Whispers of Refuge Box Set

CHAPTER 35-2

“You’re the one who keeps telling me what a great student she is.” Roger had lost count of how often he and Juliette had rehashed this exact same conversation. He figured it could be another dozen times or so until anything really sank in.

With light from the setting sun pouring in through the window, Juliette sat across from her husband and eyed the Scrabble board. “I know, I’m just worried, that’s all.”

Roger put down a twenty-point word. “You’re worried that she’s going to leave like the other Secret Seminary students, and you’re not going to know what happens to her, right?”

Juliette nodded and rearranged the tiles on her letter tray.

“I know, Baby Cakes. I know.” Roger reached his arm across the table, his sleeve grazing one of the letters near the side of the board. The game was almost over. He had nearly twice as many points as his wife.

“I keep telling myself I’m going to bring it up to her,” Juliette confessed, “but each time we come up here to study, I just fumble over the words. I guess I don’t want anything to change. I don’t want to think about sending her away. I want her to stay safe. She’s been through enough already.”

“Has she ever even talked to you about her past?”

Juliette shook her head. “No, but it’s obvious. And I keep second-guessing myself. I don’t want to push her too hard and have her agree and fly across the border, and I don’t want to bring it up and scare her away so she never wants to spend another afternoon here with me.”

Juliette’s eight-point word did nothing to even the score. Roger was already prepared with his next move. “You can second-guess yourself until you’re blue in the face, but Mee-Kyong needs to know if she’s saved or not. It doesn’t matter if she goes back to North Korea, if she heads off to South Korea or America or some other safe place, or if she stays here. All that matters is whether or not she’ll be prepared to face her Creator if she were to die right now.”

“She’s doing so well in her studies ...”

“You’ve said that before,” Roger reminded her and looked up from his tiles. It wasn’t like Juliette to stall this way. “I know the lessons are going smoothly. And I’ve seen her work. You’ve got her in this den doing Bible studies and copying Scripture for, what? Four hours a day? But no matter how well she does with it all, it’s not going to matter if it hasn’t changed what she believes.”

“She believes.” Juliette’s voice was strained.

“Have you asked her?” Roger stared straight at his wife and clasped his hands in front of him. She shook her head. He laid down a six-letter word. “You might want to get on that, Baby Cakes.”

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