AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Getting any better?”
Alex nodded. “Getting free seems to be a process, though. And it’s very early in my journey.”
“Logan’s a Christian too, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he’s the one who told me about God. We were on an assignment, and I thought we were dying. I figured it was time. I wanted to know where I’d end up if I didn’t make it. Wasn’t willing to risk eternity, I guess.” She leaned forward. “I keep praying the nightmares will stop. They’ve certainly decreased. But I still don’t like being in the dark, and the germ thing has remained with me.” She grinned. “Of course, after the COVID pandemic, I look like a genius.”
Kaely laughed. “Good point. Don’t worry about the nightmares. Sometimes deliverance is instantaneous, but most of the time it’s gradual. Just be honest with yourself and God. Don’t try to hide your painful past. It has to be dealt with. Give it to God, and He’ll bring you through. Trying to forget about past hurts never works. They’ll continue to haunt you until they’re confronted and dealt with.”
“Are your nightmares gone?”
Kaely nodded. “But I still have dreams. God speaks to me through them. Thankfully, I haven’t had a nightmare in a long time. After my father died, things improved.”
“I can imagine. Having someone like that for a father—”
“You don’t understand,” Kaely said. “Not long after he died, I received a letter from a man who was in the cell next to my father’s. Before my father was murdered, this man heard him burst into sobs.” She cleared her throat, and her eyes grew shiny. “He heard him cry out, ‘Oh, God, forgive me!’ And the inmate swears a strange light was emanating from my father’s cell.”
She wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek. “I know God visited him that night. Hours before he was killed, he was forgiven and redeemed. I’ll see him again, but I’ll meet the man he should have been. Before the abuse and pain he endured. Before the evil deeds he committed.”
“So you think God will actually forgive someone like your father?” Logan had told her about God’s forgiveness, but how could God welcome someone like Ed Oliphant into heaven on the last day of his life? It seemed impossible.
“God forgives anyone who accepts Christ’s sacrifice,” Kaely said. “Jesus didn’t attach stipulations to His atonement on the cross with the names of people forbidden to receive His free gift of salvation. Even those who call on Him at the last minute.” She grinned. “Or believe they’re dying.”
“I guess I deserve that,” Alex said, smiling. “I go to church with Logan and to a Bible study too, but it’s all a little hard to understand.”
Kaely grinned. “I don’t know if any of us can completely understand the love of God, but it’s important that we accept it. It took me a while. Like you, I wasn’t sure what a loving Father looked like. But I’m learning. You will too.”
Alex nodded. Kaely’s words really resonated with her. “Thanks, Kaely.”
“Why don’t you take the first shower?” Kaely gestured toward the file on the table. “I’d like to go over the notes and see if I can come up with anything else that might help us narrow the search.”
“You’re going to use your technique again, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to stay, if it’s okay with you.”
Kaely hesitated. “I’m not sure. You seemed a little upset last time. Can you explain why?”
Alex thought about telling her the truth, that she’d had a glimpse of someone sitting in that chair. But she was afraid Kaely wouldn’t let her learn more about her method of profiling—and she couldn’t let that happen.
