sometimes.”

  “Yes, it is. And when it gets too hard, think of Mary and Joseph and how difficult things were for them. I should go make us those sandwiches. Again.”

  “Not to be mean, but you really aren’t much of a cook. No offense.”

  “None taken my dear, but we still need to eat. Ten minutes.” Using her cane, she walked to the door.

  “Hey Rachel, I just thought of something.”

  Rachel smiled as she turned back. “Really? What’s that?”

  “You told me there’s no giving up at The Puzzle House. If there’s no giving up, then there’s no giving up.”

  “I did tell you that.”

  “I’ll look for that last piece.”

  “Splendid idea. I’ll let you know when lunch is ready.” Fifteen minutes later, Rachel walked back in the room.

  Nia was sitting in her chair with a big smile holding the missing puzzle piece. “I found it.”

  “So you did. Where was it?”

  “Under the couch. It probably landed there when I knocked the puzzle pieces off the table. I was such a brat, then.”

  “No comment, my dear, sweet Nia.”

  “I was waiting until you got here before I put the last piece of the puzzle in.”

  “I’m honored.”

  Nia rolled her eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a puzzle.”

  “It’s not just a puzzle. It’s your puzzle.”

  Nia put her arms around Rachel. “Thank you, Rachel, for helping with my puzzle.”

  “It was my pleasure. Now let me get my camera.” She got it and aimed the camera. “OK. Let’s finish this puzzle.” As Nia placed the final piece, Rachel snapped several pictures.

  “Woo-hoo!” Nia held up her hands as if she’d won a marathon. And maybe she had. “So what now?”

  “Now Cooper puts on some kind of magic glue that holds the puzzle together and we display it on the wall with all the others. I’ll put yours right beside Brandon’s.”

  “I’d like that.” Nia stared at the puzzle, and then looked at Rachel. “You said that lots of the puzzles have special meaning for the person who put it together, so what’s this one mean?”

  A mixture of dark and light clouds surrounded The Puzzle House. In the middle of the dark clouds right behind the house, the sun shone through, spectacularly creating an amazing rainbow.

  “I remember the day Cooper took that picture. There’d been a violent storm only minutes before. We thought there might be a rainbow so we hurried out. And that’s what we saw.”

  “It’s just beautiful.”

  Rachel stared at the finished puzzle, knowing she’d been right about Nia, and where she fit into Rachel’s puzzle. “All our puzzles are beautiful, my dear, sweet Nia.”

  “But you didn’t tell me what it means?”

  “That’s up to you to figure out, my dear, sweet Nia. It’s part of the fun of doing a puzzle.”

  16

  “Slow down.”

  “If I slow down any more, Auntie, the car won’t be moving.”

  “I don’t care. Slow down some more. You haven’t had enough experience driving to know what to do with slippery roads.”

  Nia took her foot off the gas a little. The car slowed. “There, are you happy?”

  “I shouldn’t have let you drive.”

  “We still alive, ain’t we?” She looked over at her aunt.

  “Keep your eyes on the road. You know what? Just pull over so I can drive the rest of the way. I had no idea we were driving into a storm.”

  Nia turned her focus back on the road. “We’re almost there.”

  “It can’t be a second too soon for me.”

  “Or me.” It had been four months since her time at The Puzzle House. It was hard to put into words how different her life was now from the first time they’d made the drive.

  Her life. Even if this life was shorter than what Nia would choose, it was OK. Because Nia knew there was another life waiting for her. A better life. One free from pain and sickness. And Brandon would be there. But she didn’t think that would happen anytime soon.

  Instead, she had hope of a life now. A real life. Thanks to Rachel. And to God, of course. But without Rachel she wouldn’t know God the way she did now. Or understand just how awesome He was. She looked over at her aunt. “You don’t think she’s mad at me, do you? That she’ll take back my healing.”

  “Nia Johnson, that is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard you say.” Margaretta laughed. “And I’ve heard you say some pretty ridiculous things.”

  Nia giggled. “I suppose it is. Rachel would never do something like that. She’s just too nice. I can’t believe I didn’t want to come here. What a dummy I was back then.”

  “I prefer the word stubborn.”

  “Yeah, whatevs.” She grinned, and then it disappeared. “But I wonder what she wants. It sounded important when she called.”

  “I guess you’ll find out soon enough.”

  They pulled into the drive. Instead of the fall colors, she was greeted with brown barren trees mixed in among the still green pines. Winter had come to the Georgia mountains.

  Nia shut off the car and then looked at Auntie. “Aren’t you coming?”

  Her aunt waved a hand. “I’ll be there in a minute. First I need to breathe for a while, and then I might stretch my legs since the rain stopped.”

  “It wasn’t that bad, Auntie.”

  “I know. It’s not you, it’s me.” Margaretta smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Go on, now. She’s waiting for you.”

  Nia took a deep breath as she stepped out of the car. No wheelchair this time. Every day, she grew a bit stronger. The doctors hadn’t said the word remission. Yet. But they would soon, she was sure of it.

  But Nia had a secret. It wasn’t remission. God had healed her in his loving goodness. And now that he had, Nia would use her time here on earth to help others. She wasn’t quite sure how, but she was young. There was time to figure it out.

  Nia had so much to tell Rachel about the last few months. About all she’d been learning as she studied the Bible. Who knew something that old could be so useful today? Of course, they’d talked on the phone several times. But in person was different. Better.

  Nia stared, unable to take another step.

  The sun had broken through the dark clouds. A small
rainbow was right above The Puzzle House. Like in her puzzle. In fact, it was almost identical to her puzzle. Butterflies swirled in her stomach. What was that about? A few moments before she’d been excited about seeing Rachel, but now something felt…wrong.

  As her feet hit the first step the door opened. “Hey, Jarrod.” His eyes were red. He smiled but his heart didn’t seem in it. “I’m glad you made it in time.”

  “In time?” More foreboding. “For what?”

  “Grandma’s upstairs. She’s waiting for you.”

  “Why is she upstairs? Is she sick?”

  “She’ll explain everything to you.” He looked at her. “You look like you’re feeling better.”

  “Much better.”

  Jarrod held the door open for her.

  Her gaze went to the Bible verse, just as they had the first time she’d walked into the house. She stared up at the sign with a smile.

  WELCOME TO THE PUZZLE HOUSE

  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

  But the greatest of these is love.

  Rachel had taught her so much about all three of them. And about life. And God. Who would have ever thought an old white lady could teach her anything? And change her life so much?

  God really was amazing.

  “Is everything all right?” Nia asked, swinging back to Jarrod.

  “Hey, would you like to see your puzzle before you go up?” He tugged her arm toward the Puzzle Room.

  “I guess so, since it don’t seem like I have a choice.”

  “You know what Grandma always says.”

  “We always have a choice.”

  In the Puzzle Room, several people sat on the sofa and chairs. They said nothing. She felt the butterflies again. Something was going on. She was sure of it.

  Jarrod led her to a spot in the middle of the wall. There hung her puzzle right beside Brandon’s.

  Dear, sweet Brandon. She missed him so much. Her hand touched his picture. She would have liked to have had more time with him. She turned back to her own puzzle. Nia ran her fingers across it, feeling the slight bumps from the puzzle pieces. She shivered. It was weird how much that puzzle looked like the scene she’d just seen outside. Except that it looked more like summer than winter.