Eber: A Tale of Hidden Beauty

By Adra V. Cooper

I’m so plain, so homely. There is nothing special about me! Priscilla thought, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She raised her hand and let her fingers trace along her pimply forehead, ruddy cheeks, thin lips, and prominent chin. She looked at her dull brown eyes. There was no sparkle, no light. Her mousy brown hair matched her eyes—lifeless. Priscilla Barton is not the prettiest girl in the town of Harperwill, and she knows it. She is picked on at school; and she tries to stay strong in front of her peers, but inwardly she envies the beauty of the girls who tease her. Priscilla’s one desire in life is to have outward beauty. When an accident involving her little brother Tia occurs, Priscilla has a chance encounter with a stranger named Eber. Eber helps her discover a beauty far greater and infinitely more precious than all of the most beautiful faces, in the entire world combined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ambassador International
• Release date: Nov 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781620204054

Book preview

Eber

A Tale of Hidden Beauty

© 2015 by Adra V Cooper

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-62020-501-3

eISBN: 978-1-62020-405-4

Interior Illustrations by Adra V. Cooper

Page Layout by Hannah Nichols

Ebook Conversion by Anna Raats

AMBASSADOR INTERNATIONAL

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I want to dedicate this book to my mother, Ali. She is my best friend and my greatest supporter. This book would not have been possible without her encouragement. I also want to dedicate this to every person who is searching for the secret to hidden beauty. May you find Him and allow Him to make you beautiful from the inside out.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright Information

Dedication

Prologue

One: Recess

Two: Trouble on Whistling Billy

Three: Zavior's Favorites

Four: Dead Man's Fingernail

Five: The Secret Grove

Six: Giant Wisdom

Seven: Ivy Rose Cottage

Eight: The Harperwill Catastrophes

Nine: The Mindless Mob

Ten: The Warning

Eleven: Confessions

Twelve: Hidden Beauty

Epilogue

Contact Information

PROLOGUE

GHOSTLY VAPORS ROSE FROM THE damp earth. The shreds of transparent mist drifted like lost souls twisting and reaching for salvation. The ethereal dance was set alight by the silver beams of a full moon. Its shimmering rays fell through the limbs of gnarled oaks and knotted pines, making visible the smoky fog that never lifted or cleared.

A menacing figure stumbled through the lowlands, darting from shadow to shadow, avoiding the moon’s light. The figure entered the land between the valley and the high meadows, letting his anger and rage drive him deeper into the forest.

The man slowed to a walk and adjusted the burlap satchel on his sweat-drenched back. He pulled up for a moment and turned to gaze at the billows of smoke rising from the village in the valley.

He coughed. His lungs burned from rushing up the winding footpath. He swallowed, realizing his throat was scorched from breathing in smoke and the searing flames.

He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his enormous hand and drew in a ragged breath.

Turning, he continued his journey. He lumbered up the gloomy path, tripping on roots and jagged rocks. He melted into the gathering midnight fog and slipped away under the cloak of darkness.

~ONE~

RECESS

THE RECESS BELL CLINKED AND clattered in Mrs. Woodmyer’s hand as we filed out of the one-room schoolhouse in Harperwill.

Mrs. Woodmyer’s husband, our stern schoolmaster, stood by the door with arms crossed and brow furrowed to assure us he would use strict discipline if we failed to exit the schoolhouse in an orderly fashion.

Once in the school yard, neither Mr. Woodmyer nor his wife cared how we behaved. The only time they intervened during recess was to stop a fist fight among the boys or to break up a hair-pulling fight among the girls. Otherwise, we were on our own. To me the worst part about recess wasn’t the physical beatings but the verbal lashings I—and many like me—suffered during that long and terrible hour.

This particular day, I decided I would disregard the insults and the jabs from the other students. I would sit in the shade of the schoolhouse oak whether they liked it or not.

The schoolhouse oak grew in the middle of the yard and provided a significant amount of shade. Enough for every student to sit under on a hot summer day, but only certain students were welcome to rest under its branches. I was not one of them.

As I approached the shade of the oak, a group of girls began to whisper and snicker loudly. They pointed at me and huddled closer together.

Look, it’s the buck-toothed runt, Priscilla. Let’s ignore her, Mary-Beth said. Her dazzling blue eyes flashed with mischief.

I sat down a few paces from them and tried to smile with confidence, but I felt my face quiver with nerves. It felt like butterflies were flying around in my stomach, and their motion made me sick.

Ivy, the most beautiful girl in our class and the cruelest, sat with her back to me. She ran slender fingers through radiant blonde curls while speaking over her