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    Changing Places
    Changing Places
    Changing Places
    Ebook100 pages1 hour

    Changing Places

    By Janie Baetsle

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A baby boomer named Sarah is nearing retirement. But before she can embrace it, there comes a day that would be forever etched into her mind: it was the day she received a call from her mother’s friend.

    “Had she talked with her mother lately?” the friend gently asked.

    Something was very wrong.

    As Sarah drives back home, a sense of extreme dread overwhelms her. She prays but can’t seem to shake the heaviness. What she finds when she arrives is devastating. Her mother has had a stroke, which has ravaged her executive decision-making more so than her physical abilities.

    Sarah had tried to warn her mother that she needed to take better care of her medical conditions but was always met with the reply that her mother wasn’t afraid to die. Sarah could not get her mother to understand that a stroke or heart attack might not cause death but could leave a devastating impact upon her life. Now it was too late.

    Sarah carefully weighs out the options. Her mother does not want to give up her “little farm,” as she calls it, so Sarah brings her to live with her and her husband so her farm can be preserved.

    It was the day that Sarah and her mother started their journey back to Sarah’s home that Sarah had the profound realization that what she had always feared the most had happened: she and her mother had just changed places.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCovenant Books, Inc.
    Release dateAug 3, 2022
    ISBN9781685265045
    Changing Places

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      Book preview

      Changing Places - Janie Baetsle

      cover.jpg

      Changing Places

      Janie Baetsle

      ISBN 978-1-68526-503-8 (Paperback)

      ISBN 978-1-68526-508-3 (Hardcover)

      ISBN 978-1-68526-504-5 (Digital)

      Copyright © 2022 Janie Baetsle

      All rights reserved

      First Edition

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

      Covenant Books

      11661 Hwy 707

      Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

      www.covenantbooks.com

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 1

      The bitter cold brushed against her unprotected cheeks, sending chills racing up and down her fragile frame. She knew her body could not withstand much more. She must stay awake. She must fight to keep going.

      Her entire life rushed before her, the replay button hopelessly stuck on fast-forward, storyboarding all the good things, all the bad things, and all that fell there in between. Death must be quite imminent. Is this what it was really like? Her lips moved soundlessly in one final prayer.

      It completely escaped her as to why she was here—outside—in the freezing cold of winter. What brought her? What prompted her to begin such a journey in the dead of night? The answers eluded her.

      Her head throbbed mercilessly. Reaching up with probing fingers, she found it—a large swelling just above her right eye. Even though she touched it in the gentlest of fashions, intense pain shot forth beneath her fingers. In the dimness of the porch light, she could see a strange whiteness moving down her mittenless fingers. Numbness was enveloping her slipper-clad feet.

      Then suddenly she remembered.

      There was a phone call. A strange voice on the other end spoke. Something suspicious was happening outside her home. The call ended as quickly as it had come, the caller blatantly ignoring her frantic demands to know more. Panic stirred her into moving from the comforts of her bed. She rose and put on her bathrobe and slippers. Unlocking the front door, she stepped outside. While her eyes searched through the darkness, she began to frantically cry out, Who’s there? Who’s there?

      No answer. Just the sound of the wind rattling the icy branches of the trees. She walked around a bit just to be sure. Nothing.

      Please answer! she cried out in desperation.

      Still nothing.

      Suddenly, her right foot hit an underlying patch of ice, and she found herself plummeting to the ground. She must have passed out. But now she was wide awake.

      Knowing time was of the essence, she began struggling to regain her footing as her body began violently convulsing from the icy cold. Searching for something to grab hold of, she noticed the step railing a few feet away. Slowly inching her body forward, the welcome cold of the wrought iron brushed up against her outstretched hands. She lunged ahead with all her strength and was finally able to grasp the railing. Pulling with all her might, her feet moved back underneath her, and with great effort, she was able to reach a standing position.

      But the movement provoked an overwhelming nausea from the pulsating throbbing in her head. A short bout of dry heaves followed. Finally, she was able to move up the steps and open the door. The safety of her living room greeted her as she quickly closed the door behind her and set the locks into place.

      *****

      From a distance, two men watched—one tall and burly, the other short and stocky. A stand of snow-covered evergreens concealed their presence as they saw the woman leave her house. The plan was working perfectly. Quickly they moved out of hiding and rushed toward her.

      But to their amazement, their progress was stopped short—not by a person but by some strange invisible force. The more they pushed against it, the more it pushed back. Mystified but determined, they continued their efforts until it became quite evident that they were making no progress whatsoever.

      Disgruntled and confused, they turned back into the darkness from which they had come.

      *****

      In the far north, two states away, Sarah Todd had awakened with a sudden urge to pray. She didn’t know why or even who the prayer was for, but she quickly crawled out of bed in obedience, slipped down upon her knees, and began. The words flowed naturally, for she was a prayer warrior at heart. And then, as quickly as it had come, the prompting left. Moving back into her bed, she fell asleep.

      *****

      Slowly making her way to the kitchen, Edna opened the freezer door, reaching in for the tray of ice cubes. Selecting one cube at a time, she slipped them into a plastic bag she had retrieved from the cupboard. Once full, she secured it with a twist tie and wrapped it within a soft terry cloth towel. Placing it over her throbbing forehead, she headed toward the recliner and eased herself into its plushness. Within a few minutes, she was asleep.

      It was the pain that reawakened her a short time later. Gathering the ice bag into her hands, she carefully made her way to the bedroom. Once back in bed, she pulled the heavy quilting up around her and repositioned the ice bag over her forehead. Quickly she drifted off to sleep, this time until early dawn.

      Whatever the phone call was about would just have to wait. She would not think about it now. She was so thankful. To be alive. To be safe.

      Chapter 2

      The first rays of sunlight filtered through the opening in the curtains. Morning. Edna had never been so glad to see it come. She could hear the familiar sounds of the birds frequenting the feeders just outside her window. The feeders would have to be attended to this morning. Being the outdoor person she was, she had read where hundreds of birds could die if one would suddenly stop feeding them. She certainly did not want to be responsible for anything like that.

      Edna reached up to check the swelling on her forehead and found that it had receded. The ice bag she had created in the night had now become an icy slush as it lay askew upon her pillow. She rose to her feet carrying it with her to the

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