Hadassah's Sacrifice

CHAPTER 12

"What is it you wanted to share with me, Adah?" Emmanuel asked his long time friend. Adah has been his friend since before the invasion. Her consistency with the Lord was contagious and perhaps it's the reason they both are still close friends.

"Remember how I said I wanted to see you during the last Bible Study?" Emmanuel gave a nod of his head. "Well, I had a dream." She paused, smacked her lips together and had a glint of was it fear or wonder in her eyes, Emmanuel couldn't say. His friend was deliberately taking her time and he was getting anxious by the clock.

"Stop it already, Adah. What happened in the dream?" Emmanuel asked with a bit of impatience.

"I saw myself seated beside a river, crying profusely and as I sat there, I heard a loud voice. It didn't sound like anything I've heard before. It was different. It made me frightened and sober at the same time. It penetrated into my soul and the words..." She stared at Emmanuel as a tear fell from her eyes. It was like she could still clearly hear the voice that Adah knew until her death, would forever resound inside of her.

Not sure of words to say, Emmanuel prayed quietly in his heart for his friend. He prayed for the right words for her to describe what she heard even if he had a feeling the words were more than mere words to Adah. One look at her emotion filled face, Emmanuel could see that Adah has had an encounter she would live to forever remember.

"The words said, 'Stop crying, Child. The day of deliverance is near.' And I woke up after that." She turned teary eyes to Emmanuel, hoping he would have some kind of explanation for her. Have her cries eventually reached the ears of God? Was He coming to deliver them now?

Taking a deep breath, Emmanuel raised his bowed head, stared into the gentle eyes of his friend and tried to make meaning of her dream. "This is a significant dream you have had, Adah, one that is beyond us. We can only trust the Lord to fulfill His words. His words never fail."

"Emmanuel," she reached out and held his hand for comfort. "The dream felt so real. It was like I was standing before God." Closing her eyes, Adah could clearly hear the voice. In all her years serving the Lord never have she felt His presence like it was in her dream. The Lord hasn't forgotten them after all. He was mindful of them. Her dream had confirmed it.

"I can imagine." He said with a light squeeze of her hands.

               
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"Hadassah. I'm home." Gad's voice called from the front door. His morning shift was over and he could spend some quality time with Hadassah.

"Uncle is that you?" Hadassah's voice rung from the little house as she opened the door and found Gad smiling broadly with his tired eyes. She could tell his day had been long even though he returned home early.
"I'm happy you are home early," she said smiling back.

"I'm happy to be home," he replied with a face that made her laugh. "I had a day full of mystery." He sighed as he bounced on the bed.

Right. Now she was going to ask what happened and Gad wasn't sure if he wanted to discuss what happened at work with Hadassah. The King's affairs are supposed to be kept a secret.

Oblivious of her Uncle's thoughts, Hadassah asked with concern and love in her voice. "What happened?"

"It's nothing. Just some guards acting strange. It's all settled now." Gad answered as briefly as he could. Hadassah was a smart woman. She might want to ask more questions, but he wasn't going to give her the chance. "So what's the special food today?" He asked changing the subject before she asked any more questions.

Rising to serve him, "I thought we should have raisins." She had a smirk on her face that made her voice sound mischievous.

"What are you up to this child?" Gad asked with a laugh.

"Nothing, Uncle, nothing at all." Grinning Gad knew she was up to something.

               
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They had just finished eating lunch when Hadassah asked, "Uncle, what happened to my parents?"

Gad was surprised at her sudden question. He didn't even know she had been thinking about them. They had died when she was just a young child, and he's been a father to her all these years. Why does she appear to be missing her parents now? Not like that was a bad thing, but it made him feel like he wasn't a good guardian to her.

"Your parents?" He cleared his throat. "What is wrong, Hadassah?"

"Nothing, Uncle. I just want to know how they died."

Looking closely at her face, Gad wasn't sure if it was pain or regret he saw there, but he didn't like it. In fact, it bothered him.

"Oh no, Hadassah," his voice sounded husky. "What happened to your parents didn't have anything to do with you." He looked at her for some time, trying to find the right words to use. He didn't want her to hurt any further than she was hurting now. "Your Papa and Mama loved you with their lives." He stood up and began pacing around. It won't do Hadassah any good if she saw him crying, but the memory of his Uncle, Aharon came flooding back and that of his sweet loving wife. They were all that he had for a family before the inversion. All his other family members had all died. Miriam was like a sister to him. She loved his Uncle so well and took care of everyone of them. He missed them.

Bracing himself for what he was about to say, he continued. "The day Babylon conquered Isreal, some of the leaders needed young men to volunteer and fight. Your father being who he was also volunteered." He faced her and saw she was smiling. Hadassah could remember the memories she had of her father. She wasn't surprised that he had volunteered to fight. It was the sought of thing he would do – placing others above himself.

"Your father died an honourable death, Hadassah. He died protecting you and the entire Isreal. Your mother was torn apart when she heard the news of your father's death. The pain was too much for her to bear. Your father had been all that she had for a family and the love they shared was like one that I've never seen. She died from the shock of the news." Gad bent over and held her two hands. Hadassah was crying. Her parents had promised to always be with her. But they had left her alone.

"Hadassah, I want you to know that your parents would have protected you with their lives and they did." He hugged her trembling body. "I will always be here for you. Always."

She had heard such words before and it didn't end well.

A/N : Again, thank you for reading this book. Writing Hadassah's Sacrifice sometimes makes me emotional. I literally have mixed feelings all the time. Sometimes I cry, other times I laugh and sometimes I'm sad.
I don't know how you feel about the story, but I hope that you are enjoying it and that it inspires you to become a better Christian.
I love you all so much. Please I'll really appreciate comments – constructive criticism, compliment, what you think about the book, anything at all. Just please comment. Thank you.
Stay safe. And as always, remember to FOLLOW...COMMENT and VOTE.
Your girl, Jolade.