Read Online Unclean Spirit by Julieana Toth - Free Book Online Page B

the fact that he lived his life according to the Golden Rule, Paul Forsythe was a devout atheist. Paul and Tamara had butted heads on the God-issue on more than one occasion, but it wasn't until Starr turned fifteen that their conflicting views actually threatened the integrity of the marriage.
                  Starr, like so many other girls her age, was dealing with the essential developmental task inherent to adolescence--the realization of a personal identity. In her quest to find her place in the world, Starr had decided that she must first ascertain the reason for and meaning of her existence. She determined that the best place to search out such information would be through religious channels.
                  When Starr told her parents that she would be attending services at a nearby Episcopalian church, Paul had hit the roof. Starr had never seen her father so unreasonable and she was disappointed in his obstinate refusal to see things her way. Paul had never before put limits on Starr's search for knowledge and understanding, so, she had wondered, why was he doing so now? Starr was beginning to see why her friends bitched about their parents all the time.
                  Tamara was sickened by the discord between Paul and Starr and, quite uncharacteristically for her, entered into the conflict by siding with Starr. It was one thing for Paul to be adamant in his personal beliefs; it was quite another for him to consign his biases to his daughter. Tamara and Paul had always collaborated on the substantive aspects of Starr's upbringing, but Paul's inflexibility in this matter had left no room for discussion. Tamara had never understood or agreed with Paul's closed-mindedness when it came to the subject of theism and if he was unwilling to defend his position, she was unwilling to support it. Starr attended church services; Tamara supported her decision to do so; Paul felt betrayed by his daughter and his wife. 
                  Starr felt responsible when the emotional temperature in the Forsythe home dropped from warm and loving to cool and distant. Screw religion, she'd thought, it's not worth busting up my family. Starr figured that things at home would return to normal once she had stopped going to church, but she was wrong. Tamara and Paul continued with their activities of daily living, but it was obvious that things had changed between them. It was as though the platinum cord of love and respect that had always bound them together had been stretched almost beyond its limits. Starr, employing a classic adolescent maneuver, took control of the situation by running away from home The note she'd left for her parents read:
    Dear Mom and Dad--I love you more than anything and it breaks my heart to think that because of me you don't love each other anymore. I don't want to leave home but maybe, without me around, you will be able to get back to normal. I'll be okay, I promise.                              
     
    Love, Starr
                  Paul and Tamara were incredulous, scared, heartbroken, and guilt-ridden. They looked everywhere for their daughter but, despite the assistance of neighbors, friends, and the police, Starr was not to be found. And then, three days after she had gone missing, Starr returned home. The first words out of her mouth had been, "I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't know about the snakes and the crosses; I saw them last night and I knew that I had to come back home right away."
                  Tamara, although fearful that Starr was delusional as a result of being drugged and/or traumatized, knew better than to automatically attribute her daughter's comment to physiological causes. And, when she noted Paul's look of astonished recognition, she knew that Starr had "seen" something significant.
                  Paul pulled his daughter and wife close to him and hugged them tightly. Tamara felt warm