Mercy

The story begins in 1873 Austro-Hungary. A beautiful white canine with black spots painting its fur ran back inside the house. The pink leather collar around its neck gleamed softly with every step. A soft, delicate hand brushed its ears as the dog began barking with enthusiasm. "Hi, Dapplie!" Ophelia said as Dapplie leaped into her lap. She brushed her fur as Dapplie licked her face. With a playful tap of her paw, Dapplie stamped her own portrait with a tiny paw print. Ophelia gasped, "You just signed your own portrait, Dapplie." Ophelia was now 18 and painting professionally. She had wished for a dog, and so she got a Dalmatian who was now 2 years old.

Suddenly, she got up, putting Dapplie down as she strode toward the living room. Lilianette looked up from her embroidery. "What's the matter, sweetie?" Ophelia already had a plan in her mind, as she knew her paintings weren't selling well. "Remember how I told you about my plan to move to France?" Lilianette paused. "Yes, and I also remember telling you that you'll go when you're older." She said with a cheeky grin. "Mum, come on, I'm already an adult..." Ophelia groaned. "Mr. Eisner, please call for my husband," Lilianette said as she called the head servant over. With that, Nicolas walked in. "Oh, don't tell me Ophelia is dreaming about moving to France again." He groaned. Lilianette then chuckled and nodded. "See? Ophelia, you're still not at the age to live alone in a foreign country." Lilianette said as she briefly kissed Nicolas. Ophelia spoke up, "What if it's God's will?" Lilianette paused, and so Nicolas said, "Then pray about it and ask God if that's where He's calling you." Ophelia then asked, "But how am I supposed to know the answer? God doesn't speak to me." Nicolas took a deep breath. "But you're talking to God. When you pray, you're speaking with Him. Ask Him, and your questions will be answered. You know yourself that it's in the Bible.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Matthew 7:7

Ophelia then smiled and nodded. From that day on, she started praying. The next day, she hung out with her best friend Toni. "What's going on, Ophelia?" he asked as he noticed her tense expression. Ophelia turned to Toni. "Mum doesn't want to let me go to France. I guess it's 'au revoir'..." she sighed in disappointment. Toni then chuckled. "Oh, so that's what you meant? And here I thought you had another one of your many love interests." He teased. Ophelia glared at him playfully. "Hey! I'll have you know that I can like a gentleman for longer than a week!" Toni then burst out laughing. "Yeah, just a week. How are you gonna get married?" She grabbed his shoulders. "Listen, Antonioooo! I can get married! Don't say things like that!" His eyes widened in amusement when she used his full name. "Is that the reason you want to go to France so badly? To meet a dreamy French guy and get married in a croissant house?" Ophelia then stood up abruptly. "No, no." Her smile widened as she began daydreaming. "I want to go to France so I can make my own money and get married." Toni burst out laughing again. "Don't tell me you don't inherit your family's money. That's hilarious." She threw her hands in the air excitedly. "No, I do, don't worry. What I mean is that I want to be independent!" Toni's jaw dropped. "You want to be independent? You? You?!" Ophelia then clamped her hands over his mouth. "Could you please stop saying 'you'?" He then calmed down. "So the spoiled Ophelia has decided to be independent?" he joked. At that moment, Wilhelm walked by. He was now 14 years old. "She decided to what??" he exclaimed as he overheard them. Toni stood up too. "Ophelia said she wants to be independent! We should celebrate!" She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

She walked away and sat by the river, spreading her handkerchief beneath her. "God, tell me when I can go to France..." she muttered. Ophelia wrapped herself in her coat. The river was flowing beautifully, and swans drifted across the water. After that, she got up and walked back to her mansion. Suddenly, she overheard a conversation between several noblemen. One of the men remarked, "Yes, it's quite beautiful there at this time of year. Very warm, as if it were already summer." Another said, "I hear the nature there is unmatched." A third asked, "Wait... which state are we discussing?" One of them replied, "Florida."

Ophelia liked the sound of that—unmatched nature, beautiful at this time of year, and, lastly, the name itself. She rushed inside her house straight back to Toni. "Hey! Do you know where 'Florida' is?" He paused for a moment, scratching his head as if trying to remember something he had never properly learned. "You can't expect me to know. I barely paid attention in geography lessons, remember?" Ophelia sighed, realizing that Toni, who often joked around and never took his studies seriously, especially geography, was the wrong person to ask. She knew asking her parents would stir up trouble, so instead she went to Theodore, the smartest kid among them. He was now 13 years old, but unexpectedly smart. "Theo!" She burst into his room. He flinched at her sudden entrance, knocking over his glass of water. "Hey! You're gonna clean that up!" Theodore said as his voice rose. "Of course, don't worry." She picked up a piece of cloth. "Say, do you know about this empire called 'Florida'?" Theodore thought for a moment before standing up and looking at the world map hanging on the wall. After a while, he found it. "There." He pointed at it. "And it's not an empire, it's a state." Ophelia paused her cleaning and looked up. "Whoa, that's far..." Then her eyes widened in realization. "That's so far!" Theodore turned to her. "Yes, it's far. Why are you asking?" Ophelia didn't explain and just left the room, leaving the cloth on the table. Theodore simply brushed it off and cleaned up the spilled water himself.