Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: GREEN (01/19/17)
-
TITLE: You Will Be Made to Care | Previous Challenge Entry
By Gary Ritter
01/24/17 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
When Mrs. Lenyn commanded the class to rise and recite the mottos she had chosen, Marcie obeyed like everyone else, but only mouthed the words. “Going green is not so much about what you conserve, rather about what you choose to not abuse. Adults don't own the planet; they're borrowing it from me and my friends. The Earth is the mother of my mother.” For weeks Marcie got away with her deception, but got careless one morning, not even bothering to pretend.
The class stood at attention and begin to speak the by-now familiar phrases. What Marcie didn’t realize was the presence of another adult at the back of the room. She felt a tap on her shoulder when the recitation finished. “This one isn’t speaking,” a woman declared.
Marcie shrank into herself as Mrs. Lenyn’s eyes flared, and every child stared at her. The woman who had called her out came to the front of the room. The green scarf she wore caused Marcie’s heart to sink. Her mother had warned her to be vigilant around such people.
She remembered her mother’s words: “To them, Earth Day is sacred. We celebrate Christmas and Easter to show our love for Jesus. They hold the creation, not the Creator above all things. They’ve made our faith illegal. If they learn you’re a Christian, it won’t go well for you.”
The two women conferred privately for a few minutes. Finally, Mrs. Lenyn pointed her finger at Marcie. “You. Come to the front of the class.”
Trembling inside, but with her chin raised, Marcie came forward.
“Do you know who this is?” Mrs. Lenyn demanded, indicating the woman at her side.
Marcie bit her lip, about to lie, but something inside prompted her to say, “Yes.”
“And she is…?” came the teacher’s impatient urging.
“She…she’s part of the Green Earth Committee. She makes sure schools obey the rules.”
“And the rules are…?” Marcie saw Mrs. Lenyn was getting highly agitated and feared the consequences, but couldn’t make herself answer any more quickly.
“The rules are that every schoolchild learns the Earthcare Edicts, which say that we must love this world as ourselves and place its welfare above everything else, even our own lives.”
“Very good, Marcie,” Mrs. Lenyn said. “So, what is your problem that you weren’t reciting the motto as our sister here discovered?”
Because she could barely breathe, Marcie spoke so softly even she couldn’t hear herself.
“What? What did you say?”
She had to steady herself with a hand on the teacher’s desk before she repeated, “I don’t believe any of it.”
Collective gasps rose from every child. The women before her grew pale. A bright red tinged the cheeks of the Committee woman. She shouted, “How dare you!”
Mrs. Lenyn demanded, “You will tell us right now why you don’t believe.”
Tears welled up in Marcie’s eyes. She felt them trickle down her face. Her mother was right. If only she’d kept up her guard. After a deep breath, she blurted out, “Because Earth Day is a communist celebration, and I’m a Christian. I can’t participate in an atheist event.”
The Committee woman doubled over, as if punched in the stomach. Marcie heard her classmates snigger behind her.
“Children!” Mrs. Lenyn shouted, “Cover your ears. You are not to listen to any of this blasphemy. Marcie, you will come with me to the principal’s office.” To the other woman, she asked, “Can you watch the class?”
The rest of the day was a blur for Marcie. She sat in a tiny room with bare walls by herself for hours. No one said a word to her. Much later, to her astonishment, Mrs. Lenyn came in and said, “You may go home now.”
Puzzled, Marcie walked the eight blocks to her house. Her mother wasn’t there. That night neither she nor her father showed up. The next day another woman with a green scarf appeared. “Come with me.”
She never saw her parents again.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
Well done,
Blessings~
Thank you for sharing!