Image Credit:
The Fortress
Evgeni Dinev/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
“It was my sixteenth birthday, and I was so excited, because I was now, old enough to get my driver’s permit. I had worked as a shampoo-girl since I was fifteen, and every week, I faithfully put half of my earnings into a savings account so that I would hopefully have enough money to buy a car by the time I exchanged my driver’s permit for a license.
“Of course, in order to get your driver’s permit, you need your birth certificate. I passed driver’s-ed with flying colors, and I’d been talking about getting my permit for weeks. So, as we were getting ready to go to the DMV that morning, I told Mom, ‘You’re going to have to unlock the Fortress (Daddy’s safe) and get my birth certificate.’ She turned pale, but she went to get it.
“‘Oh, I can’t wait to see it,’ I gushed, not even noticing how upset Mom looked. ‘Jen’s birth certificate is from Texas, and it looks so different from Maryland’s birth certificates. Where was I born, anyway?’ I asked. I don’t know why, but that’s the first time I’d ever thought about it.
“‘You were born in Delaware,’ Mom said in a monotone voice.
“‘Delaware? Cool! Why didn’t you tell me before? Wow, that’s a tiny little state, isn’t it? What city was I born in? Let me see!’
“‘No! Amanda, wait. Sit down, Sweetie. We need to talk.’ And that’s when I found out that I wasn’t really Amanda White, and my parents weren’t really Max and Dottie White.
“I felt like I was made of glass, and my whole life had shattered into a million shards and fragments. I needed to know who I was, and who and what I came from. I needed to know if there was anything good or worthwhile in me, or if I was just some terrible, cosmic accident, and so I began my search.
Mom and Dad were both against my quest for the truth. They were both afraid… afraid that the truth would hurt me, and afraid they would lose me if I knew the truth,” Amanda sighed, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry Amanda,” Regina stood, leaned over and hugged Amanda tightly, comforting her as she had long dreamed of comforting her daughter, while both wept openly, heedless of onlookers. Finally, after several minutes, both regained their composure and Regina sat, moving her chair closer to Amanda’s.
Amanda smiled. “Even though I felt like a broken glass, I learned something valuable.Although my adoptive parents refused to help me find you and discover the truth, I had enough faith to move any mountains that rose against me. Sometimes glass glitters more than diamonds because it has more to prove… And so, my search led me to you, and though knowing the truth about how I was conceived is painful, not knowing was worse. Maybe that’s why Jesus said, ‘You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.’”
© 2014
Cheryl A. Showers
Challenge – Monday 12th May 2014
This post was written in response to the Light and Shade Challenge. The rules of the prompt were to write a 500 word post using one or both of two prompts. One was a picture prompt, (at the top), and the other prompt was a quote (below). My post is exactly 100 words, and I chose to respond to both prompts…
“Sometimes glass glitters more than diamonds because it has more to prove” – Terry Pratchett
This story is the third part of a story that I began last week. To read Parts 1 & 2 of this story, click the following links:
Stories for the Heart 
Not only a powerful continuation of the tale, but a really clever use of both prompts – thank you so much for contributing Cheryl, I’m really enjoying this story.
Thanks for your encouraging comments, Thomas. They really blessed me. I’m really enjoying the prompts.
God bless you,
Cheryl