the following is a semimostofthewaykindofsortof true story...
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“I’ll be back in just a little while!” the boy called as he stepped out the front door of his sister’s house.
“Where are you going?” yelled his sister.
“Im just going for a walk. I’m be back in a little while!” he called out again. And he quickly closed the door behind him, cutting off his sister’s voice, yelling at him again.
The air outside smelt fresh. Not like the humid stuffy air inside the house, like incense burning for hours upon hours filling the air with a thin invisible musty smoke. It was night already, so the air had a slight chill. He looked up to see the stars, but forgot he was in the city where the stars could hardly be seen. He looked ahead and behind him he could hear the muffled sound of music coming out of the house. He heard the voices of his sister and her friends as they talked and laughed. He was glad to get out of the house. To be alone, to take a walk.
He began his walk along the slightly lit street. The street lamps hardly did any good on this road. The passing cars speeding by lit the way a little bit, but not much as they were scarce. He looked around at the different houses as he passed by. Sometimes the curtains would be open and he could spot a television set, or families sitting down to dinner or someone washing the dishes. Dogs barked at him as he slowly walked past the houses. The air was cold, he was glad he had his jacket. The boy tugged at the collar to cover up his cold neck and he breathed into the cup of his hands to warm his face.
Then he heard voices and he was startled by two men standing in front of him on the sidewalk. Where did they come from? They were both dressed in darkly colored clothing and had knit ski caps on. They blocked the sidewalk so there was no way the boy could go around them. The boy felt a slight panic as he got closer to the men. They were not moving, they stood fast where they were. They were talking about something in quiet voices, the boy could not tell what they were saying.
In his mind, the boy considered turning around and going the other way. Then he thought that maybe he shouldn’t show fear and just keep walking, say excuse me, go around them and continue on his way. They would leave him alone wouldn’t they? What were the odds that they wouldn’t leave him alone? After all, people only got robbed, mugged and raped on the television. It wouldn’t happen to him. It couldn’t happen to him. Not here, so close to home, on these streets that he walked everyday. He decided to keep going, giving the strange men the benefit of the doubt, they wouldn’t not harm him.
Suddenly he looked up and they were right in front of him. He stopped short in his tracks, almost running into the men and hitting them in the chest. They were so close. The boy didn’t quite know what to do about all of this. And then all at once, it happened. He felt a gunpoint shove into his ribs and one of the men said, “ give me your wallet asshole…”
Images of the movies flashed through his head. All the dumb movies he had seen where people got held up, shot at, all the people with guns in their faces or shooting at their bodies. All the scenes where the bad guys triumphed and good people were injured. He thought of all the movies he had watched and wondered, is this just another movie? Which one could it be? I don’t remember renting this movie…He felt the gun jab into his ribs again and it brought him back to reality.
“I said give me your wallet you motherfu*ker!” the man with the gun screamed in the boys face. The other man was looking around nervously, keeping an eye out for anyone who may intervene. The boy felt sweat drip down from his forehead as he fumbled around in his pocket for his wallet. He felt it, grabbed it and pulled it out. Clumsily, nervously, he dropped it on the ground. The second man quickly picked it up and shoved it into his jacket pocket.
“Lets get the hell out of here.” He said to the man with the gun. The man with the gun began to withdraw the gun from the boy’s rib cage and he got up in the boys face and said in a dark, cold whisper, “ now, I want you to run away. Just run…” the boy stepped slowly away, watching the men, too scared to turn his back to them.
“I said run you stupid asshole!” the gunman said, this time more loudly.
The boy turned around and ran. He ran and ran, never turning around, never looking back. He ran until he reached a gasoline station. He felt safer as the station was well lit. He found a payphone and called the sheriffs office. They would send a patrol car to pick him up and take him to the station where he would attempt to identify the men who held him at gunpoint.
The boy found a place to sit and wait. Finally his walk was over. He prayed silently to his heavenly father, thanking him for protecting him. Thanking him for being there with him as the man with the gun threatened his life. The boy sang praises to his Lord in his heart. Then he thought to himself, “I bet those guys are going to feel really stupid when they open up my wallet and all they find are a couple of receipts and my stupid murders inc. card… “
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thank you Jesus, for loving and protecting your Children.
travis, i hope you learned your lesson. :) i was glad to see that you ate three meals today, by the way.
