For every sin, there shall be punishment.
For every punishment, one must repent in sincere penitence of sin.
To whom be the glory, forever and ever... Amen.
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"inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality"
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𝟖:𝟏𝟎 𝐀𝐌 | 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐑
Fallen leaves sunk into damp dirt and green grass, crunching each time a shoe made its weight over it. Thin twigs and tough sticks bending almost till a snap could be heard along with microscopic insects buried high and low along the gritty grounds towards the open water. The young teenager walked ahead of her parents with wide eyes, eager to discover more beyond the tall, narrow trees and lingering vines they'd passed through and by on their tread to the lake.
There'd been a flock of birds that flew overhead, squawking in the same direction they walked, so all supposed they were going in a good direction.
"This is the prettiest lake I've ever seen! It's so big and look — are those tubes?" Brittany pointed out on the tip of her toes, gasping at the sight.
Nicole and Bey weren't far behind, water bottles in hand, following the girl's eyes to the triple stack of yellow floats in vacant space of the woods. All appearing to be single-seaters, quite huge for their personal size.
"Looks like it," answered Nicole.
"Mama, can we—"
"No, we're not tubing." The taller mother urged, "We have no idea where those came from and do you know how unsanitary that is? Plus, we're in our dry clothes, sweetie. The water is probably super cold this time of morning too."
"Technically, we're not swimming. Who says you need bathing suits to go tubing?"
"You are right, there is no need. But I said we aren't so we aren't. Now, go stand over there so I can get a picture."
Coming upon the "perfect setting," Bey thought, adjusting her Canon Demi EE17 that hung from her left hand's wrist by the narrow strap and selecting a shutter speed. There was a great view from where they stood above low yet still rigged grass and in the way of a panoramic view of the water. The lake appeared to be so fixed in its serene presence that the reflection of the trees and clouds could fool an admirer, mistaking it to be underwater from its calm surface, seen all the way from here. Too, it was as clear as pure water gets.
While Bey set an exposure on the camera, Brittany stood tall with a joyless look back at her mother until the woman was lowering the lens from her eye and resting one hand on her hip.
Then Bey sighed, "Please?" Motioning with her eyes, the teen in place for a quick photo.
"All I'm saying is if we're going to be staying longer, I think we should get our own. There won't be real fun if we can't enjoy the fun right in our faces."
