Desert Refuge
About this ebook
Every night around the campfire, Rawiya tells the story of the planet Hidayas history, but it comes alive in her vivid descriptions which are quite different from those dryly told in textbooks. Rawiyas tales make real the unwanted people who are collected by mysterious, heroic Searchers who bring them to places of safety. Refuge cities are established around Hidaya, but their existence remains secret to protect those who struggle to overcome their own personal tragedies and to escape imminent harm. But influential people have begun noticing that when Searchers are in town various children among others disappear. Ire and resentment overflows as the movement to remove oppressed and hopeless persons is discovered.
The evening story telling entertains and enlightens, but during the day the pilgrims caravan travels from oasis to oasis where odd, surreal, and inexplicable events unfold. Though various activities keep the travelers focused on inner growth, impending danger shadows and threatens this peaceful group of novices in the unexplaining Cham Desert.
About the author
Cheryl Murphy worked as a bank bookkeeper, art and publicity director in entertainment production, and legal secretary before becoming an elementary school teacher. She taught grades K through Eight in Catholic schools for twenty-seven years both in the classroom and in the specialized subjects of Art, Music, Science, Spanish, and Computer. Moving then to the public schools Cheryl worked with special needs students until retirement. She now quilts, paints in various media, gardens, writes, and is active in her Church community. She lives with her husband, John, in Davis, California where her daughter, Mary, also lives.
