Won Over

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Eventually I informed The Foodies I could no longer continue being a part of them. The very reason why I joined was to be sufficiently empowered to deal with my uncle, and while I had most of the best moments of my life with them, I just couldn't find the strength within me to continue.

I started working at a diner and moved into a new apartment, making an attempt to start afresh.

Once in a while, Blue and Snow would come and chat with me. Over the following months, I learnt that the gang had broken up, and everyone was now facing life individually.

Maho went back to college, Sugar and Race got married and moved to another state, Beauty became a model, Les formed a band with other people and began to tour the country.

Icy left and remained low-key, so no one really knew what he was up to.

Blue and Snow also got jobs after sometime, and later she moved in with me. On the other hand, Blue cashed in on Neri's kindness and began to live with him and Link, whose real name is Zion.

A year had gone now and I was starting to slowly not feel as hurt and depressed as before. But one can never get over the hurt of losing a loved one. For even when the wound heals, it still leaves a scar behind.

But I was starting to make new memories and have new loved ones.

Neri and I had become closer, and he even went ahead to invite me to church a few times, although I turned him down as politely as I could everytime.

In the meantime, Blue finally summoned up the courage to ask Beauty out again. Unfortunately, she turned him down and last we heard, she was a dating an English prince.

Snow was still saddened over my brother's death but she was beginning to get over it. So, one day when I couldn't take the both of them sulking and whining about their nonexistent love life, I set them up for a date. To my greatest surprise they hit it off, and are now in a relationship.

Didn't actually see that coming. Not even in the slightest.

And while Neri kept telling me about God, I continued to shun him everytime.

One day, I couldn't take it anymore when he started mentioning God's love and related subjects to me when he came over to my place.

"I've told you my life story. Where was God in all these? Why didn't He stop it from happening? If He truly loves me, why was I born to suffer?" I was angry at God and I didn't mind showing it.

He smiled kindly at me, intertwining my fingers with him. I couldn't help the warm feeling that rushed to my face at that.

"God feels, you know. He feels everything you felt and still feel and He was right there with you, helping you and making you to be stronger through it all." He told me.

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't make sense. How did He help me while my parents died and we were handed over to my psychopath uncle?"

He sighed. "Jennifer, we might never fully understand why things happen to us, but at times they happen to make us stronger. Or so that we could minister to others who go through the same or something similar later on. But then, you gotta know that God is not responsible for the bad things that go on in this world. Instead He's doing His best so that despite the bad you would still be able to experience the good things He has kept in store for you."

I rolled my eyes again. Whatever.

He released my hand, and I frowned from the sudden chill that I felt when he let go. But then he placed his arm round my shoulder and pulled me closer. "I understand how you feel, I didn't have a smooth past myself. However, all that has been washed away by the blood of Jesus. You see, Christ made me a new creature in Him so those things don't count anymore. They don't define who I am. The truth is, you can decide to move forward or to stay back. To progress, to remain stagnant or to regress.