Love's Journal Read online

  First Edition: 2019

  Love’s Journal

  Kathy Forbes

  Published by:

  PENTIAN

  [email protected]

  Plaza Magdalena, 9, 3rd floor

  Seville 41001

  Spain

  Printed in Spain

  ISBN: 9788417102319

  ISBN e-book: 9781524301453

  Layout, design and production of this edition:

  © 2019 Pentian

  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.

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  in the Publishing Revolution

  Deborah Jackson

  Devonta Gross

  Isaiah Baby Solomon

  Israel Sims

  Janine Yazell

  Jessierambo1952r Peteet

  Johnnie Pruitt

  Kathy Forbes

  LaJuana Powell

  Lewis Forbes

  Lois Johnson

  Pamela Watson

  Sarah Wells

  Shirley Jefferson

  Solomon Mcnair

  Stacey Gatrost

  Stephanie Hargon

  Chapter 1

  The Journey

  1812

  Nelton and Sarah Sims were a husband and wife missionary team traveling on the African continent. As they approached the village that would become their new home, they could see smoke in the distance. Sarah looked at Nelton and asked him what he thought the smoke was. Nelton shrugged his shoulders. He had seen this type of smoke before, but since this was the first time Sarah had agreed to join him on one of his pilgrimages, he did not want to alarm her over what he hoped was nothing.

  As the carriage approached the village, the smoke thickened and became like a blanket of fog that engulfed them. The smell of burning flesh seemed to meet them on the trail. The carriage driver pulled the reins and brought the horses to a standstill. The smog and odor sent a chill through the carriage driver’s soul. He stepped from the carriage and asked Nelton if he could speak to him outside. He pulled Nelton a tad bit away from the carriage.

  “Sir, it’s much too quiet,” the driver whispered. “I don’t see anyone, and I have been to this village many times before. These people are friendly. They would have definitely sent someone to greet you.”, asking, “Where is the laughter? It’s unusual to hear no children playing. I am not sure if we should continue, sir, but if you want to press on, I will continue. I did promise to safely get you to your destination. I will make good on that promise.”

  Sarah sat in silence in the back of the carriage. She could somewhat hear the distress in the voices of the men standing outside the carriage. Nelton sounded curiously concerned, yet the man driving the carriage sounded terrified. It sounded to her like the driver was pleading to turn around, which troubled her.

  Their driver was a rather tall, stocky, athletically built, dark-complexioned male. From his appearance, it seemed like nothing could frighten him.

  She recognized the odor of burning meat but had never actually smelled the intensity that came from the stench of burning flesh. Although the carriage had stopped, the scent and the smoke still seemed to be coming closer.

  Sarah was a middle-aged woman with curly, caramel-brown hair that sat tussled just below her neck. She stood about five foot five inches in height and had a full figure. She always dressed modestly, as her husband was a minister and a doctor, who traveled the world to help anyone who needed his care. He was also a man who always took along the word of God.

  After the men concluded their conversation, they both returned to the carriage. The driver immediately began to move through the smoke that had already somewhat surrounded the carriage. Sarah turned to her husband and looked into his eyes, her face clouded in concern.

  Nelton took her hand, “Honey, we are in another country. You have to remain open-minded. This is different. This place, these people, they are different but the same. You have to know I am not taking you to a place where harm would come to us. We came to help.” Nelton smiled, trying to calm her. Still, he knew the closer they drew to the village, the more fearful she became.

  The driver’s name was Nawful. He was born on the African continent. He had traveled and befriended most of the people from the local village. He made a living bringing foreigners to do business with the locals who practiced in trades. As they came closer to the village, the smells changed. Nawful heard wood and grass burning, and he felt the heat coming from the huts that were still on fire. Nelton stepped off the carriage, and Nawful leaped in his path. “Please, sir,” he exclaimed, “I am not sure if this is a good idea. We have no idea what’s happened or if the people responsible are still here. Please stop.”

  Nelton pushed past with tears in his eyes. He plodded into the village. He could see bent, burnt, bruised bodies everywhere, including those of small children and elderly women. Some had been shot, and others appeared to have been beaten. Nelton looked out into the distance. The entire village lay at his feet. Nawful spoke to Nelton, “These huts are still burning. We cannot stay here. They cannot be far. We can’t handle a party as large as the one that did this amount of damage.”

  Nelton was in his early fifties. He stood six foot three inches tall. His skin was pale and his hands, large; he was a solidly built man. He had heard stories. He knew the possibilities, but he never thought he would see such devastation in his life. He stood gazing at a people lost, and his gut ached. He held back the tears as he gulped down the fear. He quickly noticed that no men lay among them, but the bodies lay in piles burnt beyond recognition. His eyes filled to the point that he could not see his wife as she ran into his arms.

  “Sarah, please go back to the carriage. This is too much,” he said as he turned from her. Nelton didn’t want Sarah to see the terror in his face. “Nawful, take her back.”

  “No, Nelton. I don’t want to sit there without you,” Sarah shouted.

  “Sarah, please,” Nelton pleaded, “I must make sure there is no one I can help. Someone had to survive.”

  Sarah stood astonished. She stopped in her tracks and peered at more destruction than she’d ever seen. She had never experienced death, especially at this magnitude. She held her hands to her mouth. Her spirit was vexed beyond her imagination. She looked like she was frozen in place. She turned from her husband.

  She could hear the crackling of a burning hut after it fell to the ground. She could hear the huts falling all around her. The brush burned between the bodies that had fallen from their piles. Babies lay curled in their mothers’ arms, crushed to death. Sarah screamed. Nelton grabbed her, placing his hand over her lips.

  “Sarah, we don’t know where these wicked people are, and they may not be far from here. Your screaming will make them think someone is still here. If they did not care for these lives, they will have no concern for others either. I’m sorry, darling, but you cannot scream. I am sorry I brought you to this place, at this time. This is not how I wanted our first mission to be. I know you told me about your fears, but I swear it is not always like this. I have never seen . . .” he began, tears filling his eyes. “The people are wonderful, and the experience is invaluable. It’s humbling. It makes you appreciate the life we have in England. Please, Sarah, compose yourself.”

  Nelton held her close for a few seconds. “I need you to go back and get in the carriage. This is too much for you. It’s really too much for
me, but if anyone here can use my help, I’m here. We must hurry.” He looked at Nawful and said, “Walk through with me. Let’s see if we can find anybody who is still alive.”

  Sarah begged, “Don’t leave me! Please, Nelton. Allow me to help. I need to help. I promise I am okay. I can do this, Nelton; I promise I won’t scream again.”

  Nelton, Sarah, and Nawful treaded warily through the bodies. They looked into the eyes that lay open of the children who had been massacred that morning. They walked deep into the village and tossed dirt on the small fires that were still burning. They all passed huts that were now ashes. Sarah went in one direction, and the men in another. Her husband told her not to go where he couldn’t see her, so she tried to move alongside him, but looking in the opposite direction.

  She stepped over embers that were once leaves that formed roofs to give shelter to a people who had been wiped out. All you could hear was burning. All you could smell was death.

  “Nelton,” Sarah called, trying to whisper as she spoke. “Nelton, I hear something.”

  “Well, do you see anyone alive?” he asked.

  “No, Nelton, but I hear something.” Nawful had walked clear across the village. He was headed back when he heard Nelton’s voice say, “Come on. She heard something. I’m not sure what it was because the only sound I’ve heard since we got here is that of burning buildings falling, and I am so hurt by this. I’m not sure if I can hear them breathing.” Nelton called after her, “Sarah, here I come.”

  When he got to Sarah, he couldn’t hear anything. Sarah whispered, “I promise there’s something there. Just listen; stop thinking and listen. It’s faint; I am not sure what it is, but it’s over there,” she said as she pointed toward a pile of fresh leaves that had not caught fire. The leaves were actually damp. They were too green to burn.

  Sarah said, “There is something there; maybe someone hid there.”

  “Okay, Sarah,” Nelton said as he gestured to Nawful. “Help me look.”

  The men went over to the green pile and as they got closer to it, they could also hear a bit of whining. The sound was faint, but the closer they got, the louder it became. Nawful began to pull the leaves back. It seemed as if he were pulling the leaves back forever.

  Nelton reached in and began to help him. They were astonished to find a baby, a little brown boy lying there in a hole beneath green leaves. He was holding a stalk of sugar cane, and he seemed to be playing. Sarah sighed; she knew she had heard something. Nelton reached in, pulled out the boy, and placed him in Sarah’s arms.

  She looked at Nelton and asked, “What will we do with him? There is no one here to leave him with. Nelton, what will we do?”

  Chapter 2

  In the Mist

  The village was barren. Not another living soul could be found. Sarah took the infant, who she guessed was about six months old, back to the carriage and wrapped him in her shawl.

  She looked at her husband again, and with her eyes, she asked him what they should do with the child.

  Nelton looked at her and responded, “I am not worried about that now. Do you see the village? We need to bury these people. They need to have some respect given to them. Don’t you see it?” he cried out to her.

  He was caught up in remorse, thinking that their lives were taken in such an awful way. He felt lost. He didn’t know what to do.

  Nawful tried to reassure them both. “This is not the time or place for this. Do either of you understand these people who did this are savages? They did not even take pity on the youngest among these people. You said you wanted to find one. Well, you found one. He only stands a chance if you take him back to the coastline, plus we cannot bury all these people. There are only three of us. You, your wife, and I cannot lay them all to rest. Remember, I was dropping you off, and I cannot in good conscience leave you, your wife, and this child out here. Also, I have another commitment upon my return.

  “Nelton think about your wife. Consider the child. I know you want to do right by this village, but the village will have to live on through this child. Plus, we don’t know if these savages will return. We don’t know who they are, but we do know they are heartless. Nelton, we need to go. When night falls, it will be hard for me to drive the carriage in the brush. There was a smaller village that we passed. Sarah can go and get sugar cane for the infant. If that village has not been taken, we can warn them and rest there till daylight. It is a four-day ride back to the coastline. You can decide what to do with the child when you get there.”

  Nelton and Sarah were reaching their twenty-third wedding anniversary when they set out for their adventure on the African continent. Sarah had come from a very privileged family. She had been protected from most everything as she was an only child and an heiress. Nelton had not been born as fortunate as Sarah, as his upbringing was of modest means. They both had had the privilege of growing up in a two-parent household. While they both came from entirely different backgrounds, they had only lived a few streets over from one another.

  Actually, Nelton was eleven years Sarah’s senior. He had watched her as she grew up from an infant. As a young man, he worked for her father as an apprentice in business. Nelton’s mother was a housewife, and his father was a minister of the parish in their neighborhood. Nelton was referred to as a quick study. The people in the town were amazed at his gift of retaining information.

  The town they lived in was small. Nelton only seemed to be interested in books until one day, as he sat in Sarah’s father’s office, she came in singing. She closed the door and asked if he had seen her father. That was actually the first time Nelton had noticed that she was no longer the small girl that ran through the office, knocking things about. He couldn’t imagine when she grew up, but it seemed like it was just over a summer. He sat there and said nothing, wondering what had happened. In that moment it seemed to him that he had missed so much with his head buried in the books.

  The summer after Nelton noticed Sarah, they got married. His father performed the ceremony right in the middle of town.

  Nelton had never felt so happy, other than when he was reading his books. Sarah gave his imagination a place to play. He knew that with her in his life, he could do anything. Soon, Nelton began taking Sarah to travel abroad. Things seemed brand new to him with her by his side. There was only one problem. It seemed they could have no children. Nelton again fell to his books. He decided at that point to become a doctor. He wanted to help couples become families, so he and Sarah settled in London so he could go to school.

  Nelton enrolled in Cambridge College and took up Psychics and Theology. He graduated with honors, at the head of his class. Sarah had become extremely depressed. Nelton couldn’t bear seeing his wife so miserable; thirteen years passed before they decided that they were going to be okay. Not every family consisted of children. Instead, Sarah decided to teach children, since she could not have one of her own. She told Nelton she would be happy teaching a full classroom, so Nelton helped her learn basic education. She was later hired as a teacher in their community.

  By this time Nelton had become quite well known for his knowledge of medicine and God. He was being sought out by other towns to come and instruct, as well as to practice medicine. When Nelton and Sarah had been married seventeen years, he was asked to go as a missionary with a team to other lands. Sarah was reluctant, but Nelton saw this as an opportunity he could not pass up. He left on his first pilgrimage in the year 1806.

  Eighteen months later, Nelton returned to England with a better understanding of the world around him. There were things that he had taken for granted, and he felt bad about every time he had felt sorry for himself. England seemed more colorful. Upon his return, he felt that he had learned more than he had taught. Whenever he recalled that first journey, he teared up. It amazed him how much he had in common with other cultures that were so different.

  Sarah missed Nelton so much the first tim
e he went on a mission. They had never been apart. It overwhelmed her, but she knew that he desired to see more than what the European continent had to offer. She wouldn’t dare keep him from his dreams, so she encouraged him. She ensured him that she would be okay. She had her students who kept her busy and happy. When Nelton returned, she had never seen so much love in his eyes. He was like a new man. It was like the more he fell in love with the possibilities, the more he fell in love with her.

  Each time Nelton returned, he always came with gifts and more intimacy than he left with. He shared everything with Sarah. He told her many stories; some brought tears to her eyes. He described each one of the voyages with such vivid detail. If she closed her eyes when he was talking, she would swear she was right in the thick of things. It amazed her; she understood why the students he taught were so taken by his classes. She was so proud of him and thankful for the honor of watching him grow.

  By 1812, Nelton’s stories had gotten the best of Sarah’s curiosity. This was their twenty-third year together, and she wanted to travel with him to experience the things he described with such emotion. So, as he packed for the upcoming trip, she told him she was ready to accompany him to the African continent. “Nelton, I am ready,” Sarah exclaimed.

  “Ready?” Nelton replied. “Ready for what, sweetie?”

  “I want to go,” said Sarah.

  “Go where?” asked Nelton.

  “With you,” she answered.

  She was telling him she wanted to join him on his next mission. Nelton pulled her into his arms, and tears filled his eyes. He had invited her repeatedly, but she had always voiced so many concerns, so many what-ifs. He had never wanted to push her into anything, but here she was, willing to go. This was an answer to a prayer.

  Nelton pushed her back, looking sternly into her eyes. “This is a two-year commitment,” he told her.

  She just peered into his eyes. Sarah said with love in her eyes and in a somewhat teasing manner, “I want to go.” It was one of the happiest moments of Nelton’s life.