A Christian Romance

Chapter 36 - Revealed

For a continent ranked second driest, a rainy day was always good news. Farmers could be happy with the Australian Government fundings, but nothing was more wonderful than the rain that descended from the skies. Thanks to Joel and other people who advocated the cause of farmers and the severe Australian droughts, the problem gained even more awareness.

Joel was in the hospital, disconnected from the rest of the world, and unaware of the impact of his photography and winning speech. He enjoyed watching the rain from the window, it was one of the most enthusiastic and calming sights. That would be the day to replace his nose bandages and he was anxious to see the result of the reconstruction. The doctor would enter the room any time.

"To grow you need some rain." He recalled a song.

Joel didn't feel as exhausted as in the past day, so his brain was able to go deeper into the things that were happening. He couldn't get over the fact that he was hospitalized because Adam had thrown him down the stairway. Every time that thought came to his mind, it enraged and disappointed him. How was he supposed to forgive someone who had tried to kill him? Then there was Jesus and His authoritative recommendations: "But love you your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Be you therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged: condemn not, and you shall not be condemned: forgive, and you shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you mete with it shall be measured to you again." (Luke:35-38).

He had to admit that he was happy to be the victim. The problem of being the victim, however, is that you can never move forward and that jeopardizes all your relationships. First of all, because victims tend to end their life journey alone, as others advance and move forward, they stay stuck waiting for the whole world to repay them for all the good they did - which is no good at all because doing good expecting something in return is an exchange.

Joel wanted to be compassionate toward Adam, but it felt like defeat. But showing compassion was one of the expressions that proved how the Kingdom of God worked upside down: pay evil with good. He was struggling.

Finally, the doctor came into the room. He inspected his patient carefully and came to some conclusions.
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Debora had never spent so much money on taxis in her whole life! The hospital wasn't in walking distance, and even if it was, she was too busy to waste ten minutes walking. There was no time to lose. She left the office, carefully walking down the stairs because it was dark and the ground was wet. At the last step, she heard her name. She stopped and looked around to find someone looking at her, but nothing. From a blind spot, Adam came walking toward her. When he touched her, she was startled.

"Hi!" She didn't know how to put up with him, at first.

"How is Joel?"

"Now you ask?" She scoffed.

"Never too late." He tried.

"Recovering, thanks for asking." She tried to be cruel to him, but Debora was very compassionate and empathetic. "I don't understand why you could do something so cruel to your best mate." She expressed her disappointment.

Adam was silent, embarrassed, but he had an answer that corroborated his worthless attitude. He wanted to share it.

"It was an accident. He slipped off my hands."