Just a Little Faith

Faith Elingson was a loyal young girl who wondered where the birds flew and why flowers were coloured differently from its leaves and stems. She was a girl of tact who was to approach the coming age of six and ten tomorrow. However unlike many other girls her age, Faith liked to go outside and play and satisfy her wonders and curiosity.  Her mother often deemed this part of her nature with disdain as she wished her to be curious with more important matters such as finding her a suitable husband. Though she could never let it out from inside her heart, she did not want to live a life of chores and redundant tasks like her mother did. She did not mind living single all her life even though that would mean being unable to have offsprings and disgraced by the eyes of the public.

After an attempt to chase a speeding train and frolicking around with the horses, she came home and met eyes with her mother. Her mother did nothing but looked at her dirtied attire and returned to her needlework. She was being unusually quiet today and Faith was wary of the change. She was expecting her to nag or chastise her about the propriety of being a lady but when she did none of that and had a look of calm spirited face, Faith had a bad presentiment of it.

'Faith dear, go up to your room and tidy yourself,' Her mother said and it struck Faith strange as even if she had not mentioned it, Faith would have gone up to her room anyway. 'Yes mama.'

Upon entering her bedroom and shutting the door, Faith heard a resounding click at the other side. Only after a few moments had the horrible realization dawned on her that she was hopelessly trapped inside. 'Oh no mama! Please no!' Faith pleaded continuously trying to open the door knob to which her mother without hesitation replied, 'Tis for your own good.'

Experiences that related to limitations of which she could not flooded her mind, of how she could not be educated any more than the boys her age, or how she was expected to only do piecework and the laundry, or how other men was inclined to think they could do whatever they pleased with, to, and of women. It was unbearably obvious at this point; Faith would have to accept whatever fate she was thrust upon. All of a sudden, she was consumed by determined anger.

So in the peak of rebellion, she was left in rumination of what must be done no longer wanting her life to be fettered by her mother. Pacing around the room an idea alighted in her eager mind as she peered down the bedroom window. An incipient thrill and not much a fear was what she felt now as it always did whenever climbing trees or reaching rooftops in the past. After discovering the height was not enough to precipitate death if she landed in the proper manner, she immediately put her plan to work. Her hands moved adeptly, tying the longest cloth she could find to her bed post and letting it lose outside the window. With great alacrity she positioned over the windowsill.

Whilst working her way down, her right foot had a misstep and slid dangerously down until Faith instantly held tighter onto the cloth and steadied herself. Taking another deep breath, Faith little by little reached the end.

Finally stepping on the cold earth with an aching right foot, the moon glowed incandescently above her as if in approbation of what she had done. The sense of freedom washed over her and once again lightened her heart. She took in the rustic and bucolic scenery that lay before her. Now, she could only do what she could, and so she ran.

She ran ceaselessly, feeling the cold air hit her face, arms, and legs and rushing past her as quickly as it came only to meet her with some more. After a tired phase of running, she reluctantly stopped to catch her breath in the midst of the green grass field. Whilst slowing down, she stumbled some and fell but only laughed with the tingling sensation of invincibility pervading her mind and soul. However much to her chagrin, she heard another kind of laughter different from her own and knew that she was not alone and put her guard up.

         'What are you doing here at this hour?' her old friend, Peter appeared from behind the trees and asked with a sort of bewilderment. She immediately relaxed hearing his voice. Peter had long been her childhood friend as long as she could remember and long time ago had confessed his love for this girl. Despite turning down his offer of being her husband at the age of six, they continued remaining good friends. Faith smiled sheepishly and her friend could sense this girl was up to something.

'I ran away from home,' Faith answered honestly and Peter could notice the hint of sadness in her tone. 'The everyday dilemma of the Elingson lass?' and they both laughed. She knew deep down inside that this kind of blatant act was wrong and unforgivable. After all, one could only go so far trying to avoid the inevitable. But thankful she was to her jolly old friend whom she could imagine having a jolly old family of spirit and warmth. Peter being a compassionate lad was never ostentatious of his riches and desired to share it with others.

'What might you be doing here?' she asked.

'Well, I was having a night stroll and spotted a person running with frightening speed in the horizon so I followed to see who and then saw you laughing there like a fool.'

Faith immediately had her face flushed and hoped Peter would not notice. She did not expect someone to see her running like a mad woman although she momentarily forgot Peter lived across the creek. But astute Peter noticed her blush and laughed again.

'I must leave now,' Faith said with a definitive tone as she stood up. 'Already?' Peter said rather disappointed his sweetheart was about to leave.

'Goodbye Peter,' Faith greeted with her lips pursed. A sense of dread filled her as she thought of what was to happen as she returned. She politely declined Peter's offer to bring her home in fear of her mother going histrionic if Faith was seen together with him. It was not that her mother had not taken a liking to him. On the contrary, her mother loved Peter dearly presumably because he was rich. It was only that her mother would construe the reason of her runaway that it was for another man.

Walking under the night sky alone, Faith looked above and saw a flash of light flicker by as would a shooting star. Presented with the serendipity to encounter such fine display, Faith wished for a different kind of life, a life she could do whatever her heart pleased. Knowing that it was a futile effort, she resigned once more to reality.

However, a peculiar thing on the ground at caught her attention not long after. It was emanating an iridescent yellow light upon her face. Faced with making two decisions where one had been leaving the glowing stone and the other touching it just out of spite, Faith decided to go with the latter option. All instinctive sense told her not to touch this dangerously flickering rock but something of it drew Faith's interest categorically.

And so she reached out her hand and upon contact, felt a spark. As she tried to retract her hand, the light glowed stronger and brighter as if to engulf her. Faith could hear an incessant monotonous sound ringing along with a soft hissing and turned aghast to see her skin become evanescent. It was a moment of travel to the world of non-existence and Faith was sent to oblivion.