Picture of an Angel
Golden sunlight danced in the treetops, and children’s laughter filled the park. The smell of popcorn played on the breeze, and life seemed good. It was one of the happiest Saturday mornings I had spent with my little daughter, Gigi.
That is, until two strangers threw her into their car and sped away. It seemed like a bad dream. I could barely whisper when the police questioned me. For hours we waited, but there was no word on the whereabouts of the car. Tears would start to come. Then nothing. I was numb with fear.
"Go home, Ma’am," the sergeant said. "I’ll have an officer drive you. We’ll also want to monitor your telephone. The kidnappers might call, and we’ll want to get a trace. Trust me, these guys can’t get far." After what had just happened, it was hard for me to trust anything.
My friend Gloria came over that afternoon. "I heard about Gigi on the radio," she said. "Everyone is looking for the car. The interstates are all blocked." She took my hand.
"Look here," Gloria said. "I want you have this picture, and I want you to pray with me."
It was a picture of a little girl sound asleep in her bed. Standing by the bed was a tall, blond angel. His hand was touching the girl’s shoulder as he smiled down at her.
My nerves were frazzled. "You know I don’t believe in that kind of thing!" I snapped. "I’m too exhausted for any hocus-pocus right now, Gloria! I want my daughter home!" I started to shake, and then I began sobbing.
Gloria placed the photo on our mantle and knelt down beside me. "Just pray with me," she said, holding my hand.
I had no strength left, so we prayed and waited what seemed an eternity. Together, we waited by the phone until sundown. The phone never rang.
Suddenly, the front door swung open. I looked up and screamed.
There stood Gigi. "Gigi! Thank God!" I cried, throwing my arms around her. "Where did those men take you? How did you get home? Did the police find you?"
"No Mommy!" said Gigi. "I was real scared because those men said they were taking me far away. We were going real fast on an old rock road I’d never seen before. But then a tall man walked out in front of the car, and they ran off the road and hit a tree.
Then the tall man ran up and opened the car door and pulled me out. He was real nice, and said I would be okay now, and that those men couldn’t hurt me. I must have gone to sleep, because then I woke up here in front of our house. He must have brought me home."
"But who … how did he know … where to bring you?" My voice broke and trailed to a whisper.
"I don’t know, Mommy," Gigi said. "But he was real friendly, and I wasn’t scared of him at all."
Just then Gigi noticed Gloria’s picture on the mantle. "That’s him!" She squealed, pointing at the picture. "Mommy, the tall blond man dressed like an angel. That’s the man that pulled me out of the car!"
I felt chill-bumps across my neck and arms. Gloria turned pale. "Are you sure that’s the man?" Gloria asked.
"Yeah, that’s him okay. Except he didn’t have wings, and he was wearing blue jeans and a tee shirt. But that’s him exactly. I’d remember him anywhere!"
Later that night, the police found the injured kidnappers in their wrecked car fifty miles from our home. When questioned, the driver remembered swerving to avoid hitting a tall blond man. The backseat door that Gigi sat by had been completely torn off its hinges.
Twenty years have gone by. We have never heard from anyone claiming to have rescued Gigi. There have been no logical explanations for Gigi’s miraculous escape and return home from a wreck so far away.
There have always been things that people can’t explain. But, from that day forward, I’ve never doubted that many of those things are divine miracles. I believe that all experiences, positive and negative, are given to us for our strengthening and learning.
Gigi now takes her little girl to the park on Saturdays. They enjoy the sunlight as it dances in the treetops, the smell of popcorn, and the laughter of children. She keeps Gloria’s picture on her mantle, and she re- members her angelic friend. And, like my daughter, I have a faith that has carried me through many trials since that day many years ago.
金色的阳光在树梢上舞蹈，公园中充满了孩子们的欢笑，微风中飘荡着爆米花的味道。生活看起来是如此的美好。这是我和我的小女儿Gigi所度过的一个最幸福的周六上午。
然而，当两个陌生人把她抓进汽车里飞快地离开了后，一切便结束了。那就像个噩梦一样。当警察问我的时候，我几乎说不出一句话了。我等了几个小时，但就没有车开向哪里的消息。我欲哭无泪，心中充满了恐慌。
“回家吧，女士，” 警官说。“我会派一位警官开车送你的。我们想监控你的电话，绑架者可能会打电话的，我们想掌握一些线索。相信我，那些家伙不可能跑远的。” 经历过刚才的事情，我已经很难相信任何东西了。
那天下午，我的朋友Gloria过来了。“我在广播上听到Gigi的消息的，”她说。“每个人都在寻找那辆车，所有的州公路也都封锁了。” 她握着我的手。
“看这，”Gloria说。“我想你有这张照片，我想要你和我一起祈祷。”
这是一张小女孩的照片，她正在床上熟睡。站在床旁边的是一位身材高挑的，头发金黄的天使。天使微笑着望着小女孩，手放在她的肩膀上。
我的神经一下崩溃了。“你知道我是不相信那种事的!”我声音严厉地说。“我现在没有任何幻想了，Gloria!我想要我的女儿回家!”我开始颤抖，接着是抽噎。
Gloria把照片放在了我的披风上，跪在我的旁边。“和我一起祈祷，”她握着我手说。
我没有力气挣脱，只好与她一起祈祷，但是，等待确实那么漫长。我们在一起在电话机旁等到太阳落山，可电话也没有响。
突然，前门开了，我抬头一望尖叫了起来。
是Gigi站在那儿，“Gigi!感谢上帝!”我跑去拥抱着她喊道。“那些男人把你带到哪里去了?你是怎么回家的?是警察找到你的吗?”
“不是，妈妈!” Gigi说。“那些人说要把我带到很远的地方，我真的很害怕。我们在一条旧的岩石路上开得非常快，但是之后，有个高个男人在车的前面走出来，那些人就赶快逃开撞到一棵树上了。
后来，那个高个子的男人跑上来，打开车门把我从车里拉出来。他人非常好，并且说我现在没事了，那些人不会再伤害我了。我想我当时一定是睡着了，因为后来我在我们房子前面醒来了。他一定是把我带到家了。
“但是……他怎么知道……把你带到哪里去呢?” 我的嗓子哑了，只能小声地说。
“我不知道，妈妈，”Gigi说。“但是他确实非常友善，我都根本不怕他。”
正在这时，Gigi注意到了披风上Gloria的照片，“就是他!”她指着那张照片尖叫道。“妈妈，那个高个子的金头男人穿的衣服就和这位天使一样，就是他把我从车里拉出来的!”
我感到在我的脖子和手臂上有寒气袭来。Gloria脸色苍白地说：“你确定是那个人?”
“是的，就是他。只不过他没有翅膀，他穿的是蓝色的牛仔裤和体恤。但绝对就是他，无论如何我都会记住他的!”
那天晚上，警察在离我们家约50英里远的地方发现他们的汽车残骸和受伤的绑匪。在审讯的时候，开车的绑匪说当时转向是为了想避开一个高个子的金发男人。Gigi坐在后座上，后座的车门已经完全被撕了下来。
20年已经过去了，从来没有人宣布曾经救过Gigi。没有任何逻辑能够解释Gigi神奇逃脱并从离家那么远的残骸回家的原因了。
世上总有一些人们无法解释的事情，但是，自从那天之后，我便深信那些事是神旨的功劳。我相信所有的经历，乐观的也好，悲观的也好，这些都给了我们力量和教导。
Gigi现在每个周六都会带她的小女儿去公园玩，享受生活的欢乐。阳光在树梢上舞蹈，爆米花的香味，孩子们的笑声。她把Gloria的照片放在披风上，她怀念她的天使朋友。像我的女儿一样，从那之后，这种信念也一直帮我克服诸多困难。
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