~Royal wedding photo~

Let us Pray

~Be YOU~

Lovers in the mist

Two lovers in the mist, obscured
Two hearts alone that time inured
Call to each other in a pain
That could no longer be endured.

Tho distance kept the both apart
They struggled through the veil to start
The fated love that was to be
The union of the two, one heart.

The voices that the two each heard
Would echo once, a second, third
And dance about ’til neither knew
From whence had come the mournful word.

The lovers sadly cursed that this
Was not the day that they may kiss
As both kept wand’ring in the mist
As both kept dying in the mist.

Journey from a million to one

I’m on a journey,
the location far prepared myself,
for the journey’s hard
the journey’s an action,
emotion and tale
determination for completion,
i will not fail

you gave me your heart,
with trust at hand
stupid and careless of me,
on the floor it lands
memories, emotions on the floor
the pieces run
picking up your million pieces,
hoping to make one

majority of the pieces,
swept up and made
still not made whole,
theres a lot of free space
on my knees i get,
trying really hard to find
while hiding the tears,
i cry for your broken heart and mind

I’m putting together the pieces,
but i start to notice
that its hard for me to fill every crack
and every crevice
so what to do to mend your broken heart
being responsible, it just tears me apart

I know what ill do,
ill use my heart to fill the holes
overlap mine, to once again make yours whole
i know it’s hard to trust again,
but let me show you how
I’ll pick up the million pieces,
so come with me now

The beginning of a memory

When I meet you, it will be
the beginning of a memory
The opening of a door, between you and me.
It will be the first step
of all our tomorrows more
What bright dreams will lie ahead
behind the open door?
I see the Highway One
twisting, winding long
From the top of California,
till we are finally home.
It’s best that we share all God’s best,
the valleys and the hills,
The quiet meals along the way,
the beauty and its thrills.
And when we sit out on our porch,
and review the day between us
We will find pleasure anew,
rating the day an A-plus.

Thank you, Dearest, for a lovely day,
so nice to be with you.
I’ll store this day with
every day of things
that we’ve been through.

Time-table for the Royal Wedding

If you are one of the many who will be tuning in to the nuptial between Prince William and Kate Middleton, then this timetable will come in handy.

Royal officials have released an estimated schedule for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on 29 April (All time shown are Malaysian time).

3:30pm Guest arrive at Westminster Abbey

5:30pm The royal family take their places; Queen Elizabeth and her husband will be the last to arrive. Prince William and his best man Prince Harry head to the Abbey as well

6pm The bride arrives; the ceremony begins

7:15pm Prince William and his new wife emerge from the Abbey, depart in a carriage and head to Buckingham Palace

8.25pm The newlyweds make their apperance on the palace balcony

8:30pm The royal family watch a flypast before returning inside the palace for the Queen’s reception

Among the channels you can tune in to watch the Royal Wedding include: Sky News (5pm), BBC World (4pm), CNN (1pm), TLC (5pm), ITV Granada (3.30pm), E! (4pm) and ntv7 (4.30pm).

Close to Home – Chapter 20

“Caleb!” Mary could hardly breathe for the smoke and stench of burning rubber. She could see the big pickup resting upside down on the far side of the ten-foot drainage ditch.

“You looking for the Aim-ish man?”

Mary nodded, too frightened for words.

“He’s in there!” A woman gestured with a big flashlight toward the expanse of muddy water.

In the distance, Mary heard a siren. “He’s all right?” she begged. “The Amish man?”

“Miss. You’ll have to move back.”

Mary ignored the trooper, her attention riveted by a dark shape moving out of the shadows. “Caleb?” she screamed and ran toward him.

Hatless, covered in mud, Caleb trudged toward her. In his arms, he carried a limp body. Caleb lowered him facedown onto the ground and pushed hard on his back. The man, hardly more than a scrawny boy, began to cough and then to choke up muddy water. Caleb gave him one more good push, and the youth began to cry. Satisfied he was not seriously injured, Caleb left him to the policeman.

“Caleb.” Mary threw herself into his arms and covered his face with kisses. “I thought you were dead,” she said, now sobbing with joy and relief.

“The truck hit my back wheel then cut in front of the horse and flipped. The driver was thrown into the water. I knew I had to get him out before he drowned.”

“When I couldn’t find you… I… I…”

Caleb’s strong arms went around her and he led her into the shadows. “Did you see my horse?” he asked. “Is he all right?”

She nodded. “Walking on all four legs, shook up, but sound enough. Oh, Caleb, I’m so sorry for the way I acted back at the house.”

“Keep explaining,” he murmured. “It’s going good so far.”

And then he kissed her so sweetly that she didn’t mind the mud or the sand or his wet clothes soaking hers. “I thought I’d lost you,” she said. “And I know now that I don’t ever want to lose you.” She looked into his eyes. “I was afraid I couldn’t trust you, but I was wrong. You just risked your life to save a stranger.” She felt tears on her cheeks. “You’re the one man I can trust, Caleb.”

“Does this mean I can court you?”

She gazed into his eyes in the darkness. “It means I’ll be your wife…if you still want me.”

“We’d best marry soon, I think.” He threaded his lean fingers through her long hair. “You seem to have lost your bonnet.”

“Oh.” Her hand flew to her head. Not only had she lost her kapp, but her hair was hanging down around her shoulders like some Jezebel.

“These English will see us kissing and there’ll be a scandal in their papers,” he teased. “But we’ll be far away in Oregon.”

“Oregon?” She looked at him again. “I thought your farm was in Virginia.”

“What made you think that? It’s my other grandfather who’s offered his farm. My mother’s father, Moses. He lives just across the valley from your family.”

Tears shone in her eyes. “We’re going home to Blessing Creek?”

“Ya, my darling. Sometimes you search the world for what’s missing, only to find it close to home all along.”

THE END

Close to Home – Chapter 19

“Did your young man leave so quickly?” Aunt Viola asked as Mary hurried past her and up the staircase.

“Ya, he did,” Mary answered. “And I don’t think he will be back.” It was all she could do to keep from bursting into tears. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Caleb, and she had. She shouldn’t have closed the door on him like that and now she didn’t know how to make it right.

“A pity,” her aunt called after her. “Such a nice-looking boy. Good manners, and…the promise of a prosperous farm.”

Mary pretended she hadn’t heard and continued to climb the steps, past the second floor landing, up to the third floor attic and to her room. Eyes stinging, she went to the window and watched as Caleb’s buggy turned onto the main road. She couldn’t see the horse because of the darkness, but the blue carriage lights blinked brightly.

What had she done? What if she never found anyone she cared for as much as she cared for him? What if she ended up an old maid living in a relative’s house or married to someone like Zebediah Swartzentruber? Shouldn’t she have been happy that she and Caleb could have their own land to go to, rather than skimping and saving for years to buy a farm? So what if she would have to live in Virginia? There was a large Amish community there. They would become her family.

All her arguments, they were just excuses. Irrational fears that had no truth behind them.

She pressed her palm against the window screen and blinked back tears. I love him, she thought. I’ve always loved him. But now, because of her stubborn pride, it might be too late.

Unless… Maybe if she went to him and—

Mary instinctively leaned closer to the window as the lights of a speeding truck came up the road behind Caleb’s buggy. A police car with flashing blue lights and a wailing siren followed the truck. The truck started to pass the buggy, but then must have spotted the oncoming car. A silent scream caught in Mary’s throat as she heard the squeal of brakes and saw the truck strike something and then roll with a terrible shriek of grinding metal.

Caleb! Where was Caleb? The blue lights of the buggy were gone. In their place were flames and the headlights of a vehicle.

“Caleb!” Mary raced down the stairs, her heart pounding. “There’s been an accident!” she shouted to her uncle. “Caleb’s buggy’s been hit by a truck.”

“Wait!” her uncle said. “I’ll hitch up the cart.”

“It’s quicker if I go across the field!” She ran out the back door and through the garden. Her kapp blew off, but she didn’t stop to retrieve it. All she could think of was Caleb.

Mary’s breath came in ragged gulps and her side ached, but she kept running. She had to get to Caleb—had to know if he was safe. “Please, God,” she kept repeating.

A loose horse trailing a harness stumbled past her in the darkness—Caleb’s gelding.

A state trooper strode through the blinking lights, ordering onlookers to step back, but there was no sign of Caleb, only a shattered buggy, half sunk in the deep ditch.

Close to Home – Chapter 18

Please, Caleb, I need time,” Mary said softly, putting down the coffeepot and walking to the kitchen door.

He studied her face, looking for a sign that there was hope. “I understand. Just promise me that you really will consider it,” he said, his hand on the doorknob.

“This is all happening so fast. I don’t know how I feel about you, Caleb.”

He stepped out onto the porch and she followed him. “Is it because I kissed you?” he asked, afraid he had pushed her too far.

She shook her head, trying to figure out how to put her emotions into words. “It’s about trust. I have to be able to trust you, Caleb. I just don’t know if I can.”

“I meant what I said. You’re the only one for me.”

“The trouble is, I’m not sure you’re the one for me.” She closed the heavy door, leaving him alone on the porch.

Confused and hurt, Caleb returned to his buggy, untied his horse and drove out of the yard.

He felt stunned, almost numb. He wasn’t sure what had gone wrong in there, but something had. Mary had welcomed his kiss. That much he knew. She’d kissed him with as much passion as he felt.

He supposed he should have been up front about his grandfather’s offer, but explaining why he had to have a wife immediately would have been awkward. Caleb wasn’t clear himself why his grandfather had stipulated he must marry at once. Perhaps he loved his farm and thought that a married man would have more reason to work hard.

Caleb had never been close to his mother’s father. But his grandfather had written that he regretted what had happened between them all. He said that he realized that the fault was his, and he asked for forgiveness. Caleb’s mother had loved her father, despite the breach between them, and Caleb didn’t have it in his heart to hold a grudge against his grandfather.

Most young women would have been glad that the man they were marrying owned land. Surely Mary wouldn’t believe he would marry her just to get the land? Would she?

The sound of a motor vehicle coming fast behind him jerked Caleb from his thoughts. He looked in the mirror and saw a pair of headlights bearing down on him and the flash of blue police lights behind it. The speeding car started to move into the left lane to pass the buggy, but there was another vehicle coming, head-on.

Caleb would have pulled the horse off the road, but on his right was a deep drainage ditch. There was nowhere to go.

Brakes squealed and his horse reared in the traces. The horse whinnied in fear and fell back, tilting the carriage dangerously. Mary’s image rose in his mind just before he felt the crash and the sound of shattering wood deafened him.