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Friday, January 26, 2018

After the Fair - Part 3

Good morning FFFs,
It's still dark this morning. No bright colored sunrise, or anything like that. I think it's supposed to be cloudy today. Don't know about rain. Yesterday was windy and in the 60s! Delightful!

This week has been, for the most part, a good week. I did have trouble on Wednesday night and couldn't get anything written. I was trying to come up with an idea for my March story. I had a picture I wanted to use, but the only idea I could think of just wasn't working. But yesterday morning my mom gave me an idea, my brain started working, and last night I wrote 1,364 words of the March story. And I have ideas for more of it. 😀

I finally got the rest of my books and stories added to Read Another Page. I had managed to get "Dylan's Story" and "Finding Joy" added to the Bookshelf shortly after I published them, but I hadn't gotten any of my Christmas Collection added. Now you can find them all under the Christmas pop-down. And I added the January story under Short Kindle Stories.

Have you been reading any books for the Reading Challenge? I have. I love getting to read books like this! Not only do I find myself reading many different genres, but I read books that I might not otherwise have read. So far I've only read one book that I didn't like. Surprisingly, I've read half the categories, and have started on the 13th book. I don't know what I'll do when I reach the end of the list though!

Okay, here's the last part of this story. I want to know what you all think of it.

After the Fair
Part 3

    His wide eyes stared unblinking up at the darkening sky as the first stars peeked out. He lay still and silent. The sounds of the fair ended, and instead of the music, laughter, and happy voices which had filled the air, the gruff, tired voices of the workers, the metallic clatter of rides being disassembled, and the rumble of truck engines filled the night. They were all sounds Bear had heard most of his life, but this time it was different. This time he was not packed into a dark box with the rest of the animals and dolls. Instead, he lay all alone in the grass, his fur ruffled by the soft summer breeze. Forgotten. When the sounds of the fair being packed up had ended, and the last engine rumble had faded in the distance, a lone cricket came over to Bear and chirped sweetly. And the bear wondered if this was what happened to all the bears and dolls at the fair.

*

    Not very far away from the fair grounds stood a small house. One tiny light, as though of a candle, gleamed from a tiny window. Inside a mother, worn, tired, and anxious, sat beside the bed of her little boy. Her head was bowed and tears trickled down her cheeks. With a gentle hand she pushed back the brown locks from the flushed and feverish face. It was so hot in the room, but the noise of the fair made Bobby restless, and the doctor said he must sleep.
    As the mother sat, it gradually dawned on her that the gay music of the fair had stopped. Softly she rose and pushed open the window, breathing an inward sigh of relief at the breeze which caressed her cheeks and blew out the lone candle. She peered out into the darkness, but no lights were to be seen where the fair had stood. Perhaps it was over.
    Returning to her seat, the mother bathed the face on the pillow, grateful for the coolness of the breeze. This done, she slid to her knees and bowed her head wearily beside her small boy. “Dear Jesus,” she whispered, “I don’t know much about You. But the minister said You came to save sinners such as me, and I am a sinner. I ask that You would save me and forgive my sins. And Lord Jesus, the minister also said You care about the widows and the fatherless. Please, dear Lord, help Bobby to get well. Tomorrow’s his birthday an’ he’s sick, an’ I don’t have any money to get him a present at all.” The whisper ceased for a few minutes as the mother wiped away her tears and looked at the steady rising and falling of Bobby’s chest. “Lord Jesus, if You do care for us, for Bobby and his sisters, would You send something little for Bobby? Nothing big, just something so we’ll all know You haven’t forgotten about us.”

*

    The sun was shining and clouds danced on the warm summer breeze. Two little girls, hand in hand, with their brown hair loose about their thin faces, wandered toward the empty fair grounds.
    “I liked the pretty lights,” one girl said.
    Her younger sister nodded. “And the music was pretty too, but it made Bobby not sleep.”
    “Yes, Mama is glad it is gone now. Let’s go look around.”

    Some time later the pattering of eager feet sounded on the porch, and the screen door shut with a soft thump. The mother, roused from a doze, rose and, after seeing that Bobby was sleeping, hurried from the little room, hoping his sisters would not wake him.
    “Oh, Mama!” one of the little girls exclaimed softly, “see what we found for Bobby!”
    Together the girls held out a teddy bear. The red ribbon bow was untied, his smile was slightly crooked, and one ear drooped a little.
    “He was waiting for us,” the youngest girl said. “He wasn’t in any of the dirty places, just lying in the grass away from everything. Can we give it to Bobby for his birthday?”
    “Where did it come from, way out there?” the older girl asked. “It was far off from where everything was.”
    Tears filled the poor mother’s eyes. They hadn’t been forgotten. Her little boy would have a present when he woke from his nap, for the doctor said he was on the mend now that his fever had broken. “Yes,” she whispered, “we’ll give it to him when he wakes up. We have not been forgotten.”

Was this the ending you were thinking?
Did you enjoy this story?
Do you want to read more of "Hymns in the Hills"?

6 comments:

Amy said...

This story is so cute. The ending almost made me cry. I'll be sure to read some of your other work. Thank you for putting your writing out there for us to see.

As an aspiring author, it's nice to see another author producing quality reading material. I won't write "for the markets", therefore I will probably never reach the masses, but I feel the need for good, down-home, heart-touching stories that point to the Lord.

Thank you,

Amy

Rebekah said...

Aw, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!
You're welcome! I hope you enjoy reading different stories. Some of my published books have their first chapters up on here, if you want to try them out.

Thank you for your comment!
~Rebekah

Liberty Bluebelle said...

No, I wasn't expecting that ending! Before the ending, I wanted him to get back to the brother and sister. But after that ending, I'm quite glad he didn't. I really liked how you were able to get the feeling of the busyness of fair then contrast it with the quiet of night. Quite fun to read!

Yes, I'd like to read "Hymns in the Hills". Since you said "More of Hymns in the Hills", I suppose that there's some posted on this blog from before I was following, so I'll go back and find those to get caught up. According to the labels on the side, there are 12 posts that include "Hymns in the Hills". I'll have to explore those. =)

Yup, I'm reading books for the challenge. I'm actually reading three or four simultaneously--the tome about D.L. Moody By His Son is massive! I've finished a few too. At the end of January I'll update you on reading/review status. =) Thank you for hosting that challenge! It's been good to read physical books again. Most of my reading lately has been Kindle, but for the challenge I added the challenge of having to read hard copies. I've only got one left to get to fill the categories--Indie Author. Plenty on my Kindle to fulfill that requirement, but I'll hold out for a hard copy. =D

Thanks again for all you do for others!

In Joy,

Liberty Bluebelle

"Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace
always by all means.
The Lord be with you all."
II Thessalonians 3:16

Rebekah said...

Glad you liked the ending. I didn't want a "typical" ending and when this came along, I was happy. :) I tried to convey the contrast of the fair with after it was over. Glad to know I got it across.

Yes, I've posted quite a few parts of "Hymns in the Hills." It's actually the first 3 chapters. I've gotten 7 chapters written so far, and am eager to get back to it once I finish writing the March story. ;)

Oh! That book "The Life of D.L. Moody" by his son is actually the first big, fat biography I ever read that I didn't have to. I just read it because I wanted to, and I really liked it! And since then I've read a lot of other fat biographies. :)
What a great challenge! Reading all physical books would be a great idea. I'm doing both. I think I've read half of mine so far in real books. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've read!

Anonymous said...

I am also enjoying the challenge. :) I'm meandering through my TBR by title, so I have my read another page challenge books tucked in between other books, which is why I'm going slow. I finished one book for it plus two whole other ones on Friday (plus I read 3 other non-challenge-related books 😉). I had a headache and a cold so I stayed in bed. It was my 17th birthday, so I wasn't very happy, but God really blessed me with lots of sweet messages from friends and even a letter. :)

It's not the ending I expected, but it's sweet!! I think with a bit more backstory and detail about the widow and her children, and maybe a bit more about when Bobby plays with Bear, it would make a sweet little Kindle read. :) I like it. And I'd love to see anything you've written. :)

-Katja L.

Rebekah said...

Happy late birthday, Katja! No fun being sick on your birthday, but at least you had a lot of time to read. :)
You aren't slow! After all, you have 6 months to read all 24 books. ;) I have a feeling though that several of us are going to be done next month. Then what will we read?

Hmm, adding a little more to this story might be kind of fun some time. If you want to read more of my stories, have fun browsing. I have all sorts of stories around this little blog. :)

Thanks for commenting!