His Light in Their Reflections

By Rachel Vanderwood

His Light in Their Reflections by Rachel Vanderwood

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685177379

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His Light in Their Reflections

Rachel Vanderwood

Copyright © 2022 by Rachel Vanderwood

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

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 1

Damon found himself to be abruptly awoken early in the morning, before the sun had made its presence known, to shed light to the darkened rooms of his home by the recurring vision of the entity that had haunted his mind since his first encounter with it the summer before. Sitting upright in bed after forcing himself awake, Damon looked over to observe his devoted wife, Serena, still peacefully asleep beside him. Knowing that his best course of action was to rise and ready himself for the day, eager to calm his labored respirations and wash his skin that had been moistened in his body’s natural response to the fear elicited by the nightmare that had plagued his sanity for more than a year, Damon quietly and carefully repositioned himself to stand up and make his way into the bathroom.

As he stood in front of the double sink, with each side designated respectively for him and his wife, he placed the palms of his hands on the ceramic countertop and felt his fingers firmly grip the wells of each of the sinks in support as he leaned forward to observe every detail of the reflection that stared back at him from the elongated mirror that perfectly hung parallel to the sink below.

Frustrated by the appearance of the swollen, loosened skin beneath his eyes that had resulted from an extended period of insomnia and anxiety brought about by the mental, emotional, and spiritual distress that he had suffered, Damon said aloud to himself, Come on, Damon. You are stronger than this. It’s over. Move on.

Not willing to admit defeat or resolve to question his own sanity that some of his self-proclaimed friends and superiors had already done, prompting the temporary personal leave that he had now just begun from his profession of being a well-respected homicide detective, Damon turned away from the mirror that forced him to face himself. As he readied himself to take a shower, he hoped that the warmth and pressure of the water could be at least a temporary distraction. Although hopeful, Damon soon found that his mind could not escape the visions of the entity he knew to have seen and the persistent feeling that something was coming. Feeling the same sense of apprehension and unsettled anxiety as he had the night that he faced the source of his nightmares, Damon knew that he needed to be prepared for whatever he would face.

As he closed his eyes in an attempt to relax his heightened senses and he attempted to focus on the pressure from the hot water beating down upon his body, Damon desperately tried to understand why he was being tested. Was there merit behind his growing fears? Or was he, in fact, losing grip on his very sanity?

Forcing as much strength as he could to continue to fight whatever darkness was toying with him, self-inflicted or not, Damon placed his right hand over his face, saying a quick prayer for motivation, then turned off the water to dry himself and dress.

While he followed in his usual routine of making his morning coffee for energy to move forward, he was soon joined by his wife, who, too, had taken a time off from her job to help her husband through his time of need.

Since when did we get so old? Damon sarcastically asked his wife as he took notice of her walking toward him.

Speak for yourself, babe! I’m not old, just aging to perfection, Serena replied with a cheerful smile.

You know what I mean. I just feel so much older than I should. Even my mind. I don’t know, maybe I am crazy, Damon reluctantly replied.

You are not crazy! So stop believing that you are! What you went through last year was traumatic. It was traumatic for our whole family! But if God intended for that to be our demise, then it would have been. We are standing here now, still together, baby. I know you are stronger than this. But you have to believe that. Baby, you survived the ordeal, even the federal agents were in disbelief that you did. God’s not done with you yet! And neither am I! We will figure this out together, okay? Serena responded in heartfelt sincerity as she walked over to her husband and wrapped her arms around him in loving support.

As he returned her embrace, Damon responded, I know, baby. I love you. I’ll get over this, whatever it is that my mind is playing tricks on. I just hate that I had to take a time off from work, the one thing that I prided myself in being good at, because of these damn nightmares and sleepless nights. Not to mention the constant anxiety.

Think of it this way, baby. You will have more time to spend with Tonya before she starts her classes at the end of the month. All of us will be able to spend time together, Serena gratefully reminded him.

I know, you’re right, babe. I just want my family to still look at me as the strength for them. As their protector, not some weakling that’s being taken out of commission because of some mental breakdown, Damon replied as he began to feel disheartened by his recent shortcomings.

You know how much me and the girls need you, baby! You are strong! But you are human just like we are. You are not exempt from feeling fear, anxiety, or self-doubt. Baby, we are family, and that means that when one part of our unit is down, the others fight to build them back up! Remember that! There is no shame in what you are going through. And I promise that when we do get through this together, I remind you, you will feel stronger than you did before this mess happened to you! Serena sincerely vowed to her husband.

I hope so, Serena. I’m having all that I can do to keep my mind right. I’m almost afraid for anything else to go wrong. I’m trying, baby. I am determined not to disappoint you, Damon affirmed.

I know you won’t disappoint me, baby. You couldn’t, Serena replied in sincere confidence.

As he continued to hold his wife closely to him, Damon kissed the top of her head as the side of her face remained securely pressed against his chest, then smiled and asked, So what did you plan for us on our first official day off together?

Looking up into her husband’s dark brown eyes, Serena replied, Well, we promised to meet the rest of the family at the airport in a few hours to say goodbye to Mary Angeline before she travels to begin her first mission trip with Peter’s family in South America.

I can’t believe that Julia was able to resolve in herself to accept that Mary Angeline wanted to serve in this ministry instead of going away to college. I know how determined she was to dissuade her from that, at least until she completed her education, Damon stated with a lighthearted laugh.

Well, after Aaron went with Mary Angeline to West Virginia last year to meet Peter and his family and helped to build the homeless shelter with them and when Peter visited during Christmas time to meet the remainder of our family, Aaron and Julia were confident in his intentions toward their daughter. Julia knows that Mary Angeline feels that this mission work is her calling. A part of her is disappointed that she didn’t go to school like Tonya, but Julia has a strong faith, too, and doesn’t want to discourage her daughter’s relationship with God, Serena explained.

Yeah, well, I don’t know how comfortable I would feel about one of my kids traveling all over the world, especially right now, but at least Julia and Aaron can have the peace of mind in knowing that Peter and his family will do everything to keep Mary Angeline safe. As much as I hate thinking of my babies growing up and wanting to be serious with someone, if and when that time comes, I hope they find someone like Peter. That boy is truly one in a million…although so is my niece, Damon said with a warming smile as he reflected on the two teenagers.

You know that may be sooner than you think, babe, Serena suggested.

Oh, yeah, what do you mean by that? Damon questioned, already sensing that he wouldn’t like the answer that he was about to hear.

Did you forget that we are meeting Tonya’s boyfriend tonight? Serena happily reminded in eager anticipation of her husband’s response.

Apparently…or maybe, like many other things that go on in this household, I was somehow kept out of the loop again. And anyway, what does she need to be worrying about any boys for now? She needs to keep her mind on school. That’s what’s going to pay her bills someday, Damon quickly reasoned.

Damon, whether you like or not, Tonya is eighteen. She’s been dating on and off for a couple of years now. Never anything serious…but I think that she’s really falling for this boy, Serena revealed.

Wait a minute…she’s falling for some boy that I’ve never even heard about until now? Is that right? How long has she even been seeing this boy for anyway? What do we even know about him? Damon sharply questioned.

I think about a month, or maybe a little longer. I’m not sure. All that I know is that she said she met him when she went to register for her fall classes. She ran into him in the hall as she was making her way out. They bumped into each other. She said that she felt an instant connection, and she was certain that he did too. Isn’t that so sweet, babe? Serena excitedly replied.

Oh, no, here we go again with this fantastical romantic nonsense you women like to fantasize about. Tonya needs to keep her priorities straight and not get caught up in losing her head over some boy that she’ll forget about in a year, Damon firmly asserted.

Damon! You don’t know that! You were skeptical about Peter when it came to Mary Angeline, and he proved to be the sweetest boy that you could ask for and, not to mention, loves our niece immensely, Serena argued.

Serena, that boy was a godsend, I’ll give you that, but I assure you that doesn’t happen as often as you would like to think it does. Believe me, I’ve met way more troublemakers in my life than I did decent, well-intentioned, law-abiding citizens. Don’t get your hopes up on this one, Damon responded as he tried to settle his increasingly riled nerves.

You are so convinced that he is such a bad influence on our daughter, and you haven’t even met him. I don’t know about you, but I certainly have noticed our daughter being happier than I’ve ever known her to be. Whatever influence he has on her is a good one. You are the professional detective of the family. If you are so concerned, why don’t you give him a chance and evaluate him for yourself tonight at dinner? And don’t worry, if you need support, I invited the family too. I figured you would be uptight about this, plus he doesn’t have any family here. It would be nice if it worked out between them. There’s always enough love in this family to add another member to it. But before I get ahead of myself in that department, let’s just take it from the start by just meeting him…and with a warm welcome, Damon, Serena scolded.

Yeah, yeah I hear you. So what’s this boy’s name anyway? Damon reluctantly asked.

It’s Miguel, Serena responded.

Great I already don’t like him, Damon snapped.

Damon! Please try…for Tonya, Serena pleaded.

Do I have a choice? Listen…I’ll play nice. But, Serena, I’m not in a good place right now. And meeting some boy that I never knew was even remotely in the picture for my baby girl was not in my top ten choices of how I wanted to spend the first evening of my personal leave from my job. Damon reluctantly assured.

I know, baby. I know that you have a lot to work through, but life doesn’t stop because we go through things. Just keep an open mind that this kid will be a good thing and not another stress to add. I trust our daughter. She is strong. She is smart. And she has definitely been raised to be perceptive and make the right choices. You taught her that, so trust in her judgment, okay? Serena asked in hopeful anticipation.

You know that I won’t cause a scene, Serena. Just relax. But I will promise that if my instincts give me even the slightest indication that there is something off about this boy, he’s getting a full-on investigation done into his background, Damon forcibly assured.

Fine. But I’m sure you will love him. Besides, you always complain about not having enough male influence around the house. Maybe he will end up filling that void for you, Serena lightheartedly jested.

We’ll see about that. He has to prove himself before I open up my home just like that, Damon confirmed.

He will. You’ll see…and when I’m found to be right, what prize do I get? Serena asked with a suggestive smile as she looked up to her husband.

Your prize is yet to be determined. Depends on how much I like him. So game on, Damon replied as he suggestively smiled back at his wife before lovingly kissing her lips.

When their brief show of affection had ceased, Serena took notice of the time as displayed digitally on the oven range, and said, We have to get the girls up and get ready to meet the rest of the family at the airport. We need to get a head start on preparing to leave now that it seems Alayna is taking after her sister in the time it takes for her to choose her wardrobe.

Don’t remind me…I wonder where the girls get those genes from? Damon intuitively insinuated.

"Funny, babe. I don’t hear any complaints about how I take