Cindy Massey-Hicks - A Day After Tomorrow

A DAY AFTERTOMORROW

Based on a true-life story...

A DAY AFTERTOMORROW

Based on a true-life story...

CindyMassey-Hicks

Copyright 2017 Cindy Massey-Hicks

Publishedby Cindy Massey-Hicks Publishing at Smashwords

First edition2017

All rights reserved. No partof this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recordingor any information storage or retrieval system without permissionfrom the copyright holder.

The Author has made everyeffort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. Inthe event that any images/information have been incorrectlyattributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify theseomissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Author usingReach Publishers services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck,South Africa, 3631

Printed and bound by NovusPrint Solutions

Edited by Frankie Kartun forReach Publishers

Cover designed by ReachPublishers

Website:www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail:reach@webstorm.co.za

Disclaimer

Although this is a true-lifestory based on actual events, names have been changed to protectthe privacy and identity of individuals involved.

I chose towrite this novel, not only because of what I have been through andexperienced in my life, but in the hope that it may help someoneelse who may be going through, or who has endured similar or otherhardships in their own life, or perhaps help to change a personsheart toward an experience that he or she simply cant let goof.

Life is noteasy, nor do we get a manual of what to expect in life, or how todeal with certain events that happen, but what we do have is Hope.I believe the richest blessing is family and special friends whochoose never to leave your side, who empathise with the emotionsyou experience and love unconditionally.

Firstly, Igive the Glory to my King, Jesus Christ, Who called me by name, whowrites down the days of each and every persons life. There weretimes I turned my back on Him, but He stood by my side. His Graceis sufficient for me and I live for Him. I am humbled by His Love,His Truth and the realisation that the King of Kings loves meunconditionally, no matter what happens or how I have dealt with mypast. His Mercy is renewed every day.

I have beenblessed with both precious family and special friends.

To my fatherand mother: Thank you. Thank you for loving me the way you do. Youhave been my support and strength throughout my life. I love youboth so much and there will never be enough words to describe howblessed I am to have you as my parents. You never gave up on me,not once. In your own moments of fatigue, you encouraged me to goon, your love strengthened me, your jokes and laughter kept me saneand gave me peace to sleep at night. Dad and Mom, I honour you andlove you both with all my heart.

To mybeautiful children: It has been an honour to have you as mychildren. In you alone is proof of how awesome our God truly is. Hechose me to be your mother. I live for you. I live my life toprotect you forever and to teach you the Love of Christ, who gaveus life. May your lives always be full of laughter aboveeverything that we pray for, my hope is that you never forget howto laugh, from the pit of your tummy for joy will always be yourtrue strength!

To mybeautiful sister, my brother-in-law and your three gorgeouschildren: I love you more than you will ever know. You have been myrock and support. Your help, your devotion, your kindness, yoursupport, words of wisdom and prayers have taught me so much. Yourvalues as a family have given me the reason to strive to be thebest mother I can possibly be to my own children.

To my awesomebrother: You have been my safe place when times were tough. In mymoments of loneliness, I was often reminded of our nights out inour younger days and wondered what you were up to. Those thoughtswould just comfort me with a huge smile. Thank you for the visits,the phone calls, the messages and just being you I love you!

To my otherfamily my friends: There are too many names to mention, but eachof you know who you are. You made me realise my worth as a friendto each of you, because you never gave up on me. Your encouragementlifted me up on my good and bad days. My life has been full, withall of you being a part of my journey. I have known some of youalmost all my life, and then there are my few new friends who haveknown me for only a short while. Words cant describe my gratitudeto you all, but I hope my actions will always remind you of howspecial you are to me.

And finally tomy darling husband: As long as we persevere and endure, we can getanything we want. We need to go through the shockingly hard timesin order to rise from the ashes. You sent me these words when webecame friends. Little did I (or we) realise, those words wouldbecome our reality in the future. Thank you for being a part of mywalk for so long. You never left my side. My rock, my place ofpeace, and the laughter we share you held me up, you walked withme, even when we never realised it. I thank the Lord for you eachday. I thank you for taking care of me, and loving me and ourfamily the way that you do. My partner, my lover, my best friend my husband. You inspired me to complete this novel, and I willalways be grateful to you for that and for never letting go of us.You have my heart, always and forever.

Thank you,Lord, for Your Love and Your Promise, which has never been leftvoid.

The sky wasgrey and it was a cool afternoon as Leah stood patiently, waitingto greet and wish her grandfather happy birthday. As she stoodlooking up at him while he was working on the roof, she called tohim to hurry up, otherwise his party would start without him! Attwelve years old, Leah was maturing and her body was changing intothat of a young woman. After a few more yells, he eventually putdown his tools and hurried down the ladder to greet hisgranddaughter. He kissed her on the lips and hugged her, but thehug did not end. As he leaned forward to kiss her again, he openedhis mouth and kissed her as lovers would kiss, with passion. Hejust looked at her, as she stared at him in silence, not sure howto respond. As she stood there awkwardly, just looking at him, hewhispered to her, Let that be our little secret, okay? Beingimmature and not wanting to offend anyone, she decided to keep thesecret and then left him to go and play with her cousins.

After thelunch and birthday festivities were over, he decided to go backoutside.

Leah, come with me. Iwant to show you the chicken hock Im busy building.

She ran out to meet him so as not tooffend him, while her cousins continued playing, and the two ofthem walked toward the hock. He worked hard for an old man and tookpride in everything he did. As some of the other cousins met upwith them, he made every effort to exclude them from the exclusivegrandfather-granddaughter tour. Eventually he had her on his ownonce more. There was no one else around, just him and his 12-yearold granddaughter. As he leaned forward to meet her lips again, histongue entered her mouth. His hands slid down the little shirt thatshe was wearing and his actions started gaining momentum. He wasnot letting her go. Leah stood frozen. This was clearly nothappening, but in reality it was. In her mind, all she could thinkwas, This isour secret. After a fewminutes, or what felt like a lifetime, he stopped and walked away,as the sounds of the other children had intervened with his actionsand Leah hurriedly walked back to the house, alone.

Her mother wasin the lounge, chatting to the family and enjoying the afternoon.Never in a thousand years would she have imagined what had justhappened moments before to her daughter. As Leah went and sat ather mothers feet, she heard her grandfathers voice as he enteredthe house. He did not care to sit down, he was not too interestedin his family, who had come to share his special day with him. Heseemed agitated. Leah rested her head against her mothers legs andwaited for him to leave the room. She didnt want to get up to goand play outside, but remained near her mother, where she felt safeand secure. A little while later, Leahs sister came running in tocall her. She got up and followed her sister outside. The childrenseemed happy and carefree, the garden was any childs paradise andthe kids were having a great time. However Leah, could not stopthinking about what had happened to her. No man had ever touchedher like that before. No man had ever made her feel so frightened.But she could not tell anyone, after all, it was a secret, and asecret is meant to be kept safe and hidden forever.