The Birthday Present, Chapter 2
This begins the second chapter of The Birthday Present. Our heroine, Faith, has just learned about human existence on the planet that she has been isolated on. She’s trying to make sense of it all and is not sure where to turn. The next entry is below. To read the entire series, click here.
Chapter 2
Faith stayed on the ship for days after it had landed. She remained in a very small and completely dark room, refusing to enter any other part of the ship, let alone the human town just outside that had been revealed to her.
Her eighteen years of existence relied upon structure and a regiment that held Faith like a child resting on a mother’s breast. When to wake, when and what to eat, read, wear and do were the soothing constraints of Faith’s life alone. But of course, Faith wasn’t alone, she had the voice.
Ah, the voice. Faith was furious with it. Why had it deceived her all these years? The voice raised Faith without any sort of hint about a human town in existence. Could she trust anything the voice tells her?
The voice tried and tried to get Faith to speak, but she would not.
“Faith, I understand that you’re upset,” the voice said. Faith’s anger allowed her to ignore the voice entirely as if she heard absolutely nothing. “I have more to reveal when you are ready.”
Finally, after repeating this for a number of days, there was a single knock at the door. “Water.” Faith heard footsteps walking away. She licked her chapped lips, staring toward the door. Moments later, she jerked the door open, stretched out her arm to grab the water bottle and slammed the door. Immediately, she guzzled the water.
Setting the empty bottle outside the door, Faith noticed at the end of the dimly lit hallway a metal head peering around the corner. Its head retreated but slowly peered into view again. The voice brought those things to me! Faith slammed the door and threw herself down in her room.
There she was strewn out, punching and kicking the floor, refusing to speak. What else did the voice not tell her? Could she trust anything the voice said? What am I to do now? Where do I go?
A faint glow of light turned on in the corner. Faith stopped her tantrum and saw the cover of her bible illuminated. Is this book part of the whole deception? The heavy book somehow made it in her hands. She opened it to a random page and the entire room lit up.
Oh, if only these words could be true.
Faith entered the ancient scriptures and wished to never leave them again.