Mindy walked slowly up the
driveway toward the loud music. She was not at all sure why coming to this party
was so important. Yet everyone who was anyone was going to be there. Besides she
had decided to do her Literature paper about teen parties. She wanted so very
much to pass Literature Class this time. She really hated repeating a boring
class. She had tried to tell herself she was just curious, but in truth, she
knew better. She was seventeen and wanted to be noticed. She so wanted to be
part of the popular crowd. Now that she was here, Mindy began to question
herself about coming.
Suddenly it was too late to change her mind. She
walked through the doorway and came to a dead stop. The room in front of her
looked like a scene from a bad movie. Some kids were trying to dance while
others were yelling and jumping up and down for no apparent reason. There were
beer bottles all over the place.
A couple of girls she had seen at school pointed at
her and laughed. This was a big mistake and she knew it.
Mindy stood in the doorway and wondered if she should
back out and run. She looked at her reflection in the full length mirror that
lined the entrance way. She was tall, and slim. Her brown hair framed her
flushed face and her brown eyes were large with excitement or was it fear?
Mindy bit her bottom lip as she always did when
nervous. She did see several people she knew. One guy, James, was not one she
thought would be at a party like this. He was a real nice guy. Everyone liked
him. She caught his eye and he smiled at her. Boy, she needed that.
Two guys who were known for being wild walked up to
her.
John said, “Hey, Mindy you lost? Maybe you need some
help finding your way around. Well, lucky you, I am here to help you out.”
When the other guy, Jack, put his arm around her
shoulder. Mindy quickly stepped away from him. Both John and Jack laughed. She
just wished the floor would open up and swallow her.
John stopped laughing and looked at her with a crooked
smile. “Hey Mindy, come on. We’ll get you a drink. Want a beer or a mixed drink?
Mindy took a deep breath to steady herself. She had
never drunk before. She could not let them know how scared she was. “I will take
something with coke please.” She did not even recognize her own voice; it was so
squeaky and weak.
As John walked away he turned and winked at her. Jack
was bored with her by now and moved on out of sight.
Once again she scanned the room and spotted James. She
wanted so badly to walk over to him. As she started to walk John reappeared with
a coke can in each hand and a bottle under his arm.
John handed her a coke and took a long drink out of
the other one. He poured some of the bottle into his coke.
Mindy took a big drink of her coke and it tasted very
bitter but she was so thirsty. The can of coke was cool against her warm hands.
She took another drink, trying to control her thirst.
John started to talk to her and she did try to listen
but could not make any sense of what he was saying.
She noticed that James was walking their way and she
felt relief. But, John also noticed and put his hand on her back to lead her to
the door.
Mindy stopped. “John, I need to find the restroom
please show me the way to go.”
He pointed to a door across the room and started to
walk with her. She assured him she could do this by herself. She went into the
restroom and washed her face with cold water. She felt so hot. Mindy leaned back
on the wall and it was so cool she just wanted to stay there. The door opened
and other girls were coming in and she needed to move out of the way.
Her hand began to shake badly. Was this what she
thought was going to be so cool? How wrong she had been about everything.
John was nowhere in sight and she took a deep breath
of relief. She had to go outside to cool off for it was so hot in the house.
As she walked to the front door she saw James and
smiled at him. She staggered down the steps and almost fell. At the bottom she
turned toward the back of the house and took another drink of her coke for she
was still so thirsty. Not sure how far she had walked she saw a small building
and slide to the ground. She was sweating and her heart seemed to be racing out
of her chest.
Darkness overwhelmed her pulling her down. Quiet-it
was so quiet; not one sound. She could feel a presence and it terrified her.
What was going on? Had she died?
She was sick and so afraid. So sorry for the decision
she had made. Her body shook and her teeth chattered. She felt battered and
bruised. She had her eyes closed so tight. She wanted to move and tried with all
her might. She could not move. And if she did, would she fall?
She forced her eyes open to look around. All she saw
was blackness, total darkness. There were no sounds. Was she alone? Mindy felt
lost and completely alone. Her body ached with pain. She tried to take a drink
of coke but dropped the can and it rolled away. She felt something crawling all
over her. She tried to slap it off but it was still there.
“Dear Lord, please help me”; she whispered. “I so need
you. Where am I? What am I suppose to do?”
She felt herself being lifted up. She buried her face
into the warmth that held her. There was peace, one she had never felt before.
Her worn torn body went completely limp as once again she fell into darkness.
Unaware of anything, Mindy opened her eyes to a bright
light. The round light in the emergency room was warm and so wonderful. She laid
back and rested some more.
Mindy woke to see her Mom and Dad standing, one on
each side of her. They both reached for her as tears flowed freely from their
eyes. Mindy smiled. She was so glad to see them.
But she had to ask the age-old question: “What
happened?”
Her Mom was crying so hard she could not speak. Her
Dad was the one who told her the story of how someone had laced her drink with
LSD and she almost died. He wanted explanations of why she had been there at
all!
Mindy receded into the blackness again as she tried to
think of a way to explain to her Daddy.
Mindy knew why she was still here. Jesus had reached
down and picked her up out of the darkness. And He would be with her through all
the stuff she would have to live through: explanations to her parents about the
why and her failing grades, going to court, lawyers, judges, and tears.
Mindy remember her Sunday’s Bible lesson: Jesus HAD
been with her and she HAD been very close to her last day! She was not likely to
forget Matthew 29:20 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.”
Mindy was quietly praising her Lord for His care and
guidance and after three days she was allowed to go home.
She wrote her essay on Teen Parties and pulled no
punches. She told all. While doing her paper on her lap top she got into web
pages that described what LSD could do. It was terrifying. She had no regulation
of her ordeal. She was thankful for that. Mindy learned that one could have
flashbacks from LSD without warning. They could happen up to a year after taking
the drug. In some individuals, the flashbacks can persist and cause significant
distress or impairment in social or occupational functioning. She prayed about
this and gave it to the Lord for there was nothing she could do about it. The
thought of it made her sick.
James walked into the living room; Mindy smiled at him
and he smiled back. He was the one who had picked her up and called 911. He
saved her life. Mom and Dad thought a lot of this young man. Dad had told her
how James had found her laying on the ground by the tool shed. He picked her up
and carried her to the front of the house. He had grabbed her coke can along the
way for he believed that John may have put something into her drink. That is how
they found out it was LSD.
James walked over to her and handed her a paper. “The
Literature teacher asked me to give this to you.”
Mindy opened up that paper and saw the grade in red
ink. A. She had gotten her A and it really didn’t seem so important now.
Sharon Niese @ 2011
SNIESE3@roadrunner.com
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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