Read Online Twisting Topeka by Lissa Staley - Free Book Online

taken,”
Elsbeth added. “And, I think I’m in one of them, with this new
hat.” She patted its wide brim.
    Felicity and the Freys left Chicago
the next day.
    Back in Topeka, Felicity
pondered what to do. She would never forget the moments she had had
with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His hotel suite that one evening. It was
brief, and the room was crowded, but those moments were engraved on
her heart. She had never felt so much love from anyone, not even
her parents, husband or children, as she experience then. It was
not a brief emotion, it was a solid thing—more “real” than the
everyday world of cars and houses. It was as if a window to a
deeper, truer reality had opened briefly. It had been too
brief. If this is
Heaven , Felicity
thought , then I’m ready.
    She now realized how important these
teachings were to her and she wanted to share them. She was
dismayed that she had so done nothing in support of her beliefs.
Now she was energized and wanted to do something, but wasn’t sure
what. She wanted to tell everyone in the city, but how?
    Among other things, she had brought
back a pamphlet about Bahá’u’lláh and Christ. The connections were
amazing and implausible, but in her heart, she felt they were true.
The experience of seeing so many other Bahá’ís, from so many
different backgrounds and colors, confirmed for her that there was
a power in this Message that could unite people. It was not just
words. Here was concrete proof!
    She remembered the newspaper article
in the hotel. Everyone read newspapers; many people in Topeka took
both the morning and evening papers. Aside from gossip, the
newspapers were the only source of news. Newspapers were the
key.
    One night she had a dream
in which people were opening newspapers all across town. When
Felicity woke up, she knew what she could do. It would take a
little money, but she had some saved for a special occasion. This was a special
occasion.
    After breakfast, she went
to the offices of both the Capital and the Journal and told the advertising clerks what she wanted
to do. When they gasped in surprise, she knew it would get the
attention of others too. It was the right thing to do.
    Two days later, she opened
the The Capital ,
as she knew thousands of others in Topeka were doing, and saw the
words she had planned. Some readers gasped in surprise, ‘How can
anyone make such a claim?’ ‘Blasphemy,’ many others muttered. Not a
few went so far as to think or exclaim, ‘Anti-Christ!’ More than
one sermon for the next Sunday was hastily revised to warn innocent
flocks to beware of this heresy. Such a claim was surely not less
than that. The words were in a large display ad in the center of
the top half of the page:
     
    CHRIST HAS RISEN AND
RETURNED
    with the new name, as
promised:
    Baha-u-llah
    The Glory of God—Revelations
3:12
     
     

Cleansing
Waters
    C.R. Kennedy
     
    Purple, yellow, and white blooming
bulbs—mostly iris and daffodils—accented the rock garden like
seashells on a beach. After two days alone in the car, Melanie was
quite happy she’d abandoned her spring break vacation and exchanged
the seashells on Galveston Island, Texas, for the flowers in her
hometown at Gage Park. Beau, her fluffy, white Bichon, led her
along the paths and stopped to sniff flowers, tree roots, and
random insects. It neared sunset, and the unseasonable warmth of
the day convinced Melanie a mosquito was teasing her calf just
below the bottom hem of her dress. She turned around to swat it
away, and Beau yanked hard on his leash. She allowed the dog to
pull her, continuing to shoo the insect until an unpleasant odor
struck her. Melanie snapped her head around and discovered her dog
brushing against worn, brown work boots. The man wearing them sat
on a wooden bench with his face buried in his hands, and Melanie
gazed at the top of his unraveling straw hat.
    “ Oh…pardon my dog,” she
said.
    “ Animals don’t bother me,”
he replied.
    Beau indulged himself in