When I Laid the Foundations

Immortality is a curse that Lucca has been forced to bear for millennia too long. The more she wanders between the threads of time, bending past and future, the more lost she becomes.

Worshipped by some, hated by others, she is little more than a bitter, hollow shadow of the questions that cycles of history have failed to answer. But when she agrees to meet someone from her distant past over drinks at a coffee shop, Lucca must finally confront her immortality and the Old Testament God’s enigmatic response to Job’s innocent suffering: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”

Contents

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Dedication

To my good friends Lexi and Beth,
for teaching me what Heaven is.

Acknowledgments

This story has been through numerous iterations, from an overstuffed novel outline to these slim pages. Although this version doesn’t have much in common with the original outline besides the final scene, I’m quite happy with it, and I’m grateful to all of the readers who brought it to this stage, from Joseph Millett who stumbled through it before it made any sense to Emily Wall who edited the final draft until it made sense.

A shout-out goes to the talented Camryn Porter for bringing the cover to life. I’m excited to have created a physical product with this story.

Lastly, I’d like to thank all of the people in my life who encouraged me to keep writing, from my ever-supportive parents to my primary and secondary school teachers to the college professors whose experiences and knowledge are a constant source of inspiration and wonder. I owe so much to the cheerleaders in my life, young and old, and hope that you enjoyed When I Laid the Foundations!

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This is a free story! However, if you’d like to help cover the material costs of producing it or support my education, you can make a small donation using one of the links below. (The Venmo option requires you to have a Venmo account.)