Although a work of fiction, this religious thriller has been packed with so many true events that it will stay with you long after you've finished reading it. Even the backdrop of the Vietnam War and what happened to Nickolas and his fellow soldier...
CHAPTER 34: One Day Away ...... (Your review here)
"After that cold rain this campfire sure feels good." Everyone nodded at Sutton. He then said a few more words. "Our Khmer friends told me that we should reach the temple by tomorrow afternoon. They think around noon. I don't know about the rest of you but I think tomorrow is going to be a day we'll never forget."
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Morning Campfire/photo: Charles Pieters
Soon everyone was laughing, each with their own reasons to agree. Of course, Maria was Nick's daughter. Her feelings were special. The last time she saw Nick alive she had been daddy's little girl. He told her bedtime stories:The Little Scarlet Fish and, TheThree Bears. How can you possibly describe what she felt? How does one's deepest feelings—ever—a daughter's love for her father—exposed to such a great loss and sorrow—age over time? What does such a young girl go through? Such painful feelings at first, but over the years hammered down to almost no recollection at all. How could she even fathom what meeting her father was going to be like?
Sutton's relationship with Nickolas was also unique. He first met Nick in 1963. That was such a long time ago—time that was mostly filled with guilt. Sure, there had been some good times but loosing Nick and the others had destroyed any fond memories that would have otherwise stayed alive. Sutton's remorse even drove him into joining JPAC:The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command—that led him back to Vietnam several times in search for America's lost heroes—and later—most recently—deep into Laos looking for that bomber. For so many years he had wanted answers but sadly, countless examples prove that life seldom divulges her innermost secrets. Except now, for some odd reason, she was about to—perhaps being forced by a higher authority. As far as how Sutton was feeling about all of this—well—needless to say the moment was weighing heavily upon him.
Blake was also aware of the importance of the hour. His perspective had originated, developed, transformed, and grown beyond belief. Instead of the luxury of time to think about it, like a series of accidental, high-voltage shocks, he had been thrust into a drama that really, he had nothing to do with at all. At first the series of events seemed plausible enough. A phone call from Sutton. For Blake, what started out as a rather straight forward mission to look for a missing bomber had quickly turned into something entirely different.
Actually, it began with an undeclared war inside Laos and Cambodia and then, years later, with a pile of rocks and a buried letter. Blake often thought about these things. That's when the drama began to unfold: learning that Eleni was no longer alive; falling in love with Maria, the daughter of the very man he was now trying to find—a man that only four months ago, Blake and Maria didn't even know was alive. And now, on a trail—in one of the most isolated jungles in all of Southeast Asia—there he was—looking across a campfire at Maria—so beautiful—and falling in love with her. Needless to say, Blake was experiencing great emotions.
