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Talk about walking a tightrope
There are so many ways that situation can go pear shaped...
she sees every parent as guilty until proven innocent.
that's as bad as thinking every victim is lying.
Corruption of the soul
People that see the effects of man's inhumanity to man carry a heavy burden. Seeing it happen to children too often can be soul-crushing. We're wired by nature to want to protect the youngest of us. One of the most common ways to deal with it is to just shut those feelings off. Nancy didn't, so they festered in her like a cancer... corrupting her soul.
Now she sees all parents as abusers who just haven't been caught yet. How far will she go to see to it they pay for their 'crimes'? Piling onto them the hate and anger of a hundred abusers that she couldn't catch... her mind turning them into monsters needing to be slain.
Stay tuned. The next chapters will be hard, but there is a light that can bee seen.
::huggles::
Roberta
Once they taste Power it steals their soul
Control over others is an aphrodisiac drawing the weak, the strong, almost all into it's Well of Darkness. When laws are passed giving them immunity from any wrong they may cause, the BRAKES of balancing the scales of wrong against right is removed. Mortals need guidance, those scales of justice as a shield against greed, lust, desire to replace God.
Because Roberta threads the needle of real life with fantasy so tightly, it's hard to guess where she's going with her stories..But being I never was blessed with intelligence I'll take a guess. Lyle has got a Fairy Godmother whispering in his ear. Remember he talked to the nurse at the hospital. If he doesn't watch out he is going to hear the story of Linda's rescue. Does Christiana remind you of our author, dancing close the line of lies and truth but never crossing?
Roberta was youcalled Christina at one point when you were a little girl?
Back on track here. Jean, knew more about people the moment she laid eyes on them than if they had handed her their life history. Some people are like that. I'm guessing Lyle is one of those unusual people and the unbelievable just won't congeal in his logical mind.
Hugs Roberta, awfully lot going on in this story and I love it.
Barb
When we finally learn all there is to know, we realize we know nothing.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Points
You always bring up such interesting points!
Yes, control over others is a drug. It's just as addictive as heroine. In my life I've seen that power corrupt well-intentioned people. (I won't get into the details... yet) When that kind of power is coupled to an immunity from punishment, corruption is inevitable. Criminal prosecutors are immune from prosecution because they have to be to do their job or else they'd end up defending themselves every time they lose a case. Extending that to others is dangerous, yet around the US, social workers like Nancy are given just that... and they react the way human beings do when they can't be punished. They become spoiled brats. When Lyle brings the threat of federal prosecution down on her head, she's finally cowed, but like the brat who's used to getting her way, she acts as though it's Lyle that's wrong... just for daring to tell her "No".
As for parallels to myself with Christina, yes I was very good at lying as a little girl, even though I was never called by that name. I had to be to cover up the 'terrible' truth that I was in fact a girl. I still can lie with total conviction enough to pass a lie detector test... but I loathe doing it. It dredges up a lot of bad memories that I can't shut out.
And actually, it was Lyle's partner Richard that interviewed Tiffany, the nurse from the hospital. Rich just gave Lyle the rundown on her story when he brought in the letter from Christina. Neither one took the theory at all seriously, though.
Lyle can read people. Good investigators generally can. It's a survival skill for a cop. He's also fairly good at telling when something is being covered up, which is why his "gut" is telling him to keep digging into Walt's case. He can sense that something's being hidden. I'll just leave it at that for now!
Glad you're enjoying the story! It is a little complex, but that's just the way life can get, sometimes!
Hugs,
Roberta
Well, you had me tearing up again……
But then I got pissed off at that stupid woman from DCS. Not only was she making judgements before she even looked at Christina, then she makes a statement that she doesn’t have time to read the whole file, and then immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion about Christina’s parents.
This still bothers me because there are just too many people who are getting hurt due to this situation. I just have trouble understanding how any God can do this to people, especially Christina, who are as good as these people are. I can only hope that in the end there are some serious lessons to be learned by some of these people, but I still have trouble processing that those lessons are coming at the expense of Christina, Kathy, and both of their parents.
D. Eden
“Hier stehe ich; ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir.”
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
*Hugs*
I had you and a few others in mind when I added the extra "Kleenex warning" to this chapter! It can make me tear up!
Nancy is typical result of people given power without accountability. She believes that everyone just needs to shut up and obey her and if they did everything would be fine.
As for people getting hurt, who is doing the hurting? Is God responsible for the acts of free-thinking people? Objectively, what happened to Christina was a wonderful miracle... something that almost everyone here wished for themselves at one time or another. There is nothing but good in it... soothing Christina's aching soul. All the bad things that come out of it are due to people's unwillingness to accept that it happened at all... and people just being people.
Free will includes the possibility of doing the wrong thing. It's what you do with it that makes it good or bad. That's just the nature of the beast. Christina has been caught up in a system designed and run by people with good intentions, but she doesn't fit within their paradigm. As such, she and her parents are treated with suspicion and distrust. After all, they are hiding something... and hiding it from a system that expects full disclosure and is good at getting it when it isn't offered.
...and all this caused by the actions and decisions of people who refuse to accept the reality of a wonderful miracle.
Don't blame the guy who built the road for a bad journey. ;^)
Hugs,
Roberta
First off…….
As an engineer, if I design a bad system then it is my fault that it is a bad system. I do agree that I am not responsible for the people who don’t operate it or use it correctly, but if I design and build a bad road then yes, it is my fault. To your point, I am not at fault for the drunk or distracted drivers, but if the road itself is bad then as the one who built it I am at fault.
I understand and agree with the concept of free will, but as Thomas Jefferson said so well, “One man’s rights end when they infringe upon another’s.” In other words, yes, it was a wonderful miracle that happened to Christina - but it was simple cruelty not allowing anyone to explain the potential fallout to a child who didn’t understand.
Using your reasoning, the person who puts a loaded gun in the hands of a child is not responsible for the people who die because of it.
As to that bitch Nancy, I have known plenty of people like her in my life. People like her made my decision to leave the Navy easier. For all of the good people I served with, there are simply too many like Nancy that work the system to their advantage and end up in positions of authority that are well beyond their capabilities.
D. Eden
“Hier stehe ich; ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir.”
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Patience
I understand why this stirs up so many emotions in you. I want to address your points, but I can't do so without giving away plot points ahead. As it is, I had to walk a fine line in my last comment to not give away the story!
I will just say this. As a parent, you know there are times when you can't tell your children everything for their own good... because if you did tell them, they could come to harm. Using your example, it would be a very bad idea to tell a ten-year-old where the key to the gun safe is. It's hidden from them for their own good. Lisbeth was prevented from offering unsolicited information for a reason.
I can't say more until the end of the story when all is revealed. (I promise, there is a reason)
I will however, address this one point:
"Using your reasoning, the person who puts a loaded gun in the hands of a child is not responsible for the people who die because of it."
There are times when putting a loaded gun in the hands of a child are warranted. They just aren't very nice times and not the fault of the person handing the child a loaded gun.
As for Nancy, I too have known people like her. Unfortunately, they flourish in places like CPS/DPS where accountability is lax and the assumption is always that the "Nancys" in the system are never wrong... feeding into their belief of infallibility and pushing for ever greater authority and control over the lives of others. That they get away with it can be infuriating.
Stay tuned and buckle up, folks... the next chapters get rough and deal with some things that can make what Christina's been through so far look like a minor inconvenience.
Hugs,
Roberta
Impressed!
I’m very impressed by your ability to consistently and comprehensively cover all the immense complexities of this story, to the extent that this cynical but soft-hearted atheist (we do exist!) has completely bought into Christina’s cause.
It’s brilliantly constructed and Christina herself is a tremendously sympathetic character whose transparent honesty deserves to succeed. Go girl!
☠️
Semantics ignored
Every time Lyle or his partner ask questions they accept at face value the way their questions are answered.
Christine was asked where she went to school. Her answer, and it was a truthful answer, from a certain perspective, was that she'd never attended school.
David was asked if he could tell Lyle more, after Nancy left in a huff. His reply, he wished he could tell more.
Technically Christine was telling the truth. The person of Christine hadn't attended school. And David technically couldn't say more because it wouldn't be believed.
Semantics have been ignored by those asking the questions. Semantics have protected Christine, Ruth , David, Linda, and George so far. Should someone stand back and examine the answers given, everything might come tumbling down.
What is free will? Making your own choices? Making your own decisions? Taking limited information and do either? Is being guided but not directed and doing either free will?
Is it free will when a person does something to avoid something which causes them harm? They have the choice to continue or avoid.
No parent can impart their knowledge to their child and make that child use that knowledge. They can only have faith that knowledge is applied. And when that knowledge isn't used? Or the child refuses to hear or use that knowledge?
Sometimes it necessary for the parent to give the choice then stand back and watch. Sometimes they've banged their head against the wall so many times they finally see the necessity to stand back and watch. But be there when it hit the fan. Be there when the child finally realizes their mistake.
Desires are okay if they are tempered with reason. Wanting a new car is the dream of many. But many realize they aren't in a position to buy that new car, because they reasoned out the other important needs they have.
Walt jumped at the chance to fulfill his hearts desire. Reason was his overwhelming desire. His overwhelming desire was his sole purpose. It was his blinder which prevented him from seeing further than now.
Others have feelings too.