New Work Out--Pure of Heart, Fathom

Check out Pure of Heart online at Fathom.

Fathom has an ambitious mission:

Our goal is to approach everything we publish with an eye for intellect, wonder, and story and a conviction that our beliefs have consequences for ourselves, our communities, and the world. Our hope is that in the wonder of God’s presence, we can help one another cultivate an embodied faith that furthers the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Somehow there was a mix-up and they accepted one of my pieces and I discovered they’d actually put it up without having ok’d. Usually there is a bit back and forth if a submission is accepted for publication. For instance, this particular piece had already found a home when I made the discovery. I had Furtive take it down. But—

I sent them Pure of Heart as it also represented the themes they advanced. Thankfully it was accepted and now is out.

From the story:

One night on the “L” train, the car she was sitting in emptied out. A man got on at Clark & Division. She must have nodded off, lulled by the side-to-side swaying of the train. Suddenly he was on her. Leanne fled in terror, realizing only later that she had left her purse and take-out gyro sandwich on the seat. It would be weeks before she was able to replace her ID and checkbook; she spent hours trying to cut through red tape. All of this caused her to lose faith, not only in the human race but in herself.

Pastor Ted sat and listened to the diminutive girl—he was surprised to learn she was twenty-five, she appeared so childlike. She reminded him of a shelter pet, in need of a good home and a hearty meal. Pastor Ted made some calls and found Leanne a job that included room and board, working for a family from his church.

Thus, begins the story about the relationship between a “domestic” and her employers that goes way beyond a working relationship. It is a story about a poor white girl who becomes part of a bigger family: a black family on the Southside of Chicago and the community at large. She sacrifices herself for the children. What appears to be an ordinary character, who lives and dies in near obscurity—except for her faithfulness, radiates. I wrote this story thinking of "A Simple Heart" (short story), an 1877 short story by Gustave Flaubert.

Anyway, click on it and enjoy—this is for you Mary Kay.