Page 45 - 1959

3rd -
Grade 9,10, &11
THE DECISION
Anna walked slowly across the silent room in anguished thought. Her swollen eyes strayed
of the Antidisestablishmentarianists roared, "I'll have Diefenhower's head for this. " And with that, he leaped into his space ship and blasted off for Ottawa. At this point, the other Antidisestablishmentarianist decided to hitch- hike a ride with a passing satellite. He got a ride quite readily and climb- ing in, he roared off into the dark void, leaving a peaceful scene behind.
LAWRENCE DOYLE lOE
out the balcony window downward to the perilous ocean below.
The angry north-winds whipped around the stone mansion, howling terrorizing warnings while
it went. Gigantic waves lashed up against the sturdy rock foundations below; persistent rains beat upon the window panes.
As the sea, the treacherous sea, continued to roar, memories flooded back and the horrible fears of them mounted within her. Her thoughts were torn back to that terrible storm of two months ago, which had unmercifully claimed the life of her young husband when he had lost his balance on the slippery rocks and had been thrown to his doom into the bottomless sea.
An infant stirred in her arms; the present came back to her. She looked down at the pink bundle. Diane was a beautiful baby, so much like her dead father with bright blue eyes, dark skin, and soft brown curls similar to Dean's. Both Anna and Dean had prayed for a little girl. Together, they had made so many fine plans for the future. But since the tragedy, the baby had been neg- lected, receivin'tJ only the necessary care because of her mother's great sorrow and grief.
To-night, the temptation to leap into the angry waters below was increasing, was becoming almost an obsession. The eas seemed to be calling her, urging her to jump, while another part of her cril.ed out, "You have no right to take the responsibility of two innocent lives into your own hands and destroy them. Only the Lord can make and only the Lord has the right to take! Diane is part of Dean, bearing his name, his best features, and as long as she lives, she will be a con- stant reminder of him, your love, and your happiness, no matter how short your lives together were."
Their two-year marriage had been wonderful; and Diane's birth had rounded it out as a perfect one. Could she go on without Dean, loving him and constantly thinking of him as she had these past weeks? The urge to take her child into her arms and leap into the raging sea was overwhelming and she didn't have the power to resist it, She knew she could not bear life without Dean; his face appeared everywhere and her broken heart ached for him. Lifting her face towards Heaven, without a single word falling from her lips, she asked God's help in a silent prayer, asked him to guide her in making the right decision.
Diane nestled deeper, confident and trusting in her mother's arms, and Anna decided. She .had placed herself in the Master's guiding hand. He had given her the courage to resist temptation, the sea, and its hell; He had given her a child to care for, a smaller edition of Dean, to love and to
cherish in his place and in his memory. She cuddled her child closer to her breast and whispered confidently, "Don't worry, darling. Your daddy is in Heaven with God. And with His help, mommy is going to care for you just as daddy would want me to." And the child, almost as though she knew what was happening in mother's mind, closed her little eyes and fell into a sweet sleep.
Although Anna did not understand her desire to kill all memories, she did know that when tiny Diane was old enough to be lead into doing something wrong, she would have taught her by then that faith and understanding of God would stand firmly behind her, that she would be able to with- stand any power which might tend to direct her toward evil, and that she would turn to goodness and righteousness confidently, just as her mother had done to-night.
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