APRIL 18, 2009
UNITED FRIENDS CHALLENGE
NUMBER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY SIX
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
ARE THEY KEEPERS
Sumax's Challenge
Are you your brother's keeper? If so, why? If not, why not?
Write a short story or essay on responsibility and any boundaries pertaining thereto
.I use the term "brother" in the loosest possible context
.Within the parameters, go where the Muse takes you - It's entirely up to you.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS...
ARE THEY KEEPERS
Sissy sat at the curb waiting for her brother to pick her up from her after school tutoring in math class. It was bad enough that she was having so much trouble with algebra, when her best friend Rachel was top of the class. Rachel had tried to help, really tried to help her, explaining it several times.. sigh.. I am just hopeless, thought Sissy. And where is Trey? Good grief he was 30 minutes late picking her up and she had so much homework to do, plus it was her night to do the supper dishes. Brothers are so selfish she thought.. so stinking selfish.. only thinking of themselves all the time! He is probably over at Brads shooting hoops and flirting with Brads sister.. yuck! Like anyone would think he was cool enough to go out with.
Tapping her foot on the pavement she didn't notice the van that had passed her a couple times until it stopped right in front of her. There was a man in it and he used the electric window switch to roll down the window on the passenger side of the van. He looked about her Dads age and he smiled a really nice smile.
He said. " Have you seen a little puppy running around out here any where?" Sissy smiled back and said." No I have been here a while and I have not seen any dogs at all." The man said, " I have lost my little puppy, he is black with a white spot on his head, if you see him would you please give me a call?"
Sissy said,"Sure!" The man reached in the glove compartment and pulled out a pad and pencil and wrote something down on the pad. He said, " Here is my number if you see him I sure would appreciate the call if you can."
Sissy stood up and went to the window of the van.. reaching her hand inside for the piece of paper he had written on. In one quick motion the man grabbed her wrist in a vice like hold and Sissy yelled." Hey! Your hurting me! LET GO OF ME!!"
She started to struggle and pulled as hard as she could against the hold on her wrist. The man by this time had opened the passenger side door and was reaching around and grabbed her by the hair and let go of her wrist and clapped it over her mouth.
About that time Trey came speeding around the corner to pick her up, He had been over at Brads shooting hoops and things had gotten really interesting with his sister for once, and he was still daydreaming of things that might happen there when he saw the guy holding Sissy by the hair and trying to shove her in the van.
He floored the accelerator and broad sided the van on the drivers side.. the man let go of Sissy and started to run down the street. Trey, jumped out of the car and ran around to the side of the van where Sissy lay on the ground crying and bleeding from scraped knees that she had gotten when the man shoved her down getting away.
Trey reached down and picked her up like he had done when she was a little baby and ran for the house next to the school yard. He kicked on the door frantically and finally an elderly lady opened the door. He said, "May I use you phone please, my sister was almost abducted by a man driving that van over there."
The elderly ladies eyes widened and she said, " You just stay right there on the porch boy, I will call the police, but you just stay right there!"
Trey said, "Thank you, may I have a glass of water and a wet wash cloth also please?"The woman smiled and said, " Yes you may, but you still stay right there, I will get them for you after I call the police."
By this time some people who had heard the noise when he ran into the van were coming out of their houses, curious as to what was going on. Trey quickly explained what he saw and two of the men took off running in the direction the man had ran to.
By the time the police had arrived .. they had caught the man and had him in the wrecked van with a couple of tire irons as deterrents, to any thoughts he had to get away.
Trey and Sissy's parents were called and Sissy was taken to the hospital to get checked over to make sure she was okay.Trey sat in the waiting room of the ER and stared at the floor. He paced back and forth, not saying a word. When Sissy and his mother came into the waiting room, and he saw Sissy with bandaged knees and swollen eyes from hysteria and crying, he just could not handle it any longer.
He ran to her and fell to his knees, crying in a most awful heart wrenching way. He cried out to Sissy in an anguished voice, " Please forgive me. Please, I don't deserve it, but Sissy please forgive me! I should have been on time, If only I had been on time to pick you up none of this would have happened!"
Sissy reached out her hand and placed it on Treys tousled head, and said, " Trey, will you please get up off your knees, you making an idiot out of yourself. Of course I forgive you, but you won't be late any more will you, or you will call tell me what is going on next time won't you?"
Trey stood on wobbly legs and just numbly nodded his head. Then he reached both arms out and Sissy took him into hers and hugged him fiercely.
Trey vowed that never again would he blow off something as important as keeping his sister safe from the world which is mean and evil. She would always be the first priority on his list of things that were more important to him than anything else in the world
. Trey and Sissy learned what it means to have a brother or a sister that they could count on if they needed them. Even when pride stood in the way of asking for help... the other always watched and knew when they were needed to push a little bit, to give the help that was needed.
The End
Terri/Lockerridge
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