Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Write CONTEMPORARY FICTION (10/30/14)
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TITLE: En Garde | Previous Challenge Entry
By Veronica Winley
11/04/14 -
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“Who goes off and leaves food cooking on the stove?” she asks, her wide eyes peering over wire framed glasses. Oh yeah, contacts are the first step on the road to blindness.
When she comes to visit, we just sigh and accommodate her resistance to anything created after 1955. Dad said at 79, she has a right to believe whatever she wants. That’s ok for him. He’s left for work by the time she makes breakfast. Wheatena. She brought a box of the stuff with her because on her last visit, she couldn’t find it in our grocery store. No surprise there. We were surprised it could be found anywhere and guessed she had been stockpiling it for years.
“This won’t stick to your ribs for an hour,” she said, looking disdainfully at my sugar coated Fruit Loops.
We suck it up as best we can; after all, it’s Grana and despite her archaic views, we love her - and her peach cobbler -dearly.
Then one Sunday, before God and the entire church, Grana went on the warpath.
For as long as I can remember, Grana has carried the same large, leather-bound bible. When we were younger, she read us the stories of David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lion’s Den and Jonah from it. Most evenings she sat in her room, rocking and reading it. Its pages had notes in the margins and the edges were smudged from constant thumbing.
This Sunday, when the time came to read the scripture, she opened her bible and then looked with growing consternation as I turned on my iPad.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a stage whisper.
Puzzled, I replied, “I’m looking for the scripture.”
“On THAT?” Her voice rose with disbelief. Looking around – probably to see if anyone was observing our family shame – she saw a number of other worshippers thumbing various electronic devices. Lips tight, she shook her head.
“This” she said, pointing down, “is a bible. That,” and she flicked her thumb and index fingers at my iPad, “is an unlit candle.”
Not a shout, but no longer a whisper, it was certainly loud enough for the folks on our pew and in front of us to hear. Those with electronic devices looked abashed while people with “real bibles” couldn’t resist looking a little smug. When the pastor started reading the scripture, Grana said “humph” but settled down. Somehow, I knew though, this wasn’t the end.
All appeared well as we left church and headed home, with Grana humming a hymn we had just sung.
Usually Sunday afternoons are slow and quiet. After lunch, naps or football games are the order of the day. As Grana headed to her room, she asked me to join her and told me to bring my iPad. Uh oh, I thought, here it comes.
When I got to her room, she was sitting in her rocking chair, her bible in her lap.
“Now,” she said, “we are going to have a sword fight.” She chuckled at my blank expression.
“When I was your age, about 14, in Sunday school we would see who could be first to find the bible verses the teacher called out. I’ve written a couple of verses down and will call them out. Let’s see who can find them first.”
I looked at her for a moment, then shrugged and nodded. She called out Hebrews 11:6, then opened her bible, as I started searching on my iPad. I scrolled through the books of the bible, found the chapter but before I could hit the verse, she called out, “Got it!” Two more scriptures followed and each time Grana got there first. Embarrassed, I said “Ok. You win.”
Grana closed her bible. “You look this one up and read it to me.” Her voice was gentle as she called out Psalm 119:11. I found it and read it slowly. “Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against thee.”(NJKV)
She held out her arms for a hug. “In your heart, Sweetie,” she whispered in my ear.“Keep it in your heart.”
She sent me a “real” bible for my birthday.
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Loved the last line too.
Loved the last line too.
God bless~