Short Stories

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Even though
I walk
through the
valley of
the shadow
of death,
I fear no evil;
for Thou
art with me.
[Psalms 23:4]
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I can smell the dust
of raw wood, and concrete:
it is mingled with something
metallic: blood.
Something big and gray lays on my chest;
it is painful to breathe...
even with the shallow breaths I take.
I lift my head, only by
scarcely a half an inch.
I squint; something
warm drips onto my
eyelids:
the big gray thing laying
on my chest...
is cement.

I lay my head, back down.
The last thing I remembered...
I was in our
small kitchen, talking about
my new job, with my mother.
We were laughing, and
talking; suddenly, the floor
began to shake violently.
We began to scream; a great
rumbling sound filled the
room......I could hear the
sound of plates smashing to
the floor.

The last thing I could
smell, was the sizzling bacon
on the stove.

Then, all was quiet.
__________________________
[A VOICE, SOFT
AND GENTLE.]
"Lilly....
Oh,
My sweet child."
[A VOICE...TREMBLING
WITH TENDERNESS.]
"Lilly, can you
hear Me?"

(A long moment passes.)
(I whisper.)
"....yes."

[GENTLE WHISPER.]
"Can you
hear Me,
child?"

(My breathing is now
more painful. My whisper
comes in a gasp.)
"....yes."

"Can you feel
My Hand?"
[SOFT FINGERS
BRUSH MY WARM,
WET CHEEK.]

(Each breath, now,
comes more slowly,
and painfully.)
(I whisper.)
"....yes."

"I am Here
to save you,
child."

(I can not feel
my legs, or feet.)
(The smell of raw
cement fills my nostrils.)
"......mother..."

[VOICE FILLED
WITH TENDER JOY.]
"She is with
Me,
little one."
[SOFT FINGERS
CARESS MY HOT
SKIN, ONCE MORE.]

(My face is hot;
but, now I begin
to shake. My
teeth are chattering.)
"....breathe..."
(Gasp.)

"Lilly,
listen to Me,
child."

(Soft, slow thumps are
echoing in my head: I
realize.. they are coming
from my heart.)

[TENDER VOICE.]
"I am going to
tell you,
My Name."

(Thump....thump....)
(I can not even moan
from the pain; my chest
is growing tighter,
and tighter.)

"I AM."

(Thump............thump...)
".....breathe....."

[COOL FINGERS TOUCH
MY RIGHT HAND.]
[GENTLE VOICE.]
"Jesus."

(My eyelids are barely
open now.)
(I can no longer see clearly:
only His Face.)
(My dry tongue rolls
over moist blood.)
(A word passes through
my torn lips.)
".....Jesus....."

[QUIET VOICE
FILLING MY EARS.]
[BEAUTIFUL VOICE
TOUCHING MY SLOWING
HEART.]
"Do you receive
Me,
child?"

(I cannot move my head
now; the pain is too intense.)
(I can hear a voice: it is
barely the squeak of a dying
mouse.)
".....yes."

"Lilly,
you are
My precious child."

(Thump..........thump.)
(Gasp.)
"...Jesus."

"And,
I AM."

(The smell of blood
is now filling my nostrils.)
(Whisper.)
"....Lord.."

[QUIET VOICE FILLED
WITH PASSIONATE TENDERNESS.]
"...And,
your Savior."

(Thump.)
(Thump.)
"....save....me."

[COOL FINGERS TOUCH
MY EYELIDS.]
[STRONG ARMS ENCLOSE
ABOUT ME.]
[A GENTLE HAND CRADLES
MY HEAD.]


(I am being rocked,
like a baby.)

[ROCKING, GENTLY
AND SLOWLY...
BACK AND FORTH..
BACK, AND FORTH.]
[TEARFUL VOICE OF A
FATHER OVERWHELMED
WITH LOVE.]
"Shhhhh,
little one.
Shhhhh."

(Thump.)
***********************
For God
so loved
the world
that He
gave
His only
Begotten Son,
that
whosoever shall
believe
in Him,
should not perish,
but have
everlasting
life.
[John 3:16]

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