Chapter 9: Magic
Sarah's young adult novel, "Peacekeepers/Truthbringers," continues
Sarah has written a young adult novel, “Peacekeepers/Truthbringers,” and we’re excited to share it with you. We’ll be releasing a new chapter every week. We’ll also continue to post occasional non-fiction reflections as inspiration and news arise.
When Cora woke again, sunlight was streaming through the windows.
Here is what she was grateful for: a hot shower with real soap, not just baby wipes, and shampoo. Frozen waffles. Time to think, alone, and alone meant bird-free. There were birds on the front porch and visible through basically every window she looked through, but at least it was quiet in the house.
She was grateful for the washer and dryer, too. A tiny utility room was painted bright green and boasted organic-free and clear detergent and fabric softener. She found a bathrobe hung on the back of the bathroom door after her shower, and she put it on while she washed and dried the two pairs of road-weary clothes she had brought, including her backpack. She sat on the comfortable sofa where she’d spent the night and watched daytime TV. It was either reruns of “The View,” “Alguien Te Mira,” “Days of our Lives,” or PBS Kids shows. She chose PBS Kids. She was glad for the distraction of Daniel Tiger as she looked through her things laid out on the small wooden coffee table in front of the sofa. She still had $1,800 in cash. Her mother’s address book. A flashlight. A penknife. All that she owned in the world.
Once her clothes were clean, she dressed and headed outside.
The day was dazzling. Ochre hills rose up to the south, velvety purple in the shadowed folds. A solitary mountain, snow-covered and blazing white, climbed against a bright western sky. As she stepped onto the front porch, Gaster’s dogs sprung to life, tails wagging. She knelt down to greet them. “Hi you guys,” she cooed, stroking their ears. The gravel drive she had hiked the day before was ¼ mile from the main road at least. She gazed at the fields that lay around her, green and gold wheatgrass up to her shoulders, dotted with greasewood and sagebrush. She could hear the tinkle of water trickling.
