Chapter Eight: A Brand Plucked From the Burning

Meta Knight took the news of Liloy’s appointment without a word. Cloudy’s siblings were speechless and solemn as they watched Meta Knight trudge out of the room and shut the door, Scazzarda looking after him. Springtime lowered her head, tears stinging her eyes. They had done all they could to make Liloy listen to reason, and nothing had worked. Now it was too late. The day after Cloudy’s birthday was the dire day no one in Spring Breeze was looking forward to.

Long after everyone had gone to bed, Cloudy stood watching the birds for a long time. Their shivering, limp bodies seemed to indicate something far more profound than illness or grief; it indicated death and finality. Her thoughts then drifted to Liloy. Where was she tonight? What was she doing? How did she feel? Every unanswered question felt like another burden added to her back, as if she didn’t have enough emotional baggage to carry already.

As she stood staring sadly at the birds, she heard a voice to her right:

“Faith is evidence we believe in what we don’t see.”

Cloudy jumped and looked in the direction of the voice. To her surprise, no one was there. A chill crept down her spine as she gazed carefully into the corners of the inky blackness, making certain someone wasn’t playing a trick on her. But no one was lurking. It was only Cloudy, the birds, and her troubled soul.

“Who’s there?” Cloudy spoke into the darkness. There was no audible reply, but voices from the past began crowding into her mind, causing her to think hard about her situation and her status as a warrior:

“Showerstorm! Do you see? Do you see? This is the one! The Star Warrior we’ve been waiting for!”
“Are you joking? That girl hates you! She wouldn’t listen to you for anything!”
“I believe He’s calling me to talk to her.”
“I don’t want to keep living in misery. I want happiness.”
“The only way to obtain true happiness is salvation through Christ.”

“There’s something special about this child. And I do not mean because she is the Prophesied One.”
“If you really want to know about my history, ask your daughter. She knows a lot from my past.”
“You have a Friend whom you can run to if ever you need Him. That’s a promise.”
“If we are children of the Lord, we can praise and rejoice even amidst the tragedies. But if we are not saved, we have no hope. We are bound by despair.”
“Why does this hurt so much?!”

“We’re gonna keep praying because there’s a thousand reason to believe He hears us and will answer! Am I right?!”
“If there is one I will never forgive, it is Nightmare himself. May he suffer all the tortures he put me through!”
“Just because he did who-knows-what to you as a child doesn’t mean you should wish the same things to happen to him!”
“It’s all right to be scared. What’s not all right is when you allow fear to govern your life.”
“Don’t be afraid. We’re still alive for a reason, and God willing, nothing will happen to us. We will all make it out alive.”
“I love her with all of my heart. And I love you too. So much. But I hate it when you feel as if you have to keep something from me because you’re afraid I’m going to get angry at you or react badly.”
“God has decided to end this chapter, but that doesn’t mean the book is concluded. In fact, your story’s just beginning!”

“I cannot keep pretending to believe Tilry will be all right. I know he will not, but still I continue to behave as if he will.”
“What are we going to do if he just—dies without ever waking up?”
“Take care. . .of our baby. Promise. . .you will.”
“Very few have such a passion to persevere and follow God even in their trials as Tilry did.”
“If you’re not willing to change your problems, Sir Meta Knight―then your problems will eventually begin to change you.”
“Tilry was the only reason I hung on for as long as I did, but since he died, my rope has been down to a thread.”
“It shouldn’t have happened, and yet. . .I knew it would.”
““You promised. . .You promised Tilry you would take care. . .of your baby. . .”

Cloudy slowly raised her head as visions, miracles, memories, and dreams came back to her, all swirling her mind in one endless spiral. A Bible verse came to her mind; it was 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we live by faith, not by sight.” 

Cloudy’s breath caught in her throat as the truth struck her for the first time. “Faith!” she repeated out loud. “Faith is evidence we believe in what we don’t see! Of course!” So what if it appeared to everyone that evil was reigning in the world? God was working behind the scenes to create a world even bigger and better! And what if Nightmare was trying to control the universe and would do anything he could to get his hands on power? Cloudy had been appointed to fight him and defeat him for good, and she would, with God;s help! And so what if Liloy had said she would opt on a different path than the one her Father had commanded her to walk? God could rescue her from grief and the baby from death if He willed it! And all Cloudy had to do as believe it with all heart, knowing He could do anything!

My faith has slacked since Tilry’s death, Cloudy admitted to herself. She looked up to the ceiling, and a quiet voice spoke into her heart. She knew it was the nudging of the Holy Spirit, inviting her to come to Him. So she bowed her head and prayed, “Lord, help me never again to have a lack of faith. I know You can, if you will it, save Liloy and her child. Please help us. Help us all.” She added in a low whisper, “I know You can.”

And that night in the room, the atmosphere began to change, glowing with a soft light, and Cloudy found she no longer felt afraid or sad. A smile came over her face as peace filled her heart.

* * * * *

The day of Cloudy’s birthday finally arrived. In the early morning dawn, joggers trotted past the three-story house, gazing curiously at the garden hidden from view by tall rosebushes, but they could hear the strains of a cheerful song reverberating throughout the cool spring air:

“Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear puppies, 
Happy Birthday to you!”

“Now it’s time to eat cake!” Showerstorm cheerfully announced, bringing out a chocolate/carrot cake with seven glittery candles positioned on the top. Cloudy snickered at her mother’s grimace. “Happy Birthday to you children!”

“Thanks, Daddy!” Pancake said happily, righting his blue party hat.

“Totally. This is great!” Star chimed.

Cloudy smiled cryptically, but didn’t speak. She merely started on her first piece of birthday cake while her parents looked on, smiling but seemingly puzzled at her sudden happiness. The other children chattered happily as they stuffed themselves with cake, Sniper being a little too gluttonous.

Then, without warning, Springtime lifted her head and a strange look came over her face. “Excuse me,” she said to her husband, hurrying away in the direction of the front of the house. Cloudy stopped eating, her eyes locked on her father, who looked confused as he stood, waiting, staring at the trellis.

Within a few minutes, Springtime was back, leading a worried-looking Meta Knight with her to the table where the children were seated. “Cloudburst,” she firmly addressed her youngest child.

Cloudy sat up straight, her stature proud. “Yes, Mommy?”

Springtime suddenly burst into giggles, startling the children. It had been a long time since they had heard her laugh! “Well, I’m going to say, it looks as though a brand has just been plucked from the burning, thank God!” she laughed.

Cloudy tilted her head. “Huh?”

Springtime wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, “Sorry, dear. I’m guess I’m just relieved.” She cleared her throat and attempted to sound dignified. “Liloy just went into labor and is at the hospital.”

Cloudy stood stock-still, gazing at her mother, waiting for the catch. “Did you hear me?” Springtime asked. “I said, Liloy just went into labor and is at the hospital!”

“So?” Cloudy thought she was beginning to understand, but wanted her mother to reveal the answer first.

“So she’s saved! Her baby is saved!” Springtime shouted.

Cloudy was stunned, but only for a brief moment. “Ya-hoooo!” she cried with delight, leaping onto the picnic bench and then off, landing squarely on all fours on the grass. “Hooray! The Lord be praised! Great are His works, and mighty indeed! He’s the Lord of all! Hooray! He’s saved us all! Heed the call! Whoopee!”

“Yes, indeed!” Springtime chuckled. “But the reason Meta Knight is here is because he wants you to go with him to the hospital. Would you like to?”

“Yes!” Cloudy replied without hesitation.

Springtime outfitted her in a pink scarf and sent her on her way. As Cloudy skipped happily ahead of him to the hospital, Meta Knight watched her, a mixture of fear and happiness in his eyes. He could tell she was excited, and he was too. But one question still raged in his mind: Would Liloy want to keep her baby?

* * * * *

“Here we are!” Cloudy sang in a cheerful voice. “Oromo Thuli Hospital! I can’t wait to see Liloy’s baby.”

“I cannot either,” Meta Knight confessed. He opened the sterile glass door. “Ladies first.”

“Veterans second,” Cloudy joked, grinning. Meta Knight shook his head, pretending to be annoyed, but he was smiling as he walked in behind her and shut the door. The nurse behind the check-in desk looked up and peered at them from behind her bifocals, smiling kindly. “Hello!” she greeted them. “Who are you here to visit?”

“Liloy Stellarum!” Cloudy piped up.

The nurse chuckled. “Oh!” She looked more closely at Meta Knight and then slowly nodded. “Of course you are! You are her father, aren’t you?” she inquired of the soldier.

“I am.”

The nurse pulled out some papers from underneath her desk and scanned them. “She’s in the delivery room right now. But I don’t know if the baby is born yet, so why don’t you wait here until the doctor calls you.”

Cloudy and Meta Knight decided to follow her advice and sat on two plastic chairs in the waiting room. Cloudy fussed with her bow and smoothed down her fur, a sign that she was nervous since she was never self-conscious. Meta Knight laughed at her fidgeting. “Be patient, Cloudy. The time will come soon enough.”

“I hope so,” Cloudy said, moving about restlessly and reluctantly sitting back down in her seat.

Minutes passed and Cloudy tried to be patient, but it wasn’t easy. At last, though, her efforts were rewarded. The doctor, Herb Serbue, a licensed physician, opened the waiting room door and called, “Meta Knight and Cloudy, you may come with me now. Liloy wants to see you.”

Cloudy felt a thrill of wonder as they followed Dr. Serbue to Floor 5. He led them to Room 509, checked his watch, rapped on the door a few times, and waited. And who should open the door but the same nurse who had paid for Tilry’s funeral arrangements! Cloudy gasped upon seeing her.

“Well, Sir Meta Knight and young Cloudy. Long time no see,” the nurse said, a soft smile growing on her visage. “I am pleased to see you again, and in such high spirits too! Come in.” She gestured for them to step inside, and they gladly accepted.

The first thing Cloudy heard as she stepped into the room were the ear-shattering screams of a newborn baby being attended to by two nurses. The second sound she heard was Liloy’s cry of joy as she spotted her father and his friend. Cloudy trotted over to the bed and placed her front paws on the mattress, her fluffy tail wagging at high speed. Meta Knight came up behind her and his hand descended gently upon the child’s head, softly caressing her fur. Cloudy looked up at him, eyes bright, and then back at Liloy.

“How do you feel?” were Meta Knight’s first words to his daughter.

Liloy blinked a few times, as if trying to gain her bearings. “Sort of weak,” she admitted. “I remember I was in a lot of pain, and then someone put a cloth over my face and I blacked out. . .must have been chloroform or some other type of drug so I wouldn’t feel any pain. Then I woke up and I heard. . .a baby crying. . .and the nurses told me it was my baby.”

“Yup,” Cloudy said nonchalantly. “He was a brand plucked from the burning.”

“What?” Liloy looked startled. “What does that mean?”

“It’s a phrase in the Bible. It just means your baby was saved from a terrible disaster,” Cloudy explained. At Liloy’s blank look, she frowned. “Don’t you remember? You planned to ‘opt on a different path,’ as you put in. In other words, end your pregnancy. You scheduled an appointment that was due for tomorrow.”

“I. . I did?” Liloy murmured. She thought a moment, then gasped softly, as if remembering. “What have I. . .Oh, no. Oh, what have I done?” She hid her face in her hands. “Why didn’t I listen. . .How stupid could I have been?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Liloy,” Meta Knight gently comforted her, taking her hand. “It’s all in the past. Your baby is born; he is safe. That’s all that matters.”

“Actually, no, that’s not all that matters,” Cloudy objected. She lightly jumped up onto the bed, checking to make sure her feet weren’t dirty before she sat down on the sheets. “You had the baby, but now you have to make a choice.” She paused for effect, then went on in a slow monotone, “Will you keep the baby and raise him as a good, godly mother would do? Or are you going to give him up?”

Liloy fiddled with her fingers for a long time, looking down at the light-blue blankets. “Well,” she said at last, her voice strained, “I know that what I tried to do was wrong. . .and honestly, I don’t know why I even scheduled that stupid appointment. But I can’t follow through with it. I know I can’t. . .and I won’t.”

Cloudy smiled. “So does that mean you’re going to keep him?”

“Yes,” Liloy confirmed. “I will keep him.”

Just then, one of the nurses walked over to Liloy, carrying the precious bundle in her hands. “Here’s your baby!” she said. She laid the baby boy in his mother’s arms and stepped back, smiling a little at the beautiful scene.

Liloy shifted the child in her arms and drew in her breath at sight of his face. He had dark-blue skin like Meta Knight, but his facial features matched his once-living father’s. “Oh!” she gasped. “He. . .He looks like-like Tilry!”

“And a little like you too, Sir Meta Knight.” Cloudy smiled at the soldier.

Liloy gazed at the baby for a time, her eyes shining with wonder. Then she burst into tears. ‘Oh. how could I have even thought about opting on a different road with this child?” she cried. “I’ve always believed life was sacred! Truly, every life is beautiful! But for a time I lost my true outlook on life. I refused to open my ears to your advice and wisdom! but I promise that from this time forth and forevermore, never again will I ever attempt to do something that God says is wrong.” She wiped her eyes, trying to compose herself, then laughed a little. “I had no idea my child would be born a month earlier than expected.” She grinned at Cloudy. “A brand plucked from the burning.”

Cloudy bobbed her head, her bow jiggling slightly.

Liloy rocked her baby gently for a minute or two, humming under her breath. She seemed to be in deep thinking mode. After a moment, she stopped humming and looked up. “Guess what I’m going to name my baby?” she said.

“What?” Cloudy asked.

Liloy chuckled as she proudly looked down upon her sleeping son. “Comery. His name is Comery.”

“That’s a cute name,” Cloudy complimented the new mother.

“Thanks.” Liloy smiled up at Meta Knight and held out the baby to him. “Father, would you like to hold him?”

Cloudy restrained a giggle as Meta Knight’s eyes flashed orange. She wondered how he felt about holding a newborn baby for the first time. Then the moment of hesitation passed and the knight confidently but gently took the child in his arms, holding him gingerly, as if he were afraid he would drop him. The baby didn’t move, but he uttered a tiny laugh. Meta Knight held out his hand to the child, and the baby’s tiny hand curled round his finger. The knight’s eyes glowed blue, a sure sign he was happy. Cloudy grinned, her pearly fangs flashing in the overheard lights.

Meta Knight quickly handed back the baby to Liloy. “He’s very beautiful,” he said softly. “Your perfect gift.”

“You mean Tilry’s and my perfect gift,” Liloy corrected. “We made this child.” She smiled and kissed Comery, who was sleeping peacefully. Meta Knight clasped his daughter’s hand in his, and she smiled at him, holding her baby closer.

Cloudy looked out the window and saw something amazing that caused her to gasp. Liloy stared at her in surprise. “What is it, my dear?” she asked.

“A rainbow!” cried Cloudy, gesturing to the shimmering loop hidden halfway behind the trees lining the edges of the hospital. “And it’s not even raining!”

“A sign from God!” Liloy said, reverence clear in her voice. “He has rescued me and Comery, and this is His sign that He always works things out for good. . .He always keeps his promises.”

“Yes, He does!” Cloudy agreed wholeheartedly. She stared with awe and wonder at the rainbow, and a faith-filled peace sneaked into her heart and enveloped every fiber of her being. The rainbow seemed to smile upon them, each individual color’s haziness blending into the next.