Blossom: a Bloom novella

Immensely intrigued and captivated!!!!

Immensely intrigued and captivated.
It begins from an entry in John’s journal.

“From the Journal of John Westerling November 20th My Wedding Day”

“If I hadn’t listened to Him, I wouldn’t be standing here. The hand in mine was so trusting. The body belonging to it was mine, as mine was now hers. The smile on her beautiful face was almost too much for me to behold. I know what the angels must look like as I looked to my new wife.” (John)

Phoenix and John take a short honeymoon. Phoenix is internally struggling with herself. She is afraid of herself. John is patient and just wants to help her let go of the strongholds from the past. Vanquish the darkness with the night so she no longer needs to hide in fear. Phoenix had no concept of what love was until she met John.

“ I love you. There will be many demons we will have to face together and I want to slay them with you.” (John)

Phoenix’s history was pure mental, emotional and physical abuse from the day she married her now deceased husband Charles. What Phoenix assumed to be love was a farce. She tried to repress, conceal and bargain with herself, but failed. Love just continued to deceive. She put on a façade, but slowly fear would reappear consume and wash right over her again. It almost drove her insane and in due course love guided her back to John.
When John enters her life and shows her unconditional love. Phoenix struggles to comprehend and accept John’s love. All John wants to do is colour her in with love and heal Phoenix.

“Come let me love you, come let me take this through the end, come let me in.” (Colour me in - Damien Rice)

Phoenix believed herself to be broken, defective, sad, scarred and worthless. Her thoughts were John deserved more and now she was married to him. It pained her more than any pain she had every experienced.

“ My Phoenix. I love you. I love your scars and your life. You are everything I need. Absolutely everything." (John)

They needed a chance and it presented itself.

“When I proposed to you on your front porch, even though you said you had to think about it, I was already married to you in my heart. It was because I had already betrothed myself to you. So yes, my love I was already your husband. “ (John)

Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
It's in the stars
It's been written in the scars on our hearts
We're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
“Just Give Me a Reason”- Pink

Finding the “One” that is patient, kind, loves you unconditionally and will do anything to see you through everything; accepting you. One day someone is going to find you and mend all your broken pieces together.

God had a different plan; Hope.

“ A small measure of it can spread through your life and the lives of all those around you. It is my gift to you.” (The Man from her dreams, God)

At times, Our choices in life delay our true purpose in life as we have seen with John and Phoenix. God already had a plan for them, but because of choices; free will darkness stepped in and attempted to interfere with God’s plan. God brought her home and surrounded her with pure love, which had been absent in her life.

“ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
“Before now I knew that verse but not as intimately as I do now. It’s been two days since Phoenix and I said, “I do.” My wife is more than I could ever hope for and more than I deserve. I thank God for her every day.”(John)

Love conquers and heals all wounds. Phoenix was finally able to feel and know true love. She was home and free of all the bondage of darkness. Only light existed in her life with John and Anna.

“ The scars are… Those are badges of honor, Love Bug. Sometimes bad things happen to very good people. Those people wear the badges of how they survived through the fire. Then they are reborn someone new. In Greek mythology, the phoenix was a unique bird that lived in the Arabian Desert. It would burn itself on a funeral pyre and rise from the ashes with renewed youth to live through the cycle. Reborn.” (John)

I am a firm believer of Everything happens for a reason in life. .
Author’s storyline is creative and imaginative, and captures the reader. Jackson brilliantly entwined each chapter to a song. Powerful, emotional, heart-breaking story. As soon as I finished reading this novel, went online and purchased Bloom. First book from author Cathy Jackson I’ve read and the beginning of many more.
A review copy of this book was provided by Author.
Ebook purchased on Amazon.