Felisha's Faith Read online

  Felisha’s Faith

  The Mach’doshna Realm

  By: Lynn Daniels

  Cover Design by: Storied Graphics

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  For Ella, my buddy. This is for you. You asked for it, you got it. ??

  Prologue

  The world tumbled around Felisha, in seemingly slow motion, end over end, she watched through terror filled eyes, unable to do anything to stop it. The pain filled screams echoed in her mind, the sound of breaking glass and torn and mangled steel forever embedded in her memory. The visions of bodies as they flew around the car, replayed over and over in her mind’s eye.

  Felisha was powerless to stop the horror as it flashed before her. Her baby brother, torn from her mother’s arms as he flew through the windshield, leaving behind a hole that seemed much too small. Her sister’s eyes, the fear they held when she turned her gaze away and toward the tree limb that would rip her head from her shoulders.

  Felisha was powerless to watch as the car smashed head on into the rocky bottom of the steep cliff. The grunt she heard as the front end of the car crushed her father and mother, sounds she could never unhear.

  An instant that changed her life forever. A phone call, that was what had taken the lives of her entire family, then left her pinned in the wreckage. Trapped, she was unable to do anything except wait and pray for help. She had screamed for what had seemed days, but in reality, was only hours. The headless body of her sister, surreal in that her body, completely undamaged, was still belted beside her. She had cried until the tears dried up, which left her exhausted and numb.

  It had been twenty years since that fateful day, a day she relived in her vivid nightmares every night. She had hoped that by visiting the site where it happened, she would be able to put it to rest. She could see now, that wouldn’t be the case.

  Nothing was the same, the trees that had been torn apart in the descent had recovered; some had fallen, only to have saplings spring up to replace them. The gutted earth was now covered with brush and vines. Even the very ground where the car had finally come to rest was different. Where before there was nothing but jagged rocks, a mountain spring rushed by with the runoff from melting snow from high above.

  Felisha stepped away from the small cross with the crudely written Vargas, decorated with brightly painted flowers for her mother and sister. On one side was fastened the large cowboy hat her father had worn while he worked in the fields, and on the other the teddy bear which ironically survived the crash. When the large SUV had come to rest at the bottom of the ravine, there, sitting beside the crushed bodies of her parents, sat the tiny bear that her baby brother cherished above all his other toys.

  The bear was dressed like a mariachi, with his little bright red jacket, large red hat with the gold band, and his little trumpet clutched in his little bear paw. Time had not been kind to him, his hat was torn and sagged from the rain and wind, the trumpet was tarnished, and his jacket looked more pink than red. She had visited the small marker many times over the years but could never bring herself to take the bear, it seemed this was where he belonged, always near her brother’s spirit.

  After a moment of silent prayer, a prayer she no longer believed in, she opened her eyes, glared up into the heavens, while a single tear trailed down her cheek. More instinct than conscious thought, she had prayed for the souls of her family, so long ago lost to her.

  “No!” She screamed into the wind.

  “You took them! All of them! Couldn’t you have left me one, just one person? You had to have them all! Why did you leave me here, alone?” Felisha’s fist rose high into the air, she shook it as she cried out to God, a God she had trusted all those years ago.

  “Why? Why couldn’t you have taken me as well?” She took her fisted hands and pounded on her chest.

  “Do you even know how hard it was? How hard it was to grow up on my own, without a single person to love; To love me back? I hate you for what you’ve done.”

  Her voice trailed off, a broken sob escaped, “I hate you…”

  She backed away from the simple cross; a cross that sat on a long stretch of a lonely mountain highway. There was nothing left here for her. There would be no healing, no closure. With a resolve born through years of grief, she squared her shoulders and walked away from the ragged shrine for the last time, and away from the only life that she had ever known. Backbreaking work, the work nobody wanted to do. She spent the years migrating across the Southwest. She was tired, she wanted more. She was ready to find the answers to questions she had yet to define.

  She turned toward the road; the sound of an approaching vehicle caught her attention. Her back to her destination, she raised her thumb, and stared stone-faced into the distance. She slowed as she watched a large black pickup truck speeding up the mountain road, the sun glared off the windshield, keeping her from seeing the driver. She took one step back when the truck didn’t slow, her jaw set, she was determined to show no fear. Her eyes narrowed as the truck drew closer, one foot left the pavement and came to rest on the dusty shoulder. The driver had no intention of stopping. In a game of chicken, she stood facing the on-coming vehicle. She watched in morbid fascination as he drifted onto the shoulder, eating up the space between them. At the very last moment, she pulled the foot that remained on the road back, aligning it with the one in the dirty berm. As the truck passed, she could hear the loud thumping of the base and the catcalls of the driver. She turned as he continued away, giving him a one-fingered salute.

  Felisha glared at the fading tail lights, and brought her cupped hands up to her mouth, “Ass hole!”

  She continued her lonely hike up the mountain road, the cars were few and far between. It was the middle of the day, and a Wednesday to boot. There would be no family on their way to a mountain getaway, and certainly no businessmen returning from a long day at the office. She knew it would take hours before she came to any sign of civilization. But Felisha wasn’t here looking for people, she wasn’t here looking for anything any town would hold for her. No, Felisha was here to get away from all of it.

  She had faith that somehow if she continued her quest, she would find the answers she searched for. The only problem was, she didn’t even know the questions. She just knew she could no longer go on; not with the way it was.

  Her life had been difficult, she laughed at that thought. More like impossible.

  Migrant workers, her family had nothing, therefore, had nothing to leave her. There was no home to return to, no family to mourn the passing of the only ones who mattered to her.

  Oh, she had a family, if you could call them that, a large family, in Mexico. Aunts, uncles, cousins. They may as well be on the moon. She knew what life was like where her mother came from. Dirt floors, little food, and then there was the crime. The local gangs took what they wanted, when they wanted it. No, there was nothing there for her, even if she had a way to get to them.

  Her family had crossed the border when she was still just a thought in her papa’s head. They had followed the seasons all across the Southwest, doing backbreaking work that nobody else wanted to do. She had made a few friends along the way, but never anything lasting.

  When they had finally pulled her from the wreckage, she was holding on by a thread. She lingered in the hospital for weeks. An illegal, someone nobody wanted, or cared about. She spent her days staring out the windows at a brick wall, alone. It was a large dormitory type room, where they kept the children of the indigent, except there weren’t any. After a few days, she had given up pus
hing the call button, because nobody ever came, anyway. She learned then that there was only one person she could count on, and that was herself. If she needed something, she would just have to get out of her bed and get it. After the fourth time of ripping her I.V. out when nobody came, and tossing the incessant beeping machine out the door, the nurses gave up and left it.

  One day she overheard a discussion between the doctors and nurses. She heard things like, no family and no papers, and what their plans for her were. That’s when she made her life changing decision. The fact that nobody had ever paid any attention to her, would now be her saving grace. Most of her days were spent roaming the floors, riding elevators and visiting other patients. It seemed more normal than not; nobody gave her a second look, as she put her plan into action.

  She had made friends with all the other children on the floor and knew there was one girl who was about the same size. She waited until the nurses came to take her for some tests. Once they were gone, she sneaked into the room to take what she needed, nothing more. A moment of guilt filled her, until she discovered just how many clothes the girl had stashed in her small closet.

  She then ducked into the room on the other side of hers, where a young boy lay in a coma. She helped herself to a plain baseball cap. After donning the hat, she walked to his bed, kissed his cheek, and stroked his forehead. She knew he was in the final stages of cancer and wouldn’t be around much longer.

  “I’m sorry, Danny. I didn’t think you would mind if I took your hat. Please give mamma and papa my love, when you get to Heaven. Tell my sister I miss her and give my baby brother a kiss. Thank you for being my friend.”

  That day, she walked away and had been on her own since that fateful day, twenty years ago. She was grateful for the lessons she learned while in that hospital. She didn’t need anybody, nor did she want anybody’s help, she was just fine with the way it was. That had been proven to her over and over again.

  Felisha reached a point where the mountain had started to level off a bit. She knew if she continued like she was, she would arrive at a small town, so she crossed the road, then started up a deer trail that led further up the mountain.

  The trail narrowed in places; sea holly and wild blackberry vines tore at her jeans. The rough ground threatened to trip her up on more than one occasion, concern over a twisted ankle had her slowing and watching each footstep. She noticed that trees were starting to become sparser the further up she climbed, and the low brush more prominent.

  Exhaustion nipped at her resolve to continue any further, with the thinning air her breath started coming in short pants. Still early in the afternoon, there was enough time to do everything right for setting up camp. She would need to forage for firewood and stones. The stones would be used once she had cleared a small area of brush that could ignite, should a spark escape. She had spent most of her life in California and knew just how quickly a single spark could take down an entire mountain. She was determined to not be that person.

  As she stumbled up the path, she remembered her father’s lessons on how to pick her campsite, how to clear an area for her pit, and how to make sure that every coal was out before she walked away. A lesson that had kept her safe. Information that she had used many times while hiking in the mountains, after she had come across the smoldering remains of a campfire left by the careless few.

  The path gave out onto a large field of wildflowers, and the vision before her took her breath away. The rocky soil was interspersed with the bright orange California poppies and the fragrant wild lavender, competing with other flowers, in shades of yellows, whites and blues. She walked over to a large protruding rock, after climbing on top, she stood up to take in her surroundings.

  Felisha held her hands above her eyes to block out the sun, beauty surrounded her for as far as she could see. It was almost enough to bring back the belief in something greater than herself.

  Almost.

  She sat back on the rock to rest before she started on her campsite. She had hoped to find a few small trees to hang a blanket over for a makeshift tent, but it looked like she would be sleeping under the stars instead.

  With a contented sigh, she smiled as she pulled her pack off, unhooked her bottle, and took a long draw off the cool spring water she had collected along the way. Then she rummaged around inside for a quick snack, a homemade trail mix of nuts, raisins and granola. With her immediate needs met, she settled on the ground using the warm rock to brace her back, she only wanted to rest for a short time before she started her search for firewood and rocks.

  Felisha waved her hand in front of her face, trying to brush away whatever had tickled her nose. After the third time, she opened her eyes. The small insect was forgotten as she stared into the night sky. If she thought the wildflowers were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, this proved to her just how little she really knew about beauty. The air was so clear, and the night sky seemed so close, she felt like she could reach out and touch the stars. She had always heard about the Milky Way, but to experience it was something altogether different.

  She sprung to her feet and climbed back up on her rock. Her hands flew out to her sides to keep her balance as she slowly spun in circles to take it all in.

  “Oh, God! It’s so beautiful! Look what You have made!”

  She realized how small she was compared to everything in the universe. All the hurt, all the pain she had endured through the years melted away. Questions forgotten; answers given. She finally found the peace she had searched for.

  Felisha slowly sank back down to her rock, never taking her eyes away from the glory of the universe. Her head nestled on top of a small clump of moss, she rested against the still warm stone and stared up into the heavens, until she finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 1

  Mount Olympus

  He stood watching, a silent sentinel, all but forgotten. It had been thousands of years since the humans had acknowledged him. Even he was starting to doubt himself, and he was a God.

  Eros was ready to turn away, when he heard a call sent out to the heavens. A kindred spirit, one who had been ignored, pushed aside by mankind. She looked so forlorn, so lost and alone; he realized he had to do something to help her.

  But who was she? There was something niggling at the back of his mind, something he should remember. “Felisha…ah yes, I remember. Well, she looks so alone, because she is alone.”

  “Oh, God! It’s so beautiful! Look what You have made!”

  Eros’ chest swelled with pride, she noticed. For a millennium his garden had sat, unseen. A few humans had come close, only to turn away just before they reached the peak. But, here, this one, this one single human, she had seen.

  He had begged Zeus for a place that he could rule, a place of his own. This was the measly plot the vain God had given up. High atop a mountain that overlooked a desert. Hope had been lost that any human would ever find it and appreciate it for the glorious haven it was. There were many times that he had worried that Zeus, in his selfishness to keep the humans from worshiping any but him, had put a barrier up to keep it hidden. But, now after all this time, he had one, perhaps in time, more would come.

  ~

  “Hello, my darling.” Eros casually strolled into Aphrodite’s chamber.

  “What do you want?” She glared up at him.

  “Why do you always assume I want something when I come to see you, maybe I just missed you?”

  “Like Hades you missed me, what do you want?”

  Eros held his hands up in a placating manner. “Okay, I admit, I do have just one little favor to ask.”

  She rolled her eyes, “What is it this time? I don’t have time for your silly little games.”

  “So…right to it, huh?” Eros stuck his lip out in an obvious pout.

  “I told you, I am short on time.”

  “For the Goddess of love, you sure can be a bitch.” He knew he was pushing his luck. Putting his hands up in surrender, he walked to her
lounger and laid back, arching a brow in invitation.

  Aphrodite put her hands on her hips, cocked her brow in irritation, and started tapping her foot.

  “Very well,” he got up and walked toward her door. “Come, I wish to show you something.”

  ~

  Atop a mountain peak in Southern California.

  Standing in the shadows, where no human can see, Aphrodite and Eros watched Felisha sleeping in his meadow. They circled her, speaking in hushed tones, that should she wake, would simply come across as a gentle wind.

  “So, is there anything you can do to help her?” Eros stood with one elbow resting on the hand around his waist, while cradling his chin in the other one, as he studied the young woman.

  “But why should I help her? Many humans suffer loss, there are many more that are alone in the world. Why would I choose this one above all others?”

  He faced the pacing Goddess, “Because all of the others were not the victims of selfish and careless gods.”

  She stopped her pacing at the accusations from Eros. “What do you mean? Who has interfered in the human’s lives? Who has gone against Zeus?”

  “Twenty years ago, two minor gods, perhaps bored, who can say with the minds of gods?”

  “Get on with it, leave the theatrics.”

  Eros studied her for a moment, as he debated on how much to disclose. He circled her, every now and then he looked back at the slumbering victim of something that should never have been.

  “I think I shall withhold the names of the guilty parties, perhaps I shall have need of them in the future.”

  “They will be in your debt.”

  “So to speak.”

  “Then, tell me this one’s story.”

  “Some time ago, a few decades, there may or may not have been two gods who were wagering on what might befall the humans if left to their own folly. A distraction, only for a tiny fraction of a second. While the mortal was looking away, an animal was sent to cross his path. When he looked back, it was too late. That very day, this young maiden lost all who were dear to her. She has spent her life since that moment, wandering the lands as a vagabond. No people to claim her, no home to rest her head, no love to comfort her in times of trouble.”