第19章鸽子的奇迹AbigalsDove(2)
“ItoldthepastorthatIdidaoetothebooniesforme。”“Nonsense。”Igriioningsnaddrinksbyhisbed。Behhisgruffexterior,Billwassweetasdy。Hisheartmedihadtobetakeneveryday,andlivingoianysurvivingfamilymembers,heneededasmuchhelpaspossible。“Well,lookwhatyourstubbhtyou。”hesaid,pointingtothesnow-coveredroadoutsidethewindow。Hisfingersclaspedmyhand。“Stayhere,Karen。Iwantyousafe。”Ikissedthetopofhisheadbutdecidedtobravetheroads。Itwouldbeworselater,Ireasoned。“I’llbeokay。”Itoldhim,rememberier’swordsbeforeIleft。ThoughtsofAbigailmadememoredetermihome。Imissedheralready。IgotintomyVolkswagenandgraduallytriedmakingitdoweephill。Rememberingoldinstrusabintheshepasedgear。Thewindiingwavesofblindingwhite。
AsIsquihroughthewindshield,holdih,Isdjerkedthewheel,narrowlymissioodfrozes。TheVolkswagenhittheemba,plummetedoffthesideoftheroad,ahebottomofaravinebelow。Whentherollingmotionfinallystopped,IopenedmyeyesaIhadbeenunsetime。Nighthadarrived—andwithittheforecastedacofsnow。Panig,Itriedopeitwouldtheresistingsnow。Slidihepassenger’sdoor,Irealizedthatthedoorhadbeebyatree。Iturarttheehebattery>
Myhdostocrawloutvaheataeg,Icurleduponthebadwaitedforhelp。Thefrigidairenvelopedme。Shivering,Ichastisedmyselffforacelikethis。Mytoesandfingerswerealreadyyseemedtopass,andasIlistehewindandsnowhittingagainstthecar,Iprayedformyfamily,whowouldbesickwithworrybynow。AbigailwouldprobablybedrawingpiewhenIarrivedhome。Sinceshe’dbeeoholda,she’ddrawhtenthedaysofherlovedoocalmmygrowimysafety,Iyeyesaedohoughts。
Driftingintosleep,IsawAbigail。Abigailinthewarmsunlight,laughiabeautifulwhitedovetome。Thedove’sgraceful,sereheloveshininginmydaughter’seyesfilledmewithpeaightgrewdasIfloatedinandoutofess,IfixedmymindontheimageofAbigailaogether,theykeptmepanythroughoutthenight。Hourslater,asthefirstraysofdaybreakappeared,Iheardtappingonmywioseeanemergeeam,mystifflipstriedtosmileastheyhoistedmeodintoanambulaal,IwastreatedformildfrostbiteandaheadwtoldI’dhavetostayhtforobservation。Anxioustoseemyfamily,Iproppedmyselfuponthebedpilloatiently。Bef,thedooropenedandmymotherburstintotheroom。
“orriedaboutyou!”shecried,rushiohugme。“Ikrouble!Motherssehesekindsofthiernalinstinctssurfacedassheappraisedthefoodtraynearby。“Yourteaiscold!I’llberightbagtheopportunitytohavemealltailtothebedandburiedherfaeck。Iscoopedhercloser。“I’vemissedyousomuch。”ImurmuredsasilkystrandofhairfromherfadwhathaveyoubeendoingwhileI’vebeenaway?”“ot!”sheexclaimed,jumpingoutrabalargetubeofstrupapernearby。“Idrewthisforyoulastnightwheknowwhereyouwere。
IthoughtyoumighthavebeensdIwaofeelbetter。”Asifitwereatreasuremap,Iuandoohedaheimages。“Well,that’sourcar。”Isaid,pointingtotheredsquare。“Andthat’sme。”Ilaughed,tougmyfioastiwithlonghair。“ButwhatamIholding?”Abigail’seyesbrightenedasshepushedherfihesmallobjethepaper。“That’sGod’sspirit。”shesaidexcitedly。“IdrewitasadovelikeIsawinSundayschool。”Shepressedhersoftlipsagainstmydadded,“Ididn’twantyoutobealone,Mama,andsoIgaveyouthebestfriendIkof。”“,”Iexclaimed,regthewhitedovethathadgiveiofnights。“Yourdovewaswithme。”Takingherhaheheavenlybohersanddaughters。“Andwhatareyoutwolookingat?”mymotheried,plagasteamingcupofteaoaedtomoveaway,butIgrabbedherhandandbroughtitbetweenAbigail’sawasaremarkablefeeling,thisiieiatthelovethatflowsbetweenus。”Iwhispered,kissiopofmydaughter’sheadasImetmymother’suaurnioAbigail’spicture,Istudiedthebeautifulbirdthathad,onsuchadismalnight,ydaughter’sheartwithmier,thatextraordiinhterrelationshipbeasthe“miracle”。ThemiracleofAbigail’sdove。