It had been snowing for several hours and as Tommy Brant looked
out of the school room window he could hardly wait to get out and play.
It was not just any snow, this was the first big snow of the winter and a
big one it was. Several inches were already on the ground and the snow
was still coming down heavily. Time ticked by slowly but at last the
school bell rang and out he flew.
He was already out in the school yard playing when he
remembered his mother's words that morning telling him not to play after school
but to come straight home. She had told him to hurry home because
weather was going to be bad and that his father would not be getting
home with the car until late that evening. Since he lived only five or six
blocks from school Tommy often walked home when his dad had the car
and could not pick him up.
Tommy begrudgingly told his friends good bye and headed out the
back gate of the school yard toward home. He was just beyond it when
his friend Andy called out for him to wait. Andy ran to catch up and
gasping said “I’ll walk with you”. Andy was Tommy’s neighbor and
lived two houses down from Tommy. Soon the boys were throwing
snow balls at each other and playfully sliding their way toward home.
As they went along Andy suddenly stopped and said “wait a second, I
have a great idea. Lets cut across the woods by the old Parker farm and we
can slide down the big hill on the back. Then we can go on home.”
Tommy said ok but then remembered his mothers words. “ Oh wait" he
said, "I promised mom I would come straight home after school so I guess
I better not.”
Andy turned around and said “sure you can. It won’t take long and
besides your mom will never know.” Tommy new he shouldn’t. His
mother had told him to stay away from the old Parker farm because
it was a dangerous place and also he had promised to go straight home.
But he didn’t want his friend to think that he was a sissy or a mama’s
boy so without any further argument he turned and followed his friend
off the road.
Soon they were hidden from view as the snow covered scrub pines
quickly closed behind them. The snow was falling very fast
and quickly filled their footprints leaving no clue where they had
gone. Tommy new he should have told his friend no and his conscience
kept telling him to turn around. No he said to the small voice in his
mind. Since I have already started, he reasoned, I might as well finish.
Mom was just finishing in the kitchen and looked worriedly out the
window at the darkening sky and heavy falling snow. “Tommy should
be home any minute and not any to soon” she said to herself. The
temperature had been falling most of the afternoon and it was now
becoming bitterly cold in spite of the snowfall. Her anxiety began to
grow slowly as the minutes ticked by and Tommy did not arrive home.
“Where can he be” she said to herself.
Tommy and Andy had gone straight through the woods to the old
house and there they found an old piece of tin that had blown from the
old farm house’s roof. “We can slide down Parker hill on this” cried
Andy as he pulled it free of the snow and wiped it clear with his gloves.
They hurried up a hill through the woods until at last they were at the top
of a large steep hill. On a normal day they could have looked out over
the valley and saw their homes not more then one half of a mile away but
not today. The snow was falling heavily and it was getting dark quickly.
“Lets go” said Andy jumping on the front of the piece of tin.
Tommy quickly joined him and they pushed themselves over the edge.
Down the hill they flew. The wind whistled through their hair and the
snow stung their faces as they squealed in glee. The world was a blur as
they raced down the hill side with snow flying up is swirls behind them. They
went over several humps flying into the air only to land in a cloud of
snow and speed on down the slope. Finally the hill leveled off and they
slowely slid to a stop.
“That was great” cried Andy. “Let’s do it again”. Tommy looked
through the woods below him where he new the road was. If he had been
listening to that small voice in his head he would have heard it warning
him not to go back up the hill but to go home now but alas, he wasn’t listening. Instead he turned to
walk up the hill with his friend.
It was after a few steps that both boys felt the ground become
bouncy under their feet. “Hey, what this” said Tommy. “Do you feel the
ground here”. “Yea...its bouncy” said Andy. Both boys jumped in the
air together to feel the bounce.
The wooden cover had been built more then 20 years before. It
had been placed over the opening of the well to prevent anyone from
falling in. As the years had passed the weeds had overgrown it and dirt
covered it until it had completely passed from memory and from view.
Now it lay below them covered with years of debris, rot, and a heavy
blanket of snow.
As they came down together they heard a muffled crack from
below them. Suddenly they were falling into a blurred vision of
blackness mixed with snow and rotten wood. The blackness enveloped
them and then nothing.
Mother was now pacing back and forth. “That boy better have a
good excuse” she said as she looked out the window. It was beginning to
get dark and still Tommy had not arrived. “I wish his father was here”
she said hoping her husband would arrive home from work early.
Tommy suddenly awoke and opened his eyes. He was disoriented
for a moment but then the memory of the fall flooded back into his mind.
He became aware of his head and shoulder hurting as he sat up. It was
very dark but he could make out a gray light from far above him. In the
dim light he could see that he was sitting in a pile of old rotten wood and
dirty snow. He was in a round shaft about 4 feet across and about 20 feet
deep with sides that went straight up to the surface. The floor was dry
and earthy. He stood up rubbing his head. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt to
bad.
Then he heard the moan come from the floor beside him and
remembered his friend Andy. It was very dark but as his eyes began to
adjust to the darkness, he could just make out his friend laying on the
floor beside him. “Are you OK” he said as he tried to help Andy sit up.
“No” cried Andy suddenly. "My leg hurts real bad." Tommy look down at his
friends leg and could see it turned at a strange angle just below the knee.
Andy was crying and shivering as he held his leg.. Snow was falling
through the opening above them and settling on the boys . “Hold on”
said Tommy, “Ill get help.”
It was at that point when reality finally struck him. As he looked
up toward the top he could see nothing to hold on to. No hand holds of
any kind he could use to climb out. There was nothing hanging down he
could grab hold of and the hole was way to deep to jump up and grab the
sides. The snow was quickly covering any traces or evidence of where
they had been. No one would know where they were. He began to yell
for help as he panicked. He yelled and yelled but there wasn’t any one to
hear and the snow quickly absorbed his calls for help. His voice sounded
muffled and hollow. Tommy was in big trouble and he new it.
Mother was getting really worried. It wasn’t like Tommy not to
obey. “I’ll just have to go and get him and boy is he in trouble” she said.
But inside she feared something far worse was wrong. She quickly put on her coat,
hat, gloves, and boots. Out the door she hurried, past the driveway and
onto the sidewalk. She quickly walked the 6 blocks to the school
listening for the voice of Tommy playing with his friends but heard and saw
nothing.
The school yard was empty when she arrived. There was no sign of
anyone. She was just turning to head back up the road when she heard a
voice say “hullo Mrs. Brant”. She turned to see Johnny Smith, another
friend of Tommy’s, standing behind her. “Hello Johnny” she said, “have
you seen Tommy?” “Not since school” he said, “he left early with
Andy” Tommy’s mom said thank you and turned quickly back toward
home. She walked right past the place where the two boys had left the
sidewalk but the snow had already covered any tracks they had left.
She quickly continued home and immediately called Andy’s mother.
“Hello, this is Mrs. Brant. Have you seen Tommy? He was supposed to
come right home after school and never arrived. One of his friends said he left right
after school with Andy and I was hoping he was there.” “No” said
Andy’s mother, “Andy never made it home either. I thought he was
probably there playing with Andy. We will start looking too.” Tommy’s mother thanked her and
hung up.
She was just deciding what to do next when she heard a car drive
up. Looking out the window she saw that father had arrived
home early. As father came through the door he saw the worried look on his
wife’s face. “What is the matter” he asked as he hugged her.
Tommy had given up calling and yelling. He head and shoulder
were aching and he was tired and hungry. No one could hear them anyway. He was
sitting on the floor next to Andy. Even though the hole kept the wind
from blowing on them. It was still very cold and the snow was beginning
to stick to their clothing. Andy was not crying any more but was
shivering roughly. It was getting so dark in the hole that he could not see
much but new that Andy needed help badly.
Tommy was starting to think about his choices that day. “If only I
had said no” he said to himself. “I should have obeyed my mother.” He
also wished he had listened to God’s voice in his conscience when God
had told him no on the sidewalk and to go home at the bottom of the hill.
Now its too late. What could he do? It was at that moment when he
heard his conscience tell him to pray. But what would his friend think. It
would be embarrassing to pray. So for the moment he did nothing.
Father was now worried to. “I’ll go search for him around the
neighborhood in the car” he said. “ I bet he is playing with one of his
friends”.
After dad left, mother began calling all of Tommy’s friends. No
one had seen him. Andy had not yet arrived home either. Father returned
thirty minutes later. He had not found them. They called the police
who said that if the boys did not turn up in a couple more hours to call
them back. They said that the boys where probably playing in the
snow and would probably show up when it got dark. It happens a lot the police
told them. Mother was almost in tears now. What can we do she cried.
Lets Pray said father. God knows where those boys are. With that they
knelt down and prayed.
They had finished praying and were just getting up when father said, “I
think I’ll drive around the neighborhood one more time. I know that I
have already looked but I have a feeling I need to look one more time.“
Mother agreed. “I’ll stay here by the telephone in case someone finds
them and calls. You go ahead.”
Father was driving slowly toward the school wondering why he
was out there again when he suddenly saw an old homeless man,
wrapped in an old dark ragged coat, sitting on a park bench. It was
strange that he had not noticed him earlier. He almost didn’t stop
because he was afraid the old man would try to beg and he didn’t have
time tonight. But the old man looked so cold, tired and hungry that he pull the
car to the side of the road and walked up to the man.
“Hello old timer” he said. “It is awful cold out here. Have you been
here long?” The old man gave him a curious look and said “All day”.
Father continued “Why don’t you come to my home for a warm meal
and warm up by the fire.” The old man then smiled and said “Thank you.
I would really appreciate that”
As mother heard him drive up she quickly ran to the door and
opened it. But instead of Tommy walking in with her husband there was
a dirty old man in tattered clothing standing at the door. “ I have invited
this man to come over for a warm meal and to warm by the fire” said
father. The Old man smiled questioningly at her.
Normally she would
not have minded but why had her husband done this tonight of all nights.
She was tempted to be irritated but she new what Jesus would want her
to do. She smiled warmly and invited the man in and sat him by the fire.
“I am sorry if I hesitated for a moment” she said. My son Tommy
is missing and I had hoped my husband had found him. He and his
friend never made it home from school today. Welcome though and
here, warm yourself by the fire. What is your name?” “Thank you” he
said as he sat down. “My name is Gabe. You say your boy is missing.
That’s strange. I remember seeing two boys head up toward the hill
behind the old Parker farm earlier this afternoon.”
Mom stopped in her tracks. “Do you remember what time it was”
she asked? “Right after school let out” said the old man quietly. Mother
quickly called her husband. Forgetting their guest in their excitement they
were in their coats, gloves, and hats in an instant. Father grabbed a
flashlight and soon the two were walking through the woods toward the
hill behind the Parker farm.
As time passed Tommy finally new he had to do something. He
asked Andy how he was doing and Andy told him that he could not feel
his leg and that his hands were numb. Tommy's conscience again told him to pray. This time he listened. Lets pray he told Andy.
He got on his knees and poured out his heart to God. He asked God to
forgive him for disobeying his mother and also for being ashamed to pray.
He then asked God to help someone to find them.
Moments later he thought he saw a flash of light on the opening
above. Then he saw it again. He began to call for help and a few
moments later he heard his fathers voice calling down the well.
“Tommy, are you in there?” “Yes“ cried Tommy. “We are down here
and Andy’s leg is hurt real bad. It may be broke.” Dad shined the light
down the hole and looked at the two boys. “I’ll Get some help” he said.
Mom stayed at the opening comforting the boys while father rushed back home and
called the rescue squad. Soon there were emergency crews at the top of
the well. One was let down into the well to splint Andy’s leg and then
both boys were pulled to safety. Andy was taken to the hospital where
he would stay for a couple of days. He had a broken his leg and had hypothermia.
As Tommy’s mother hugged him he looked up and said “I am so sorry I
disobeyed you today. How did you find us?” As they began to walk
back toward home his father then told Tommy about the old man on the
park bench that had seen them head toward the old Parker farm hill.
Tommy thought for a minute and then said, “I don’t remember seeing
anyone there and I don’t even remember there being a bench on the walk
home.” Then mother said, “I walked to the school looking for Tommy
before you got home and I never saw the man sitting on a bench either.”
They arrived home and Tommy’s mother took him in by the fire to
meet the old man who had saved them. But when they got in the room,
the old man was no where to be seen. They searched the whole house
but there was no evidence that Gabe had ever been there. Father decided
to drive back out to the bench where he had found him but when he got
there, there was no sign of the man or the bench that he had been sitting
on.
Tommy’s father returned home and told his family about the man
and the bench being no where around. “There is no way he could have
seen us at the hill today” said Tommy. “It was snowing to hard.” They were quiet for a few moments. “It had to
have been angel” father finally said as he remembered the strange way the man had
looked at him. “What if I hadn’t stopped”. Then the three of
them knelt and thanked God for sending his angel to help them and answering their
prayers. Tommy also promised God that from now on he would always
listen to God’s still small voice.
Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (KJV)