A Christian Romance

Chapter 28 - Another crush

On the highway to Melbourne, was a black SUV driving through. It carried Joel, who was driving, and Debora to a destination that was many hours away. Florencia gave them the Friday and they left on that morning to be part of Chloe and Ben's wedding rehearsal.

When they first entered the car, Debora was all jittery and worried that she might have forgotten something ultra necessary. She could be very compulsive in situations like that, but Joel was so much more composed, whatever he forgot was forgotten and he couldn't do anything about it. Because of all this, the first topic of conversation was packing, traveling, and living abroad.

"I've always dreamed of living in Australia." Debora was starry-eyed as she said this.

"So, you're fulfilling your dream?" He was amused by her.

She happily nodded.

"I reckon that you're happy about it."

"Yeah, I am! But it wasn't easy at first. The whole situation with Richard was hard to bear. It got me questioning if this was God's plan for me."

Joel was silent for a while, and then just commented:

"I'm glad you stayed." He looked at her with a smile. "I never told you this, but God has been using you to help me deal with my mother's passing away."

"You do know that she's not dead like gone for good, don't you?" In the topic of life after death, Debora had great faith and revelation, and even though she'd lost a few important people in her life, she knew that death was nothing more than just a separation.

"I know, you told me about that many times, but it's just hard not to miss her, and I can't even imagine how much my father is hurting by this."

"It's really hard, and it takes time. But, Joe, you have plenty to celebrate and not mourn. Dorcas lived a happy life, she influenced others and went to meet her Savior. In the end, that's where we'll all go. She was ready to meet Him, and we need to be ready as well." She was comprehensive and compassionate. "We need to live our lives while we're here, and fulfill God's plan, proclaim His kingdom. Do you remember that Jesus said: Leave the dead to bury their own dead. (Luke 9:59)?"

"Yeah." He mumbled. "I do."

In her words, Joel found so much of what he liked in her. He was captivated by her essence, that was why he decided to ask the following, after a few minutes of silence:

"Have you ever considered living in another country?"

"Oh yes, Israel!" She replied promptly. "I have a special connection to that country and Jews and all that." When she turned to him, the smile and gaze of his eyes mesmerized her. He was definitely the one and she was jubilant.

"What?" He wondered if she had found out about the admiration he nurtured for her.

"Nothing." She giggled shaking her head.

If they spoke a little more, they would eventually spill out the truth about their feelings and convictions. In order to avoid that type of revelation, they simultaneously suggested putting on some music, and their conversation shifted to something more spiritual about music and such.

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Richard didn't feel all too well in prison. He had been there for a few months now and it could be anything: the unpalatable food, the uncomfortable cell he shared, having to sleep on an uncomfortable mattress, and the constant tension between fellow prisoners... He thought he had some kind of depression, which was very likely if he were to compare the luxury and licentiousness of his former life to the restrictive measures of prison. He didn't believe in punishment for sins, but rather in the fact that there was a cause for every effect; still, he didn't understand why he was the only one there. He sure lived his life with no limits nor moral compass, but he wasn't anything like David Larking, for example, who even sacrificed the life of a few people just to feed his greed.

He was intrigued and mad at the fate he had before his eyes. Being treated like a John Doe, when he was once treated as someone highly regarded? It was hard for him to cope with that. Even though his sentence was massively shortened by David, that didn't mean that the years ahead of him weren't torturous.

One day, while he was eating lunch, isolated from the rest of the prisoners, an acute pain struck and threw him to the floor. As he was twisting there, a few fellow prisoners came to help him and got medical help. Richard was sent to the hospital and was subjected to a few medical exams. He still had to wait a few hours to get his diagnosis, and that time was all he needed to start considering an act of revenge against his mob. He couldn't be the only one paying for his crimes, while the others lived their lives as innocent men. David - who was the head - and all his accomplices had to be punished too. They led businesses that conveniently laundered their dirty gains, and were involved in real estate fraud, pandering crimes, and bribery.

In the room of that prison hospital, a fuming Richard started writing everything he knew, and what he knew was more than enough to help the police dismantle this mob. Of course, he wasn't fighting for justice, but for himself and his own revenge. He was methodical, and his focus was in writing that document, so he wasn't thinking ahead, but who could he trust to send that file to the police, if even his attorney was involved with David and his schemes? If any of his accomplices even suspected that he planned on turning everyone in, he would surely be dead in a matter of days.