It was an average dreary January day; the air was cold and crisp and the sky was gray. For Grace, January 20th was an unimportant, boring day in which she would fulfill her motherly duties and run errands. Her three kids were staying with Grandma Nancy, and her husband was out of town on a business trip. So, after she dropped off little Harry, Ben, and Lucy she decided she would make a stop at the local market to buy what would later be that evening’s meal.
As she drove through the winding roads of Bonny Doon, her mind wandered. First, she thought of what groceries she would buy, and then she began to realize how monotonous her life as a stay-at-home-mom actually was. “Will anything exciting ever happen to me again?” she wondered as she pulled into a parking spot. As she walked in the store, she continued reminiscing upon her former life, the one without a family, the one in which she was free to be spontaneous and was always lively. She missed those days, and desperately wished something, anything exciting would occur so that the seemingly incessant routine of being a stay-at-home-mom would be broken up. Little did the beautiful Grace know that seemingly “ordinary” day would turn out to be the most thrilling day of her life.
The thoughtless rambling of Grace’s mind continued as she chose turkey burgers for that evening’s meal. She picked out everything she wanted to buy and then made her way to the check out counter where as older, gray-haired woman helped her. “What a fine day today is” , she said, sliding the turkey burgers past the scanner. Grace, being the pessimist she was replied, “Oh yes, just lovely.” in a sarcastic tone. At this the stalky check out lady replied, “Now missy, everyday is a blessing from God, so you better be thankful for any day, even today.” Grace paid the cashier and then made her way to her silver minivan. Along the way she laughed at herself as she thought of the strange check out lady and what she called a “lovely” day, “Only in Bonny Doon”, was what she muttered to herself.
As she approached her car, Grace realized that she had forgotten to lock her car doors. But, after all, it was only a small hick town, and the chances of anyone breaking in were slim. And so, after reassuring herself of this she placed her two paper bags filled with groceries in her front seat, never once looking in the passenger seats of her car. She started her engine and contemplated whether or not she would drop off her groceries at her home first, or if she would go visit with her mother and children for a while. She glanced over at her bags and remembered she had purchased milk which needed to be put in the refrigerator soon. “Well, that settles it then. I’ll stop by the house first”, she whispered to herself and to the empty space in her minivan.
Grace glanced at her clock as she pulled out of the shopping center and realized it was already five-thirty. She became rushed as she remembered she was supposed to pick up her kids at a quarter to six and sped through the yellow light. She hated driving when it was dark outside, even more so when she was driving alone. She pushed her frantic thoughts aside as she turned off to the dead-end, three mile long road that led to her driveway. She causally checked her mirrors as any good driver does, and she saw a re truck following her. “That’s strange, I thought my house was the only one up here”, she thought as she tried to recognize who the person must be, “hmm, he must be lost”. She turned up her music a little louder as her favorite pop song came on and tried to relax, but was interrupted as the red truck’s bright headlights blinded her as they reflected through the rearview mirror. “Ouch!” she yelled as her eyes were momentarily hindered by the reflection, “Was that really necessary?”, she said sarcastically. After a few seconds Grace returned to listening to her music, trying to forget the fact that she felt like she was being followed. She had always been slightly paranoid, and now was no different.
As she turned slightly right to follow the windy, steep road, the red truck’s bright headlights flashed brilliantly, again. This time Grace was getting angry, but even more scared as she wondered what kind of aggressive driver was following her. She had been going 40 miles per hour, but now she violently pushed the gas pedal so that the car was now traveling at 60 miles per hour. This, she thought would get the guy behind her off her back. But, she was wrong. The red truck continued to tailgate her and even more rapidly flash his bright headlights. Grace’s driving became reckless as she began hyperventilating. She did not want to die today. She needed to be there for her kids, if not anyone else. And so, she tried to distract herself and focus on her driving, silent tears were streaming down her rosy cheeks. But, the situation was too overbearing and violent sobs broke loose. “Please God”, she prayed, “Help me”. She continued this prayer several times until she came to her driveway.
Grace looked in her rearview mirror, and once again, was blinded by white lights. She tried to make out the driver’s face but failed. She prayed that the driver would, miraculously, not cause her any harm. Grace’s minivan made the final stretch towards her driveway, and the red truck followed, continuing to shine its bright headlights. As Grace prepared to park her car she went over an intuitive plan to escape whomever or whatever was inside the red truck. She would park her minivan and make a mad dash for her front door where she would open it and run to the nearest phone to call the police. Foolproof, or at least that is what Grace thought. And so, as she was just a few inches from parking, she made one quick prayer, “Save me”. And with that she pulled her keys out of her ignition with trembling hands and bolted her car door open. The red truck was now parked right behind her minivan.
She began to shriek wildly in the hopes that someone, anyone would decipher her fervent cries. She ran as fast as she could as she heard footsteps trailing her own and a man’s voice saying something inaudible. But, she was not fast enough. She felt two large, hairy arms grab her around the waist, stopping her from moving another inch. Grace screamed louder and began kicking and punching the man., trying anything to get away from her attacker. Again, he tried to tell her something, but his husky voice was drowned out by her own piercing screams. The man put his chubby fingers across Grace’s mouth and then moved closer to her face as he said, “Listen to me”.
“Listen to me”, the man repeated as Grace continued trying to scream. Grace began sobbing as she realized that today was no ordinary day, today was the day she was going to die. The man then turned Grace to face him and removed his fingers from her lips. “You need to listen to me”, he said, and at this Grace tried to make a break for it, reaching her front stairs. Once again the man grabbed her, this time not releasing his powerful hold on her. His voice sounded frantic as he said, “there is a man with a knife in your car. I am not going to hurt you, just listen to me, okay?”, Grace nodded but continued to cry, “I saw a shadow of a man trying to stab you as you were driving through the intersection from the market. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things right so I continued to follow you, shining my lights to see if I could still see the shadow. Sure enough, everytime I flashed them, the shadow of the man with the knife ducked down. I couldn’t just let him kill you, so I followed you here, and…the man is still in your car…” Grace shrieked and began hysterically crying as she realized she had almost been murdered that day. She did not know whether to run or hide, and so she instinctively fell into the chubby man’s chest instead.
Just then, not even two minutes after Grace had initially parked her silver minivan, two police cars pulled into the now crowded driveway. They immediately jumped out of their patrol cars, ordering Grace and the man, who now seemed more like a guardian angel, to stay back. The police swarmed Grace’s car, and sure enough, found a man hiding in the trunk with a large silver knife in his hands. The evil looking man was placed in hand cuffs and then shoved into the back of the patrol car. Grace could feel the man’s gaze, it was one with malicious intent. She shuddered, and then nested herself farther into her savior’s chest. The two policemen approached Grace and said, “Don’t worry, you are safe now”. A wave of relief inundated Grace as she realized she really was safe now.
After the patrol cars left, the chubby man was still by Grace’s side. They both sat on the front stairs in silence until Grace said, “Thank you so much for calling the cops. I would be dead without you”. The man looked confused and replied, “What do you mean? I didn’t call the cops, I don’t even have a cell phone.”. They both looked at each other in amazement as they realized someone, someone utterly amazing had been watching out for them. Although they never said who they whole heartedly believed had saved them that day, they acknowledged it in each other’s gaze. “I guess today isn’t such an ordinary day”, Grace said as she giggled to herself.
As she drove through the winding roads of Bonny Doon, her mind wandered. First, she thought of what groceries she would buy, and then she began to realize how monotonous her life as a stay-at-home-mom actually was. “Will anything exciting ever happen to me again?” she wondered as she pulled into a parking spot. As she walked in the store, she continued reminiscing upon her former life, the one without a family, the one in which she was free to be spontaneous and was always lively. She missed those days, and desperately wished something, anything exciting would occur so that the seemingly incessant routine of being a stay-at-home-mom would be broken up. Little did the beautiful Grace know that seemingly “ordinary” day would turn out to be the most thrilling day of her life.
The thoughtless rambling of Grace’s mind continued as she chose turkey burgers for that evening’s meal. She picked out everything she wanted to buy and then made her way to the check out counter where as older, gray-haired woman helped her. “What a fine day today is” , she said, sliding the turkey burgers past the scanner. Grace, being the pessimist she was replied, “Oh yes, just lovely.” in a sarcastic tone. At this the stalky check out lady replied, “Now missy, everyday is a blessing from God, so you better be thankful for any day, even today.” Grace paid the cashier and then made her way to her silver minivan. Along the way she laughed at herself as she thought of the strange check out lady and what she called a “lovely” day, “Only in Bonny Doon”, was what she muttered to herself.
As she approached her car, Grace realized that she had forgotten to lock her car doors. But, after all, it was only a small hick town, and the chances of anyone breaking in were slim. And so, after reassuring herself of this she placed her two paper bags filled with groceries in her front seat, never once looking in the passenger seats of her car. She started her engine and contemplated whether or not she would drop off her groceries at her home first, or if she would go visit with her mother and children for a while. She glanced over at her bags and remembered she had purchased milk which needed to be put in the refrigerator soon. “Well, that settles it then. I’ll stop by the house first”, she whispered to herself and to the empty space in her minivan.
Grace glanced at her clock as she pulled out of the shopping center and realized it was already five-thirty. She became rushed as she remembered she was supposed to pick up her kids at a quarter to six and sped through the yellow light. She hated driving when it was dark outside, even more so when she was driving alone. She pushed her frantic thoughts aside as she turned off to the dead-end, three mile long road that led to her driveway. She causally checked her mirrors as any good driver does, and she saw a re truck following her. “That’s strange, I thought my house was the only one up here”, she thought as she tried to recognize who the person must be, “hmm, he must be lost”. She turned up her music a little louder as her favorite pop song came on and tried to relax, but was interrupted as the red truck’s bright headlights blinded her as they reflected through the rearview mirror. “Ouch!” she yelled as her eyes were momentarily hindered by the reflection, “Was that really necessary?”, she said sarcastically. After a few seconds Grace returned to listening to her music, trying to forget the fact that she felt like she was being followed. She had always been slightly paranoid, and now was no different.
As she turned slightly right to follow the windy, steep road, the red truck’s bright headlights flashed brilliantly, again. This time Grace was getting angry, but even more scared as she wondered what kind of aggressive driver was following her. She had been going 40 miles per hour, but now she violently pushed the gas pedal so that the car was now traveling at 60 miles per hour. This, she thought would get the guy behind her off her back. But, she was wrong. The red truck continued to tailgate her and even more rapidly flash his bright headlights. Grace’s driving became reckless as she began hyperventilating. She did not want to die today. She needed to be there for her kids, if not anyone else. And so, she tried to distract herself and focus on her driving, silent tears were streaming down her rosy cheeks. But, the situation was too overbearing and violent sobs broke loose. “Please God”, she prayed, “Help me”. She continued this prayer several times until she came to her driveway.
Grace looked in her rearview mirror, and once again, was blinded by white lights. She tried to make out the driver’s face but failed. She prayed that the driver would, miraculously, not cause her any harm. Grace’s minivan made the final stretch towards her driveway, and the red truck followed, continuing to shine its bright headlights. As Grace prepared to park her car she went over an intuitive plan to escape whomever or whatever was inside the red truck. She would park her minivan and make a mad dash for her front door where she would open it and run to the nearest phone to call the police. Foolproof, or at least that is what Grace thought. And so, as she was just a few inches from parking, she made one quick prayer, “Save me”. And with that she pulled her keys out of her ignition with trembling hands and bolted her car door open. The red truck was now parked right behind her minivan.
She began to shriek wildly in the hopes that someone, anyone would decipher her fervent cries. She ran as fast as she could as she heard footsteps trailing her own and a man’s voice saying something inaudible. But, she was not fast enough. She felt two large, hairy arms grab her around the waist, stopping her from moving another inch. Grace screamed louder and began kicking and punching the man., trying anything to get away from her attacker. Again, he tried to tell her something, but his husky voice was drowned out by her own piercing screams. The man put his chubby fingers across Grace’s mouth and then moved closer to her face as he said, “Listen to me”.
“Listen to me”, the man repeated as Grace continued trying to scream. Grace began sobbing as she realized that today was no ordinary day, today was the day she was going to die. The man then turned Grace to face him and removed his fingers from her lips. “You need to listen to me”, he said, and at this Grace tried to make a break for it, reaching her front stairs. Once again the man grabbed her, this time not releasing his powerful hold on her. His voice sounded frantic as he said, “there is a man with a knife in your car. I am not going to hurt you, just listen to me, okay?”, Grace nodded but continued to cry, “I saw a shadow of a man trying to stab you as you were driving through the intersection from the market. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things right so I continued to follow you, shining my lights to see if I could still see the shadow. Sure enough, everytime I flashed them, the shadow of the man with the knife ducked down. I couldn’t just let him kill you, so I followed you here, and…the man is still in your car…” Grace shrieked and began hysterically crying as she realized she had almost been murdered that day. She did not know whether to run or hide, and so she instinctively fell into the chubby man’s chest instead.
Just then, not even two minutes after Grace had initially parked her silver minivan, two police cars pulled into the now crowded driveway. They immediately jumped out of their patrol cars, ordering Grace and the man, who now seemed more like a guardian angel, to stay back. The police swarmed Grace’s car, and sure enough, found a man hiding in the trunk with a large silver knife in his hands. The evil looking man was placed in hand cuffs and then shoved into the back of the patrol car. Grace could feel the man’s gaze, it was one with malicious intent. She shuddered, and then nested herself farther into her savior’s chest. The two policemen approached Grace and said, “Don’t worry, you are safe now”. A wave of relief inundated Grace as she realized she really was safe now.
After the patrol cars left, the chubby man was still by Grace’s side. They both sat on the front stairs in silence until Grace said, “Thank you so much for calling the cops. I would be dead without you”. The man looked confused and replied, “What do you mean? I didn’t call the cops, I don’t even have a cell phone.”. They both looked at each other in amazement as they realized someone, someone utterly amazing had been watching out for them. Although they never said who they whole heartedly believed had saved them that day, they acknowledged it in each other’s gaze. “I guess today isn’t such an ordinary day”, Grace said as she giggled to herself.
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