A Hope Unseen by Jamie Leigh (book recommendations website .txt) 📕

up before your Ma. She has been up since dawn. Why are you still sleeping? Don’t you know what it is to live on a ranch? It is hard work, no room for laziness,” he growled.
"I'm coming Pa I'm sorry I didn’t mean to be lazy” I said with a cough.
“Always excuses. I’ll get you work-in yet” he growled.
“Please Frank” my Ma intervened “He’s just a boy.”
“Woman!“ he roared “you stay out of this!” he swung his belt at her. “Now you get going boy, or you’ll be feeling this on your back side!” he finished with a hard strike to the wall, and I ran out of the house to do my chores. I turned around just in time to see him turn on my Ma.
“What have I told you about getting in my way?” he said to her with eyes so sinister, I hardly believe he ever loved her. She just stood there trembling like a little kid. I could see she wanted to turn and run, but her legs would not move. Even if she did run it would not have done any good. He would have caught her in a flash; all she could do was stand there scared. He was almost upon her, when she finally found her voice. She gathered all her strength and gave one scream but, that was all she could get out before he caught hold of her. I ran out to do my work, and when I got home, I found my Pa sitting in a chair in a drunken sleep. I dared not go in front of the house, so I went around to the back to get in that way (because it was a pretty big house, and he wouldn’t hear me from there). When I got there what I found is something a six-year old would never imagine could ever happen, but it did. There was my Ma just laying crumpled up bleeding, beaten and bruised. I did what I could to help, but there wasn’t much a six-year old could do, I wrapped her with some blankets and tried to wake her up, but her eyes wouldn't open. So I ran as fast as I could to get help. We had no phone because my Pa did not want to waste money. I ran as fast as I could, to get to town. I don’t know how long it took me, but I was young and couldn’t run very fast. When I got to town, I went straight to the police and explained all that happened as well as I could. The ambulance went to my house with sirens. They arrested My Pa before he knew what was happening. Last time I saw him, he had his hands cuffed behind his back. They took My Ma, and me, when we got to the hospital I went with my Ma but the doctor had me taken away by the nurse. I sat in a chair outside her door for an hour. When they brought me back in, and my Ma was awake and cleaned up, but she was barely breathing.
“Jacob,” she called holding out her hand to me, I took it, and she pulled me close. “I have arranged for you to live somewhere nice and go to school and grow up with the other boys. You won’t have to do so much work, and you can have friends. Won’t you like that?” she asked with a faint smile. I looked at her and tried my hardest to smile but could not stop the tears from coming down.
“Will you come too?” I asked eagerly she gave a slight smile, but her face was clouded.
“No sweetie, I'm going to Heaven. It is beautiful, and I'm going to stay with your little brother Benny and take care of him” She said with a sigh, “Your father loves us very much even if it doesn’t look like it or feel like it. We will be together again I love you.” She whispered to me as one tear crawled down her face. She breathed in deep, and smiled at me her eyes began to roll back. the machine beside her started beeping uncontrollably, and all the nurses started running around till the beeping was a constant ringing, and she was gone. I took my little finger and wiped the tear off her face.
"Tell Benny I said hi." I whispered in her ear as my own tears blinded me. I knew that this was the last time I would see her. I already missed how she would put her hands through my hair, when I was sad and sing to me when I could not sleep. I crawled up beside her and laid there. The nurses all thought they should take me away, but the doctor would not let them.
“Let the boy lay with his mother, this is the last time he will ever have the chance to.” I fell asleep there crying and feeling the warmth of her one last time


“Wait, what does this have to do with who I need?” she asked
“The story isn’t done yet” he replied.
“Okay, what happened?” Josie asked calming down.
“My Ma was right; she found a good family for me. I never saw my Pa again. When I got to my new home, I was hurt and scared my Pa had killed my Ma If he would turn on her who would turn on me, Who could I trust? I tried to eat, but everything I ate would come right back up again. I started feeling dizzy all the time not knowing what to do, I stayed in bed most of the time. I don’t remember anymore, but my mother, Mrs. Walker told me one night she came up to get me for dinner, but when she did she saw me laying on the ground with a fever, burning up. She picked me up and put me in my bed, getting a cold towel and placing it on my head, but it did little good because right when she placed it there it became as hot as my head. So she got some ice from the freezer, wrapped it in a towel and kept it on my head. I had a fever for ten days, but one morning I just remember opening my eyes and seeing the sun for the first time in a long time …


"Jake how are you feeling today?” Mrs. Walker asked, brining in a cup of water.
“I'm fine ma'am” I answered barely even noticing her "What do I need to do to stay here ma’am?” I asked not sure if she even wanted me there; she looked at me with a smile,
“Honey,” she whispered, “This is your home now, as long as you want it to be. We are not going to make you leave if you don’t do chores.” I looked at her in disbelief,
“You won’t ma’am?” I asked not convinced.
“Oh Jake, no and you don’t have to call me ma’am you can call me Aunt Sue, mother or mama any of them suit me just fine,” she said with a grin.
“Breakfast is downstairs if you want some,” she told me as she was on her way downstairs. I just sat there. I was happy now, but, I didn’t think I was supposed to be because my Ma was dead. I could not stop feeling that my Ma was happy too, so I started talking to her,
“Ma,” I whispered, “I hope you’re happy in Heaven because I'm happy here. I like them and I wonder if it would be okay with you if I called Mrs. Walker Mother? I know you will always be my mother but she...” I stopped for a second as tears began to fill my eyes “She loves me like you loved me, so I just wanted to know if that’s okay. Ma do you miss me?” he asked "I miss you, I miss you so much. I wonder if maybe you and Benny are watching me right now? If you are, please give him a hug for me. I hope you’re happy where you are.” I got up and went to the table to eat.
I had lived a whole year with them when they let me go to school! I was so excited I got to learn to read and write like other kids and speak proper, but I started to wonder about what happened to my Pa, so I started asking my Mother and Father if they knew anything about him. They didn’t for a long time until one day they got word. The police found his body in a lake on the same day two years after I lost my Ma. He broke out of jail; hit his head, fell into the lake and drowned. I had a lot of trouble with knowing that both of my parents that had raised him were gone. But, after a while it got easier to accept. I went to Sunday School every week, and they kept saying something about someone named Jesus and how he would always be there no matter what, and that he died on the cross so that we could go to Heaven, but they also talked about a hell and if you didn’t accept Jesus your name wouldn’t be written in the book they call the “Lambs Book of Life.” One day I came home from Sunday school very upset my parents were worried about me, so they came in to talk to me. “Jake,” said his mother’s voice, “Are you okay?” she asked “Yes, I'm fine, Mother. I was just thinking, well, today I accepted Jesus into my heart, but they say if you don’t you can’t go to heaven so how do I know my Ma, and little Benny are in Heaven?… and my Pa” I asked with eyes full of fear and sadness. “Well,” said my Mother with a grin on her face now (for she could not help but to be proud of the choice I made) “There is something you should know about your Ma. She became a Christian about a week before what happened so you can rest assured that she will be there to greet you when you arrive.” I looked up at my Mother’s smiling face and knew that I could trust her.


“So you still didn’t tell me who I need!” exclaimed Josie. “Who is the person who gave you the hope and the love I can always see in you?” she asked insistently but immediately shrank away again “I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to be so forceful” she whispered sheepishly. “It’s okay,” he answered her forgivingly “It’s Jesus you need. Jesus, He will always be there for you when you need him and all you have to do is ask Him into your heart and tell him you have sinned,” he said excitedly. “Well, where is He then so I could ask him?” she asked him with inquiring eyes. “Well, He’s right here,” pointing to his chest, “He's in my heart. He died on a cross, and he rose again in three days. He now lives in my heart forever, and he is the best father you could ever ask for. He will never leave you or forsake you. He shed his blood so you don’t have to” he answered. “Will you help me?” she asked, “I don’t know how to pray” she said very softly looking into his eyes. “Just say what you feel in your heart and ask him to come and live in you” he told her with reassurance, so they both closed their eyes, and she started “Dear