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Creative Nonfiction Christian Contemporary

I stared helplessly at my brother who was lying on the hotel bed, fast asleep. His head rested peacefully on the hotel’s white pillows, and his body lay still under the white sheets. It’s a wonder what a little action in the night can make one do. He wasn’t partying, or drinking, or even smoking for that matter. It was much worse than all combined. 

It forced us to stay an extra day when we were so close to home. It forced everyone’s hopes and dreams and even sanity to lower a bit. It caused my mom more stress and aching. I mean, who would want to watch their son have a seizure, and be the one to help him out of it, nonetheless?

I sighed and turned off my phone. Mom was asleep on the adjoining bed with the same white sheets and same white pillows. I sat at the small table with my laptop as I typed away at a story, recalling the events that happened. 

I came back from the mall with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I hurriedly slipped the key into the door, anxious to assist my mom in any way possible. I failed three times before finally opening the white door into the hotel. Mom was feeding brother as he slept through his stomach. Relief flooded over me as I went into the room. The green curtains were closed, blocking all light really well, and the loud air conditioner was running. The fridge and microwave made a cute couple, one stacked on top of the other. The tiny one-cup coffee pot was something to laugh at. The yellowish white walls surrounded the room. The two beds laid on the south and west wall, and the bathroom was tiny along with the closet. The room was carpeted and lacking in creativity. There was a small table that reached up to my stomach. The room also had a TV and wooden dresser with many drawers. 

I set my bag down and went up to my mom’s side. 

“Anything I can help with?” I whispered softly. 

She wearily looked up, her eyes red from crying. 

“Not at the moment, no, but thanks for offering,” she said with a few sniffles inserted here and there. 

I nodded slightly. My brother started to moan and groan some. I slipped a small glance his way before turning my gaze to the single painting in the room. It was one of reddish rocks making an opening into a valley with more red mountains on the other side. Clear skies were portrayed, and everything seemed rather tranquil. 

‘I wish it were clear and tranquil right now. It’s anything but clear and calm,’ I thought to myself. 

Mom finished feeding him, and she stood to rinse out his bottles. I handed her a tissue, as tears flooded down my face as well. She gave me a hug, and I held her close. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. Just a teenage girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. But, my eyes were puffy, and you could barely tell the color. I blinked and cried into her pink shirt.

I paused my writing for a moment. I tried to remember the exact word she said to me, the ones that made my day just a bit better. 

“It’ll be alright,” she said. “Your brother is just fine, I’m fine, we’re all fine. Sometimes, God works in different ways. This morning, I didn’t know what to do. I called out to Him. He showed me that we weren’t going home today. God doesn’t always reveal all of His plan to you, at least, not all at once. He walks beside you every step of the way. His plan is flawless, and that’s where trust comes in. If I hadn’t trusted God today, then I would have been more panicked. He gave me a peace of mind and heart, He showed me what needed to be done. He provided for us, like He always does. He wanted us to stay here, at least for now,” she said, with a sniff. 

“God is faithful,” I added meekly in a whisper.

“Yes, yes He is. There’s nothing to fear when He’s on our side,” she said. 

We held the embrace for a moment. 

“Since we’re going to be here for a while, go ahead and make yourself comfortable. You’ve got your computer, phone, snacks, anything you need,” mom said. “I’m going to take a rest, but let me know if he wakes up or makes a sound, alright?”

I nodded, and she walked towards the bed.

I stared helplessly at my brother who was lying on the hotel bed, fast asleep. His head rested peacefully on the hotel’s white pillows, and his body lay still under the white sheets, besides the occasional rise and fall of his chest. It’s a wonder what a little action in the night can make one do. It forced us to stay an extra day when we were so close to home. It forced everyone’s hopes and dreams and even sanity to lower a bit. It caused my mom more stress and aching. I mean, who would want to watch their son have a seizure, nonetheless, be the one to help him out of it?

I sighed and turned on my phone. I plugged in my ear buds and pulled up my Christian tunes. The playlist started playing with Nightbirde’s ‘It’s Okay’. I bobbed my head along when a good beat came up. It was just me, myself, and I in our own little world. 

I reviewed the story and made changes and fixes where necessary. I sang along with Leanna Crawford’s ‘Crazy Beautiful You’, in my head of course. 

“It’s time,” I mutter to myself. “It’s time to show the world a peep at my personal life,” I say to myself. I pull up Reedsy and select a prompt at random. It just happened to be ‘write about a character with an unassailable moral compass’. I google the words out of curiosity. 

‘Huh,’ I think to myself. ‘That kinda works in a way. But a story is a story after all, prompt-related to or not, it’s still a story.’

I copy and paste the story from the doc into the story box. I select the categories ‘Creative Nonfiction’, ‘Christian’, and ‘Contemporary’. All that’s left is the title. I think about it for a moment, do I want it to have a hidden meaning? Or perhaps a few lines from the story? Or should it be my usual one-line title? I finally decide on ‘Reality’ to keep the reader guessing. I do a final word count to see if it’s past 1,000 words. 1,122, the doc reads. Satisfied with my work, I push ‘submit story’, and the confetti flies down my screen. 


If you can't tell, this is a real story so yeah.

July 10, 2021 21:50

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29 comments

N K
02:54 Jul 23, 2021

This was beautiful and real and relatable. I haven't seen any other Christian stories on Reedsy so I really enjoyed this! Great job!

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23:02 Jul 27, 2021

“God doesn’t always reveal all of His plan to you, at least, not all at once. He walks beside you every step of the way. His plan is flawless, and that’s where trust comes in.” So true, I love that! It was so inspiring to read about how you stayed strong and continued trusting in God in such a difficult time. You really are a Warrior! :D Praying for you and your family <3

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Valerie June
19:15 Jul 25, 2021

I'm sorry you have to go through this and watch your brother struggle. Watching your loved one in pain is probably one of the hardest things to experience. This story was simple yet heartbreaking. Crazy how words can do that. And the title fits so well. Reality can crush you in ways unimaginable, but the best we can do is keep pushing forward. May God be with you and your family. You're a Warrior and a Fighter; don't forget that. 😉

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Kazumi Mishima
05:39 Jul 25, 2021

Hey there, She-Wolf. I know I haven't been here in forever, but I decided to pop in for a brief second. I'm sorry that your brother is still going through those things, and that your parents are so stressed. But you're all doing the best you can, and your faith is certainly helping. And how much you all love each other is a truly beautiful thing to see. You expressed it well in this story. 💜

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Laurel Lye
01:34 Jul 25, 2021

Wow, that was a heck of a twist! Nice job Wolf Warrior. I have to say it's refreshing to read a story about siblings, and God. I find it very relatable, being the oldest of six children. Thank you for this story, I'll be praying for you and your family. 💛

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Johana Htwe
11:52 Jul 23, 2021

Oh my!!! This is so overwhelming. Yes, wolf warrior, God is faithful to his words. Do you know What does God desire? God desires his children=humans to be faithful to him and believe him. Faith is "even if we don't feel the presence of God, we still believe Him and pray." By the way, I love how you created this story. I haven't seen any style of this kind of creative style so far.

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02:04 Jul 23, 2021

lots of love + luck to your family 💖🍀 I love how you loophole the start of the story and the start of the character's story, I haven't read anything like it :)) OYSTERRIFIC 🦪🦪🦪 job!!!! ;] ~ Amethyst

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Moon Fox
22:58 Jul 22, 2021

What's happening now? Hi, it's me again. To tell the truth, siblings are wonderful and the most annoying things in the whole world. That can shift through the moment. #Feelthevibes (That might be my new thing! :)

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Dhwani Jain
13:31 Jul 21, 2021

Hey, What's happening these days?

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21:15 Jul 20, 2021

Hey Tiff, how're you doing? It's been a while 😌

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Sia S
06:09 Jul 20, 2021

Chiaroscuro, Pt. 9!

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00:34 Jul 20, 2021

New thread of emojis/faces cause ee have three of those threads and they're getting TINY- 🤐👌

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*cue me being bored and spamming friends* qUiCk, funny conversation in 3…2…1…GOOOOOOO *bullhorns sound*

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20:02 Jul 19, 2021

So it's a story about a story? Impressive! It really was emotional for me, and I was hoping her brother would make it through okay. I love it!

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17:21 Jul 19, 2021

Hey! How are you? We haven't talked in a while!

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Kaori .
09:47 Jul 19, 2021

That was a very heartwarming short story. A quick reminder for all of us. Simple yet satisfying.....

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02:23 Jul 19, 2021

It's always beautiful to read a story about faith, you and your mom seem so strong keep it up and keep writing!

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Lilliane Wei
00:01 Jul 19, 2021

whassup wolf, welcome back

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10:19 Jul 17, 2021

Nice to see a story about faith. I hope your family is okay now. Trust God, he never fails. Thanks for sharing.

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Andrea Magee
09:31 Jul 17, 2021

A very beautiful and inspiring read....thank you for light.

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