Faith S. Jordan

There were times when Faith Jordan didn’t know what to think of herself, like when she felt scared, angry and sad at the same time, that she just didn’t know what to feel anymore. Then, there were times when she was happy, and so excited about life that she couldn’t wait for things to happen.

She had always been like that – ever since she was a little girl, when she used to read – when she loved to read. She had been one with the book, and the book was one with her, and she used to be pirates, wizards, witches, fairies, princesses, friends, heroes and even villains – and, oh, could she sympathize with each of them! All of them oh, so lonely, just like her. So lost, so, so lost, but so dedicated, so brave, ready to change the world.

Before her mother’s untimely death, they used to read together. Faith’s father often joked about their book obsession – because that was what it was: an obsession, maybe even an addiction, a way to escape reality, escape from every day’s troubles and problems, from the pain of a lonely heart.

But then, her mom had died, and what once had been a blessing, a best friend, turned into a dark reminder of what Faith’s need to be someone had cost.

It had been a stormy week, and Faith hadn’t wanted to leave home to play like everybody else – in the rain, or maybe even to make little paper boats with her neighbors before tossing them to water puddles. Oh, no. She had been stubborn and childish, and had forced her mom to go to the library to check out a book she had been reading earlier on school that day. She had been horrible to her mom, so uncaring, cold and selfish, and that had resulted on her mom leaving the home alone, as it started to rain again, never to return.

It had been a terrible car crash, her father had told her. The car was nearly completely destroyed, and her mom gone forever. A drunk driver had crashed into her mother’s car, right into the side her mom had been in, but he had escaped, with none other than that a few bruises and cuts. If there was anyone Faith blamed more than herself for that day, it was that driver.

As she got older, as she got over the death of her mom, she became lonelier than ever, turning again to the comfort of books: of fantastical characters and magical plots. In time, books stopped being painful, and began to be a memory, a hug, a reminder of her mum, of the wonderful woman she had been, and everything that she had ever taught Faith.

That’s why she decided to go into Creative Writing at University, to always remember and keep a piece of the person who mattered most – her mom – with her at all times. She even made a friend, Amanda, who at first didn’t understand Faith, but that with time became close with.

Ever since her mother’s death, she developed anxiety, her hands sweated, and her head ached constantly. She worried about her loved ones; Dad and Amanda, and unconsciously bit her nails when extremely nervous.

When she got into University, she met someone called Isaac Evans.

At first sight, he was handsome and dark, a fact for which she was embarrassed thinking about when she found out who he was. The son of her and her dad’s number one enemy: the guy who had been on the other side of the car crash – the drunk.

Oh, how she hated Isaac on that moment – from that moment. His dad was responsible for her dear mom’s death, how could she not? She decided to avoid him at any cost – closing the door on his face (quite literally) one time he tried to make peace for his dad’s actions, after she had screamed at him at school about the accident, which he hadn’t known anything about.

And then, at the end of the semester, the professor just ‘decided’ to make them a team for the final project: write a story.

Oh, she had been furious! Faith had nearly told her father about the incident, as he already knew about Isaac being a classmate – that hadn’t been fun.

But she was too proud to go running to daddy’s arms. Instead, she hesitantly and angrily followed her teacher’s instructions to make the project with him.

After they had a heated fight about the topic, they decided to meet each week to work, and she started to get to know him better. Faith learned that his parents neglected him, not caring about his problems, and that that had made him a bit independent – and he also confessed to dating Roxie Dean only to please his parents, even though he had not felt anything more than friendship for a while. And Faith started to think a lot about Isaac. She caught herself on a daydream more often than not. She even admitted to Amanda that she liked him, after a round of denial; but she didn’t try anything with him, as he was still with Roxie.

Faith started to doubt him a little bit – if he liked her, then, wouldn’t he be faster? And even though it hurt her to no end, she watched as Isaac and Roxie’s relationship got better – sometimes even crying herself to sleep, the times it hurt too much to watch.

And then, finally, Isaac uncovered Roxie’s secret. She had been dating her high school sweetheart, Tom, for a long time, ever since the semester had begun. Faith had been Isaac’s shoulder to lean on, assuring him that he was worth it, that he was wonderful when it happened, he kissed her, and it was the best kiss of all, the first that Faith had ever had. And even though her head had been aching, she felt some anxiety disappear, finally, after her mom’s dead, she was whole again.