Flashes of Blessedness

By Arlene Marie Wever

Ariëtte, the protagonist of the novel, is an American girl who grows up on an enchanting Caribbean island. Ariëtte’s parents are exemplary citizens; however, regrettably, religion is not part of their lives. Ariëtte is skeptical about God’s existence.
Life on the island is good around the turn of the millennium. Ariëtte has a life filled with adventures and parties, yet she has also experienced sorrowful moments.
After Ariëtte graduates from high school on the island, she goes to study at a highly-competitive university in the Southwestern region of the United States of America. The college of her choice turns out to be the perfect place that she had always dreamed of. However, during her studies, she makes wrong choices and is forced to abandon the university.
On an unsuspecting day, the Lord touches Ariëtte’s life in the most amazing way.

The suspenseful novel Flashes of Blessedness is filled with inspirational testimonies that truly happened to the author or to a close relative of her. The novel is fictional, yet the epiphanies—in bold print in the novel—happened for real. The author’s objective is to teach the joy of Christianity to young adults and adults. The enthralling Christian novel is a crucial building block for the successful formation of teenage girls.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098092450

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Flashes of Blessedness

Arlene Marie Wever

Copyright © 2021 by Arlene Marie Wever

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

In this novel, only the epiphanies, which were written in bold print, ever truly happened. With the exception of the epiphanies in bold print, everything written in this book was purely fictional. Names, characters, places, and incidents were either the product of the author’s imagination or were used fictitiously; and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales was entirely coincidental.

All Scripture quotations were taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Ariëtte’s Birth

Ariëtte Swallowed a Pin

Ariëtte’s Birthday Party

Grandmother’s Hospitalization

A Day at the Beach

Friendship

The Millennium Ball

The Planned Assault

A Letter for Ariëtte

Ariëtte’s High School Graduation

Ariëtte’s Last Day on the Island of Saint Agnes

The University of Saint Patrick

The Amusement Park

The Football Game

The Freshman Ball

Ariëtte Chooses a Boyfriend

The Freshman Year

The Sophomore Year

The Car Accident

Ariëtte’s Last Day at the University of Saint Patrick

The Visit to a Psychologist

A New Life

Mrs. Dilia

Memorable Weddings

The Return to the United States

This book is dedicated to teenage girls.

Receive the joy of Christianity, hold it forevermore in your heart, and have a wonderful life.

Foreword

The author wrote the novel Flashes of Blessedness out of a desire to share the inspirational epiphanies—revealing scenes or disclosures of a divine being—that she experienced in her life with the readers. The novel was fiction, yet the amazing epiphanies truly happened to the author or to a close relative of her.

The author also wanted to contribute to the formation of teenage girls. The protagonist in the novel made many right choices in her life, but she also made some wrong choices. Through this book, it was the author’s intention that teenage girls learn from the protagonist’s life experiences so they could ensure a wonderful life.

The book had two purposes. The first purpose of the book was to teach the joy of Christianity to young adults and adults. The second purpose of the book was to contribute to the personal, moral, and Christian formation of teenage girls.

Preface

Ariëtte, the protagonist of the novel, was an American girl who grew up on an enchanting Caribbean island. She was the daughter of Earnest and Carolyn Rittenou. Earnest worked as a manager at a high-rise resort, and Carolyn was a homemaker. They were exemplary citizens; however, regrettably, religion was not part of their lives.

Ariëtte had heard about many marvelous epiphanies but was nonetheless skeptical about God’s existence. On an unsuspecting day, the Lord touched her life in the most amazing way.

The story, the characters, the island, and the college in this book are fictitious. Yet the landscapes, as well as the flora, the fauna, the history, the social-economical conditions, and the cultures genuinely represent the Caribbean and college life in the United States at the point in time when the millennium changed.

The faith-strengthening epiphanies in bold print in the tale truly occurred. The celestial divulgements—the flashes of blessedness—in this publication really happened to the author or to a close relative of her in ways that were similar or comparable to the situations described.

Prologue

Earnest Rittenou and his wife Carolyn—an American couple—had been living more than five years on the fairy-tale-like Caribbean island of Saint Agnes. The large, elliptically shaped island was surrounded by pristine, pearl-white beaches and a translucent turquoise sea.

Earnest Rittenou was a tall, handsome, dark-haired man with generous Windsor blue eyes. He was distinguished, confident, and a born leader; he was a man who everyone respected. He had recently obtained the award of the most outstanding manager at the opulent five-star hotel where he worked. Mr. Rittenou loved his family; he would spend all his free time with them. He was an active member of a service club—a charitable organization that worked voluntarily for the well-being of the community.

Carolyn Rittenou was a vivacious, good-looking brunette of average stature. She was present at almost all the important social events on the island where she lived with her family. She always wore the finest dresses and had the most exquisite hairdo at those gatherings. She enjoyed partying so much that she would even dance with a pillar when her husband was tired of dancing at the end of the feast. She also loved to consume liquor on social occasions. Nonetheless, she was kindhearted and devoted to her family and her home.

The couple was expecting their second child. They planned to have their baby in the United States so their child would have the same American birthrights as Josey, their firstborn daughter. However, fate determined that the baby would be born on the island. When they did an ultrasound, they were informed that the fetus was already thirty-seven weeks of gestation age; they were not allowed to travel to the United States anymore.

It was Carolyn’s lively character that initially attracted Earnest to her. Over the years, their love grew stronger, yet the deeper meaning of life had lamentably been forgotten in their home. Would the baby that Carolyn was expecting to become like her mother, who was fond of mundane pleasures, or would she discover the truly amazing spiritual wonders of the universe?

Chapter 1

Ariëtte’s Birth

It’s a girl! She was born at 6:19 a.m. You’ll have to call her Aurora, the name of the Roman goddess of sunrise because she was born when the sun rises, the doctor told the mother enthusiastically.

The mother, who was relieved from the pain of childbirth, replied to the European gynecologist, She’s welcome. My seven-year-old daughter will have a companion, a true friend.

The doctor watched the sunrise from the delivery room window on the third floor. The sun’s golden rays illuminated the island, and he saw heavenly clouds traveling in the grayish early morning sky. The golden sunrise and the celestial clouds were the perfect background for the mountainous rainforest landscape with a sky-high canopy tree layer.

The natural scenery had been the same for thousands of years, for the trees had never been cut out. When the Europeans discovered this large tropical island nearly five centuries ago, they said that it was the most enchanting place in the world.

There was an enticing hidden beach at the utmost eastern point of the Caribbean island where the thick rainforest came down to its edge. There were no roads to take one there; one could only get there with a boat.

The botanically-rich forested area that was viewable from the clinic was home to many vibrant, multicolored birds. Exotic flowers such as orchids and bromeliads flourished naturally in the tropical jungle. On that lovely day—April 21, 1982—all the resplendent flowering plants on the island were blossoming with blooms of all shades, shapes, and sizes. Even an intriguing plant that flowered unique, small, white flowers every thirty-three years was in bloom on that splendid day.

I saw the name Ariëtte in my book of names. The name has the meaning ‘most holy.’ This baby is so pure. I think that the name Ariëtte is suitable for her, the mother of the newborn joyfully told her husband, who was present at his daughter’s birth.

He replied lovingly, As you wish, my dear. I like it too. It’s a unique name. Moreover, the name reminds me of my wonderful mother Henriëtte in the United States.

The proud parents admired their daughter for the first time.

The hospital where Ariëtte was born issued her birth certificate on which there was a picture of the immaculate Virgin Mary wearing a splendorous veil. She was holding the faultless infant Jesus in her arms. On the document was written: Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth.

One day after the baby’s birth, Mr. Earnest Rittenou drove his wife Carolyn and the little one from the health care facility on the east side of the island to their suburban residence located in the central region.

While Mr. Rittenou was driving the car to take his wife and the small child home, he told his wife delightedly, "I received a visit from a lady yesterday. She informed me that you won a splendid white Bible that is printed with golden letters from a fundraising raffle that you bought to help a sick native boy.

The lady’s face radiated with joy when she heard that our daughter was born on the same day that you won the Bible. She said that winning the Bible was a sign from God and that the Bible was a gift from God for the baby and her sister because you could teach them about God.

After being silent for a few minutes, Mrs. Rittenou replied dryly, I believe that women need to have good judgment for things to work out well for them. I will not read the Bible to my daughters. I don’t think that biblical knowledge will help a girl in her life.

Then Mrs. Rittenou said with a smile on her face, I’m glad that I’m not pregnant anymore. I can finally drink liquor again when I go to parties. It seems like a lifetime to me that I didn’t have any exquisite alcoholic beverage.

Mr. Rittenou, his wife, and the newborn rode on the main road that connected the east side of the island with the central part. The windows of the car were open. They inhaled the fresh, invigorating sea breeze. They saw sugarcane fields and banana plantations alongside the road. Then they drove through a large city where many industries were established. Subsequently, they passed through an untouched area where one could hike on trails and enjoy the magnificent and hilly emerald green scenery where luxuriant tropical plants flourished.

They approached the central region of the island. The leaves of the coconut trees that were planted alongside the road were swaying lively. Mrs. Rittenou admired the shimmering Caribbean ocean while she was holding the baby girl in her arms. The sunlight’s reflection on the sea sparkled like a million diamonds.

The central part and the west side of the island were not like the rainy eastern mountainous territory; they were flat and dry, and they had desertlike vegetation that was adapted to the little rainfall. There were many luxurious resorts, as well as intimate inns to lodge and to entertain beach and water sports lovers on the central and on the western region of the island.

The Caribbean island was filled with natural splendors such as hidden sand dunes, marvelous waterfalls, outrageously beautiful beaches, fascinating tropical vegetation, brightly-colored parrots and hummingbirds, and idyllic fisherman villages, yet the island’s most valuable treasure was that it was free of racial struggles because it was inhabited by a color-blind population.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream had certainly become a reality on the Caribbean island of Saint Agnes. Politicians who had slave owners as ancestors governed the island side by side with statesmen who were descendants of slaves. They did an excellent job. On the island, people were not judged by their skin color but rather by their character.

Chapter 2

Ariëtte Swallowed a Pin

The Rittenous lived in a spacious new home located in an upscale suburban neighborhood on the border of the capital in the central part of the island where most of the residential and commercial sites were situated.

The Rittenou’s home was within walking distance from the commercial areas, schools, and churches; yet the family members could easily go for a stroll in nature because there was a desert forest right behind their backyard. The forest was inhabited by a fauna that was well adapted to the fiery hot temperatures during the day. Many species of bushes, cacti, and trees that could easily survive in the dry climate flourished there naturally. In particular, the trees provided better shelter from the relentless sun than any umbrella that had ever been made by any man, while the giant natural rocks gave the wood a special touch. It was a fabulous place to live.

The ambiance in the Rittenou residence was fantastic. The walls in the common rooms of the home had an off-white shade, while the floor tiles were oat beige. Mrs. Carolyn Rittenou had carefully selected the inviting dark walnut furniture of her living and dining room, and she had chosen the impressive paintings of landscapes that decorated the walls. The creamy beige carpet with the floral print matched perfectly with the teal green curtains. The exquisite vases and the other home ornaments in the common rooms of the house blended magnificently with the furniture. When the spotless, double-glazed glass windows were opened, an invigorating ocean breeze infiltrated the house. Around noon, one could smell the delicious aroma of a home-cooked meal in the kitchen of the house. A live-in maid who helped Mrs. Rittenou with the housekeeping kept the home immaculately clean.

On Monday, June 20, 1983, at nine o’clock in the morning, after Mr. Earnest Rittenou had gone to work and the eldest daughter, Josey, had gone to school, Mrs. Carolyn Rittenou was seasoning the meat that she was going to cook for lunch in the kitchen. Grandmother Annie—who lived with her daughter Carolyn and her family—was busy working on handcrafts in the living room.

Ariëtte was now a one-year-old toddler. She was playing with a doll in the dining room. She was wearing disposable diapers and a white cotton tank top that had an elephant surrounded by colorful balloons printed on it. Socks kept her feet warm. Her well-fed, sturdy body was protected by baby fat, and she smelled terrifically of baby cologne. Her short-cut, honey-blonde hair had lovely curls where it ended, and her chestnut-brown eyes sparkled like joyful lights.

Suddenly, the bright-eyed infant crawled swiftly over to the living room table. She was probably looking for toys. When she reached the edge of the table, she held onto it and stood up. She did not find any plaything on the table, but she encountered a large treacherous pin.

The previous day, Mrs. Rittenou had used colored pushpins to mark the desired length of her new kitchen curtains before she brought them to a tailor. She forgot one pin, which looked like a large needle with a pink pearl head, on the living room table. Ariëtte—who was exploring her environment—found the fatal pin, picked it up, and put it in her mouth.

Grandma Annie, who was in the living room knitting vanity bags for ladies to be sold at her church’s fundraising event, was not aware that there was a large pin on the table. Suddenly, Mrs. Annie looked at Ariëtte and saw what she was doing. Horrified, she hurried to the toddler and tried to find the pin in her mouth, but she noticed that the infant had already swallowed it. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she screamed, Help, the child swallowed a deadly pin!

Mrs. Rittenou ran out of the kitchen despairingly to see what was happening to her daughter. When she realized what had occurred, she was astonished into speechlessness. Then she desperately called an ambulance to take Ariëtte to the hospital. Subsequently, she phoned her husband at his work, and she told him what happened. Mr. Rittenou promised, with a shaking voice, that he would meet them at the hospital.

A keen native housekeeper—who was cutting vegetables for the meal that Mrs. Rittenou was preparing—ran out of the kitchen to see what was happening to Ariëtte. With a Caribbean English accent, she exclaimed, The child has to eat something heavy! Hopefully, she’ll throw up the pin with the heavy food! I’ll go to see what we have in the fridge!

The housemaid found a large cinnamon roll in the refrigerator. Mrs. Rittenou put it in her handbag. She planned to take it with her in the ambulance that would soon arrive.

Grandma Annie, who was weeping disconsolate, left the house at 9:20 a.m. by foot and hurried to a nearby Catholic elementary school. Perturbed and with a trembling voice, she informed the principal of the school about what had occurred, and she asked her to let the schoolchildren pray for the infant’s survival and recovery.

The head of the school, who knew Mrs. Annie from church, understood the urgency of the situation. With a pained look on her face, the director walked straight to all the teachers to ask them to disrupt their classes for five minutes to call upon the Lord to help a small child in critical need. By 9:50 a.m., the entire school was praying.

At 9:55 a.m., an ambulance arrived at the Rittenou residence to take the infant to the hospital. The distressed mother went with her frightened child in the emergency wagon. It would take an hour and a half to get to the clinic, which was where most Americans who lived on the island went for medical treatment. The other infirmary on the island, which was frequented mainly by the natives, was a two-hour drive.

At 10:05 a.m., Grandma Annie returned to the Rittenou residence heartbroken yet consoled in the knowledge that the schoolchildren had prayed for Ariëtte. At home, she told the Divine Father sorrowfully about what happened to her granddaughter, and she asked him with faith to save the child’s life.

The toddler was crying and shaking with panic in the hospital van. She had her right arm around her mother and her left arm on her churning stomach. The distressed mother looked scared.

The mother told the small child that she should eat the sweet roll for her own good. She did her utmost to make her daughter eat the Danish pastry, but the infant could hardly understand the language, so she was not able to make Ariëtte eat the cinnamon roll.

A kind native paramedic, who was with them in the clinic wagon, gave Ariëtte his cheese sandwich. He said in a clear voice, "If you eat this now, you’ll go to the beach!" He repeated the same phrase five times. Every time, he emphasized the words eat now and beach. The toddler finally ate the sandwich.

At 11:20 a.m., just a few minutes before reaching the emergency room, Ariëtte threw up violently in the clinic van, and the threatening pin came out miraculously with the vomit. Mrs. Rittenou sighed heavily when she saw that the pin got out of her daughter’s body and that her little darling seemed to be in good health.

Mr. Rittenou was waiting restlessly at the health service facility when his wife and daughter arrived at 11:25 a.m. Mrs. Rittenou, who was still torn up, nervously informed her husband about everything that happened in the clinic wagon. After hearing all the details, Mr. Rittenou put his arms around his wife—who was holding their daughter in her arms. The couple wept together, for they were aware of the great danger that their child had been in.

The little one was so delighted that her ordeal was over that she smiled broadly. With a face that was glowing with delight, the infant waved goodbye to everyone that she saw passing by at the health service institution.

Grandma Annie prayed with faith until 12:05 p.m.—when she received a phone call from her daughter and heard about Ariëtte’s recovery. After hearing the good news, her face brightened with joy. Then she talked to the Lord to thank him for the satisfying outcome of the predicament.

The toddler stayed one day in the hospital for observation. When the