HIDDEN TREASURES

HIDDEN TREASURES By Tessa Harvey     Estelle had worked in several jobs including mostly as a shop assistant. The supermarket managers told her exactly what to do, how to stack shelves, how to clean very early before the store opened. It was mindless repetitive work, but it gave her enough money to afford a shared rental.     Mostly it was girls, but sometimes a bloke came, saying he was a woman. Estelle did not like him. She was made to call him Margaret. One of the other girls whispered: "Lock your door every night and never ever go to the loo alone. Lock the bathroom if you shower."      He kept staring at her. Also at Elly who was her friend. Some folks pretended friendship but their hard or shifty eyes betrayed them. Estelle avoided them, kept quiet.     When she was little, her friends were Rose and Jasmine. Rose was slow but nice. The teacher kept trying to make her say her dad was abusing her. Estelle had stayed with the sisters for t...

HIDDEN TREASURES  By Tessa Harvey     Janice woke to the sound of an incoming text. Sleepily, she reached for her phone, annoyed when she saw how early it was. Last night, tired from finishing extra course work, she had forgotten to mute her device.     The message was from Jess. Frowning as she scrolled down the text, Janice was a little perturbed.     Jess was deferring her studies for this term. There was an urgent need for auxiliary nursing staff in the hospital where Janice's brother worked. Jess had decided to do this work to earn more money to help with student fees.     Reading between the lines, Janice felt that she was possibly drawn to Matthew. She decided to pray, and promptly fell asleep.     Reading her friend's reply after work in her tiny room at the Nurses' Home Jess was reassured by the text and hurried to join the others for an evening meal. An enticing smell was drifting up the stairs. Lovely!     Tomor...

HIDDEN TREASURES  By Tessa Harvey     "Matthew, I'm sorry. Please don't go. That man is not my boyfriend. He as even imitating my friend's accent to upset me."     The young doctor smiled. "It is half an hour before my shift. How about a coffee in the hospital cafeteria? As I am still on call, I have to stay nearby."     When they had shared a big piece of chocolate and a warm drink, Matthew pushed his chair back and asked "Could you explain, Jess, or is it too painful?"     Jess brushed some crumbs away, stalling for time. "I told Alice he was fine at first, gentlemanly. But soon he was very controlling. He seemed to know how to press my upset buttons. Just now he even imitated a student called Will."     The doctor was concerned. "He sounds like a stalker, finding out stuff to harm us both. My fiance was suddenly overcome with homesicknes and we had to cancel the wedding." He looked away, trying to hide his pain.     She...

HIDDEN TREASURES  By Tessa Harvey     But Simon was not so easily intimidated. He turned to face the doctor. His lip curled in a sneer. "So trying to rescue another lady in distress! The last one fled to Germany rather than marry you!"     Dr. Matthew took a step back unable to hide his distress. Knowing he had the high ground, Simon smirked and walked away smiling to himself, secure in his obvious superiority. Jess would come back to her senses and realise her great good fortune. After all, he had just been offered a place in a local law-firm and knew he had the brains and connections to go far.      How could a lowly hospital medic interest Jess when he, Simon was on hand. Besides, he could see that she was not even interested in that doctor.     But he was wrong. Jess was now interested in 'that doctor,' despite her initial misgivings. And seeing for herself how human and caring Dr. Matthew Walters was compared to Simon was startling....

HIDDEN TREASURES  By Tessa Harvey     Jess turned away from gran's grave, leaving the open ground to be filled with the piled-up earth, mixed-dark loam and hard clay. Janice had just pulled away with a final hug and wave. Exams were again looming for her and she had offered to collect all the work this week for Jess to catch up on her study.     It was a miserable drizzly day and rain mingled with her tears. It seemed so final. She was alone, God forgotten.     The wet ground was uneven and the young woman stumbled. A stranger's arms gripped her firmly, holding her close - too close. Looking up she saw a familiar face - Simon! "So," he said with the familiar South African accent, almost gloating, "poor little Jess, all alone and unwanted. Well, I do not let go."     Jess tried to pull away, trying to focus on her friend's turquoise mini. It was disappearing with a final beep of the horn, lost in looming mist.     Simon gripped her t...

HIDDEN TREASURES  By Tessa Harvey     The night crept away and Jess slept deeply. Rousing near dawn, remembering, she reached out to check on her grandmother. She felt so cold!     Unable to face the truth, Jess quickly slipped away to find the night nurse, but it was shift-change time for them. They were busy. Finally, sadly, Jess was able to accompany a young nurse back to her grandmother.     "Wow," the young male nurse whispered, "she looks so peaceful, even happy. Most die angry or in pain, afraid." He turned to Jess. "What made the difference?"     "She knew God loves her and cares," she said, awed also at the beauty on Mops' face; wrinkles smoothed away, no sign of grief and pain.     The nurse glanced around. "I will need to tell the nurse in charge and a doctor to come to confirm death. But tell me the truth. Is God real? Does someone really care? My life is hell. I need to know."     "Yes," answered Jess, with su...

HIDDEN TREASURES  By Tessa Harvey     It was very quiet in the small room just off the main ward. Alice lay still as Jess watched over her. She remembered all the times she had had fun with her grandparents. Trips to the seaside, fairs, markets, playgrounds. Once was a visit to a circus.     But also she thought of the quiet evenings doing her homework at the kitchen table once the evening meal was cleared away and dishes done.     Sometimes, if it was too hard, her grandfather had helped her or his wife - with schoolwork. Then they had watched a child-friendly program before her bed-time.     Hours later, Alice opened her eyes and looked at her. "Do you remember Psalm 23?" she asked Jess softly. "You memorised it for a school project." The word 'memorised' was slurred slightly.     There was a pause, then "do you know that we always go THROUGH the dark valleys?"     Jess smiled and held her hand gently. It was a while bef...