The month I was stuck in my room and not allowed to speak to me or be around me. I was expected to pray all the time, but the only prayer I had was what I have done wrong. I was also praying for Julian hoping that he was safe. I fell in love with a boy, and I could not help my feelings. The love I had for Julian just came and became stronger and stronger. I do not think that it was wrong for me to fall in love.

The only person that I saw was Dad when he came in with food. He did not say a word. This hurt a lot that I could not be with my dad and speak with him. I didn't see mom for the whole month.

On the last day of my punishment, the prophet himself came. I was a bit shocked when he came into my room. He was a short man that was going bald. He had a large belly which no other person in Paradise had. He also sweated a lot and it was obvious that he did not use deodorant. If he lived in the normal world, people would think he was just a loser or a geek.

At Paradise, he was God's best friend!

He sat on my bed as I was told to stand attention before him. The prophet told me to stand before him. He started by telling me it was a very strict punishment I received but the positive thing was that God has forgiven me and so has the people of Paradise. I have cleansed my soul. I was once again one of God's chosen.

“ Love is a lovely gift from God,” The prophet said, “ You made the mistake of falling in love with a boy that was not meant for you. The love you chose can lead to the wrong love and turn to lust and trouble. This is why God guided me to choose the right husband for each woman of Paradise. God and I know who is right for each person. I am sure your solitude has shown you this.”

I wanted to protest and say that Julian treated me like a princess and that he would never hurt me. I wanted to question the compassion and the love of Paradise for kicking a boy out that was not even an adult and expecting him to fend for himself. I was afraid and just looked at the Prophet and wondered did he believe what he was saying or was this just to keep the power that he had.

“ You have lived in the outside world,” he continued, “ You have seen how this world is run and controlled by Satan himself. You have seen how people are selfish and just want more and more things. This cannot happen at Paradise. We must be the chosen ones of God and live as he wants us to. We do not need the latest fashion or the latest technology. We have each other!”

Then the prophet led me out of the room and told me to hug my parents. Dad gave me a huge hug and was nearly in tears when he saw me. Mom on the other side hardly looked at me and did not even hug me. This hurt more than the month's solitude. The only thing she said was to the Prophet that it was so humiliating that I bought such shame on her. She did not know if she could ever forgive me. The prophet sat down with my mom and they talked privately together. I could see Dad once in a while look at the prophet and mom speak together. He was most likely thinking of what happened to the close family we once were. I know I was.

Dad was not happy. Shortly after the punishment, he asked mom if she was happy at Paradise. Of course, mom said that she was never so happy. Dad lost total control and told mom that the leadership was not as holy as people thought. This of course made mom mad and said that the prophet is our salvation. She then reciting what he wrote. This made me cry as I really wanted my old mother again. I was mad at God and his prophet for taking her away from me. Dad must have felt the same because he asked mom could not see how brainwashed she was.

Mom changed the subject and said that the prophet invited us to experience the end of the world with him. She asked us could we not see how lucky we were? We were finally close friends to the Prophet, that we would be by his side when the end of time came. I whispered that I just wanted to be together with my family.

I was a disappointment to my mother and I decided to work hard and try and get her love and trust back. I tried my best not to think of Julian although this was impossible. I never mentioned him to anyone or I never mentioned him to anyone. I never spoke with boys and would go as far as to ignore them if they tried speaking with me. I had a few good friends that were girls. Without them as close friends, I think I would have gone crazy.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I did not even ask when the teacher said something strange in class. I disagreed with most of what she said. I did not see technology as something evil. I did not see pop music as the Devil's tool. I thought dancing was fun. I did think that boys would make me a sinner or impure. I did not see a woman's role as being submissive and obedient in all things. Going to school was torture. However, I did not protest or ask for proof. I just pretended to be as brainwashed as everyone else.

I spent all my other time on the farm with the animals. This work was hard but it made me smile. Being with the animals made me feel the closest with the God I believed in, and not the God that the prophet believed in. They were so sweet and lived a simple life. They ate and slept. They were happy when I came and never told me what I should believe in and not believe in. The animals loved me for who I was.

Mom forgave me the best way she could. At least she would not look at me as if I was a sinner. She could be in the same room as me. She no longer smiled when she was with me or we never spoke the way before. I do not think that my mom had time for me. She was always being summoned by the prophet to his house. I felt sorry for my dad, that thought that we see her less and less.

Time went by and I was now 15. I have been at Paradise for 4 years and was in doubt if I was happy or not. My life changed, but I felt as if I had no control over it. I felt like a pawn. The one good thing was that the world will end and we would go to a much better place.

The time came when there was a small group in the Prophet's house to experience the end of the world. I was shocked as it was like a mansion. While everyone at Paradise had a small basic house, this one was like something that a king would live in. It even had a TV. I did not know quite what to say. The prophet came up to me and told me that it was a long time since he has seen me. The prophet smiled and told me that I would soon be a beautiful woman and ready for a husband. I whispered to him that would be in a long time, at least 3 years. I do not know why, but his approach made me quite uncomfortable. Was this some type of warning or a reminder that he would decide who I married?

I stayed close to dad as mom was more interested in clinging to the prophet. As the time came for the world to end, we fell to our knees and started to pray. I squeezed my Dad's hand as, to be honest, I was afraid. Dad smiled and told me to trust in God and there was nothing to worry about. I wished that Mom would spend her last moments here, but she was with the prophet and holding his hand. This looked odd and I could see that Dad was alone and hurt.

The time came and the time went. There was only silence as time passed and the world was still there. Dad whispered in my ear that he told me so. I was hoping that this would wake people up and recognize that the prophet was a fraud. The silence was promising. The prophet seemed lost for words. At that moment, I had some hope that Paradise would collapse, and I would get my family back. This was not to happen, the Prophet proudly told the people that God had listened to his personal prayers, and the Prophet's prayers themselves have saved the world.

I could not believe everyone fell for it.

So life went back to normal and it was obvious that we never would leave this place. I tried being happy with friends and animals on the farm. I prayed to God in my own way but pretended to be brainwashed.

Dad looked more tired and he looked so old. I think he missed my mother as well. I know he tried to get her back. It was soon after the world survived that he noticed strange things about the finances of Paradise. When Dad did the accounts, he noticed that some money seemed to be missing. This did not upset mom a bit. She just cursed money and said it only caused greed and materialism.

It became quite obvious that Mom was having an affair with the prophet. She would visit him every night and some nights she would not come home again. This made me resent the Prophet even more. He already had two wives. Did the Bible not say it's wrong to want a woman that was already married? It seemed like the prophet could just decide what God wanted. He did not stop and think about how much he was hurting our family. Dad never confronted mom and asked her if she was having an affair. I think that he was afraid of the answer he would get.

I always wondered if my mom loved me or not. When I was little, she would always smile and have mother-daughter talks. She would help me do homework and she always had advice for me. The only time mom noticed me now was when she was telling me about the prophet and how happy she was here.

I thought things could not get worse. They did! The prophet announced one day that God was granting him one more wife. This woman was married but since the marriage was never approved of by Paradise, it was an illegal marriage in the eyes of God. So the prophet announced that this woman was now considered free and he would marry her as his third wife.

He was talking about Mom!