Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Stranger to Paradise
    A Stranger to Paradise
    A Stranger to Paradise
    Ebook51 pages33 minutes

    A Stranger to Paradise

    By Carla J. Wells

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A Stranger to Paradise is a story of hope demonstrated through the life of a young man named Zepho.  Zepho knows a life of struggle until he breaks out and finds what he wanted all along - freedom.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCarla Wells
    Release dateDec 28, 2018
    ISBN9781386896876
    A Stranger to Paradise

    Read more from Carla J. Wells

    Related to A Stranger to Paradise

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      First Date

      Jul 9, 2020

      First Date
      5 min read

    • Article

      Dust To Dust

      May 7, 2020

      Dust To Dust
      8 min read

    • Article

      Partners

      Sep 15, 2018

      Enter,” she says, and is obeyed. He’s taller than before, or perhaps he only seems taller now that he’s here, in the house. She walks behind him, moving toward the living room, and wonders if he might be too tall for her house. It soon dawns on her t

      8 min read

    • Article

      Wixley WONDER

      Oct 19, 2022

      Lucy pulled her car into a lay-by at the top of the hill and gazed at the view below her. The small town stretched out along the banks of the river, surrounded by hills and fields, peaceful and welcoming in the sunshine. Ever since she’d seen the jo

      11 min read

    • Article

      Sugar Plum’s Sweet Shop

      Apr 8, 2020

      Sugar Plum’s Sweet Shop
      3 min read

    • Article

      Mbuze

      Oct 29, 2021

      Mbuze
      11 min read

    • Article

      Practicing

      Mar 15, 2018

      This would have been her favorite season in the Allegheny woods. The shadows of the trees were rickety, and the wind had sap in its scent. But last week, Ty had left; now one day decayed into the next. Their house was abandoned. Only their father, si

      18 min read

    • Article

      Under Covers

      Mar 1, 2023

      Alejandro Puyana is a Venezuelan writer living in Austin, Texas. His work has appeared in Best American Short Stories 2020, New England Review, American Short Fiction, Tin House, The Idaho Review, and other publications. He is at work on a novel. My

      18 min read

    • Article

      Change Of Heart

      May 7, 2020

      Change Of Heart
      7 min read

    • Article

      Milla’s Dandelion

      Sep 10, 2022

      The sun blinded Alchemilla as she entered the meadow. It was hidden deep in the forest, too deep for anyone to venture in without a reason. She didn’t mind the isolation, and if anything, it made her work easier. After her eyes adjusted, she took off

      12 min read

    • Article

      Socks

      May 1, 2022

      Socks
      8 min read

    • Article

      An Unspeakable Life

      Jan 10, 2022

      It was a perfect fall afternoon when Muriel found out she was pregnant. Tourists snatched up apple cider by the gallon at farm stands. Leaf peepers stood on the side of the road with their cameras aimed in all directions; wherever you looked, a quint

      12 min read

    • Article

      Green Fingers

      Jul 21, 2020

      Green Fingers
      6 min read

    • Article

      Something For Nothing

      Mar 1, 2020

      Something For Nothing
      4 min read

    • Article

      In Search Of . . .

      Jan 1, 2019

      In Search Of . . .
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Three Sisters An Australian Legend

      Jul 1, 2023

      The Three Sisters An Australian Legend
      3 min read

    • Article

      Doodlebug & Dandelion The Glimmer Fruit

      Jul 1, 2019

      Doodlebug & Dandelion The Glimmer Fruit
      3 min read

    • Article

      Alien Mark

      Sep 1, 2017

      Alien Mark
      9 min read

    • Article

      Secrets Of The Seamstress

      Apr 20, 2022

      Secrets Of The Seamstress
      8 min read

    • Article

      We Love Our Plant Babies

      Nov 23, 2020

      We Love Our Plant Babies
      7 min read

    • Article

      Secrets Of The Seamstress

      Apr 20, 2022

      Secrets Of The Seamstress
      8 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2022

      It was an unusual birthday. Colorful banners blanketed the backyard. Kids chased each other through the grass. Adults talked. It all went downhill from there. My little sister was turning five. On her birthday cake, painted in frosting, was a fat, pi

      7 min read

    • Article

      Why My Nana Buried Her Sofa

      Feb 6, 2019

      I had my story ready for when Mommy picked me up tomorrow from my Nana’s house: Two hours of Maths revision, an afternoon nap, then two hours studying history. But Nana hadn’t got the memo. Or she had but didn’t care. We were standing in the sunshine

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Hermit’s Secret

      Jan 1, 2020

      The Hermit’s Secret
      6 min read

    • Article

      The GRANDFATHER CLOCK

      Feb 10, 2021

      The GRANDFATHER CLOCK
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Education of Mrs. R.

      Sep 6, 2022

      An adolescent shriek woke her. Cockerels, she thought, cockerels, with a wry twist to the word. She lay in the dark listening. There was no use in covering her head; the screaming still came through. The soloist was suddenly submerged in the chorus.

      13 min read

    • Article

      The Kangaroo’s Pouch

      Jun 5, 2019

      The Kangaroo’s Pouch
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Silent Witness

      Jun 14, 2023

      The Silent Witness
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Stranger to Paradise

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A Stranger to Paradise - Carla J. Wells

      1

      IT IS THE YEAR AD 11 in a largely farm community set 5 miles southwest from Jerusalem, Israel.  Lot of poor people live there, some are poorer than others.

      With harsh rule, Rome dominates Israel.  Its soldiers comb the land putting fear in the people at the sight of them.  They take what they want and do as they want to the land and to the people.

      Mostly, as best they can, the farmers look out for one another with the meager resources they have.  Many have close to nothing between the robbery of King Herod who heavily taxes the land and the Romans who demand more taxes.

      Fertile land separates neighbor from neighbor. 

      Hamutal and her husband are part of this small but distant community of farmers. Their house is in the midst of a few acres.  The land is good, that’s true.  Problem is water.  Not much rain to speak of for a few months.  Crops are tender and easily bake in the sun.  Still, the farmers know nothing else much but to farm.  It’s time to plow, sow barley seed and hope for rain to fall.

      2

      HAMUTAL AND HER HUSBAND’S house is of stone, mud and straw.  It is in various stages of deterioration.  The man runs his hands over rough areas.

      The man barks at the kids to patch the holes.  Fix this, he bellows with hands thrown into the air.  He’s big on hand gestures more than words.  He fusses with his hands until two young ones put together mud and straw.  They’ve gotten good at adding  more mud and straw to any wall gaps.  They poke stones into the rough brick for good measure.  One boy goes inside with a bowl.  Into the bowl he dips a straw brush into limestone to plaster  the walls.  He paints.

      It’s just after sunrise.  There are loud groans from inside the house. 

      With each groan the man outside becomes increasingly agitated.  He can’t take anymore.  He yells, Stop that noise.  The groans turn into stifled whimpers. 

      The man and the children eye the road leading past the  home. 

      Small clouds form.  The man notices.  He heads back to the field.

      At last, a mule pulled cart approaches driven by an older woman with a young boy at her side. The animal slowly makes its way down the dusty road.  The woman keeps a protective eye on the large bundle beside her arm.  Her name is Maakah. 

      A girl yells, there they are!

      The boy jumps off the wagon and secures the wagon near a shed where there are a few goats.  Maakah takes her bundle.

      The bitter man shoos away frightened

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1