Hi all. I want to thank every one of you who took the time to read my story, to comment on it, to encourage me and to complement me on its content. I'm even glad for the people who hated it.
I'm writing this to say that, as of right now, I cannot foresee any more chapters of Fallen Faith. To understand why, you can read this:
I started writing this story on an instant. All I remember is typing out the first bloody lines that still live in my memory. This story was my catharsis for what I was going through at the time; my parent's divorce, becoming homeless as a result of that, the rejection of family members and of my own father, the heartache of leaving the last 5 years of my life behind in Atlanta and transplanting my unstable self in Florida. Fallen Faith was a product of my obvious need for escapism and the growing urge for justice I felt.
In the story, Madge falls victim to an atrocity that isn't easily forgotten: attempted rape. I lived through a similar, though subtler, event: battery and molestation at the hands of one I once thought loved me. Like Madge, I felt the stinging injustice as my aggressor walked free and secure, while I and my family were sent to the shelter without a second glance from the legal system that claimed to help us.
I'm not telling you this for pity; I don't need it or want it. I just want you, the one who reads and enjoys what blossomed from that pain, to understand from whence it grew. Madge is coping with being thrown into a situation far beyond her comfort zone. She's dealing with things she cannot comprehend (such as a guy who cares for her, and is determined to protect her without any clues as to why). She is opening to situations and emotions that she'd never noticed before, such as social interactions, however forced they may be. She is searching for her breaking point, as Albus puts it, and she has no clue where to start.
Therefore, I'm saddened to tell you that I've reached my breaking point before Madge. It is bittersweet, for I'm finding it hard to draw back emotions that I've long healed from. I know, I know; this is excellent breeding ground for a Mary-Sue nightmare. I suppose that's up to you, the reader, to decide. Nevertheless, I again want to say how wonderful it is for you all to have said such amazing things about Fallen Faith. Just writing got me through a lot of shadowy patches. I can never match the giddy excitement of checking my email and seeing a review waiting to be opened.
In this sense, Madge Estele Delaney is more real than most fanfic characters. I believe she'll continue with her story as I go along with mine. This is not a definite end to the journaling of her existence, but for now, I think I'll let her live on in your memories and in my mind. She's still at Camp Green Lake, but she won't be there forever.
Aimze