by Beth Jones
He did this until he graduated from the academy and got his deputy sheriff job, and still sent money home to his mother each paycheck for food and other necessities, as she still had two of the kids living at home. She now had just one job, making much better money as a physical therapist (he was so proud of her for getting through her schooling, while taking care of all the kids herself and working two jobs). She claimed she didn’t need Nick’s money anymore, but he didn’t want his family ever going without anything again. He had stepped up to be the man of the house when his dad left them, and felt protective of his family.
Lance thought that Nick believed God was like his dad and didn’t really love him or care about him—or anyone.
“Well, I’d say God is doing something,” Lance said, spitting tobacco and it made a loud plopping sound in the muddy water. “He uses people on earth to accomplish His purpose. He’s using you and me right now to help others. I’d say before the end of this day, we’re going to see His hand at work in some pretty amazing ways. I have faith for that! Watch and see.”
Nick was silent a minute, brooding, as he dug through the bricks near the toys. He hoped his partner was right. Lance didn’t know this, but Nick was silently praying that they wouldn’t find any more dead children. He just couldn’t take it anymore.
They didn’t deserve this. Some of the adults did, for sure (he had arrested some of them!), but not the innocent, little kids. What had they done wrong to die or suffer? Where was God when the hurricane hit? Asleep? Off making other worlds and people? Watching Satan go crazy and folding His big arms, doing nothing about the enemy’s destruction?
What about your miracles, God, he prayed. I thought in the Bible You did miracles! How come I don’t see any here today—like a child who actually survived this?
Nick felt like hitting something or someone. He was hot as hades, sweating profusely, exhausted from having hardly any sleep the night before and from the hard, manual labor digging through houses. He was famished. All he could think about right now was eating a cheeseburger and fries. And he was mad at God.
You aren’t even listening, are You? You never answer me! He thought in a rage. You don’t even exist, do You?
Suddenly a gust of wind blew past them and a beautiful, white dove hovered near Nick, then flew away as suddenly as he came. Lance and Nick, startled, both watched it fly off into the grey sky. “Well, did you see that?” Lance said, grinning. “You know a dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit!”
“What?” Nick asked, scowling quizzically at him. But he’d noticed the dove, too, and wondered about it. It had happened right after he’d been thinking about God.
Then they heard someone singing. “Wait, did you hear that?” Lance asked, and goosebumps broke out over Nick’s blonde-hairy arms and thick, sunburned neck. He didn’t know where in the heck his hat was and he was going to be burned as a crisp at the end of the day. The rain was dissipating, making searching a lot easier now.
Nick whirled around at the unexpected noise. There, near a pile of bricks and shingles in what was left of an attic, was a little girl of about five years old. She had dark, tangled curls and big, liquid brown eyes, framed with thick, long lashes that were wet with frightened tears. She was singing “Jesus loves me” while crying to comfort herself, but alive!
A few feet away were her brother and her mom, who were delirious. Lance was quickly pushing the debris off of them, and saw that, miraculously, they were physically uninjured.
“What’s your name, sweetie?” Nick asked the little girl, blinking back the tears, bending down on his knees to look her in the eyes and to smile reassuringly at her. He didn’t care the water was wetting his uniform. He quickly looked over her head and body to make sure she wasn’t bleeding or injured.
“Hope,” she answered sweetly, humming the song now.
I guess You are real, God. I guess you still do miracles after all, Nick prayed again, and he hugged her tight, smiling big at Lance, who was laughing with joy at the treasure they’d just found, pulling Hope’s mom and brother up by the hand.
Hope hugged Nick back, and suddenly the sun burst through the dark clouds, shining on Nick’s upturned face. An unbidden tear slid down his cheek, as he felt the love of God in Hope’s trusting, gentle embrace. Quickly, he wiped it away before anyone saw. Hope was greatly relieved to be rescued by the nice officer, and her family, too.
Now maybe we can find Rachel, too, Lance thought, his heart encouraged. He began whistling, and praising God for this sign and wonder.
*******
Adelle just couldn’t think about her dead friend Rylie right now or she’d go crazy. Like Scarlett O’Hara, she’d think about that tomorrow. Right now she just needed to find out if her neighbors were still alive, if anyone needed help. She would have to wait and call Morgan at the hospital in Colorado later to let her know she was okay. There still wasn’t any cell phone service, dadgumit.
She had managed to finally crawl out of Rylie’s demolished house when the water receded some, pushing boards and sheetrock off of her like a She-Hercules. She was now climbing her way over the mountain of splintered boards, helter-skelter scattered bricks, busted driveway concrete, and felled trees to the Topsider home, where that nice writer woman Rachel had been staying for the summer and her neighbors were next door, those sweet women Paula, Mandy and Gail and their families. Adelle was from Panama City, but she was visiting Rylie in Destin for a few days when Hurricane Ana hit.
She had gotten to know some of these wonderful people at backyard bbq’s and having s’mores on the beach, and she was worried about them. She paid no mind to her own fairly deep cuts and scratches and blue bruises, not even feeling them. She wondered where the heck the rescue crews were, but no matter.
Good golly Molly, what a mess, she thought. It looked like a bomb had gone off. She’d never seen anything like it in her life and she feared the worst for her neighbors. She went to Jim and Paula’s house first, yelling loudly for anyone, with no answer. She peeked through the broken kitchen window and shouted, “Hello?”
No one responded. She heard water gently lapping the cabinet shelves. Adelle wrinkled her nose, coughing. She could smell the mold and the mildew, just like at Rylie’s house. Adelle pulled her head back out, looking around, and noticed their canoe that had been tied near the house was now gone.
They apparently made it and left to get somewhere safer! She thought, greatly relieved. She hadn’t noticed Paula’s and Janine’s bodies in the house, floating in the far corner of the kitchen, because they were partly submerged and hidden in the shadows.
Adelle stuck her head back in and shouted loudly again, just for good measure. Nobody answered. She walked around to the back of the house, staring at the pyramid of random household objects in what used to be the privacy fence’s right corner.
Everything was ruined and misplaced. It was eerily silent, as if she was in a ghost town. The hair on her neck stood up. She shivered, and started walking again, the dirty water soaking into her pink and black, ostrich skin boots.
I’m going to hate to have to throw away these here boots, she thought. She’d bought them for $400 in Dallas, Texas, last year when she traveled there for a work conference. But they were plum ruined now.
But thank God all that rain had finally stopped and the sun was even beginning to peek out. She was counting her blessings.
Feeling hopeful they had taken their next door neighbor Rachel with them, but wanting to make sure, Adelle gingerly made her way to the Topsider home through the brackish, polluted water.
Good gravy, climbing all those stairs just to reach the front or back door, she thought. But it was one of the only houses still standing. Jim’s and Paula’s house was mostly destroyed, with parts of it standing. It would have to be demolished, though.
What a shame, too, Adelle thought. They’ve lived here all their lives and went through those other hurricanes, practically unscathed. But this storm was a doozy.
She
and Rylie should have evacuated. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of her dead friend, and she stopped, sobbing loudly several minutes, grieving for her precious friend. She felt the nearness and comfort of the Holy Spirit, then kept walking to check on others. She knew that time was of the essence if Rachel had been hurt.
I have got to lose weight, she thought, huffing as she climbed the stairs cautiously. She was worried the steps would give out and she’d go crashing to her death to the ground below. A lot of good that would do my neighbors, she thought.
She tested each step before putting her full weight on it. Miraculously, most of them weren’t broken and held her weight as she climbed Mount Never Rest.
Surely God and His angels were guarding this place, she thought. And Rylie’s house, protecting me. Thank you, God.
It was the only explanation for the miracle of why she was still alive, and other survivors in Destin. She knocked loudly on the door but didn’t wait, and pushed it as hard as she could. It wouldn’t budge.
She walked around to the den, took off her left cowboy boot and hit the window as hard as she could, closing her eyes. Nothing doing. It didn’t break as she planned. She put her boot back on, giving the window the evil eye.
What on earth am I thinking? These are hurricane proof windows, especially made to withstand storms! Adelle chastened herself. How was she going to get into the house to check on Rachel?
She walked around to the side of the house and saw a large, broken window, big enough for her to get her big butt through. Well, that one isn’t hurricane proof. Guess nothing is 100% guaranteed, she thought, gleefully.
Thank God! By God’s grace, it wasn’t a high window, and there was a picnic bench turned upside down nearby that she could use to get inside the beach house. Now how did that picnic bench stay there? She wondered. Miracles of miracles.
Adelle turned the bench over, knowing it was God’s supernatural strength and grace helping her, because the thing was soaking wet and heavy as an elephant. She dragged it near the window, stood on it, and hoisted her leg over the window sill, as if mounting her beautiful brown Quarter Horse, Miss Spice.
The smell of mold and mildew was strong in this room. She quickly walked through the receding water to the stairs, noticing how a lot of the furniture was still amazingly intact, floating around aimlessly. A long, black dead snake lay near the staircase and she saw another one slithering into the downstairs bathroom. She wondered if there were others, but her philosophy was that if you didn’t bother snakes, they wouldn’t bother you.
“Hello?” she called up the steps. “Anyone home? Rachel, are you up there?”
Silence. She felt spooked being here for some reason, as if sensing evil presences. But there was a strong pull to go upstairs, as if God were directing her.
She began climbing the stairs, very carefully, hopping over the partially broken ones, not knowing if she’d fall through at any minute from rotten wood. She saw that several of the stairs were partly broken and she prayed fervently over each step she took. But she had to think of Rachel, not herself.
The stench of excrement from somewhere nearby was horrendous and the mosquitoes were eating her alive, but she kept on climbing until she reached the top of the stairs. The flies were awful, congregating under the ledge of the door to the right, where the smell of feces came so strongly.
She hesitated a moment at the other closed bedroom door. She was afraid of what she’d find after opening it. It had been three weeks since the hurricane. She didn’t want to look at another decomposed body. She knew she’d have nightmares the rest of her life from seeing Rylie’s. She shook the thought away like a spider’s cobweb, and prayed.
Dear God, please let Rachel be alive. Please help me to help her. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen. Suddenly Adelle felt the strong presence of the Lord all around her. She knew that this was a Divine appointment, that God had specifically sent her on this rescue mission. She wasn’t in Destin during the hurricane by accident. God Himself had sent her here, for such a time as this.
Adelle pushed the bedroom door open and it felt as if Heaven itself were in that room. A Holy Presence. It was almost frightening in its intensity, and yet absolutely glorious. Light was pouring into the room from the sun radiating forth through the dirty glass windows. Spiritual light, too. No darkness could hold back God’s light and Shekinah glory. The angel watched Adelle with great interest. The demons shrieked in defeat.
Adelle saw Rachel laying on the floor, near her vomit, pale and limp.
“Rachel!” Adelle cried, running to her and touching her tenderly, checking her swiftly for severe wounds and injuries. “Can you hear me? Do you hurt anywhere?”
Rachel looked into Adelle’s concerned hazel eyes. “Yes, I can hear you, Adelle. I want to go home,” she groaned softly.
Rachel looked out the window and saw in the now clear, blue sky a double rainbow. She gasped and turned to Adelle and Adelle smiled, nodding, saying, “Well, would you just look at that? A double rainbow! Ain’t that just the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
Thank you, God, Rachel prayed. Thank you, Lord. And then Rachel passed out.
Epilogue
Dr. Goddard and Autumn were working together at the outpatient clinic. Autumn was happy their next session were their hospital patients, Morgan and Kelly. They had been staying at the women’s shelter, but were now getting ready to move into their own small house. They were leaving the shelter today. Kelly was talking a mile a minute, excited to leave and be in their own, new pretty place.
Morgan was happy, too, and profusely thanked Autumn for her help in arranging their temporary stay at the women’s shelter, assisting her with applying for Medicaid and food stamps, and arranging a new job interview for her at a temp agency for receptionist work that paid $13 an hour.
“I’m really hoping I get it!” she said. “This would help us so much! I can’t wait to talk to my cousin Adelle again and tell her everything, after we get settled tonight at our new home!”
“Oh, she’s okay? She made it through the hurricane?” Autumn asked, looking up from her notes with interest. Any news about the area always immediately grabbed her attention. Dad was packing at home right now to get ready to drive to the airport for his flight there. He was determined to find his wife.
“Yes, it’s a miracle! The house where she was visiting was destroyed almost, and the woman who owned it died, which is so sad since she was one of Adelle’s closest childhood friends. Almost every home in that neighborhood was demolished! Just awful. Can you imagine how much it’s going to cost to rebuild? And so many people died! But after she got out of the house, Adelle, being her usual take-charge self, went and checked on everyone in the neighborhood. She had become friends with some of them this summer, doing bbq’s and stuff. When she went to check on one neighbor, Rachel, she found her alive in a room upstairs! She was a little worse for wear, but she survived three weeks and hadn’t had food for over a week or water for days! She got her to the hospital somehow with two police officers named Lance and Nick helping her. Together they carried her several blocks on a broken door to a clinic until a helicopter transported Rachel to the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center to treat her! Adelle called the hospital later to check on her and she’s doing good now! Isn’t that just an amazing story?”
“What? Her neighbor’s name was Rachel?” Autumn asked, her eyes growing enormous and goose bumps dotted her skin. “What was the woman’s last name, do you know? Her neighbor?”
“Um, let me see. Rachel, um, Rachel Long, yeah, that’s it. She’s a writer. From this area, actually, Adelle said. I don’t know what on earth the woman was doing in Florida. But I told Adelle that she’s a true-blue, living hero. Or heroine, actually. I’m so proud of her. But that’s just the kind of great person she is. Caring about others before herself. I just love her to pieces,” Morgan said, beaming, and Kelly, who was doodling on an art pad, agreed.
“Yeah, Auntie Delle is cool!�
� she said, smiling, her eyes shining at the story. Even Dr. Goddard’s eyebrow had raised and he seemed impressed. He turned to say something to Autumn, but she had excused herself and run out of the room to call her dad to tell him the miraculous news.
*******
Jackson was throwing a few things into his forest-green, roller board, trying to pack as light and quickly as possible, when his phone rang. Autumn had tried to call a little earlier, but he was showering and Faith was practicing on her piano the theme from Schindler’s List. He figured it was Autumn again and picked up, “This is Jackson Long.”
But no, it was Lance. “I’ve got some news, bud,” Lance said.
Jackson’s face drained of color and he felt sick, punched in the gut. It had been three weeks now. He knew the likelihood of Rachel being found, much less alive, was almost nil. He braced himself for the news he had been most dreading to hear since the hurricane hit.
“I found her. Or I mean, a neighbor found her and I found the neighbor and her, searching that area with my partner Nick. Rachel is okay, man. She’s alive. The neighbor, Adelle, Nick, and I carried her on a broken door almost three blocks to a clinic and a helicopter transported her to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center. Dude, she’s okay. She’s doing good. She’s coming home to you and your family. Can you believe it?” Lance laughed in sheer joy at God’s goodness.
Jackson blinked, in shock. What?
Faith walked into the room then. “Who called, daddy? Was it Autumn?” She asked. She stared at him intently, noticing his pale face, and she gripped the door frame. “Is it about mom?” she asked, her voice breaking.
“Yes, honey, it’s Lance. Mom-your mother has been found. She’s alive. She’s okay. Your mom is coming home!”
He got up quickly, knowing that she would be in shock, too, and hugged her. They cried tears of joy together, praising God unashamedly for this miracle. He got the details from Lance, thanked him profusely, and then called the airlines to cancel his flight.
