Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

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Faith heard a faint knock on the door. "Come in, April." she said dismissively, thinking that she had decided to keep an eye on her through the night after all. Walking back into her bathroom, she called back over her shoulder. "I'll be out in a few, alright?"

Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

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Reaching the stairs and ascending, Erica recalled the first time she'd done so, scared and alone. Now as she went up them, she felt only the fear, this time that Faith was beyond reach. That of all the people she'd helped over the years, the one who needed it the most would be the one who she could help the least. Slowly walking down the all too familiar hallway, she reached the door to their once shared room. Knocking gently, she waited.

Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

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It was a bright Wednesday morning, five days from Halloween. Heather sat in her loveseat reading Keats, while Faith was upstairs alone in her room, as usual. While Cook puttered in the kitchen and Franchesca updated Erica's website before starting the laundry, Fredrick busied himself with preventative maintenance on the limousine. It seemed like just another day.

Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

CAUTION - cousin incest (non-sexual)
CAUTION - severe emotional pain/open emotional wounds

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Christmas came with all the happiness, love, and family it's supposed to have. Faith had called off the move, but that was to be short lived. As the long winter wore on, Heather decided that, for Erica's own good, she needed to move into the guest room and make it her own. She offered to let the girl chose her own decor, but Erica sadly accepted the room as it was.

Chapter 9

Monday, May 10^th, 2023

5:30AM

Marcia quietly opened the door to Allie’s room and checked in on her niece. It had become a routine that she went through every morning. She would check on Allie, then Sammy, and then go out and help Bruce with the animals.

Allie was in deep sleep, so Marcia reversed course and quietly closed the door. She moved to her nephew’s room and quietly opened the other door. Inside, Sammy was sleeping soundly as well. On his wall was a fresh drawing. Curious, Marcia tiptoed over to look at the picture of the riverbank. The moose with her calf and the diving eagle were both spectacular to see in their own ways.

Chapter 7

Friday, May 6^th, 2023

Brad exited the office to find Darryl sitting on a recliner, watching him.

“What was that all about?” Darryl asked.

“I think it was a power grab,” Brad replied.

Caption:

"Hold still Brian while i fix your lipstick"

"Mom i'm kind of nervous, this is my first date as 8ecky, what if Josh just see's me as a boy in a dress?"

"Honey he knows you're a boy becoming a girl and he still asked you out, you've been on hrt for two years now, you've become very pretty, trust me in that dress all he's going to see is what i see, a pretty girl named Becky, now let me finish your makeup, i have a feeling Josh will be wanting to kiss these lips by the end of the night"

The story:

Chapter 4

Wednesday, May 3^rd, 2023

11:45 PM

The day had been incredible. Marcia kept fingering the ring she wore on her ring finger of her left hand. It was beautiful, and she was so happy Darryl had bought it. Briefly, she had wondered how he afforded it, but then she realized that he had saved a lot of money over the last couple of years.

The surprises had only begun with Darryl’s proposal. When Mike asked for the bill, the server brought a slip of paper. There was no sign of the normal credit card tray. Instead, there was a note. Mike read it, teared up, and then handed it to Gloria. He didn’t speak, and in fact, it appeared as though he couldn’t.

Chapter 1

Saturday, May 1^st, 2023

Marcia looked at the scenery around her brother’s truck as he turned into the driveway of the farm house. Directly to the south of the farm was the Matanuska River, a river they had followed almost since they passed the glacier that fed it, seventy or so miles to the northeast.

She could see a mountain beyond it, the river that seemed to be all by itself. Looking at the map she had been tracking their progress on, it said the mountain was called Pioneer Peak. Like the river, it was rather majestic, standing almost all alone.

“To me you seem to be a useless self serving member of the elite whose feet are well and truly on the necks of the oppressed poor. I am no bigot, so I reluctantly admit yes I have loved you for a long time. I say reluctantly because as things stand I find that shameful. You would have to convince me, and I shall give you every opportunity to so do, that you serve some useful purpose to the ordinary folk, or you become a part of my foolish past. A past I shall remember with fondness, but also with embarrassment.”

Josh Ryan was not normal. He talked different, walked different, laughed different... and everyone knew it. He had two very close friends who always wanted to help him; in fact, throughout his young life, he always had people around who wanted to help him... usually to fend off his parents who seemed like they would do anything for him. Their desire to help however, often made his own life take a back seat to their ideas of why he was so different and who he should become as a result... "for his own good." Determined to raise Josh 'their way' and according to their own ideas of who he is, it would take extreme circumstances and more pain than Josh ever thought a person could endure for anyone to even begin to see the damage his parents were doing to his childhood, his future, and in the end, his very life... all "with the best of intentions."

Jack Dunning was just a poor kid from Pittsburgh, no better or worse than any other. When he met Richard, it seemed to be a one-sided friendship; Jack needing Richard much more than the other way around. As the years passed however, it became clear to them both just how important their friendship was, eventually culminating in both learning the hardest lesson in life; that every day is a gift and you should treat each one as though it were your last.

William Grant is an archeologist on a search to find the first pharaoh, Menes. His search tests his faith in ways he never thought possible.

At first I thought he was another handsome customer. You know the kind - a cocktail of rugged and kempt in skinny jeans and a loose knit sweater. His eyes twinkled, and he smiled a shy smile. A girl could fall hard if she wasn’t careful.

“Emily, right?”

Realisation landed with a proverbial slap. I knew him. More than that, he was a remnant of a life gone by. Different names, different faces, among other things.

“Drew?”

Of all the coffee shops, on all the west coast, he stepped into mine.

"We are not bound by the Earth. We are all radiant beings made of stardust. Once you know this truth you will be forced to reach for your true potential."
Some drunk fool at a bar.

It took a few minutes before Steve or the rest of us said anything.
Steve’s only comment was, “Spencer, my friend, that was heart heavy.”
He then closed his eyes for a moment, nodded twice and then looked up to see another of the young men raise their hand.
This man had the look of rings under his eyes like he was ready to rip his heart out at any second.