Victory Collection-Book Two

Alana

Alana

On the top desk of the luxury cruise line, Ideal Tours, Alana was enjoying a cool ocean breeze. It gently tossed her hair, which flowed down to her waist. What a pleasant, sweet memory to tell her parents when she got home. Such a pristine scene didn't reveal the danger that lurked ahead.

Like most vacationers, she took pictures of almost everything. This time, it was a sea gull who landed next to her. She thought it was just being friendly, but the bird probably wanted food. She had boarded for departure from her native Portugal, where she lived until she went to the University of Hawaii. Alana thought her parents were missing a trip of a lifetime by not going too, but she had gotten accustomed to traveling on her own.

Portugal is the oldest country in Europe. Much of the nation's breath-taking architecture dates to the 1500's to 1800's when Portugal had a powerful maritime empire. Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers. It is known for its Port wine and cork production. It is considered predominantly white or European. Alana was traveling to the Bahamas, with ports of call in Aruba, Bermuda, Virgin Islands, among others places. Portugal was conveniently located on the Atlantic Ocean.

She turned to speak to a fellow passenger, when a stronger breeze covered her face with her beautiful hair. The man standing in front of her was George. He remarked that she looked gorgeous even that way. Many girls in Portugal have long hair, but not many could afford to take a luxury cruise. She felt, indeed, fortunate, but sad for them as well.

Her friends encouraged her to go on the cruise to celebrate her graduation from a university in Hawaii and her 21st birthday in three weeks. She had finished high school at age l7, because of the cut-off date her birth date fell on. She started Kindergarten at four, so she got her Bachelor Degree at just under 21.

Alana thought George looked nice and well-groomed. But she didn't see him as handsome or her type. Nevertheless, they became friends and spent time together on the ship. He was attentive and had interesting stories about traveling in Europe. She wanted to go, herself, some day. He talked about the castles and mansions he had visited throughout Europe.

Alana had received a full scholarship. Her parents could have afforded to send her, although they were proud of her for earning a scholarship on her own. Her mother was a medical doctor and her father, a psychologist. She always thought she would follow in her parents's footsteps and go into medicine or mental health. Alana use to shadow her mother in her practice and pretend to make diagnoses when she was eight. She was a quick study and was fascinated by the medical field. Still, she found she was good with communication. In college, she tutored Hawaiian children American English, which their elders considered "slang". After the tour, she planned to spend the summer in Russia, working for a large corporation, teaching languages. Why Russia? Well she was a bit of a diplomat, promoting international goodwill.

Because of doctor-patient confidentiality, Alana's father couldn't discuss his cases with her. But because of her interest in the study of the brain extended to mental abnormalities, she found her father's field fascinating as well. The subject covers so much, from people being struck by lightning, to serial killers. Most patients fell somewhere in between. They say that when someone is interested in Psychology, they usually need it themselves. She wondered if that applied to her dad or herself.

She was amazed at what the human mind was capable of and how resilient it was: completely losing touch with reality, then coming back to normalcy again. A friend of hers experienced that, but her sudden recovery was a matter of God's miracle power! The friend no longer has any symptoms.

Alana was a Christian, since the age of 14, and believed in healing through Christ. She had also made a personal commitment not to smoke or drink, which was the reason her 21st birthday was not wasted on getting drunk.