Chapter 10: Life Without Yudia

Although Emuna and everybody else went to work and heard news of her aunt feeling better, they were worried about Yudia and they missed her being around. They even cried for her. They prayed for her return and safety, but the authorities haven't even found her yet. As the week went on, they patiently waited for her return and they still haven't heard anything from her.

Emuna tried to find Yudia on her own on a late Friday evening, and she couldn't find her. On a Saturday morning, Emuna and her friends continued to work on their art project at their hideout-this time on John 2. Emuna was doing hers and Yudia's task while Zaboulon and Lazarus were working on their own individual tasks. Emuna sighed and sipped her apple juice when looking down at her art crafts. Zaboulon and Lazarus stopped working and gave Emuna their sad faces.

"Hey, Emuna. Are you okay?" Lazarus asked.

"Yea, I'm fine…" Emuna replied.

"You don't look like you're fine though," Zaboulon stated.

"But I am," Emuna responded.

"Look, don't let Yudia get to you. Elohim will keep her safe and not abandon her," Lazarus said.

"Yeah," Zaboulon agreed. "We all miss her, too. Jus' relax and depend on Him through the authorities. Where's your faith?"

Emuna guiltily smiled at her friends. "Yea, you guys are right. I apologize to Elohim and you guys for my distraction."

"It's alright, Emuna. We forgive ya," Lazarus said while Zaboulon shook his head.

While Emuna and her friends went back to work, sadness began to take hold of Emuna's heart. She redrank her apple juice. Emuna's eyes were watery and moved sideways while she kept crafting her artwork.

-Oh, Yudia. Where the hell are you? And why did you run away? I miss havin' you bein' around. Jus' why did you do this? Why? Why did you have to do this to us-your friends?!

Sniffing her nose, Emuna scooted her chair out and cried. Lazarus and Zaboulon stopped working on their tasks and went to Emuna to comfort her, rubbing and patting on her back.

"C'mon now, Emuna. Please remain focus on Elohim's work. Cryin' for Yudia isn't goin' to make things better," Lazarus said.

"Yeah, Lazarus is right, man," Zaboulon agreed. "You gotta stay focused if you want to make Elohim proud."

Emuna rubbed her eyes and stood up from her chair. She looked down below her with her shadow covering her eyes and forehead. "You know what, guys? I'm jus' gonna walk 'round to take a break from all this. I'll make up for this when I get back. You guys keep working on your stuff. Once you're done, you can leave."

"Uh, are you really sure 'bout that? I mean, I don't want ya to overwork yourself because of Yudia, y'know," Zaboulon said while Emuna exitted the hideout.

"I'm fine, Zaboulon. Don't worry about me. Jus' keep workin' on your tasks, alright?" Emuna said, walking, taking her apple juice with her.

"Alright, whatever you say." Lazarus said as he and Zaboulon continued working on the project.

Emuna sniffed the fresh morning air with her eyes closed, while the sun shone on her as soon as she exited the alley.

-Oh, fresh air. Jus' what I need. Now I need Elohim's help to overcome my sadness.

She looked up at the sky and covered her eyes with her hand, praying for His help in regaining her focus. Then she walked downstairs and took a look around. There her eyes spotted a bunch of people walking past a lot of small shops, while others examined the products from the merchants. People's chatter echoed throughout the area once Emuna entered it.

-Ah, cool. The shopping area. It's so nice to be back here for a while, y'know.

Then she exited the area and walked throughout a somewhat empty neighborhood. Children were playing with a red ball and took turns with it, and housewives talked to each other and laughed together. The housewives and children greeted Emuna a hello and Emuna did the same to them in return.

Emuna looked both ways and walked towards the bridge to the right. More small shops appeared one another among the apartments above them. People either walked or ran on the sidewalks, and vehicles roamed the streets.

Once she stopped in the middle of the bridge, she turned to the right and leaned on it. Her eyes saw a blue river containing nothing and it streamed up south. When images of Yudia reappeared in her heart, her face was saddened. She closed her eyes and put her head down, sniffing her nose as tears poured down onto her cheeks.

-Oh, God. I miss Yudia so much. I want to know where she's been, y'know.

****

"Hey! Give me my ball back, you guys!" Seven-year-old Emuna yelled, waving her arm sideways.

"Never!" One of the three boys said as he kicked the blue ball in the river.

"Noooo!" Emuna cried, putting her hand out forward, running after her ball. She stopped by the bridge once the ball slammed and splashed onto the riverbed.

"Try to go get the ball now, Emuna!" One of the boys said.

"Yeah!" The two other boys agreed as all three boys ran away from the bridge.

"Oh, yeah? You are going to be sorry once Elohim judges you all!" Emuna roared, clenching her fists. She then closed her eyes and turned to the left. "Hmph!"

Watching the ball going south from the river's current, Emuna's face was saddened. She looked up at the sky and prayed for her ball to return to her.

"Here." A little girl's voice echoed behind Emuna, tapping on her shoulder.

Emuna turned around and saw a little girl around her age giving her the same blue ball as the one that was thrown in the river. She gasped and turned to the other side of the bridge, then back at the little girl. "Did you get the ball from the river and dry it up so quickly?!"

"Nuh-uh," the little girl responded. "I asked my parents to buy a ball for you."

Emuna gasped with her mouth opened, grabbing the ball with her two hands. "Oh, well, thank you so much."

"You're welcome," The little girl said. "Say, we should go play ball together."

"Yay! That sounds like a great idea!" Emuna exclaimed with her excited smile on her face. The little girl turned around as she and Emuna ran toward another street from the bridge.

"What is your name?" The little girl asked. "My name is Yudia."

"Hi, Yudia. My name is Emuna," Emuna answered.

"It's nice to meet you, Emuna," Yudia said.

"It's nice to meet you too, Yudia," Emuna said when the girls laughed and played ball with one another on that day.

****

Emuna continued to cry for a while until she finally stopped crying. She wiped the tears off her eyes and looked around her surroundings. After she watched the river, she stood up still and took a look around one last time before she returned to her hideout.

She then looked up at the sky and had her hand cover her eyes. "Thank you, Elohim for addressing my sadness. I appreciate what You've done for me. In Yeshua's name, Amen."

She turned around and headed back to her hideout. She drank her remaining apple juice and threw it in the black trash can. After she performed her ministry work on a Sunday morning, she hung out with her friends at a downtown park in Xenopolis in the afternoon. She and her friends still haven't heard anything about Yudia. They looked around them and took a stroll around the park.

Their eyes spotted families were either sitting at benches, walking around the park or feeding ducks at the lake. The people there chatted with one another.

"So what did you guys do today?" Emuna asked.

"Oh, I got ripped again at the gym with my dad," Zaboulon responded, showing off his muscles.

"Ah, that's pretty cool, Zaboulon," Emuna and Lazarus said.

"And I visited my mom's house for a while," Lazarus answered.

"Awesome, Lazarus," Emuna and Zaboulon said.

"And you?" Lazarus asked.

"I went to the arcades with my grandparents," Emuna replied. "We definitely had a great time there."

"That's pretty sweet, Emuna!" Lazarus and Zaboulon gasped.

"So how was your aunt?" Zaboulon questioned.

"She's been gettin better and better each day!" Emuna exclaimed with her eyes closed. "I jus' hope she keeps goin' in that direction, because I want her to be discharged from the hospital as soon as possible."

"Yeah, let's hope so," Zaboulon said.

"Jus' keep dependin' on the Lord, and your aunt should be healed and discharged in no time," Lazarus said.

"Yep, I guess so," Emuna said, smiling at the sky.

Then once she took her eyes away from the sky, she saw something that was a bit far away from her. There she saw a girl who looked kinda familiar to her.

-Wait a minute. That girl looks mighty familiar to me. Could that be Yudia?

Once that girl scanned her surroundings, Emuna immediately recognized her face. She widened her eyes and quietly gasped.

-That is Yudia! I finally found her after she went missin' for a week!