Redemption's Flight

By Lucke Levine

If you're struggling to turn your life around to find meaning and stability, then the time has come to stand still and surrender. Bella was always running. At age eighteen years old, she ran away from home to find answers to her troubled life. Her path led to dangerous places where her struggles continued into adulthood. She hadn't envisioned it to be this way, for the consequences of her decisions sent her in a downward spiral, always fighting to escape the chaos that threatened her very existence and that of her loved ones. But amidst the turmoil of her day to day living, there was always a welcome intervention that she didn't quite understand as she continued her trail of bad choices, until she was at the brink of utter darkness... What she didn't know, was that someone was following her, pursuing her every step of the way. At work one night in the maternity nursery, amidst a unit of sleeping newborns, she came face to face with her pursuer. Will she keep running, or surrender once and for all...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781643493602

Book preview

Chapter 1

Ladies and gentlemen, flight 4825 with service into Jacksonville, Florida, is now boarding . . .

Bella roused her two daughters, and they started toward Delta Airlines, toward a new life and family in the United States of America.

She had left her home in Guyana eleven years ago to migrate to the Bahamas, seeking a more lucrative job and a better life. It was hard leaving her kids and especially her mom. Bella’s mother was never married and had to work hard to provide food and shelter for eight children; she wanted to give back to her some of what she’d missed.

Her mother and Walter, Bella’s eldest brother, accompanied her to the airport that day. After they had left, she felt alone, venturing out on a journey into the unknown.

Sitting in the lounge waiting for her flight, she thought about her kids whom she had left behind and wondered how soon she would be able to find a job, so they can be with her again. Her heart was heavy when she thought about how they must have felt at the tender ages of ten, eleven, and fifteen years old. Melissa, the youngest, would have to sleep knowing her mother wasn’t there to kiss her good night. Mark, mama’s boy, would have to cope with her absence. Bella knew their father would take good care of them for he loved them as much as she did. Michael, her firstborn, who was left in the care of her mother, could be stubborn sometimes, but her brother Walter was there as a role model.

Leaving them seemed selfish, but her reason for doing so did not allow the luxury of reasoning or dwelling on anything save finding a better life, a life she could not give them as a single parent in Guyana.

The plane left Timehri International Airport and Guyana at 6:45 a.m. Bella settled in her seat by the window, popped a gum in her mouth as her mother had told her to do to keep her ears clear, and looked out the window. As the plane leveled to a smooth cruise, her thoughts returned to the life she had left in Guyana.

Bella was born in 1966, the year of Guyana’s independence. She grew up with four brothers and three sisters with her mother as the sole breadwinner.

They were poor.

Bella’s mother struggled to make ends meet and to give them an education, many times having to choose between buying food or school shoes. Her father was alive, yes; he reared poultry for a living and worked part time as a nurse aide at the psychiatric hospital. Even though he lived in the village nearby, they hardly ever saw him and couldn’t approach him for anything, because he told them his wife would be offended. He supported them through the court whenever he felt like it, and Bella and her older siblings took turns walking almost five hours to and from the courthouse every so often. Most of the time, he did not make any deposit.

E fifty-seven, fifty-nine was the deposit number she remembered calling out to the clerk at the courthouse, all the while thinking about the curried chicken her mother would prepare when she returned home with the money.

No deposit this month, the voice called back after a few moments.

Bella never saw who was behind the window. It would have given her some satisfaction to put a face to the female voice that she wanted to ask if she was sure, but Bella knew better. The clerk probably had the answer waiting, because those words were said more times than they would have liked.

Walking back home in the scorching sun was always slower in those instances; no one wanted to be the bearer of bad news to those waiting expectantly for curried chicken with white rice and a big cup of cold lemonade. It was always heartbreaking to see the disappointed look on her mother’s face. She would eventually send one of them to an aunt, uncle, or one of the neighbors, whomever they did not borrow from the last time.

Quinn, Bella’s brother after her, always scout around the open market waiting for produce and fish that the vendors were not able to sell that day. They battled malnutrition and scurvy because of not being able to afford the luxury of milk, fruits, or vegetables.

Her mother did housework for people in the neighborhood to put food on the table. She took Bella with her one day. There were piles of laundry to wash by hand, and the wooden floor had to be scrubbed on hands and knees. She was glad to help, and in her mind, she wished her mother didn’t have her so that there would be one less mouth to feed, and she would work less hard. On the other hand, she was glad she had her to help when she needed it.

Despite the struggle, they excelled in school; Bella spent only a few days in first grade before she was advanced to the second grade. There was always laughter at home; they were all blessed with a healthy sense of humor; and they could turn any situation into something funny, even if there was nothing to eat.

During that time, her brother Walter joined the Guyana Defense Force, and her mother was glad for his regular support. Late one night, there was a knock at the door. Eyebrows were raised wondering who could be calling at that hour; her sister Arlene opened the door, and there he was in his army garb. There were surprised shouts, because they had not heard from him in three months, and this was the first time he had come home since joining the army.

Bella looked over at her mom and could see she was trying to hold back her emotions. He brought chocolate, candies, and other goodies; he even brought terry-cloth underwear for Bella and her sisters. The four of them were fighting for the best colors; they were so pretty that they decided they weren’t going to wear them. Her mother bought shoes, clothes, and, most of all grocery, in bulk. It was good to see her happy as they tried on their clothes over and over and . . .

Ladies and gentlemen, the voice of the pilot broke into her reverie, We would be landing shortly in Trinidad and Tobago. It took almost forty-five minutes for passengers to disembark while others join the flight, and then, they were in the air again. It was still dark outside, and Bella looked down at the lights below growing dimmer and dimmer.

Chapter 2

The storm hit suddenly , she recalled. No one was prepared for a storm, and there were no hurricane building codes in her country which is below sea level. Whenever hurricane threatens the neighboring countries, it passes over Guyana.

Bella lived with her family in a dilapidated wooden building that leaned dangerously on its stilts. She couldn’t recall the property owner showing up at any time, and no repairs were done to the house.

That night, the house shook violently as the wind and the rain beat against it. They shouted for help but didn’t think anyone heard them. The zinc on the roof flapped angrily as the wind threatened to rip it from its place. Water seeped through the creases on the wall and unto the floor; they took turns shifting containers around various areas of the house to collect water that was dripping from the roof. No one spoke as the storm raged on; her two younger brothers cowered in a corner beside their mother. Everyone knew it was dangerous to go outside to seek shelter at one of the neighbor’s house, and it was equally dangerous to remain inside the house; somehow, they all understood the inevitable and waited.

The flambeau was still alight on the living-room table, but no one made any attempt to put it out; it was as though fear had rooted them to the spot. Suddenly, there were loud creaking and cracking sounds as the house leaned further still, and they all screamed as it started to fall. The sound it made was deafening, as they were jolted to a stop.

No one moved. There was a long period of silence as they stared at each other for signs of injury. Thankfully, no one was hurt. As they picked themselves up, the first thing Bella noticed was the flambeau still sanding triumphantly on the table, its flame flickering gently like a flag when a battle had been won.

They were alive! God had spared them! Somewhere, someone was praying for them.

When they felt safe enough to move around, each of them settled down in a dry corner and tried to sleep as the storm continued. Bella felt sorry for her mother; she hurt for her because she knew her heart was breaking, but she showed strength of character, making sure her children were as comfortable as they could be, and then she settled down. Bella looked over at her but couldn’t see her face in the dim light. She could sense that her mother was crying silently and wanted to protect her and to put her arms around her and tell her everything will be all right, but she did not move she laid there in the darkness feeling helpless.

In the morning after the storm had passed, they went outside to assess the damage. The house was now resting firmly on the fallen stilts that once held it ten feet above the ground. The roof was still intact, but some of the wooden windows were hanging from one hinge. With the help and support from the neighbors, they quickly set about to make it habitable but decided not to raise it again to its previous height.

Chapter 3

They lived like that for a while. Uncle Harley, her mother’s uncle, came to lend a helping hand. Bella always looked forward to his visits, because he told them lots of Anansi stories. When the house started to deteriorate further, they moved into an empty house owned by one of Bella’s aunts. Her mother soon got a job, as a cleaner at the hospital, but the cost of living was so high that food was still scarce at home.

She suffered in silence as she watched her mother trying to make ends meet; Bella decided she had to find something to do to help out.

Arlene went into nursing, and things became a little better, but there was trouble at home. Bella and her siblings especially her sister Elaine could not get along; they fought and argued constantly. Her mother would be riddled with complaints as soon as she got home from a hard day’s work, and