35

After Lemuel left, Inara continued to lie there, hurt and exhausted. The little solace he had given her had helped calm her down but her bum was still burning.

She picked up the TV remote control from the bedside table and switched on the huge television peeking through the wall.

When it came on, she switched stations to Heaven’s Vine, her father’s channel for their Church. She just wanted to see something familiar and comforting. Her father was concluding a talk on the screen.

“Be strong, be courageous, never give up. When you fall, don’t stay down. Get up and rise again. The worst thing that can happen to a man is falling and refusing to get up. Until we meet again, I remain Reverend Anthony. Keep your head up.”

Her father’s scene went off and was replaced with comforting scenes of nature like waterfalls and streams. It was something she liked watching but it was doing nothing for her right now. Only her father’s words Get up and rise again stuck to her mind, giving her some strength