A/N: I don't own anything. I am in college, for pete's sake. You have never
heard of me, how could I possibly own this show or the song? It is
inconceivable! (I don't own that line either *cries*)
Chapter 2
That evening, after spending a long time in the church talking to God, asking Him for His help, Helga walked home slowly, dreading the thought of returning to her house. She opened the door quietly, not wishing to see either of her parents, because they would undoubtedly ruin the first feeling of peacefulness she had had in...she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this peaceful.
She heard muted noises coming from the den, but no "Big" Bob yelling, so Helga took a chance and tiptoed to the entrance of the den, peeking her head around the corner.
The sight that met her eyes was a sorrowful, unhappy, and, sadly, a normal sight to Helga. He mother, Miriam, had passed out on the couch in a drunken stupor. Her father, the "King" of the Big Bob's Beeper Emporium empire was in his recliner, snoring, surrounded by beer bottles and trash. As with almost every night, Helga walked into the room and over to her mother, picking up her wrist to make sure Miriam hadn't overdosed again. When she had made sure her mother was still alive, Helga began to pick up the mess surrounding her pitiful parents. As she carried the last of the bottles into the kitchen to dump them into the trash, her stomach grumbled, which caused an expression of disgust to cover her face. Because Miriam often forgot about her family in her drunken stupor and Bob didn't care, Helga was in charge of grocery shopping. After the episode in the park, Helga had forgotten to stop by the store to pick up something for dinner.
She threw the trash away and opened up the refrigerator, praying there was some bit of food that had been left by Bob. There were numerous beer and wine bottles, an end slice of a loaf of bread, and a half-moldy orange. Heaving another sigh, Helga grabbed the piece of bread and shut the door. She then grabbed a glass and filled it up with ice water, taking the glass and the bread up to her room.
When Helga reached her room, she put the glass and bread down on her desk and turned her stereo on. Evanescence began to pour out of the speakers. Helga sat down at her desk and turned her computer on, taking a bite of the bread as it booted up, almost spitting it out as she realized how stale it was. Unfortunately, as it was the only food in the house, it would have to do.
Once her computer had booted up, Helga signed on to the Internet and went immediately to her blog site. Since she had discovered how easily a diary could be confiscated and used for torment in fifth grade, Helga had begun to put her poems and writings on the Internet, where she could remain anonymous. Only Phoebe knew about the site. Not that she cares anymore, Helga thought bitterly. Then she shook her head. Her friend deserved as much happiness as she could get, and Phoebs had that with Gerald. The fact that Helga and Gerald had never gotten along was what began to create the schism between the best friends. Helga hadn't wanted to interfere with the relationship between the two, so she had slowly faded to the edge of Phoebe's life, knowing that their closeness had been lost forever. She almost began crying again, but then she thought back to the little boy. He had had such faith in a God whose almighty hand wiped away the tears of the brokenhearted that she was unable to weep for the loss of her friend. Helga knew that, from now on, no matter what, she would never be alone again. There would always be One with her, carrying her when she fell.
Helga began to type a journal entry for that day, pouring out all the hopelessness and despair that she had felt when she had heard Arnold telling Gerald that he was in love, really in love, with a girl so beautiful that it rivaled that of Helen of Troy. Helga had listened to him, and she knew that Arnold was telling the truth. It really was love this time. That was when Helga had raced to her private place in the park, the place that was a mirrored image of her heart: dead and broken.
Then Helga began to type about her experience in the church – about the little boy who cared so much about the "fallen angel" who had appeared in the back pew to listen to his Nana sing. She wrote about how she had taken a Bible from the pew in front of her, and began to read. Because she had gone to church with her parents when Olga had lived here, she knew that the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – were the best place to start. Helga wrote about reading of the astounding love that was gleaming from the pages of the Bible, through the words and actions of Jesus. She wrote about how she felt when she read about Jesus dying on the cross – for her- and how she broke down into tears and cried out to God when she read the last words in the book of Matthew – "...And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Finally feeling as though she had captured her seesaw of emotions that day, Helga saved the entry in her journal, and logged off. Glancing at the clock, Helga was amazed to see that it was one-thirty in the morning. She yawned, suddenly aware that the gamut she had run that day had drained her completely, and she was ready to fall into bed, with or without her pajamas on. Quickly getting ready for bed, Helga decided to scan the radio dial to see if she could find a radio station playing any songs like the ones she had listened to in the church. She finally found KWBI, FM 91.1, playing the song Give Me One Pure and Holy Passion, by Watermark (as the DJ said). As she lay in bed slowly drifting into dreamland, the words of the song played around her, and she smiled, recognizing the absolute truth in the lyrics.
*Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
To know and follow hard after You
To grow as Your disciple in Your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing You, my Lord
Lead me on, I will run after You
Lead me on, I will run after You*
A/N – Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter! I love hearing that you liked my writing, so please, keep them coming. I hope everyone likes this chapter – I wanted to show kind of what Helga's home life is like, and what happened in the church after the boy left before I get started on the...well, on the BEST part of the story (*evil laugh* yes I am going to make you wait to find out what it is) To my reviewers: In case you haven't guessed yet, yes I am a Christian *wink*, no, this is not a one-shot (sorry I didn't make that clearer at the beginning). Thanks so much again for the reviews!!!
Chapter 2
That evening, after spending a long time in the church talking to God, asking Him for His help, Helga walked home slowly, dreading the thought of returning to her house. She opened the door quietly, not wishing to see either of her parents, because they would undoubtedly ruin the first feeling of peacefulness she had had in...she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this peaceful.
She heard muted noises coming from the den, but no "Big" Bob yelling, so Helga took a chance and tiptoed to the entrance of the den, peeking her head around the corner.
The sight that met her eyes was a sorrowful, unhappy, and, sadly, a normal sight to Helga. He mother, Miriam, had passed out on the couch in a drunken stupor. Her father, the "King" of the Big Bob's Beeper Emporium empire was in his recliner, snoring, surrounded by beer bottles and trash. As with almost every night, Helga walked into the room and over to her mother, picking up her wrist to make sure Miriam hadn't overdosed again. When she had made sure her mother was still alive, Helga began to pick up the mess surrounding her pitiful parents. As she carried the last of the bottles into the kitchen to dump them into the trash, her stomach grumbled, which caused an expression of disgust to cover her face. Because Miriam often forgot about her family in her drunken stupor and Bob didn't care, Helga was in charge of grocery shopping. After the episode in the park, Helga had forgotten to stop by the store to pick up something for dinner.
She threw the trash away and opened up the refrigerator, praying there was some bit of food that had been left by Bob. There were numerous beer and wine bottles, an end slice of a loaf of bread, and a half-moldy orange. Heaving another sigh, Helga grabbed the piece of bread and shut the door. She then grabbed a glass and filled it up with ice water, taking the glass and the bread up to her room.
When Helga reached her room, she put the glass and bread down on her desk and turned her stereo on. Evanescence began to pour out of the speakers. Helga sat down at her desk and turned her computer on, taking a bite of the bread as it booted up, almost spitting it out as she realized how stale it was. Unfortunately, as it was the only food in the house, it would have to do.
Once her computer had booted up, Helga signed on to the Internet and went immediately to her blog site. Since she had discovered how easily a diary could be confiscated and used for torment in fifth grade, Helga had begun to put her poems and writings on the Internet, where she could remain anonymous. Only Phoebe knew about the site. Not that she cares anymore, Helga thought bitterly. Then she shook her head. Her friend deserved as much happiness as she could get, and Phoebs had that with Gerald. The fact that Helga and Gerald had never gotten along was what began to create the schism between the best friends. Helga hadn't wanted to interfere with the relationship between the two, so she had slowly faded to the edge of Phoebe's life, knowing that their closeness had been lost forever. She almost began crying again, but then she thought back to the little boy. He had had such faith in a God whose almighty hand wiped away the tears of the brokenhearted that she was unable to weep for the loss of her friend. Helga knew that, from now on, no matter what, she would never be alone again. There would always be One with her, carrying her when she fell.
Helga began to type a journal entry for that day, pouring out all the hopelessness and despair that she had felt when she had heard Arnold telling Gerald that he was in love, really in love, with a girl so beautiful that it rivaled that of Helen of Troy. Helga had listened to him, and she knew that Arnold was telling the truth. It really was love this time. That was when Helga had raced to her private place in the park, the place that was a mirrored image of her heart: dead and broken.
Then Helga began to type about her experience in the church – about the little boy who cared so much about the "fallen angel" who had appeared in the back pew to listen to his Nana sing. She wrote about how she had taken a Bible from the pew in front of her, and began to read. Because she had gone to church with her parents when Olga had lived here, she knew that the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – were the best place to start. Helga wrote about reading of the astounding love that was gleaming from the pages of the Bible, through the words and actions of Jesus. She wrote about how she felt when she read about Jesus dying on the cross – for her- and how she broke down into tears and cried out to God when she read the last words in the book of Matthew – "...And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Finally feeling as though she had captured her seesaw of emotions that day, Helga saved the entry in her journal, and logged off. Glancing at the clock, Helga was amazed to see that it was one-thirty in the morning. She yawned, suddenly aware that the gamut she had run that day had drained her completely, and she was ready to fall into bed, with or without her pajamas on. Quickly getting ready for bed, Helga decided to scan the radio dial to see if she could find a radio station playing any songs like the ones she had listened to in the church. She finally found KWBI, FM 91.1, playing the song Give Me One Pure and Holy Passion, by Watermark (as the DJ said). As she lay in bed slowly drifting into dreamland, the words of the song played around her, and she smiled, recognizing the absolute truth in the lyrics.
*Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
To know and follow hard after You
To grow as Your disciple in Your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing You, my Lord
Lead me on, I will run after You
Lead me on, I will run after You*
A/N – Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter! I love hearing that you liked my writing, so please, keep them coming. I hope everyone likes this chapter – I wanted to show kind of what Helga's home life is like, and what happened in the church after the boy left before I get started on the...well, on the BEST part of the story (*evil laugh* yes I am going to make you wait to find out what it is) To my reviewers: In case you haven't guessed yet, yes I am a Christian *wink*, no, this is not a one-shot (sorry I didn't make that clearer at the beginning). Thanks so much again for the reviews!!!