Jump In The Water (Christian Romance)

Chapter 3: Earthly & Eternal Life

Matthew 10:8 - Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both your soul and body in hell.

Staring at the ceiling seemed to become a favorite hobby of mine these days. I was finally allowed to go back home a few days ago. It was weird lying in that huge bed by myself and seeing Trystan's pillow, his toothbrush in the bathroom, his washcloth, his hair products, his clothes in the closet, his shoes at the door, his favorite mug in the cabinet, and his blanket on the sofa... All I could do was cry. It felt so wrong to throw everything away... It felt like he could come back any day now. Just waltzing through the front door with tea or juice for me to enjoy while we told each other about our day.

"Ugh...!" I cried. "Why...?!" It felt like my heart had been torn in two and I was just so angry! I wanted to throw everything on the floor and rip the TV off the wall! I wanted to break every dish in the kitchen and break every window! "Why?!" I shouted in tears.

Don't sin by letting anger control you.

I settled for screaming into the decorative pillow on the sofa... I was so glad that I had God to help me through this because if it were all up to me... this house would be tore up.

The keypad to the front door beeped and then buzzed as access was granted to who I almost assumed was my fiancé. I wiped my tears and peeked over the shoulder of the couch to see my best friend as she shuffled through the door, slipped out of her shoes and into some pink house slippers. "Jaz?" She said. Zuri's eyes scanned the kitchen and glanced into my bedroom before my blanket burrito finally caught her eye from the couch. "You couldn't say something? Girl..." She sighed, walking towards me with a grocery bag in hand.

"Sorry, Zuri..." I said quietly, hiding the disappointment in my face. 

Zuri was my best and closest friend, apart from God. Luckily, she was a woman of God too, with many gifts and morals. I loved her like a big sister rather than a friend and she was not only a close friend of mine, but also Trystan's. At a time like this, we mourned and grieved together, comforted each other, made each other laugh, and she did most of the cooking. Before now, Trystan was always the chef in the kitchen. Before, I would simply plop up on the counter, and Trystan and I would chat away while I watched him cook.

I hadn't realized I was staring off into space in thought until Zuri had repeated my name for the third time. "Jasmine...?" She said in her comforting tone. I snapped back to reality and my eyes flickered back up to meet her worried ones. "Sorry, yeah, I'm fine." I reassured her with a tight smile.

Zuri looked at me as though she wanted to ask me what I was thinking about, but she decided otherwise. Instead, she set down the grocery bag on the coffee table and plopped down on the little space left on the sofa, leaning back against me. "You know, I just remembered that time when we were all in high school and Trystan was on the football team..." she chuckled to herself. "... and we went to go watch one of his games, but when we got there it was already over."

I smiled. The memory came with the vivid image of an irritated and emotional Trystan, upset that we didn't see him score a touchdown.

"When he had waves!" We said in unison, bursting into giggly laughter.

"Remember he said...! Pftt, he said 'I was running hard and I look up, and don't even see ya'll!'" Zuri quoted. I laughed harder. He was such a dork in high school. Always had straight A's, making corny jokes, and was very transparent. I was laughing, but suddenly, something in me clicked. "It's crazy..." I said solemnly with warm tears building in my eyes. "We grew up with that boy... and he's freaking dead." I knew I was killing the mood, but it was actually crazy to me; you could watch someone grow up and one day live without them. 

Zuri's smile had dissipated as well, but the words of wisdom she spoke brought a little more light to my heart. "Jasmine, he got his gift of eternal life. He returned to God. He isn't dead. His body may be in the grave, but his spirit is alive in the Kingdom."