| OCR Text |
Show All the Variables & Other Love Stories 131 than did her parents or even the Prophet's word. She used to have dreams about doing something bad to the ward house, nothing particular, just something horrible, like spray painting naughty words in the chapel, or setting it on fire. "You must think I'm a monster!" she kept saying through her fingers, but I couldn't see reason for embarrassment. I knew from experience bad thoughts to be common for a troubled youth, and told her so. She'd believed in her sweetheart, and he'd let her down, something the church had never done. Seeing now her world crumbled for love of a false hero she returned post-haste to the Lord's plan for eternal salvation, never to doubt again, and never to look back. The talk against her had been so horrid she'd begged her father not to make her go to church, but he'd insisted, and so she understood what I must've gone through. Honestly, I hadn't paid attention to what was being said against me, since I didn't know these people or care to. It hadn't been awful as she might've feared. Sister Hearthway was glad for me. She asked if I'd ever been in love, which I hadn't. She sighed and told me it was the most beautiful feeling in the world, and she knew someday I would understand. I felt real warm to Sister Hearthway, like we shared something special and rare, and she felt the same for me, too, cause she told me if ever I needed anything to call her first. My sleep was fettered entire after that. I couldn't rest for worry of Noelle Hearthway. She hadn't said anything negative against her daddy, but I inferred detective-style from what she'd said that he wasn't a very nice man. After her sweetheart had ran off she was a broken girl, impressionable, and easy to take advantage. Her daddy lorded it over her and pressed her into being righteous out of fear and humiliation. He |
