Everyday Hero
The doorbell rang.
"Sears delivery," the man on the other side called out. It was the moment their dad had been waiting for: his red leather recliner--a combo birthday and anniversary gift--had finally arrived.
As he opened the door, the girls--excited any time someone came to the door--gathered around. There he was: the stranger who had delivered something unexpected, but just as welcome, just months before.
"Hey there! Glad to see you're OK," he said gently as he grinned at Amy. She smiled shyly back, peeking out from behind her mom.
She knew heroes didn't have to possess special powers or be cloaked in costumes. The Sears delivery man was her super hero, the one who swooped in to save her when no one else seemed to care.
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Amy could hear the older kids approaching quickly, their threatening voices becoming more audible, even through her earmuffs and hood.
"Move outa the way, little girl," they chimed, laughing for reasons she couldn't figure out.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. Her mom told her to stay on the sidewalk on her quarter mile walk home. But the sinister tone of the older kids' voices trumped those warnings. Her tiny kindergarten self was no match for 5th and 6th graders.
She stepped off the sidewalk just before they had a chance to push her.
Crisis averted.
Or, maybe not.
She looked down to see she was thigh-deep in wet, dense snow. Panic seeped through her chest, her heart beating so fast she thought it may explode.
As she lifted her right leg, her boot slipped off her foot; she hurriedly shoved it back in. She had heard the horror stories about people having feet and legs cut off because of frostbite. The idea terrified her so much that she refused to ice skate on lakes for fear she might fall through.
She tried the other leg, hoping for some success this time. Instead, her sock came off along with the boot.
More kids sauntered by periodically, amused by, but not at all concerned for the little girl frantically trying to get back to the sidewalk.
She knew she wasn't going to be able to get herself out of this mess, and her worry about getting in trouble for not being home on time added to the growing panic.
She spotted some more kids trudging along the sidewalk. "Help me! I'm stuck," she pleaded, tears now streaming down her face, dampening her scarf.
The gaggle laughed hysterically in unison, "Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha," as if the scene was the most hilarious thing they had ever witnessed.
She stood there, shocked.
She tried a few more times to free herself, but her efforts were futile. She was stuck. She could feel the wet snow seeping through her snow pants and knew she was in serious trouble. Panic turned to hysteria, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
Until she couldn't anymore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"She'll be home soon," the mother snapped. Her middle daughter's disposition for alarm and worry was really starting to get on her nerves. And, now with her older sister going to school everyday, Katy's anxiety was getting worse. "It just takes longer to walk home in the snow. Just relax."
Unbeknownst to her, Katy's trepidation wasn't a false alarm this time. She did know her mother would lash out at her if she continued to pester her, so instead she pressed her face against the cold glass, searching the landscape for the familiar snowsuit, whispering, "Please come home, please come home, please come home..."
The doorbell rang, waking the napping baby in the other room.
"Who can that be?" her frustrated mother wondered out loud. When she angrily opened the door, Katy saw a man holding her limp sister in his arms. A stranger. They weren't supposed to talk to strangers.
She burst out in tears, "My sister! My sister!"
As her mom grabbed Amy from the man's arms, Katy caught a glimpse of the letters on his uniform jacket: S-E-A-R-S.
Amy had passed out, but he was able to find her address on her backpack--an address the mother had written not for safety reasons, but because Amy was constantly misplacing things, and they couldn't afford to replace expensive items like shoes and backpacks every time she lost them. The mother hastily thanked him, worrying more about her daughter than being polite.
Katy ran to the window and watched as the man slowly navigated the icy driveway and hoisted himself into the delivery truck. She would forever be grateful to this ordinary stranger who became a hero that snowy January day.
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