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Tear to the Eye |
Barbara was driving her six-year-old son, Benjamin, to his
piano lesson.
They were late, and Barbara was beginning to think she should
have cancelled it. There was always so much to do, and Barbara,
a night-duty nurse at the local hospital, had recently worked
extra shifts.
She was tired. The sleet storm and icy roads added to her
tension. Maybe she should turn the car around.
"Mom!" Ben cried. "Look!" Just ahead, a car had lost control
on a patch of ice. As Barbara tapped the brakes, the other car
spun wildly rolled over, then crashed sideways into a telephone
pole.
Barbara pulled over, skidded to a stop and threw open her door.
Thank goodness she was a nurse - she might be able to help
these unfortunate passengers.
Then she paused. What about Ben? She couldn't take him with
her. Little boys shouldn't see scenes like the one she
anticipated. But was it safe to leave him alone? What if their
car were hit from behind?
For a brief moment Barbara considered going on her way. Someone
else was sure to come along. No! "Ben, honey, promise me you'll
stay in the car!"
"I will, Mommy," he said as she ran, slipping and sliding toward
the crash site. It was worse than she'd feared. Two girls of
high school age are in the car. One, the blonde on the passenger
side, was dead, killed on impact.
The driver, however was still breathing. She was unconscious
and pinned in the wreckage. Barbara quickly applied pressure
to the wound in the teenager's head while her practiced eye
catalogued the other injuries. A broken leg, maybe two, along
with probable internal bleeding. But if help came soon, the girl
would live.
A trucker had pulled up and was calling for help on his cellular
phone. Soon Barbara heard the ambulance sirens. A few moments
later she surrendered her lonely post to rescue workers.
"Good job," one said as he examined the driver's wounds. "You
probably saved her life, ma'am." Perhaps.
But as Barbara walked back to her car a feeling of sadness
overwhelmed her, especially for the family of the girl who had
died. Their lives would never be the same. Oh God, why do such
things have to happen?
Slowly Barbara opened her car door. What should she tell
Benjamin? He was staring at the crash site, his blue eyes
huge. "Mom," he whispered, "did you see it?"
"See what, Honey?" she asked.
"The angel, Mom! He came down from the sky while you were
running to the car. And he opened the door, and he took that
girl out."
Barbara's eyes filled with tears. "Which door, Ben?"
"The passenger side. He took the girl's hand, and they floated
up to Heaven together"
"What about the driver?"
Ben shrugged. "I didn't see anyone else."
Later, Barbara was able to meet the families of the victims.
They expressed their gratitude for the help she had provided.
Barbara was able to give them something more - Ben's vision.
There was no way he could have known what happened to either
of the passengers. Nor could the passenger door have been
opened; Barbara had seen its tangle of immovable steel herself.
Yet Ben's account brought consolation to a grieving family.
Their daughter was safe in Heaven. And they would see her again.
-- Unknown |
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