Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Protector (05/16/24)
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TITLE: The Hand | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
05/22/24 -
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The little lad shrugged and squirmed to get away. “It’s just my elbow. I want to go on the slide.”
Mom snagged the shoulder of his sweatshirt in one hand and his elbow with the other. She wiped off the smudge. “I can’t believe you’re not hurt. You fell from the top of the monkey bars. It’s like yesterday when you chased that ball onto the street and somehow got missed by the car.”
“I’m okay. The hand stopped me.”
Frowning, she cupped his cheeks in her palms. “What do you mean, the hand stopped me?”
Shrugging, he twisted to get away. “I want to play.”
Mom squeezed his shoulders, anchoring him in place. “What do you mean? Whose hand?”
His furrowed brows matched pursed lips. “I don’t know whose hand.”
Mom knelt beside him and hugged him with her right arm. “Tell me more about the hand.”
Glancing away from the slide, he focused on the untied laces drooping from his running shoes. “Sometimes, when I fall, it stops me. Sometimes, when I get mad, it pats my back.”
“I see.” Mom tied his laces, then got to her feet and glanced around. “It’s good to have an imagination. Maybe we need to be a little more careful in how we play.” She set her hand on his back and walked him toward the slide. “When did you first see this hand?”
He peered up at her. “Remember the day you told me daddy wouldn’t be coming back from the war anymore? That he’d gone to be with Jesus?”
“Yes!” She knelt and held his chin. “That was a sad day for both of us.”
Hanging his head, he sniffled, then sighed. “You were in your bedroom crying and I wanted to be with Daddy so I opened my window and climbed out on the roof.”
“You what?”
“I wanted to be with Daddy so I tried to jump off the roof.”
Mom almost squeezed the life out of Scuffy as she hugged him close. “You never told me.”
“You were crying. I tripped over my lace outside the window and fell. I was rolling and then the hand stopped me. Someone told me that daddy was okay and that you needed me to go back and give you a hug.”
“You weren’t dreaming or imagining all this?”
“No! I really did fall.”
“When else have you experienced the hand?”
Scuffy slumped down on a wooden wall near the slide. “When I was camping with Uncle Will and Harmony and Penny, I ran into the woods and saw a cougar. It snarled and started to walk toward me. I tried to scream but couldn’t and then the hand pushed the cat away. I told Uncle Will but he said I had a good imagination.”
“That must have been scary.”
“It was, but not as scary as when we went onto the lake in the kayak.” Scuffy wiped his forehead and smiled. “Penny and I got tipped over by the wave from a speedboat and we were under the water. Somehow the kayak turned up the right way and we were hanging on for dear life. I know the hand pushed me up and then Penny thanked me for rescuing her but I didn’t do anything.”
“Why haven’t you told me about the hand before now?”
“I thought you’d tell me it was all my imagination.”
Mom scooped him up and held him tight. “Please forgive me. Sometimes, adults have a hard time understanding what we can’t see and control. It’s scary for us to think that someone else might be doing things we can’t do anything about.”
“My Sunday School teacher told me that Jesus sent a guardian angel to watch over me.”
“I think your Sunday School teacher is right.”
“So, I don’t have to be afraid when I fall. I know someone is looking after me.”
Mom gently nudged him toward the slide. “You are right but we don’t take our protection for granted. We need to be careful and wise and not take unnecessary chances.”
“But what will the guardian angel do if he doesn’t have to take care of me?”
Mom chuckled. “I think that for one moment he might just breathe and be glad for a rest.”
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I have started opening the current winners' page each Thursday and looking for your name, to read your submission. Even when you don't place, your piece is always well-written. (Masters level is so highly competitive!)
Congratulations on 3rd place in Masters and in Editors' Choice!