Triumph of Faith

By MARYFRIDAH KIAIRA

Christian Fiction

Triumph of Faith

Loss meets love...the ultimate tug-of-war

Loss. Faith. Recovery. 

Maria is losing the battle of life. Everyone around her is concerned. The walls she has built are closing in and her parents are worried. Nothing they have done so far seems to work. They send her to their former hometown in the hope that the memory of her happy childhood would spur her healing.

Aiden remembers Maria as his vibrant childhood friend. He is determined to get that girl back but his own failures, desires and her refusal to let anyone in stands in the way. If no one can reach her, he fears they will lose her forever.

Will prayers and love be enough to bring her healing?

• Language: English
• Publisher: MARYFRIDAH
• Release date: Aug 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9789966134479

MARYFRIDAH KIAIRA

Writing is my dance

Book preview

Dedication

To Muthee, the man I love,

To Imani, the fruit of our love

To the Kiaira’s and the Mwenda’s

To the friends we have

This is my prayer for you

May the Lord bless you and keep you;

May He make his face shine on you

And be gracious to you;

May He turn his face toward you

And give you peace."

(Numbers 6:24-26)

Thank you!

God for the grace to write,

Muthee for investing in me,

Mbaabu for proofreading and editing,

Nkatha, Kajuju, Kanana, Masaki and Wangari

For pushing me to keep writing

Chapter One

LIFE; MARIA HAD INDEED faced life. She realized that with much more intensity as she sat in the chauffer driven sleek gray Mitsubishi Outlander that her father had bought her. She was on her way to a place she had not been to for seven years; Meru.

She was alone in the back seat having curtly but politely demanded that she travel alone. She needed space from everything and everyone. She needed time to let her mind roam as it had for the last four months. These had been the hardest four months of her life.

She felt it; the anguish that made her almost desire death. It was this agony that had drove her parents to the limit. Their once dreamy, passionate daughter, with a heart full of love, grace and honor, had turned into a walking talking zombie.

She had neglected her health. How could she eat? Why should she eat? The food was tasteless and the exercise of eating seemed futile; a waste of time. Still, she eventually succumbed to the constant nagging and ate so they would all leave her alone.

No one understood. That had been her conclusion. Someone had ruthlessly plucked all the happiness from her life and she was absolutely sure that she would never smile again.

After all, had she not done everything? Had she not prayed with all her heart? Had she not fasted and done all she could? Faith had come in huge amounts when it had mattered. Now, she felt that it had been useless; a waste of time.

She could clearly recall living in her room for months without seeing the light of the outside world. When she had thought her tears had drained, they proved her wrong day after day. Her mother had gone from worry to near madness; her father somber for their only child. They were losing her to sorrow. It was the kind of sorrow that was bound to kill her if nothing was done.

They had been on a cliff’s edge, she decided because now they were sending her away. Her parents had not let her out of their sight since tragedy struck. She knew them enough to know that this was a measure borne of desperation and desire to see her move past this. Whether it would be fruitful was up for debate though, for Maria was sure that her life would never be the same again.

THE WINDING ROADS, tall peaks and deep gorges, the calm breeze and oscillating tree tops seemed vaguely familiar to Maria as she caught the first sights of Meru. She sighed. Not even the beauty and serenity of Meru appealed to her. She felt lifeless.

She felt that she was doomed by sadness ever since that fateful day. Tears threatened to surface again at the painful memory and she did not stop them. Much as she had thought about it, she could not take her own life. She had been on the brink of it, but a promise she was bound to keep made it impossible. It had been a promise made out of love.

Mutuma the chauffer slowly parked the car in the exquisitely designed driveway. Maria wiped her tears away in preparation for her welcome. Knowing her godparents, the welcome would be nothing short of grand even though she had palpably stated she wanted no part of it.

It was grand. Henry and Rose Kaimenyi were her parents’ best friends from their campus days. They stood in wait outside the house along with their daughters Kinya and Kathambi and their three house staff. An enormous signage hung above them on the front door reading: ‘Welcome back to Meru Maria’.

Maria silently thanked God she had the sense to ask Mutuma to give her a minute to rapidly make up her face before walking out of the car. Not that it did much because she just could not bring herself to fake a smile. Her eyes were empty and soulless; their vibrance gone, just like the person she had loved most.

She let them all hug and doll over her managing to sound almost cheerful. After all, greetings would not last forever. She acknowledged how lovely the welcoming décor was and expressed her gratitude for all the effort. As they went into the house, Maria quickly confided in her godmother Rose.

Asserting politely that she was completely exhausted from the journey, she asked to be excused from the rest of the festivities. Rose agreed with an understanding that made Maria cringe with guilt. However, she knew it would be a letdown to everyone if she appeared there and ended up in tears as had become of habit.

Rose however insisted that there would be no missing dinner. This statement filled Maria with a self-consciousness that made her too aware how thin she now looked. She honestly did not care much about looking good anymore. To her, beauty if she ever