by Rebekah Pace
The first rays of sunlight that appeared in the cleft of the sandstone rocks lit her face and her skin glowed, as if with health and vigor. She ran her fingers through my hair, combing it back off my forehead, and kissed me gently, first one cheek, then the other, then on the lips in farewell.
When she left the warmth of the blankets and started toward the prism of light that shone through the rocks, I threw back the blanket.
“I’ll walk with you.”
Together we climbed toward the gap in the rocks. Squinting against the glare, I saw silhouettes moving as they gathered near the cleft.
Mira froze for a moment and called, “Mutti? Vati?” Then she broke into a run, moving lithe as a deer toward the light. The figures held out their arms, and the light fragmented into prisms that filled the sky as more figures joined the ones already waiting there.
I ran after her. “Mira—wait!”
She turned, her smile as bright as the sun behind her. “Peter, everything’s all right. Look!” She pointed toward the growing group of figures.
“I know. Wait for me. I’m coming, too.”
When I had almost caught up, she reached back and squeezed my hand. Then her fingers slipped through mine as she disappeared into the light.
***
Mist, thick as the smog over Shanghai, slowly cleared. I saw the red thread, frayed but unbroken, stretching before me. It led across the ocean, back to the apple tree in the garden of our childhood.
***
The sweet sound of Mira’s violin drifted out her open windows. I picked an apple and polished it on my shirt, knowing that no matter how much time looped and coiled on our way to wherever we were headed, eventually, when the music ended, she would be there to greet me.
***
Rebekah Pace Collection
(Faith, Inspirational, and Christmas)
ISBN: 978-1-646300-28-0
When the daughter of a materialistic man prays for God to heal her disintegrating family, a fire destroys everything they own, forcing them to rediscover each other and their faith.
ISBN: 978-1-646300-36-5
When a postal manager is transferred to rural Appalachia as punishment, she discovers the importance of helping others.
ISBN: 978-1-646300-50-1
A hedge fund manager and quant in NYC receives enlightenment and is commanded to walk across the United States with nothing but a walking stick and begging bowl.
ISBN: 978-1-646300-32-7
When he learns that his wife is thrilled at the prospect of divorce, a man decides to make her fall in love with him again so that he can punish her by leaving.
ISBN: 978-1-646300-34-1
When the decision is made to stop life support for their mother, a daughter must justify that decision to her siblings and reconcile her own feelings of guilt.