Page 75 - The Houseguest

perpetual user in the permanent pockmarks under her eyes and around her cheeks. Most of these were self-inflicted wounds from picking at sores she believed were bugs crawling on her skin during her episode of “cotton fever” from the IV drugs. That is why she avoided mirrors. She didn’t want negative reminders of the past to affect the positivity of her present.
That is one of the main reasons she hadn’t tried to contact her brother. She had heard the news through the grapevine about a year after he’d been sent to prison, but she never asked which one or felt the need to check. It eased her mind in some strange way over the years to know Brian was at least fed, kept warm and sheltered. She missed talking to him, but also knew visiting or even contacting him would be a big mistake. Their past, his influences, the alcohol, and the harmful memories they shared created a combination of disparagement and cynicism that could easily cause her to step backward from her recovery efforts. She couldn’t take that chance, not until she was so sure of her path...not until she was completely convinced there was nothing that could take her back there...not until now.
The following Sunday, she couldn’t get the thought of her brother out of her mind as her heart poured over the scripture with her Sunday school class: “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'” She added: “We as Christians have an essential duty to fulfill on earth because God has been very clear that He wants us to go forth and spread his Word.” As she glanced lovingly into the eager eyes of her little learners, each respectfully outfitted for Sunday worship, she realized she needed her words to reach beyond
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The Houseguest by Linda Ellis www.LindaEllis.life