My Precious Angel (standard:other, 2652 words)
Author: kathyg	Added: Apr 01 2005	Views/Reads: 3666/2387	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Who has the right to claim the heart of a little girl who has to live in fear of her own mother?

"Have you seen my child? Take a look at her picture. She is my precious
angel." A frantic lady wearing a once blue, threadbare coat and scuffed 
shoes, stops any stranger that catches her eye. 

"Sorry ,Lady. Have you been to the police yet?" 

She does not hear them. She is on a mission to find the child that was
taken from her eight long years ago.  Everything will be better when 
Suzanne takes care of her mother. 

After all, isn't a daughter supposed to take care of her mother? 

A frightening question. The answer is even more frightening... 

They call her crazy lady. She was often seen lurking around the
schoolyard at St Ignatius.  Despite complaints from parents about her 
harassing their children, they couldn't seem to keep her away for long. 
Most folks wondered if she was a kidnapper or just crazy. Her rants 
could be heard for blocks. 

The nuns shake their heads and hope Suzanne finds a good hiding place
today. It is a shame that such a sweet, bright little girl would have 
such a mother. The nuns shiver at such a future Suzanne would have if 
that crazy woman ever did reclaim her! 

"I know you are here,  Suzanne!", she screams. 

She turns over trash cans, looks in dark alleys, checks every kid in the
school yard, but still, does not find her.  Suzanne rushes to find a 
good hiding place.  She has heard rumors that this may be her mother 
but she was adopted years before.  A priest pulls her aside and puts a 
coat over her, leading her into the rectory kitchen. 

"Help me, Reverend John. That lady is mad! She wants to kidnap me!" 

"I will help you." 

The lady gets into her car. Searching street by street for her lost
child, her hands grip the steering wheel, determined to take back what 
was torn from her heart. Her little girl. She steps on the gas pedal. 
The car speeds ahead and she ignores several yellow lights, speeding 
straight to her future. Being a mother. 

Reverend John, tries to calm the child down. Her eyes dart around the
kitchen.  Reverend summons Mildred, the cook, to get out some cookies 
and milk. She sits down at the kitchen table and puts her arm around 
Suzanne. "You are safe here.  Have some of these cookies and tell me, 
what are you learning in school today?" 

Suzanne's head rises slowly from the table and she looks up in
disbelief. "School? The last thing I remember is Sister telling us the 
Parable about the Gold Coins. I think it is from the New Testament." 

"Tell me about it, Suzanne." 

Mildred patiently waits for Suzanne to respond..."I, I, don't
remember...I..." 

She bursts into tears... 

"Let me tell the parable. It is quite an appropriate one. You will find
it helpful in life to remember the lesson given in this parable of the 
gold coins, my dear.  Take a sip of milk and just listen." 

"Okay. But the lady? Will she find me?" 

"God will see us through this crisis.", Mildred whispers soothingly as
she pats Suzanne's hair. 

Reverend John walks into the kitchen at that moment and he watches the
two get along. 

"Now, Suzanne, she won't find you here. We won't let her.", Reverend
John says. 



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