FAITH & HOPE 18 HOPE

It was Friday November the 14th, which meant that the second week of camp had concluded. These inaugural weeks had gone by so fast for Hope; someone who enjoyed the days, yet couldn’t wait for them to pass. It was as though she was trapped in this paradox, confused and overwhelmed by time itself. She wanted to live in the moment and enjoy each day as it came to her, but there was also a sense of anxiety, as though she was running out of time. She counted down the moments until something new and exciting came along. She crossed the days off her calendar as they passed. It was as though life had a finish line and Hope had to ensure that she made it there first. Nonetheless, the summer was going by splendidly thus far. Camp had been taking up the majority of her time, understandably. But she had been doing other things as well. Attending events and recreational activities with her father, assisting her mother in the garden with her new tulips, daffodils, chrysanthemums, spending time with the girls whenever they all had a spare moment and of course, seeing Matthew whenever she could. Hope wasn’t the only busy one this summer. Matthew had been going to work with his father, trying to learn new skills and make some money. Laura - Lee was over Elijah and preoccupied with another boy. Peyton, on the other hand, had gotten a summer internship working at the local career centre. Ironic, wasn’t it? Getting a job to help people find jobs. But it worked and Peyton enjoyed it. She was in there every day, nine to five, running errands. Observing her supervisors, trying to be the best intern that she could. That left Coral and Daisy, who spent their days at the beach, lying in the sun. Hope envied them sometimes, their ability to simply do nothing, She often wished that she, too, could do nothing, But she knew that wasn’t feasible. She had things to do, a camp to run. People relied on her. She needed to stay Focused on her priorities and remember what mattered. Although, a simple day at the beach would be nice once in a while too. On Friday afternoon, once camp had concluded for the week, Hope began filing out of the building behind everyone else. That was when she saw her, standing there by herself, as usual: Faith. ‘What are you doing?’ Hope smiled as she approached her. Faith turned to her, caught off guard. ‘Oh, Um,’ she hesitated. ‘I’m not sure.’ ‘Just standing there?’ ‘I guess.’ Hope laughed. ‘What are you doing after this?’ ‘Nothing, I guess.’ ‘Would you like to come to my place? My mother is making Penne tonight and would be ecstatic to meet the new girl in town, Oh!, and Matthew will be there. You can meet him too.’ ‘Oh, really don’t know…’ ‘Come on, it will be fun.’ Faith stared at her, considering her options. Finally, she sighed. ‘Fine. Not like I have anything better to do.’ Hope laughed again, ‘Great, Come on then,’ They began their walk to Hope’s house, making small talk and discussing the day’s camp activities. ‘I can’t believe November is halfway through,’ Hope said. ‘I can. This month is just dragging on.’ ‘You think?’ Faith nodded.’ Each day passes by so slow. I hate it.’ ‘Weird,’ Hope said. ‘For me, the days pass right before my eyes.’ They arrived at Hope’s place, and Hope, the cordial host that she was, introduced Faith to her mother, then gave her the tour of their house. They stopped in each and every room, Hope telling Faith something specific or explaining a detail about the carpet or furniture. They decided to sit on the patio in the backyard since the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day, Joana brought them glasses of ice tea, then headed back inside to make a start on supper. It was awkwardly silent for a moment, as though neither of them quite knew what to say. Hope knew what she could say. She could talk for hours. It was Faith she was worried about, who sat there in silence, looking almost uncomfortable. Hope wasn’t used to her presence yet as it was still a new entity in her life. Was Hope wrong to have brought her here? Forced her into something that she clearly didn’t want to do? Hope remembered what her mother had always told her about doing the right thing and helping other people, even if it meant pushing them out of their comfort zones. Faith was clearly out of her comfort zone, and she wasn’t reacting too well as a result. Hope tried to think of something to say - anything - to fill the void between them, but before she could speak, Faith was opening her mouth. ‘I went out for supper last night,’ she said. ‘With my mom and brother.’ Hope was relieved to have the silence filled. ‘That sounds lovely. Where did you go?’ ‘A few town’s over. Some place called Lynette’s’ ‘Oh yes, we’ve been there a few times. They have a great vegetable stir - Fry.’ Faith nodded absentmindedly, her eyes Focused somewhere in the distance. ‘Did you enjoy it?’ Hope asked, pressing for more details. She couldn’t bear the silence any longer. ‘I did,’ Faith began. ‘It was just …different, that’s all. We don’t usually do things like that.’ ‘So what made you do it?’ Faith thought for a moment, ‘It was my idea, actually. I asked her to go out for Supper,’ A look of perplexity engulfed her face. ‘I have absolutely no idea why. Something just came over me.’ ‘Well, you wanted to spend time with her, that’s understandable.’ ‘No, that’s the thing - we never spend time together. My family isn’t like that.’ ‘What is your family like, then?’ Faith thought again for a moment. ‘Not like yours.’ ‘Well, of course. No one’s families are the same.’ ‘Yeah, but,’ Faith continued. ‘Your family is perfect. And mine is so …dysfunctional.’ ‘Oh, I’m sure it’s not that bad.’ Faith gave her a look. ‘You have no idea.’ She opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind. ‘What is it?’ Hope asked. ‘Nothing.’ Hope pressed her lips together, settling for this response. Then she said, ‘Tell me a bit about yourself. I know nothing about you.’ Faith exhaled and adjusted in her seat. ‘There’s not much to know, I’m a Virgo. My colour of preference is grey. I like cats.’ ‘A cat person,’ she nodded. ‘What about dogs?’ ‘They’re alright.’ ‘Do you have any cats or dogs? Or had?’ ‘We used to,’ Faith said, ‘A golden Lab named Jazzy B. But she passed away a few years ago.’ ‘We had a dog too,’ Hope said. ‘She also passed. It’s so hard when that time comes.’ Faith nodded, staring blankly into the distance. ‘Well, I’m a Leo,’ Hope started. ‘My favourite colour is … all of them.’ Faith looked at her. ‘You have to have at least one favourite.’ Hope pursed her lips and thought. ‘Nope, I’m pretty sure I like them all equally.’ ‘They aren’t your children. You’re allowed to choose favourites.’ Hope laughed. ‘I know, but I can’t. I just love them all.’ Faith shook her head in a joking manner that gave Hope a sense of relief. ‘You’re indecisive, aren’t you?’ ‘Very. It’s quite detrimental when I think about it.’ ‘I Bet. How do you ever decide on anything?’ ‘I don’t.’ Faith let out a small laugh. Barely a laugh. Just an audible noise produced through her vocal box, a tiny breath exhaled through her nose. It was enough to encourage Hope to push further. ‘Have you travelled anywhere?’ Hope asked. ‘A few places. America, obviously. My family used to go to Cape Town every winter because my grandparents live there, We’ve also been to Italy, Paris and Hawaii.’ ‘Wow,’ Hope was genuinely taken back. ‘That’s quite a bit of globe - Trotting.’ ‘What about you?’ Faith asked. ‘Where have you been?’ ‘Nowhere,’ Hope said, a tad bit embarrassed. ‘You must have been somewhere.’ Hope shook her head. ‘I’ve never left Willows.’ ‘Get out!’ ‘I know, it’s terrible.’ ‘You need to get out more! Travel the world!’ ‘I want to,’ Hope said. ‘Someday, But my family,’ she explained. ‘We live in Willows. We thrive here, Everything we’ve ever known is here. And we’ve had no reason to go anywhere else.’ ‘That’s ludicrous. You need to travel to learn things. Not only about the world, but about yourself.’ ‘What did travelling teach you?’ Faith hesitated. ‘I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t learn anything. But that’s my fault, not the world’s. You just need to get out there, DO it.’ ‘Okay,’ Hope smiled. ‘I will.’ ‘And where would be the first place you went?’ Faith asked. Hope could feel it now. Faith was warming up to her. Taking the reins on the conversation. ‘Hmmm,’ Hope said. ‘Tough question to ask an indecisive like me.’ ‘Oh, right, I forgot.’ ‘Maybe Thailand,’ Hope said. ‘Or Singapore.’ ‘So, Asia.’ ‘I guess so.’ ‘Sounds like a blast.’ ‘Oh, It will be.’ Matthew arrived shortly after that. Hope, giddy and excited, introduced Matthew to her new friend. She tried to watch Faith’s expression to see what she thought of him, but Faith gave nothing away. She simply smiled and shook his hand. She wasn’t the most expressive person, but at least she wasn’t discourteous. Hope set the table and Faith helped. Gabriel came home later than usual and the five of them sat down to eat. Hope surveyed the room and smiled to herself. She enjoyed having a guest over for Supper. Her family was always having someone, whether it was a friend, a family member or a stray. Joana was infamous for taking in strays, People who didn’t have anywhere to go. She’d Usher them into her home, feed them Supper and tend to their every need. She was never taken advantage of. Each and every person that she helped appreciated her assistance and always tried to pay her back in some way. Although, Joana never accepted anything. She always received her Karma from God. Just last Christmas they had taken in one of the homeless teens from the Youth centre. With nowhere to go for the holidays, and having little food and money, the Charmers’ happily welcomed her into their home for Christmas. It proved them with a sense of joy and completion. They helped other people because they wanted to. Not because it necessarily brought them anything, rather, because they knew it was the right thing to do. ‘Where did you say were from again?’ Gabriel asked Faith as they ate. Faith swallowed her food. ‘George.’ ‘And how is your family taking to Willows so far?’ Faith jabbed a piece of Penne onto her fork. ‘Good, I guess.’ Hope felt the tension that hovered around the table. It was one thing for Hope to break through Faith’s barrier. She was finally feeling like she was making progress. But it was a whole other ordeal for Faith to talk with her family. Hope looked to her Father. ‘You met Faith already, remember? Her mother is Claudia Everett.’ ‘Oh, right, yes yes,’ He said, swallowing his food. ‘How could I have forgotten? She signed you up for the church programme.’ ‘Mhmm,’ Faith said, taking another forkful to her mouth. ‘And she has a brother too,’ Hope said, looking to Matthew. ‘You might know him. Donovan Everett.’ ‘He goes by Donny,’ Faith said. ‘Donny,’ Hope corrected herself. Matthew thought for a moment. ‘Doesn’t ring a bell. But I’m sure I’ll come across him sooner or later.’ ‘I highly doubt that.’ Faith remarked. No one said anything. Joana cleared her throat. Hope took a sip of water. Gabriel continued eating and Matthew looked around the room awkwardly. ‘This is delicious,’ Faith suddenly, turning to Joana. ‘You are an excellent cook.’ Joana looked genuinely taken aback. ‘Why thank you Faith. I appreciate that.’ Once dinner was finished, Gabriel and Matthew headed to the backyard to unload wood from the shed. Hope and Faith began clearing the table. Joana stood at the sink, rinsing the dishes and the girls created a conveyer belt of sorts, passing the plates and bowls to each other, down the line, straight to Joana. Just as Faith was passing her the last dish, Hope glanced down at Faith’s hand as she received the plate from her. She noticed the scripture on her wrist. ‘I didn’t know you had a tattoo,’ Hope said, trying to read the word. ‘What’s it say?’ she squinted and reached for her arm. Faith quickly jolted her hand backwards, bringing it close to her chest. But it was too late, Hope had already read what it said. ‘GRACE,’ Hope said aloud. She met Faith’s eyes and grinned. ‘I thought you weren’t religious.’ Faith was quiet for a moment, holding her wrist with her other hand. Then she said, ‘SHE WAS MY SISTER.’