a Slice of Life - Heavenly Bride

Chapter 1 - Calem

1 Attend, there was a man, hight Calem, a young soul of modest estate; 

2 He did dwell amidst the folk, and his days were spent in serene labor.

3 For he possessed a dwelling, wherein he did trade in coffee and tea, a refuge of comfort for wayfarers.

4 Not was he rich, nor was he poor, but found he his place in life's balance, having sufficiency for his needs.

5 Yet the heart of Calem was laden with grief, for in his youth had he loved, and that love returned unto him as a wound.

6 For a lady, in whom his trust was placed, turned her back; verily, she followed another, one of greater wealth than he.

7 Thus was Calem's heart shattered, and the joy of youth did fade.

8 Yet did he strive to veil his sorrow, for he desired not to burden others with his plight.

9 Yet again did his heart lean toward a maiden, one whose beauty and grace seemed beyond his reach.

10 And Calem, in the stillness of his spirit, did hope she might behold him and return his affection.

11 Yet when he unveiled the desires of his heart, she did spurn him, saying, "Thou art unworthy of me."

12 And once more was his heart wounded, and he returned to his abode in sorrow.

13 However, Calem was not as one who desponds without hope, for in his days of affliction, he learned to turn his heart unto the Lord.

14 Like unto David, the king of Israel, he did pour forth his soul in words, chronicling his grief, his loss, and his yearning.

15 For Calem kept a journal, wherein he penned the depths of his heart, that peace might be found therein.

16 He recorded his prayers, dreams, desires, and disappointments, that they not perish in forgetfulness.

17 And in the hush of night, when all was still, he did inscribe his struggles and victories, his doubts and his faith.

18 As Solomon, who did inscribe of the vanity of life, so did Calem inscribe of the swift passage of time and the evanescent nature of love.

19 For he discerned that life was but a vapor, and that all things under the sun were subject unto change.

20 Yet in his scrolls, he did unearth hope, for he believed that the Lord tarried with him, even in his sorrow.

21 And Calem did pour forth his soul before the Lord, as one who doth seek solace amid the tempest.

22 His pen was as the voice of his heart, and his words were as a prayer unto the heavens.

23 Though love had forsaken him, and though his hopes lay shattered, yet did Calem cling unto his faith.

24 And though his heart was grievously wounded, yet did he trust that the Lord would mend him in due season.

25 Now, it came to pass that Calem pressed on in his toil, and he found solace in the labor of his hands.

26 For he knew that in toil there dwelleth peace, and in service there awaiteth reward.

27 And the folk did come unto his shop, and they did partake of the coffee and the tea, and found refreshment therein.

28 Yet none knew the sorrow that weighed heavily upon Calem's heart, for he concealed his grief from the eyes of man.

29 But in the solitude of his chamber, he penned of his yearning for love, and of the sting of rejection, for he did not obscure the truth from himself.

30 He confessed his fears and doubts, and laid bare his heart before the Lord, as one who doth seek healing for his wounds.

31 He wrote of the anguish of love lost, and of the hope that springeth eternal within the heart of man.

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