Fall Writing Competition Winner

Congrats to our 2025 Fall Writing Competition winner, Gabrielle N.! Below you'll find her short story, The Safe Place, which is a touching tale of grief, loss, and hope.

The Safe Place

Gabrielle N.

Content Warnings: mentions of suicide, and a frightening illness

The tree was beautiful. Tall and majestic, three times the size of the other trees of the forest, it was stunning to behold, laden in leaves the colour of phoenix wings which rained down about it.

Under its shelter, there sat a girl. She looked to be about eleven or twelve, with golden hair which she wore tied up in a small ponytail, and on her lap she held two books, one a large leather-bound volume with a worn cover and the other a simple purple notepad in which she was scribbling words with a golden pen.

“Dear diary,” she wrote, “Mama bought me this at the shop this morning. She said that I could record my adventures while we’re here in Litharia in it. It’s strange, being in another world. Here people are so unaware of the war going on back home. Mama says they don’t know we exist, and we must keep it that way or another war might break out. And that’s the last thing we need right now. We would be back in Alcyon helping with the war effort like Papa, but after my attack, Mama had us brought here because there’s rumours the Litharen doctors might be able to help with my condition. In most cases, Alcyonian medicine is better because we find the cures from what God gave us. But we haven’t found this one yet, and if the rumours are correct, the Litharens might have. Hopefully they’ll be able to stop these attacks. They’re pretty scary, to be honest. It’s like I can’t move when it happens and then there’s the pain, so, so intense... Sometimes I pass out, but other times it wears off before then. Either way, it absolutely sucks. I hate it, and I hate the stress it puts on Mama and Papa too. The last one nearly killed me. And that’s why we’re here. I really hope the doctors can help. There’s still so much I want to do with my life. Anyway, I have to go, Mama’s calling me now. Bye, Diary. Séarie.”

The girl stood and, dusting the fallen leaves off her skirt, hid both books in a compartment carved into the trunk of the tree and left the tree.

• • • • •

She came back the next day. It was lightly raining through the tops of the trees, and a few stray drops trickled through the sunset canopy onto her face. She ignored them and sat down in that same place under the tree again, not minding the cold air or damp earth beneath her.

Pulling out her books again, she began to write in her little diary.

“God, I don’t understand. Why are you letting this happen? Can’t you take this away? I haven’t got to do any of the things I planned yet. And Mama seems so scared... Lord, please, help.”

She stopped, her pen quivering above the paper. A stray gust of wind blew a strand of her hair in her face. She took a deep breath and, gently setting down the notepad and pen, picked up the big leather book and began to read. Its words seemed to comfort her even as a tear slid down her cheek and landed on the page she was reading. She whispered a quiet thank you seemingly into thin air as she picked up her notebook again and began to pen more words.

“Dear diary, the doctors say that there’s nothing they can do. They can’t fix it after all. No one can. I guess all we can do now is keep praying. We’ll be heading back to Alcyon when Aemi gets back, but we don’t know when that’s going to happen. And Mama and Merina keep fighting and nothing seems to be working... But God is here with us and we’re just going to have to trust he knows what he’s doing, I suppose. And I know he does. He’s always been there for me, and he’s not going to leave now.”

The rain began to fall more heavily, and some drops fell onto the page, smudging the ink slightly.

“I should be going now, the rain’s getting worse. Goodbye, diary. Séarie.”

• • • • •

No one returned to the tree for another two days thanks to a thunderstorm. Some others in the forest were harmed by the bad weather, but that tree remained. And when the girl came back, smiling and happy, it was still there to receive her.

“Dear diary,” she wrote, “I’m sorry I haven’t been here the past couple of days. The weather was terrible for going outside so I couldn’t come back till now. But we still had a good time. We all went shopping in town together and it was so much fun! I got this new dress from one of the clothes shops. It’s dark blue with purple flowers and it’s so pretty! I’m going to wear it when we go home so Papa can see it. Merina got some Litharen makeup and it is scary. The brush of that thing she says is mascara... She let me have a go and I seriously thought I was going to poke myself in the eye. It’s been pretty good back home lately, but I’m happy to be back here again. I always prayed for my own place I could escape to, and this is it. This is my safe place. And I love it. Anyway, it’s nearly lunchtime so I should probably be getting back now. Bye! Séarie.”

The girl put the books away and stood. But before she could go anywhere, she froze. And then collapsed in a pile on the ground. Her features became pale and drawn, and anyone could see the pain she was in was agonising. But she couldn’t move. She just had to lie there until it wore off.

The wind blew the fiery leaves over her and she lay there, wrapped in the forest’s blanket. One minute passed, then five, then ten, before she was finally able to get up and head back home.

• • • • •

She returned after nightfall that day, a torch clutched in one hand to illuminate her way forward.

The other swiped at the tears in her eyes. She sat down once again under that tree, pulling the two books from their hiding place. And as usual, she wrote.

“Dear diary, I’m not meant to be here right now, but I needed my safe place again. They don’t know I’m gone. I snuck out the window. I shouldn’t have, I know, but I need this. I don’t understand. Why isn’t God healing me? Mama and them said the next attack could kill me. So why, God, are you letting this happen? Your plans for me have to be better than this. How am I going to help people and change lives in these worlds if I’m dead or stuck like this? I want to live out my life for you, Lord. Why can’t you make me whole like everyone else? I don’t understand...”

She paused, staring up into space. Stars glimmered in the cracks of the leafy rooftop above, piercing the dark with little dots of light. The night air was crisp and cool, but she didn’t seem to mind. She just sat there, searching the skies for a hope to hold onto. A leaf fell from the forest ceiling and hit her on the nose before landing on the thick volume sitting beside her, drawing her attention to the forgotten book. She picked it up and, setting it gently on her lap, again opened it to a random page. As she read the pain in her expression became more evident, but it was a different sort of pain, that healing pain of letting go of burdens that had long weighed you down.

“Thank you, God, oh, thank you,” she whispered.

She picked up the notepad and pen and continued to write.

“You don’t ask me to do all these great and amazing things. All you ask of me is to love. To love others like you did me. Please, help me to do that. Teach me to love, please. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

And with that peace seemed to come over her at last.

• • • • •

She came back the next evening, as the sun was setting. Leaves crinkled underfoot as she walked back to her safe place. Her face was a picture of pain as she sat down to write.

“Dear diary, Merina put a knife to her throat tonight. It was my fault, I guess. We were fighting and I said something I shouldn’t have, and she grabbed one of the knives from the cupboard and said to me and Mama that if we wanted her to be gone, she could be. It was so terrifying. Even if we argue, she’s still my sister and I don’t want to lose her. I told her not to do it, that Mama and Papa and God and me all love her and she needed to stay because God wasn’t finished with her yet. She put the knife away and went down to her room. Mama talked with her for a while and later I went and talked to her too. She told me that she felt like she was always the problem, that she didn’t matter as much as me because I’m sick and they all care about me more. She said she feels like she always has to be who we need her to be rather than who she is, and that she can’t get away from all of their expectations, and she hates God for putting her in this situation. I talked with her for a while, and it sounds like she needs a safe place of her own, like mine. Maybe I can bring her here and we can share.”

She paused and picked up a crimson leaf, studying it carefully.

“I don’t know, really. I just feel terrible about this. I nearly drove her to that. Me. In the Bible, they say that words can bring life or death. I didn’t realise that was literal, but sometimes maybe it is. I’m meant to be loving others like Jesus loves me. If I can’t even love my own sister till she’s threatening to kill herself, what kind of person am I? I’ve got to try harder. I have to. I’m going to try harder and love like I’ve been called to.”

She set the notebook down and just sat for a while, appreciating the world God created for her to be in. It seemed to alleviate some of the pain, being outside in nature. The way it was meant to be. Eventually she picked up her pen and began to write some more.

“I still don’t understand why anyone would try to kill themselves, though. If your story’s not over, why end it yourself? You’d miss so much. But maybe it’s a thing of that wish we all have, when things get hard, the desperation to escape, and they begin to think they’ll never find their own safe place, so the best way to escape seems to be death. But that’s not true. There’s another safe place, and it’s not the grave or the forest or even this tree. It’s in the arms of the King who created and loves us. And he’ll give us strength to push through every bad day ahead into the future he planned for us. Anyway, I should be heading back now. It’s getting dark. Bye. Séarie.”

• • • • •

The next time she came back she wasn’t alone. With her was a girl a few years older, with golden hair like Séarie’s and green eyes. There was an undeniable resemblance between them, but,

though Merina had a sophisticated, model like beauty about her, Séarie seemed to have a light she didn’t possess.

“Come on, Merina!” Séarie urged.

The excitement she clearly felt was infectious. Merina had fallen behind a little ways, unused to the uneven ground of the forest floor.

“I am,” she said, “Where exactly are we going again?”

“You’ll find out when we get there!”

Merina sighed in mock exasperation, but there was an underlying happiness in it. They made there way to the forest together, and soon enough they came to the tree. She seemed to be lost for words at the sight of it.

“It’s amazing, right?” Séarie said.

Merina just nodded. Her eyes didn’t leave the giant tree, laden with leaves in shades of fire.

“You said you didn’t feel like you could be yourself back home,” Séarie continued, “This is my safe place. It can be yours too. You can be yourself here, be free here. It can just be you and God.

This is my escape. It can be yours too.”

Merina stared at her for a moment, her eyes wide in a mix of astonishment and disbelief.

“Really?”

Séarie nodded vigorously.

“Of course!”

Merina continued to stare for a few seconds, before stepping forward and wrapping her little

sister in her arms.

“You’re the best sister I could’ve asked for,” she whispered.

“Same,” Séarie said, hugging her tightly.

No words were written down that day. None needed to be.

• • • • •

The next time Séarie returned was the day after. She sat in the usual place, a bright smile lighting her face, and leant back against the tree. But rather than getting out the notepad first, she got out the big leather-bound book and began to read. As she read, her smile brightened further and she turned the pages faster and with more enthusiasm. It was a good hour before she picked up her notebook and began to pen more words on its pages.

“Dear diary,” she wrote, “no matter what problems I might have, I am whole in Jesus. And the struggles I have don’t make me any less whole than other girls unless I let them stop me from living for him. I can choose to love anyway, in the small things as well as the big, and who knows, maybe I will change the world. But even if I don’t, I’ll still love. I showed Merina my hiding place and told her we can both share. She was happier than I’ve seen her in ages and it felt so good. I made her feel loved. I showed her she wasn’t alone. Me. And for me, that is world changing. Whether God chooses to heal me or not, whether I die tomorrow or in a hundred years, as long as I have love, I’ll always be whole. No matter what. Séarie.”

She put the books away in their compartment once again and just lay, staring up through the

canopy into the sky, enjoying the perfect mix of autumn sunshine and shade. She lay there for about half an hour until it happened. Her muscles tensed and she went completely still, her forehead creasing and her lips open in an effort to scream, but no sound left them, she couldn’t move... A few minutes later she had passed out of consciousness and into a sleep from which she would never awake. Her family found her later, and with much weeping, removed her from the forest, where she would never return again. But her soul was safe. In the true safe place

forevermore.

• • • • •

Merina walked into the forest. It’d been a year. Exactly a year since Séarie had died. It was almost exactly the same as when they’d left it, and it could’ve been yesterday that Séarie had shown her the tree. But it wasn’t. There was a heaviness in Merina’s every action that wasn’t there then. And there was a girl who was gone from this place forever. Merina sat down under the tree, exactly where Séarie used to, staring up through the sunset leaves like she once had.

And that was when the secret compartment popped out, still containing the two books and the golden pen. Avoiding the leather-bound book as if it would burn her to touch it, Merina

hesitantly picked up the notebook and began to read. And as she read her facade shattered. Tears long held back began to fall. And she continued to read. Time passed. Merina held onto the book as if it was a lifeline as she wept more and more, still turning the pages. Until she came to a

certain line.

“There’s another safe place, and it’s not the grave or the forest or even this tree. It’s in the arms of the King who created and loves us.”

“Why?!” Merina screamed, “You were her safe place and you let her down! She trusted you...”

She kept going. And then she read the last words written in that diary.

“She was happier than I’d seen her in ages... for me, that is world changing. Whether God

chooses to heal me or not, whether I die tomorrow or in a hundred years, as long as I have love, I’ll always be whole.”

Merina silently screamed into her hands. She desperately turned the pages of the book, seeing if there was anything more, but there wasn’t. She checked the date on the entry. It was the date

Séarie had died.

“What?” she managed to gasp.

She couldn’t find any more words to say. So she picked up the golden pen and, without really knowing what she was doing, began to write on the blank page.

“I’m sorry, Séarie. I left what you gave me. There’s so much I want to say, so much I would’ve said if I’d known to say it... You’re gone now, so it’s too late for that. But I’ll share that safe

place. Not the grave or the tree. But Him. And I’ll continue on in him for you.”

With a shaky breath she put down the notepad, and hesitantly picked up the heavy book. The

tears fell afresh as she read but it was okay. It was okay to break here. This was her safe place.

And in the breaking, a new healing began.