![\"Downstream\"](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/thumbnail_image1-1.jpg\")
<\/h2>\nOnce again, I’m happy to host Maressa Mortimer, who is sharing an excerpt from her latest book, Downstream.<\/p>\n
<\/h2>\nRadio signals have been picked up that might reveal the location of Downstream. Macia longs to find her mother there and tries to persuade her friends Gax and Cecilia to join her in the search. But is it a dangerous mistake or a mission from God? Many difficulties await them and they will need to trust God\u00a0as they encounter darkness and danger, reaching out with the Light.<\/p>\n
![\"Downstream\"](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/thumbnail_image2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Chapter One Part 3<\/strong><\/p>\n Life has changed for the girls. What they wear, read, say, and do is a world apart from the controlled society of Elabi. Macia rubs her arm, \u201cMy arm says it\u2019s going to be wet later,\u201d she grins, sure that the healed break can predict the weather. \u201cI better go for a run now, before we have to help in the shelter.\u201d She smooths out one of her nails, and continues slowly, \u201cI hope Gax will know more soon.\u201d She swallows, \u201cIt\u2019s made me struggle to sleep at night, and I have had to write my imaginary diary again,\u201d she laughs as she gets up to get ready for her run. https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Downstream-Elabi-Chronicles-Maressa-Mortimer\/dp\/1838313494\/<\/a><\/p>\n Website <\/strong>http:\/\/www.vicarioushome.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n Instagram <\/strong>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vicarioush.ome<\/a><\/p>\n Linktr.ee <\/strong>https:\/\/linktr.ee\/Vicarioushome<\/a><\/p>\n Once again, I’m happy to host Maressa Mortimer, who is sharing an excerpt from her latest book, Downstream. Blurb Radio signals have been picked up that might reveal the location of Downstream. Macia longs to find her mother there and tries to persuade her friends Gax and Cecilia to join her in the search. But … Continue reading Downstream by Maressa Mortimer #DOWNSTREAM<\/span>
\nCaecilia goes up to her room, not wanting to stay in the shared
\nlounge by herself. She lowers herself on her bed, thinking. \u201cDearest friend,\u201d she whispers, thinking of Macia and her diary, \u201cmaybe I should have a dearest friend as well, as my head is spinning. I wanted to forget Elabi, but it\u2019s there and my parents and my family,\u201d she wipes tears away that have suddenly splashed on her cheeks. She can\u2019t remember ever crying in Elabi, but since arriving in Mataiox nearly a year ago, she has changed. Even Macia, who has not even been a year, has changed. \u201cAnyway, dearest friend,\u201d Caecilia forces her mind back to the diary in her head, \u201cI am confused. I would love to leave it all behind, but the mention of Elabi has stirred something in me. I should pray about it, but I don\u2019t know how to, as I can\u2019t work out what I want.\u201d
\nWorking in the Shelter is a good diversion, both girls agree. The Shelter provides sleeping spaces and meals for homeless people. \u201cThat\u2019s the sad side of Mataiox,\u201d Caecilia says to Macia as they\u2019re stirring large pots and pans, filled with wholesome food. \u201cIt\u2019s free,
\nor less controlled, but it comes with many problems. Sometimes I wonder if the freedom is worth it for many people, until we\u2019re back at the Meeting House, then I am glad!\u201d
\n\u201cI like the freedom,\u201d Macia says, \u201cfreedom to wear what you want,\u201d and she looks down at her new jeans, and grins at Caecilia, \u201cWell, I like them,\u201d she says, lifting her chin, \u201cThey are comfortable and everyone wears them.\u201d Caecilia shrugs but Macia carries on, \u201cAnd there are other freedoms I like. It might come at a price, but in Elabi, there is a price too. Think of Downstream, and beyond the hills. Here, people can change, like some of the people visiting the Shelter. They might visit the Shelter for a while, but some of them do get back on their feet.\u201d She stirs a little slower, \u201cMaybe not many, and definitely not all, but there is a way back from their struggles. People are around to help the homeless people. Downstream is final and the hills are often final.\u201d
\nGax is waiting for the girls as they finish cleaning up the kitchen.
\nThe Shelter is quiet now, leftover food is boxed up and put away, and most of the staff has gone home. Gax watches the girls, and as Caecilia smiles at him, he says, \u201cI talked to Linu today, after my morning Ethics class.\u201d Both girls stop what they\u2019re doing and Gax shrugs. \u201cThere isn\u2019t much more I can tell you, but maybe we could go for a quick walk along the beach?\u201d
\nMacia is glad of her new jeans when they get out of Gax\u2019s car. The wind is sharp and she tugs her coat tighter. Caecilia shivers, but keeps her smile in place. She clutches her new handbag, hoping Gax will notice. It\u2019s similar to the bag his sister has. Gax smiles at her, causing a warm glow inside her and the three walk onto the soft sand, Gax in the middle.
\nMacia is the first to break the uneasy silence by taking a deep breath through her nose. \u201cI love the smell of the sea,\u201d she says, \u201cit reminds me of my paddleboarding lessons.\u201d Her mind wanders back, thinking of the woman who helped her and even provided the board that brought her to freedom. It always fills her heart with gratitude as well as worry for the woman\u2019s safety.
\nCaecilia nods, \u201cIt reminds me of my father\u2019s lighthouse,\u201d she says softly, hugging her large bag a little tighter, forcing her voice to stay light.
\nGax smiles at her. \u201cThat lighthouse is special,\u201d he grins, \u201cit was the first thing I saw, getting into Elabi, and in a way the last thing as well.\u201d He looks away. \u201cLinu says the chatter isn\u2019t from Elabi itself.\u201d The girls nod, as Gax had shared that part already. \u201cShe tried to get more information, and says the main word she managed to unscramble was,\u201d he hesitates, \u201c…was Requipacem.\u201d
\nBoth girls gasp and Caecilia takes a step away from Gax whilst Macia stares out over sea. Requipacem. The word indicating the ending of someone\u2019s life in Elabi. Macia keeps her back towards Gax, but manages to ask, \u201cWhy would that be part of a radio conversation?\u201d Gax looks at his shoes, not wanting to look at the girls. \u201cLinu thinks
\nthe chatter isn\u2019t from Elabi or from beyond the hills. She isn\u2019t sure where exactly it is from, although she has managed to narrow it down. We think… we think it might be from Downstream.\u201d
\nMacia spins round, opens her mouth, closes it and turns back to watch the gentle waves hugging the yellow sand, leaving darker lines. She doesn\u2019t move as Caecilia asks, \u201cDoes she know whereabouts Downstream is in that case? And would it matter at all?\u201d
\nMacia spins round at that. \u201cI agree. What difference would it make? People go Downstream for Requipacem, I\u2019m sure. There is nothing down there. There can\u2019t be anything.\u201d She chews her nail, \u201cThere has never been anyone returning, otherwise, if they could they would. She would.\u201d She gives a small gasp as the last couple of words escape her mouth. She blinks, sniffs then continues, her voice no longer fierce.
\n\u201cShe would have returned for us, if there was a way back. Once my little brother had gone, she would have returned, I\u2019m sure.\u201d
\nCaecilia touches Macia\u2019s arm with her fingertips. \u201cShe wouldn\u2019t have been received well, and she would have known that. Maybe she could have found a way back, but it wouldn\u2019t have been worth it. Your father wouldn\u2019t have received her back with open arms, would he? And the city leaders wouldn\u2019t have accepted her back either, as every parent of sick and imperfect children would have followed her example.\u201d
\nMacia gives a small sob and whispers, \u201cWhat if she stayed there then? What if she is alive and living Downstream? Maybe she is still there.\u201d<\/p>\nBuy Link<\/h2>\n
About Maressa<\/h2>\n
![\"Downstream\"](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/thumbnail_image3.jpg\")
Maressa grew up in the Netherlands, and moved to England soon after finishing teaching training college. Married to Pastor Richard Mortimer they live in a Cotswold village with there four children. She is a homeschool mum, enjoying the time spent with family, travelling, reading and turning life into stories, she wants to use her stories to show practical Christian\u2019s living in a fallen world.<\/p>\nFollow Maressa<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/thumbnail_image0-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"