The Emmanuel Sisters

Chapter 1 (Introducing The Emmanuel Sisters)

Little Faith, Hope and Love Emmanuel stood at their Nana's bed side. In their hearts they knew today would be the last day that they would see their Nana, but what they didn't know was that the three of them were about to embark on three very different and incredible individual journeys that would be starting, tomorrow whether they liked it or not.

Two years ago, Nana had been diagnosed with colon cancer, that had spread to her liver. She was told she was in stage four, and that there       

wasn't much hope she'd live past a year. Nana was the type of woman who    

never liked to go to the doctor. If Nana was sick, she would always say "God will heal me".  Since Nana didn't have great medical insurance, she relied heavily on God's healing. Up until now God always came through for her. After all, she would always reassure herself, "I am an Emmanuel, and Emmanuel means "God is with us".

But this time Nana wasn't getting better. When the cancer got so bad where Nana couldn't work anymore she took out a mortgage on her house, and that was what Nana and her grand babies had been living off of for the past year. The doctors never expected Nana to be around this long, but she was a fighter. Nana wasn't afraid of death, because she was  confident she was going to heaven, but she was afraid of leaving her grand babies, little Love, Hope and Faith behind.

Eventually, Nana's organs started failing her, and her body just began to shut down. Even so, her heart, mind and soul, stayed intact.  Nana was known as the woman who always cared for everyone else, but for the first time in Nana's life she needed someone to take care of her.

Nana's home had always been the neighborhood's unofficial shelter and center of unity. Not being able to care for others was going to be the most difficult thing for Nana to accept.

Nana had so many good memories and admittedly a few bad  ones also in that little house in Queens, NY on Mathias Avenue. She cherished the good memories and made a decision to not dwell on the bad.  On her final day on this earth all those good memories of the life she lived in that little house came rushing back to her.  Memories of her happy life with her one true love and husband, Lester. Memories of raising her only child, her long gone baby girl; who she still held out hope would one day return to her, and last memories of being the person to deliver all three of her grand babies right there in her little house. All of those beautiful memories came rushing back like a waterfall filled with love and comfort, covering her soul. She knew it was in this house surrounded by those she loved most that she wanted Jesus to come take her to her eternal home.

For Mary, Nana, her best friend Jennie, well her sickness had brought back memories Mary would rather forget forever. Mary's childhood and most of her adulthood was dark, and her friend Jennie was the only light that would help Mary find her way back from the darkness. Mary fell into a deep depression as each day passed by, living with the knowledge that her best friend Jennie would soon be gone. Mary had always felt this deep emptiness in her that only seemed to subside when being around Jennie. Mary a recovering addict

had started using drugs again, in secret, as soon as she realized Jennie was not going to get better. Mary had been hiding her drug use from Jennie. Mary was subconsciously trying her best to self-destruct, before her friend died and she was left totally alone again. Jennie was the closest thing Mary had ever had to family. Mary's mother gave her up when she was an infant. Mary ended up spending her whole life in an orphanage, and in foster homes. She was never adopted. She was born addicted to heroin, with so many complications and extra needs. As a baby, she cried constantly. Every possible adoptive family that would take baby Mary home for a trial period from the orphanage would inevitably bring her back within a few days, because no one could suffer through her constant crying. From the very beginning, Mary was born into a hard life, born with an addiction, and a childhood filled with nothing but rejection. Then one day Mary met Jennie. They met in grade school and they became best friends, sisters. Throughout the years Jennie and Mary had always remained friends. Even after Jennie married Lester, she made sure to always include Mary. Still Mary felt threatened by the man then child that took up all of Jennie's attentions. When she start to feel alone she would turn to drugs to ease her loneliness. But no matter how far apart their