THOSE AWAKE 

By Tessa Harvey


Clutching a battered teddy bear, she had run happily to join them. She had stumbled in her haste. "Steady on, Camilla Rosemary," her father had laughed. They had swung her high between them, clasping her arms. Dad had held Humphrey, her bear, she recalled.
    "Do you love church, Rosie?" her mother had smiled. "I love Jesus and you and daddy," her little voice echoed down the years...
    "Well," the CEO continued, "I could get someone else to do your job, though you are honest and hard-working. But why do you persist in this silly belief in God. It could cost you." 
    Imelda's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "It has already cost me," she said. "My whole family were murdered for being Christians. They would not deny Jesus and neither will I. My aunt took me and ran and brought me to this country. Do you want me to leave?"
    Weary, Rosie dismissed her cleaner, silently wishing she had not married the abusive man her husband had become, just to become a real Lady.
Dispirited, she packed up her work and took it home.


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