REKINDLED || Completed

42

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Forty Two
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For some random reason, Asher’s eyes flicked open.

The room was quiet, save for Laramie’s soft snores to her left.

She lay still for a long while, numb. And then, like a tide returning, the urge came again.

The urge to be prayed for.

It might’ve seemed like a light desire, but it wasn’t just any prayer she longed for.

Asher wanted to know that Jesus—the lovely man Everest had spoken of.

Earlier, she’d thought He couldn’t possibly be the same Jesus she knew as a child. The one she remembered had seemed cruel—worse than the devil even—for watching, silently, as masked men hurt her over and over again.

But lately, that logic was unraveling. Marilyn had always said His presence brought warmth, love, and peace beyond words. If that was true, maybe it made sense... maybe she’d never really known Him at all.

It was terrifying to consider opening up again after vowing never to let God in. But somehow, it felt necessary. Right.

She sat up slowly and reached for her phone.

4:00 AM.

Her fingers hovered, heart pounding as she typed:

I want to know Jesus.

It felt strange, vulnerable—but she knew she wouldn't have peace until she sent it.

She hit send. The message landed in Everest’s DMs.

Quickly, she followed up:

And don’t tell Oren I said this ✋😑

Everest’s reply was instant:

Everest: 😂😂😂

Asher: What’s so funny? 🙄

Everest: Do you have a Bible? 🙂

Asher: No

Everest: I’ll send you an offline Bible app. Download it and read John 14:6 and Revelation 3:20. 😉👍

Everest: Will explain everything tomorrow ✌️

She waited, downloaded the app, and searched the first verse:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

She stared at the words. They felt foreign, like she needed to decode them.

She moved on.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."

Her brows furrowed. She sounded out the words slowly, her mind tracing back to a thought she’d had not too long ago.

‘Who are you?’
‘The One you are rejecting.’

I stand at the door and knock.

A chill moved through her. What if… all the times she’d thought He was distant, He’d actually been right there—knocking?

She frowned, feeling exposed.

Logging out of the app, she lay back down, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“It was hard, you know,” she whispered aloud.

She needed Him to understand. She had scars—deep, literal ones. Those cold nights. The blood. The sweat. The endless scrubbing that never made her feel clean.