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Error loading page. This is awful sudden. She hesitated, then leaned her forehead against the wall. It was too humiliating. She was afraid, so afraid. Even the thought of being across town from the campus made her heart race. Ethan had gotten her car for her this morning, but what if it broke down again? What if Ethan was too busy? She would have to make that long walk down Maple to Main and catch the bus. She would have to walk up Henderson past the park—. She was sorry to leave Sally and Juan with added responsibilities.
She was sorry Mr. Packard would miss her. She was sorry about everything. Over the next few days, Dynah tried to pour herself into her studies, but she found it difficult. She was so tired, all she wanted to do was sleep.
When she did, she was tormented by strange, vivid dreams. He said he could send a squad car to pick her up, but Dynah said she would get there on her own. The last thing she wanted were rumors starting. Ethan insisted he would drive her. When he picked her up, he said if anyone saw them at the police station, he had a plausible reason worked out. They were doing jail visitation and research.
Neither spoke after that. He seemed preoccupied, grim, and her own thoughts were rushing headlong toward disaster. Her stomach churned. It was the first time she had left the dormitory since that night. Instead of driving out the east entrance, Ethan took his usual route straight through the front gate and down Henderson. She kept her eyes closed until he turned onto Main.
Once at the police station, Ethan waited in the lobby. Dynah endured an hour of questions about the night of the rape. She mentioned the white station wagon with the Massachusetts plates. Officer Lawson kept going back to the man again and again, gently but persistently prodding for details about his appearance, voice, anything that might identify him. Was he tall or short? Heavyset or thin? What was he wearing? Did he have any kind of an accent? There was nothing conclusive to connect the man driving the white station wagon with the man who had raped her.
Dynah returned to her classes nine days after the attack. The first day was torturous. She had always felt comfortable around people.
Now she was nervous with so many around her. Could you blame her for leaving? Would you? I saw a police car on Henderson yesterday.
I mean, can you imagine? She blushed, trapped by their curious looks. I know because I just quit. Shelving books was a bore. She got the job, and by the end of the week, she had her work schedule. She started work on Monday. To all outward appearances, everything was fine. If she seemed to smile less, friends just assumed it was because she was distracted by midterms looming.
But deep within, Dynah knew. She lay sleepless in her dorm room, a nursery rhyme running through her mind again and again. She wanted to talk about her feelings with Ethan, but every time she tried, he changed the subject. She felt the distance between them like a yawning chasm, growing as each week went by.
They still studied together in the library between classes. They still went to dinner on Friday and the movies on Saturday and to church together on Sunday.
Yet she was left yearning for what had been. She missed the tenderness and intimacy they had shared. They had always talked about everything. They still talked, but not about anything that mattered—not about what preyed constantly on her mind and heart, not about whatever was eating away at him. Tonight, she sat in a small booth in a quiet Italian restaurant and listened to Ethan talk about his homiletics class. Over the past hour, he had gone over four different ideas he was considering for his final presentation.
Dynah pushed her pasta around the plate and raised her head slightly. Do you blame me, Ethan? Do you think it was my fault I was raped? I would. Every night, I dream about it. If she cried, it would only make things worse for him. She wondered if he realized how dispassionate he sounded, how uninvolved.
Was this just her problem? He was going to be her husband in a few months. What was he really telling her?
She searched his face, hurt and confused. Is that what you wanted to hear, Dynah? It tears me up every time I think about what was taken. Snatching up the check, he looked at it, dropped it on the table, dug for his wallet, and extracted a twenty-dollar bill. What could she say that would change anything?
She saw it in his eyes sometimes, though he tried to hide it from her and from himself. Ethan pulled into a parking space near the dorm and shut off the engine. Gripping the steering wheel, he sighed heavily. Live with it. It will grow like a living, breathing thing between us, a crouching beast waiting to devour. He reached out then and drew her close, but she felt the difference.
His touch was tentative, almost impersonal. His words were like a blow. Dynah drew back and looked up at him, stunned. You think he allowed it to happen because he wanted to teach me a lesson.
Maybe not. Why are there wars? Why do people in Third World countries starve? All I do know is God has a reason for everything he does. Dynah looked at him, sick at heart. Ethan had always been so certain he knew what God wanted. God wanted her to come to NLC. God wanted her to be his wife. Had all that changed? She ran up the steps and went inside the dorm before he could close his door and follow. Several girls were just coming out of the elevator when she reached it and ducked inside.
She punched the button for the third floor. Thankfully, Janet was out on another date, and she could be alone to think, to feel. She put her purse on her desk and sank down, head in her hands. She remembered the violence of the Old Testament. It was filled with stories of adversity, slavery, and deliverance. The Israelites had wandered in the desert. There had been wars, death, tragedy.
The people were stubborn and rebellious. Prophets cried out for repentance. Israel turned away over and over again. They were stiff-necked and headstrong. And God punished them in order to turn them back. She tried to think how she had displeased the Lord. She loved him. Sometimes she thought she was born adoring him.
As far back as she could remember, Jesus had been real to her. She had been raised to feel secure and safe and protected in his love. She had been taught that his loving hand was in everything. Oh, God, why have you crushed me? Why have you cast me into the pit? Oh, Jesus, what did I do to displease you? Was it because I was too proud of Ethan?
Was I too happy about marrying him? Was I rude to that man in the white station wagon? Have I loved Ethan more than you? Oh, Jesus, what did I do wrong?
Oh, Jesus, Jesus. Afrikaans, Christian Arts South Africa. Dutch, Uitgeverij KOK. Norwegian, Lunde Forlag. Polish, Bogulandia. Romanian, Editura Scriptum. Slovak, Kumran. The Atonement Child. A heart-wrenching but uplifting story about a controversial topic.
Order the Book. Audiobook Apple Books Audible Audiobooks. About the Book. Tonight was Wednesday. He smiled wistfully. Pulling on her parka, Dynah went to the back door. She smiled. I knew the minute I saw you. My feet are killing me. Was someone trying to pick you up back there?
He was lost. Tonight, Mr. This call was altogether different. How close are you? Something was wrong. He was sure of it. Greg reached Frank. The rustling stopped, and he heard another sound, soft and broken.
A woman sobbing. Oh, God, no. Not here. Not where I bring my kids every week. Compassion filled Frank, along with a sick rage. Whoever had done this should pay. Better call an ambulance. She shook her head slowly. I have to know your name to do it. God, where were you? The doctor explained; revulsion filled her. Try to relax.
Spirit crushed, Dynah fell silent. Kennon looked at her sadly and said again that he was sorry. Would you, Lord? Someone tapped on the door, making her start. Officer Lawson is speaking with her now. How many people knew what had happened to her? And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with The Atonement Child. To get started finding The Atonement Child , you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
More titles may be available to you. Sign in to see the full collection. Fiction Literature. Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Availability can change throughout the month based on the library's budget. I never fastened my door night or day, though I was to be absent several days; not even when the next fall I spent a fortnight in the woods of Maine. Consider the China pride and stagnant self-complacency of mankind. This generation inclines a little to congratulate itself on being the last of an illustrious line; and in Boston and London and Paris and Rome, thinking of its long descent, it speaks of its progress in art and science and literature with satisfaction.
It is the good Adam contemplating his own virtue. Then the unthinkable happens: Dynah's perfect life is irrevocably changed by a rape that results in an unwanted pregnancy. Her family is torn apart and her seemingly rock-solid faith is pushed to the limits as she faces the most momentous choice of her life: to embrace or to end the life within her.
This is ultimately a tale of three women, as Dynah's plight forces both her mother and her grandmother to confront the choices they made. Written with balance and compassion, The Atonement Child brings a new perspective to a widely debated topic. Languages English. From the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and The Masterpiece —and "one of [Christian fiction's] most honored and talented writers" Library Journal —comes a heart-wrenching but uplifting story about a highly controversial topic.
Francine Rivers - Author. Why is availability limited? Sign in Cancel. Add a card.
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