Resurrection: His Village Series, #3

By Erin Lee and Olivia Marie

Father is gone.

Mother is too.

The Family is waiting for direction.

Twin sisters Hannah and Delilah have full control of the land left to them by the Messiah himself.

It is in The Doctrine and all Father's late night scribbled prophesies that it is the twin sisters' responsibility to determine the fate of The Village. But one is good and the other evil. Only one sister can determine His Village's fate before the Messiah returns on final Judgement Day.

What happens when two prophets disagree on fates destined for the end of the world?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crazy Ink
• Release date: Aug 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393101499

Erin Lee

Erin Lee lives in Queensland, Australia and has been working with children for over 25 years. She has worked in both long day care and primary school settings and has a passion for inclusive education and helping all children find joy in learning. Erin has three children of her own and says they have helped contribute ideas and themes towards her quirky writing style. Her experience working in the classroom has motivated her to write books that bring joy to little readers, but also resource educators to help teach fundamental skills to children, such as being safe, respectful learners.

Book preview

For those who know that the apple never falls far.

CHAPTER ONE

Resurrection

Hannah

It was a few weeks until my eighteenth birthday and I was excited. Not so much for my birthday, but because Delilah was coming home. My twin sister had been sent away almost ten years ago to a boarding school for troubled children and I had only seen her twice a year since.

It was odd. I had vague memories of her but I didn’t remember her behavior being so bad that my parents would believe sending her way was the best option. I knew we fought, and she could get mean, but I knew other kids like that in The Village and they were never sent away. I couldn’t figure out why she was so different than they were.

To be honest, my entire childhood and the circumstances that had surrounded it were hard to fully understand. I had heard the rumors that my dad wasn’t my real dad. Some kids swore the man they called ‘Father’ or ‘Messiah’ was my true biological father. I had also heard Delilah got all that was evil in him and that was why her eyes were red. I wouldn’t believe it. My sister couldn’t have done the things they said she did. Anytime I had asked about it my mom would change the subject or Dad would ask me for help in another room. My entire life, I felt like they were holding back on me but could never figure out how or why. I had also heard that my mom was being punished for sins she did when she was younger and that was why my parents couldn’t have any more kids. These were all dumb rumors though and I refused to believe them.

I went out to the garden we planted in the back of our house and picked some vegetables for dinner. Stopping by the patch of wild flowers that grew along the south side of our house, I grabbed a batch of blue, purple and yellow ones to bring to Mom. She loved fresh flowers in the kitchen. She said it made her happy; a mood that hadn’t come to her much over the past month.

Rounding the corner, I saw Susan and Sarah on the small porch next door. I waved and they waved back. Making my way over to them, it was impossible to ignore the tension between them. They were whispering so I wasn’t able to make out what they were saying, but Susan didn’t look happy. She was shaking her head as she folded her arms across her small chest. Sarah was gesturing; frantically waving her arms as she spoke.

Susan looked up when I was halfway to her place and put her fingers to her lips to get Sarah to stop talking. Both turned to me and plastered forced smiles on their faces. Susan unfolded her arms, but I could tell I had walked in on a conversation I shouldn’t have.

Hi honey, Sarah said. Reaching for me, she engulfed me in a hug.

Hi Sarah, I said, hugging her before I moved to hug Susan.

Did you pick those for us or your mom? Susan asked pointing to the small batch of flowers I had in my hand.

Well, for mom but you can take them. I can get more on my way back to the house, I said.

Thank you, Sarah said, taking the flowers from me. She broke the bouquet in half and handed some to Susan as she brought her batch up to her nose. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and sighed. These smell so good.

Thank you dear, Susan said. She looked down at her flowers but rolled them in between her hand. Disappearing into her thoughts, she missed the question Sarah asked her.

Susan, did you hear me? Sarah asked when she didn’t get a respond.

No, sorry. What? Susan said.

I asked if you wanted me to put these in your house quick, so they didn’t wilt. Sarah said.

Oh, no. Here, I can do that, Susan had both their flowers scooped up and disappeared into her house before Sarah could react. It was clear she was happy to get away from me.

Shrugging her shoulders, Sarah turned her attention back to me.

Your birthday is coming up. Are you excited? Sarah asked, giving me the first real smile since I arrived.

Yes, I said, Delilah comes home!

Yes, I’ve heard that, Sarah wasn’t smiling anymore. Staring down at her shoes, she brought her left arm up and held on to her right arm.

Why does everyone seem so upset my sister is coming back to where she belongs? Our family will be together again finally! How is this bad? I stopped asking questions about her out loud a few years after they sent her away. It was pointless because there wasn’t one person in The Village who would answer me.

I looked down at the pail of vegetables I had in my hand and tried to change the subject.

Mom wanted me to ask if you and Susan would like to have dinner with us tomorrow night? Always being the one to make people happy, I suppressed my joy of having Delilah home to make everyone else feel better.

I would love to. Let me go ask Susan, Sarah ran into the house, and again, I was left standing there feeling like I had done something wrong.

It was a few minutes before Sarah came back out. Susan followed right behind her and they had grins back on their faces – again forced, I could clearly see it.

We will both be there, Susan said, approaching me.

Great, I will let Mom know then. I better get back. I still have a lot to do, I said. I really didn’t, but I wanted out of there. The way they were acting had my stomach in knots.

Walking across the little plot of land that separated our house from Susan’s, I went past the little pet graveyard The Village started when I was very little.

So many pets, so many little crosses. I wonder what happened to them all. There was a small plot that was littered with markers. No names or what type of animal they were, but there were more in there than I ever remembered having as pets. The last time I asked my dad about it, he barked at me to leave it alone. It was a reminder of the evil that lived in this place was the best explanation I ever got.

‘Evil’ was a word I heard often here. I hated that word. I never believed that someone could be evil all the time; I saw the good all around us. People did bad things once in a while, but that didn’t make them evil. Did it?

LATER THAT NIGHT, WHEN I was helping mom with dinner, I noticed things about her I hadn’t before. She looked older to me in the last few months. I was beginning to see the grey in her hair and wrinkles I hadn’t until now. She wasn’t her normal happy self either. She hadn’t been. Lately, she would mope around, was sleeping more and it had been harder to get a smile from her. Not even Dad could cheer her up. The only thing changing in our house was the fact her other daughter was coming back. It seemed to me that she should be elated.

We sat around our small table that night, the only one eating was my dad. Mom just picked at her food, moving it around her plate with her fork. The air was thick, and the tension was building. Studying one parent then the other, I waited for the explosion. My dad huffed a few times, rolled his eyes but didn’t say a word. Moving my potatoes around, I felt sick.

Then it happened.

That’s it! I’ve had enough! my dad exploded, flinging his plate across the room. He stood with a force strong enough to throw his chair on its back. "You better get your act together. You knew this was coming! We talked about it since the day she left."

My mother put her arm on my dad’s forearm and glared at him.

Not here, she said. Standing up, she pulled on him so he would follow her.

They made their way to the back bedroom and shut the door. Judging by the force of the slam, it had been my dad that shut it. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it was not a peaceful conversation. Voices were raised and there was more than once when the door or wall had been hit.

A few minutes later, I heard my mom crying. Both were softly speaking, and I held my breath that this fight was over.

They never came out of their room that night. I sat at the table for over an hour before I gave up. Cleaning up the dishes and putting away the food that hadn’t been touched, I started to worry that having Delilah come home might not be for the best after all.

No. She is my sister and I want her home. This is just an adjustment that we all have to face. It has just been the three of us for so long. Mom and Dad are just nervous. I know she has changed. I have seen it in her the last few years when we visited. Things will be good again. I will have