FAITH & HOPE 53

( A WEEK LATER …) It was Saturday night. The funeral had been that morning at St. Andrews - Hope’s church. The church that she had grown up in. The church that raised her and became her family. The same church that betrayed her, that was responsible for her death. After Faith regained consciousness that night, she found out what had happened. Hope had internal bleeding in her stomach and brain. The doctors put her on life support, believing that her chances of survival were slim. By that night, things were not progressing. When she flat - lined later that evening, there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. Faith needed to know what exactly happened. How Hope had gotten hit by a car when she was supposed to be away at the facility. Donny had found out for her. Apparently Hope and another patient at the facility had planned an escape together. Hope had left that night and one can only assume was trying to make her way back home to Willows. She was standing on the main road when a drunk driver - who wasn’t paying attention and was going well over the speed limit - hit her. When the doctors asked the Chamberlain’s what would have possessed Hope to leave the facility and try to come home when she was doing so well and making such progress, Joana and Gabriel didn’t know what to say. They were appalled and distraught all at once. But Faith knew the answer, of course. She knew why Hope had left when she did. It was simple. January twenty - first. Hope was trying to make it home for Faith’s birthday. Faith was done going through the motions of grieving. She was done having regrets and thinking about the last words she ever spoke to Hope, the look on her face. She was tired of sitting in her bedroom crying all day, feeling the ache that was emanating from deep inside of her. This was more than just a tragedy. Aside from Grace’s death, this was one of the worst devastations she had ever experienced. And she knew then, at that point in her young life, that this would be something that she would never truly get over. She would never be the same again. But instead of mourning the love of her life, or grieving in solitude, Faith had a different plan on her mind. And that plan was retribution. She lifted the five litre water bottle filled with petrol, struggling to balance it between her hands. She twisted off the cap and threw it towards the rows of benches, all serving as a reminder to why she was doing this. Turning towards the front of the room, Faith caught a glimmer of the stained glass windows, an array of colours reflecting towards her. It was then that she almost stopped. Because how was it possible that one room could contain so much beauty, yet yield so much destruction? It was not the fault of the church itself, Faith thought - it was the people who created it. Who came to it every single day and prayed, believed, chanted. Just as fast as the thought crossed her mind, it was gone again. She wasn’t stopping. There was no going back now. Not after everything. She lifted the bottle and began pouring the potent liquid on everything in her wake. Across the rows of church benches, across the podium at the front, and of course, all over the fucking stained glass windows glaring down at her. I’m not even sorry, Faith thought to herself. Hope may have been a daughter of God, but I’m sure as hell not. Once the bottle’s content were completely emptied, Faith dropped it beside her, letting it roll to the side. She walked towards the front, up the steps towards the podium. The same podium that Gabriel Chamberlain stood at and preached from every Sunday. The same podium he would wake up expecting to go to the very next morning. On the podium was a tiny cross. Faith picked it up an examined it in her hands. It’s all a lie, she thought to herself. Everything is a lie. She squeezed it in her hand, clenching her fist around it, the sharp edges digging into her skin until blood dripped out of her palm. She didn’t realize she was gritting her entire body as well until she opened her palm and felt the release. She threw the cross forward, out across the room, and heard it clink as it hit the ground, somewhere near the empty bottle of petrol. She took one last look around the room, examining and studying everything. Where they once sat, where they spoke. Where they learned and where they were destroyed. Faith closed her eyes, taking a moment to herself to breathe, She reached into her pocket and took out the box of matches. She brought it close to her face, staring at it, giving herself one last chance to change her mind. She could have easily put them back in her pocket, walked away and pretended as if none of this happened. But what would be the point of that? How would they learn and repent for their mistakes if they never truly suffered? An image of Hope’s face flashed before her eyes and Faith knew that she was making the right decision. There was no going back. This needed to be done. She struck the match, once, twice, three times. A spark ignited. Faith grinned to herself. She watched as the flame began to grow ever so slightly. She waited a moment, careful, careful, careful - then, she tossed it forwards. It landed on the ground, which was drenched in petrol, and ignited immediately, a giant flame growing before her eyes. ‘FUCK YOU!’ she yelled into the air. ‘YOU ALL DESERVE TO BURN IN HELL!’ She lit another match - two more, three more. She lit them all until the box was empty, lighting them and throwing them around her until the entire church was aflame. She turned around and observed the room as the thick heat and smoke rose around her. It was beautiful. Tragically beautiful. She felt the smoke in her lungs and began to cough. She hopped down from the podium and headed for the front doors, dodging the flames as she made her way out. Just as she opened the door to leave, she turned around one last time, taking in this sight before her and making a mental imprint in her brain. She would need to remember this forever. The church was covered in flames. Everything was burning, smoke filling the air. She waited for as long as she could before she knew it was time to go. ‘This is what needed to happened,’ she said aloud. ‘This is what you get.’ she imagined the people of Willows waking up the next morning. Sunday, the day of the Lord. Waking up early, dressing in black, heading to St. Andrew’s, only to see that their beloved church and Holy Ground had been burnt to nothing. Faith did what needed to be done. She did it for love, she did it for freedom. She did it for the love of her life - Hope…. EPILOGUE So now you know the story of Hope and Faith. Just two girls who couldn’t have been more opposite, but nonetheless brought together by more than just their secular names. They were anything but extraordinary on their own, but together, they could make a world of difference. As Hope always said, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you experience tragedy and heartbreak, but farther down the line, later in life, you realize that things needed to happen in order to bring you somewhere else. Who knows what Faith’s life would have been like if her parents never sat down with her on the morning of June 3rd and announced their separation. Sometimes, we may truly believe that we are on the right path in life. We see our futures set out in front of us like looking through the end of a telescope. And we believe deeply in our hearts that this path is where life is going to take us. But then sometimes, it turns out that everything we once believed is wrong. Certain experiences needed to happen in order to lead you somewhere else, to where you were truly meant to be. But those moments in your life were not mistakes - they were simply stepping stones that needed to happen in order to lead you to where you are now. You may not understand at the time that it is happening, but later, you will look back and understand. How would Hope have ever realized that she loved Faith if she had never experienced the love from Matthew? The harsh reality of life is that not everyone gets a happy ending. Grace didn’t get a happy ending. Harper and Hannah never even got their beginnings. Sometimes people come into your life. And sometimes, those people don’t stay around forever. But it’s not about how long they were there for, but rather, the impact they had on your life, how they ultimately shaped you as a person. Tragedy and death surround us every day. But all of these things are an integral part of life. They are there to help guide us and teach us lessons. Do not look at Hope’s fate as a tragedy, for even though she and Faith could not end up together, they still experienced more love than some people do in their entire lifetime. Faith needed Hope to teach her so much, not only about herself, but about life. And even if Hope was not with her after January of 1991, she would always be with her internally; in her heart, in her mind, and in her soul. Faith learned a lot that summer. She learned to stop blaming the world and everyone around her for all of her problems. She learned to develop a relationship with both of her parents. She learned to have to be open to new experiences. She learned a lot about herself as a person, who she is, what she wants from life. She learned to take each day as it comes and to never regret a single moment, for one day, in the blink of an eye, it could all be gone. Faith may not have realized her place in this world, but she still had her whole life ahead of her. The most important thing was that she discovered who she was and what made her heart full. She learned that the love you give is just as important as the love you receive. And last of all, she learned that sometimes the best things in life are the ones you don’t see coming. Hope entered her world, played her part, and changed the course of her life as she knew it. She taught her valuable lessons and made her think about things that she never would have considered before. And Faith loved her for that. She loved her more than anyone would ever know, You Don’t find a love that often. They say it’s once in a lifetime. Fortunately for Faith, she still had her whole life ahead of her to remember Hope…… THE END… THANKS FOR READING!!! I REALLY HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS GENRE OF STORIES..