PRAYER

PRAYER

by: Michael Orzechowski

The students stood in the corner with gaping mouths and watery eyes. They had never felt such a fear as the shook, many of them now holing their pencils and pens in an attack position – like a dagger in their unsteady palms. They kept their gaze on the little blonde girl, now standing in the front of the room, smiling at them.

         The teacher, pinning himself against a wall, slowly tried to slide himself over to the door to escape, but as he moved, the little girl turned her head slowly fix her eyes on his, now swollen with tears and teeth chattering. He froze. He wanted to run so bad, yet his legs were immobilized; stone and veins. He could feel his heartbeat race as the blood rushed through his body – and yet, still, immobility.

         The girl, now playing with the trim of her dress, grabbing the subtle lace in her tiny fists and rocking back and forth, turned back to the flock of students who were now crying out loud for their mothers and fathers.

         Abby was a good girl. She never got in trouble and always handed her work in on time. She was a blessing to her mother and the apple of her daddy’s eye. She could do no wrong. She was a model student. Abby never got into fights or intentionally hurt a soul – and if she did, she was never hesitant to apologize and make it better. She still believed that boys had cooties and the tooth fairy was never too far away. She adored Christmas and believed in Jesus, just as mommy had told her to. Every night, before bed, she would pray to God that he never takes her away from her mommy, her daddy and especially all of her wonderful friends.

         Abby lived in the northeastern part of the city. Baltimore was a cruel place at times, but Abby never seemed to mind. She ignored the homeless that paced the streets, except to say hello from time to time, if she was with her mommy. Her family didn’t have a lot of money, but she didn’t need toys like the rest of her classmates. She was happy just going for walks around the block and playing in their small, townhouse backyard with her dog, Scoot. She was a simple girl, but had a heart full of love.

         One day, as Abby was walking around the block as she often did, she saw a glimmer from the street. The light shined into onto the black, polished shoes and reflected light right onto her face. She cheered as she looked out onto Harford Road to discover a brand new quarter, just waiting to be picked up. Abby thought of the things she could get with her piggy bank if she added yet another quarter to the collection and with a small, faint squeal she stepped out into the road.

The lights of the emergency vehicles took no time to fill the street. Abby’s parents stood at the corner, crying and pleading to God to bring their baby back. They would ask themselves why and there was silence. For days, there was only silence.

The teacher felt his hand graze the handle of the door. He grabbed it as quickly as he could but his moist palms slide right off of the shiny brass. He could not get a grip. He looked over at the orb of shiny metal and tried to fixate on wrapping his fingers around it. As soon he was able to get a hold on it, a foul stench crept up under his nose. He rotated his head over towards the classroom to find the little girl now standing directly in front of him.

“What do you want, Abby?! Why are you here?! How?!” the teacher was able to screeched out before he began to break down, falling to his knees.

“I asked God to never take me away from my mommy or my daddy, but I especially asked Him not to take me away from all my wonderful friends…and now He never will.”