'Tradgedies Amidst Healing' Cahpter 10-11

                                                          Chapter Ten
                     Today therapy was harder than most. Marie's leg throbbed with pain. The doc said that it was because of the trauma from falling into the pond. Her body had gone into shock causing the leg to put on stress. The doctor watched Marie like a halk. Making sure that she would not take on too much. After an hour, he said that they could stop for the day. He took another quick look at her leg, before he left them with a precaution.
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              Thomas injected the key into his office door at the church. He was new here, been here only a year and a half. He was an associate pastor and counselor of the small Mennonite Bretheran. He pushed the door and hung up his coat. As he did so, something caught his eye. He turned to see that Marie was sitting in the back corner of his office. He nearly jumped out of his skin, but sat down as though he hadn't noticed. He didn't say anything. There was a reason she was in his office. And he didn't want her feeling uncomfortable and leaving. They weren't yet friends, but she was coming around and slowly talking to him. The accident had put their friendship in the making on a hold. He wanted to maintain the trust that was growing between them. She was staring out the window. He wished he knew what she was thinking.
             "It was my fault they died..." Marie whispered.
       Thomas was astounded at what she was saying. He didn't speak up right away, so she went on;
                     "It was early morning, we were having a great time. Out of the blue dad says, 'we're leaving at one. So make sure you all have your stuff.' I was mad at him. On the way home I held a grudge. Talking back, sarcasm and arguing, causing my parents to feel miserable. He turned back to tell me that was enough, when we heard a loud honk of a horn. We looked in the side and review mirriors to see what was going on. A huge gasoline truck was serving back and forth. The driver couldn't control his vehicle as he passed us and it tipped over onto out truck..." Marie fell silent. Tears were in her eyes, she was clenching her teeth. trying to control the emotions soaring through her, she looked out the window again. "After I got out, I turned back for my mom and dad. That's when the truck exploded. I couldn't get to them. I couldn't reach them Thomas! They died because I failed to move fast enough...it's my fault...the last thing I saw before I went unconcious was my dad's hand. It was burnt to a crisp, pressed up against the window." Marie got up and left than. Not waiting as Thomas called out to her. She did what she came for. Got the burden of guilt off of her shoulders. She climbed onto Prince and raced out to her favorite hideout.
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                                                                 Chapter Eleven
                   Marie was trying to untangle herself from a bush when she heard a familiar deep rumble. Marie turned to find her uncle Ray laughing at her embarrassment.
       "Could you by any chance come help!" He was still laughing. "Yeah, okay! Take your time. I didn't mean to intrude your amusement. Forgive me," said Marie with a huff.
      "I'm sorry. I was looking all over for you," he paused as he yanked on some branches, "finally I asked God to find you and bring you to me." He started laughing again before he managed to finish his thought, "Now you're caught in a bush!" Ray finished with a final tug, it set her free, before he grabbed his middle. He wrapped her in a hug and started them walking toward Prince and old Charlie. (Ray's horse.) Once they were mounted on their rides, they made direction back to town.
   "You want to go for coffee?" Ray asked his niece.
   "Yes." Marie simply stated. She would never refuse her uncle.
  "Alright. Once at his ranch, they let the horses go and got into Ray's Chevy truck.
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                    They were seated at Clair's Cafe, when her uncle spoke.
"what's wrong bubbles?" He used this nickname he once gave her, whenever he spoke to her on a more personal level.
   "Nothing." she lied
"You're lying to me. I hate lies." He didn't need to add anything else.
" I spoke to Thomas. The counselor at our church. I told him what happened. How I felt. And than I rushed out like a fool." She was playing with her coffee now. Avoiding eye contact.
"Marie, you're not a fool. Okay? You're still in the process of grieving. It's okay. The sooner you realize that, the better. Let go. Move on. Remember all the good times. Don't waste your life on all the bad. The regret. Because that will just eat you alive."
    Marie looked to her uncle. She knew what he was saying was true. But she still felt she was at fault. Therefore she should suffer for it.
            "What is it Marie, please tell me." He saw her look around the cafe, before saying,
     "Not here."
   He needed no further pushing. He was going to figure out why she looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. It was nearing three months since the accident. She may have changed her attitude and put a smile on her face. But he knew better than that. She was still suffering. He was going to help her put it aside. 
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                    Marie sat on a large rock. Ray did the same. She looked out to the stream that flowed around the rock. They had walked on a fallen tree and climbed up onto this rock.
           Ray let the silence hang. She had opened the door to let him into her heart. And he wasn't about to leave.
       "It's my fault they died Uncle Ray." I couldn't save them. I caused them stress on the way home." She was in tears now. She let them flow and kept on with her story. "I wanted to stay and go quading with you guys one last time. And I was angry at dad for not staying. When the semi fell on us...I was able to get out. I turned to get dad, mom and Emily. The truck exploded out of nowhere… When I looked back, I saw dad press his burnt hand against the window. That's how the guy from the minivan found me." She looked away than, not bearing the hatred in her uncle's eyes. But when she finally turned to look at him, she didn't see hatred. She saw compassion, and Love. He was so sorry that she had been living to that lie. The lie Satan put in her head.
     Ray’s heart filled with an overwhelming sense of love, and loss. This girl was important to his family. He silently let his own tears roll, and pulled her close. He didn’t say anything, he couldn’t...they left an hour later. Ray was praying for her, while Marie pretended that nothing happened.
    Marie didn’t know why, but she felt better, after speaking about what happened. Almost as if she was at peace. When she spoke to Pastor Tom, it was a different story, but now this was different. This was good. She was okay. She was going to be okay. She sent a prayer of thanks up to heaven, squeezed her uncle hard, and went to muck out stalls. Today was a good, today was a fresh start! It was about time, she moved on.