Falcorans' Faith by Laura Jo Phillips Read Free Book Online Page A

shoulders and tossed them lightly into the air, earning even louder shrieks of mirth, while Jackson stood up with Weld in his arms.  As he watched his brothers with their sons, Jackson felt his heart swell with the love and happiness that now filled their lives.  They had longed for a family of their own, and children, for so many long, lonely years.  It was gratifying to know that every single moment of the wait had been worth it. 
    He and his brothers were finally linked, the three parts of their shared soul now whole as it was meant to be, and connected with Hope’s soul, also as it was meant to be.  They’d found the one woman in space and time meant especially for them, and she was perfect in every way.  The boys, Owlfens by birth, but true sons in their hearts, were a joy almost too big for words.  And soon, very soon, they would have three daughters to hold in their arms and add to their hearts.  It brought tears to his eyes and a lump to his throat just thinking of it.
    “Are you all right?” Hope asked as she came to stand before him.  She wrapped one arm around his waist and stretched up on her toes to kiss Weld.  When Jackson didn’t answer she looked into his eyes and frowned.   “Jackson?”
    He shook his head quickly and smiled.  “I was just thinking.”  He smiled, remembering the Bible instruction that he, Clark, and Rob had taken on Earth in an effort to understand Hope’s beliefs more fully.  “I now understand something that I didn’t understand the first time I heard it.”
    “Which is what?” Hope asked, noting the suspicious brightness in his pale green eyes, the wide smile on his face.
    “Our cup truly runneth over,” he said softly.
    Hope smiled and hugged him tightly.  She knew exactly what he meant, and felt the same way.  Then she sighed.
    “What is it, Niha ?” he asked.
    “I want Faith to have this happiness too,” she said, then shook her head and sighed again.  “Sometimes its confusing for me.  I didn’t know Grace for very long, but it was an intense time.  We bonded during those few days, and I felt as though I’d lost a life long friend when she died.  I didn’t think it was possible for me to develop the same bond with Faith.  I do care about her, though, and I want her to be happy for her own sake, not just because I want to do something for Grace.”
    “I cannot pretend to understand why the Falcorans are so set on refusing  their true Arima,” Jackson said.  “Why anyone would deliberately deny themselves this kind of happiness defies my comprehension.”
    “I think it’s called cutting off your nose to spite your face ,” Hope said. 
     “An apt statement, though it draws an exceedingly unpleasant image in one’s mind,” Jackson grimaced.
     “Yes, it does,” she agreed.  “My biggest problem is that I can’t decide whether I think Faith would be better off without them, or with them.”
    “As she was made for them, so too were they made for her,” Jackson said.
    “I know,” Hope said.  “But after what the Director told me she’s been through, and knowing what the Falcorans have been through, it’s clear that they’ve all been altered in unexpected and tragic ways.  How can they possibly still be right for each other?”
    “That, Niha , is an age-old question,” Jackson said.  “I do not believe anyone has ever yet found an answer to it.”
    “I have a theory on that,” Clark said as he and Rob joined them, each with a tired, but happy, boy in his arms.
    “Please share,” Hope said.
    “I don’t think that our experiences matter,” he said.  “It doesn’t matter that we’ve lived for centuries here, on Jasan, members of a race of mostly males, while you lived a fraction of that time in a culture completely different from our own.  We had nothing in common with each other in terms of life experiences, beliefs, or even customs.  It is our souls that were made to be together.  Meant to be together.