The Lost & Dear One (Part 1)

     ​Once upon a time, there was a young woman who lived in a town ruled by an evil Sorceress. A disease spread through the town. The people went to the Sorceress to be cured for they did not know that she was the one who had released the disease among them. 

​The young woman was one of the few who had been cured, although not by the power of the Sorceress. Since she was cured, she was no longer quarantined to the town. However, she remained because there was someone still sick with the disease who was dear to her. She did not want to leave without him. 

​The disease had infected the people’s hearts and left their hearts broken. Everyone knew they would be cured if they found true love. But no one knew where to find it. For when they looked up where to go, their heart, which no longer worked right, would calculate the wrong directions.

​Their hearts would direct them to things that were love-like, places that would be useful if they already possessed true love. It was like looking up directions for a place to eat only to get a list of shops to buy silverware, plates, and bowls; all good things if you had food. So their hearts directed them to relationships, careers, hobbies, and marriages instead of directing them to true love itself.

The disease corrupted their hearts so they sought things that were less and less like love. Rather it directed the people to seek what was selfish, the exact opposite of love. This is when the Sorceress became very wealthy selling the people “cures” that, rather than giving them love which would cure them, fed their selfish desires which worsened their disease.

The disease was slow, and the “cures” the Sorceress sold were for superficial pain. When her medicine took away the symptoms of the disease, the people thought she had cured them. They did not realize the infection had not left, and it was still spreading within them. When the symptoms of their disease returned, they again paid her for her “cures”.  

​The town was surrounded by a high wall. This was not the Sorceress’ invention. Although, it had been erected when she came to power and immediately after the disease had first broken out. There was only one door in the wall, one gate which always stood open. A Man stood in the gateway. He called to the people day after day. Some thought He was a guard to keep the people locked up. However, the gate in which He stood was always open behind Him. He called to the people to come to Him to be healed of their disease.

The young woman had talked with the Man at the gateway and walked through the door. No one knew what had happened when she left the town. But when she returned, she claimed she had found the cure everyone was looking for.

​Her friends said to her, “How could you have found true love outside our town? Our hearts have never directed us to look for love outside our walls.”

​But all who had known the young woman before admitted that she had somehow changed for the better.

​      One day the young woman left her house to find the one who was dear to her. As she walked down the street, she saw a girl standing on the corner. The girl was shouting to people as they passed,

​“Look at me! Look at me!”

​The young woman went up to her. 

​“Why do you want people to look at you?” she asked. 

​The girl replied, “If enough people like me, I will be worthy to have what I need most.”

​“What is it you that you need?” the young woman asked. 

​“To be loved,” the girl replied.

​The young woman looked at the girl intently. “I used to search for that too.”

​The girl looked down at the ground. “I’m not ready to give up yet.”

“I didn’t give up. I found it,” the young woman laughed.

​The girl fixed her eyes on her with eager excitement.

​“You see, everyone was created with a need for perfect love. That need only our Creator can fill. But because our hearts were broken, we look for His love in the all wrong places. Where you are looking, you will never find true love only its imitation. But His love is what will heal your heart.”

​The girl’s smile faded. “I think there are other ways to find love that will heal me.”

​“If there are, why are you still looking?” the young woman asked.

​A group of people passed by. The girl left the young woman and ran up to them. 

​“Look at me! Look at me!”

​The young woman sighed and continued down the street. 

     Not long after, the young woman passed by someone else. They were standing with a hood over their head and their face bent down. As she was walking by, she heard them saying,

​“I am worthless. I am unlovable.”

​The young woman turned back.

​“Why do you think you think you cannot be loved?” she asked.

​“Because no matter what I do, I never feel truly loved. Every love I find ends up breaking. It must be because I am unlovable.”

​“The loves you have tried were not true love. That’s why they could not satisfy you,” the young woman said, “But you can have what you need, the real thing.”

“I am not worthy to be loved,” the person said. 

​“No one is,” the young woman replied, “You getting it has nothing to do with whether you deserve it or not.”

​The person looked up at her. “I can have love even though I do not deserve to have it?”

​“Yes,” the young woman said excitedly, “God is the One who will give it to you. It’s His love that you want. All other love is imperfect and won’t last. His is the only real love. And His love is also what will give you worth.”

“I’ve tried God,” the person said. “His judgment makes me feel more worthless.”

“Exactly, His law shows you that you are messed up. You don’t blame the doctor when they tell you you have a disease. You ask them what the cure is. It’s a bad doctor who tells you that you are healthy when you are actually dying. 

“Of course, God’s law doesn’t make you feel better. It makes you feel worse so that you realize you are sick and you go to Him to get cured. It is when you give your life to God that He heals you.”

​The person replied, “I would rather rule a dying body than live in an enslaved one.”

​The young woman was amazed. After a few moments, she answered, 

​“You know I now have to live obedient to what God tells me. But He does not treat me as His slave. He calls me His daughter.”

​The person turned and ignored her, and the young woman walked away sad at their response.

     She walked down a street with buildings covered in bright flashy lights. Passing a large window, the young woman looked inside. She saw the one who was dear to her. He was in a daze, his eyes glazed over. Beside him stood the Sorceress. She was tall and beautiful, dressed seductively. Her bare arms were clasped in golden bracelets. Her neck shimmered with jewels. The man had his head bent towards her, a smile on his face, but his eyes were empty.

​The Sorceress whispered something in his ear and pulled him over to a table. Having him sit down, she took a gold goblet in her hand. She sat down beside him, passed her long slender fingers through his hair, and pressed a kiss to his lips. Then she brought the golden cup up to his mouth. He drank from it. He smiled and laughed unaware that his face had turned ghastly pale.

​Outside in the street, the young woman turned away from the window. She sat with her back against the building. She could not go to him now, not when he was in the midst of one of the Sorceress' spells. Tears rolled down the young woman’s face. But she waited.

Lost & Dear One

$2.00

A young woman escapes from the power of an evil sorceress. However, someone dear to her is still trapped in the Sorceress' power. Will she find a way to rescue him?

This short story consists of two parts. The first part can be read on the blog under the category of Short Stories.

Shop

The Veiled Prisoner

$3.00

A young woman falls in love only to be told the young man is plotting with an evil king to destroy her town.

This short story consists of three parts. The first part can be read on the blog.

Shop

Her Perfect Spouse

$1.00

The man she married was literally perfect! But did they have a perfect marriage? Well...maybe it was still a bit rocky.

The short story is available to read for free on the Blog page. This eBook format is available for those who want to download the story in an easier to read version.

Shop