“I’m too little,” she said. “I can’t lift no bananas.” Shirley picked her up and set her on a tree branch that was between the truck and the wagon.
“Who cares about that?” Shirley said in a very serious tone. “You got the most important job of all.”
“What’s that?” Tina said, perking up a bit.
“Why, inventory, of course.” Shirley smiled.
“What’s that?” Tina questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“That means you’re in charge of counting all the bananas. When we move them from the truck to the wagon. Can you do that for me, Tina?”
“You bet!” she said, smiling brightly now.
“Alright then, let’s get started!”
Shirley put Melvin on Franky’s back. She began at the back of the truck’s cab, pushing the banana bunches forward. Franky would grab a brunch and toss them on his back. Melvin grabbed them from there and walked them onto the truck. Q, when they weren’t looking, was organizing them neatly.
“...5, 6 , 7, 9, 14, 12 ,3, 2...” little tiny Tina said proudly, doing her part.
“Very good!” Shirley told Tina with a big smile. “Very, very good!”
~9~
Down the road now; Shirley saw the two friendly and kind Maple trees. “Pull over, please Franky.”
“Sure Shirley, right away.”
“Melvin, I’d like you to meet Mami and Papi.”
“Hello Melvin,” Papi said. “That’s one cool looking shell you got there.”
“Well thank you, very much.” Melvin smiled brightly. “No one has ever given me a compliment like that before.”
“Well maybe that’s because we can see things a lot better from up here. Yep, nice and sturdy it looks.”
“Melvin, these two protected us from the rain and lightning on our way back,” Shirley said.
“Yeah, I thought you must of stopped here.”
“What made you think that?” Shirley inquired.
“Because I saw the two white glowing clouds stop here, too.”
“What clouds?”
“Those clouds,” Melvin said, pointing straight up.
A loud, thunderous but friendly voice came from the larger white cloud that glowed in its center. “Uh-oh Sonny, looks like we’ve been discovered.” The smaller cloud glowed and moved from side to side.
“Who are you?” Shirley asked.
“That’s Iam,” Tina said.
The large cloud let out another friendly thunderous laugh. “That’s right, little one, that’s right.”
“Iam?” Q questioned.
“Well actually, young rooster, it’s ‘I AM.’ Two words.”
“Did you hear that?! Did you hear that everybody? He called me a rooster! He called me a rooster, and not a chicken!”
“Hey! He did, didn’t he?” Shirley said with genuine surprise. “How did you know that, Mr. I AM?”
“I know all things, my child,” HE answered.
“And who’s this with you?” Shirley asked.
“That’s Sonny” said I AM.
“Sonny?”
“Yes HE’s my only SON.”
“Well, HE looks and moves just like YOU!” Shirley proclaimed.
“That HE does, young Shirley, that he does.” Then the powerfully glowing cloud turned his attention to the hippo.
“And how are you, Franky?” I AM asked, moving over him.
“I’m good, your Excellency. Very good.”
“Are you still hanging out with the goldfish on the south side of the pond, and enjoying the falling apples that I provide you with; to the west of the sunken canoe?”
“Why yes, yes I am. I mean you are, I am.”
More laughter from the clouds. “It’s OK Franky, be of good cheer.”
Tina danced now; bouncing back and forth between Q’s feet. “IAM, IAM!” she yelled happily.
“Yes, my precious one?” The clouds waited patiently for her shy response.
“I counted all those bananas!” she finally said.
“I know, I know.” I AM said. “And you didn’t miss a one.”
The smaller cloud began to move away.
“Where’s Sonny going?” Shirley asked.
“Well, Sonny is always trying to help creation. HE goes where HE is needed, and says where HE is loved. HE will return. But, I am with you now. No pun intended.”
They all laughed now!
~10~
As the group of friends approached the barn, ‘I AM’ rose high into the sky.
“Be careful, my children,” HE said.
A mighty wind had picked up, causing the very old windmill that sat next to the barn to shimmy and sway. Franky pulled the wagon into the barn. The barn itself was swaying in the gusty winds. “I think I AM was warning us!” said Franky. “We better head on back over to Mami and Papi before things get too rough.”
Shirley removed the rope from around him and put Tina into his ear. She put Melvin and Q onto Franky’s back and they headed out of the barn. When they were twenty feet away Shirley stopped.
“Wait, wait!” she said. “We haven’t had a chance yet to enjoy one single banana. I’ll go back and grab a bunch.”
“No,” Melvin said. “We can enjoy them later. Let’s get back to Mami and Papi, and the safety of their shelter.”
“I’ll just be a minute!” Shirley insisted as she dashed back into the barn. When she was inside, the base of the windmill gave way and broke off its foundation, sending it tumbling down straight towards the barn’s rooftop. Surely it would smash it to bits!
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Sonny appeared. He placed Himself above the rooftop, and turned Himself into a solid rock. Floating there in mid air. A protective shield. The windmill came crashing down, breaking against Sonny, with its pieces falling everywhere. Sonny held firm, as Shirley screamed in terror.
“I AM! I AM! Please help me I AM!” The larger white cloud appeared again, and strengthened Sonny even more. Q, Tina, Melvin and Franky looked up to the clouds and thanked them as they saw their power and strength saving Shirley - who continued screaming. “I AM! I AM! Sonny, Sonny!” she yelled.
Then a part of Sonny broke away and entered the barn. “I am here, Shirley. Do not worry. I AM here with you, now and always.”
~11~
The doors to the emergency room burst open. A Doctor in his scrubs approached the paramedic.
“What do we got?” he asked.
“An 8 year old female, Doc.” The paramedic answered. “She was trapped in a truck underwater in a pond, in Maple Tree Park.”
“How long did she stay under?” the Doctor asked.
“At least a half hour, Doc. Maybe more. I barely got a pulse, and her vitals are almost non-existent.”
Christina and Quinn sat with their mom in the waiting room. All in tears. What an awful thing to witness. Young Quinn, who was all of 12 years old, looked like death itself. He was soaking wet, and shaking uncontrollably. A nurse came by and took him into another room to be checked out.
Shirley’s Dad came running into the room, completely out of breath. “What happened? What’s happening?” he asked his wife as she fell crying in his arms and then to the floor.
Another nurse came by and helped the two of them to their feet. “We better get you checked out, too!” she said.
“No! NO NO NO, I’m not going anywhere!” the child Shirley’s mom yelled frantically.
“How about you then?” she said to Christina, winking at her parents.
“I’m OK,” Christina said as bravely as she could, being only three and a half years old.
“My name is Cindy,” the nurse then said to Christina, “And, I need your help. Down the hall I have six baby bunny rabbits, and two brand new hamsters, that need to be fed. I can’t do it all by myself. There’s too many of them. You think you can help?”
Christina looked up at her parents. Her Mama used every bit of strength that she could muster to create a smile.
“It’s alr
ight honey. You love rabbits. You go with Cindy and give her a hand. Will you do that for mommy?”
Christina wiped her eyes and said, “Yes Mama, I can help her.”
“That’s a good girl,” her Papa said. “That’s a good girl, honey.” As little Christina rounded the corner with nurse Cindy, her Mama collapsed again into Papa’s arms. “My baby!” she cried. “My baby!”
“What the heck happened?” Leon - Shirley’s father - asked his sobbing wife.
“We were having a beautiful day together, Leon, just beautiful. You know, Shirley and Quinn were quarreling and teasing each other as usual. Christina and I went to get some ice cream. While we were gone, Quinn grabbed Shirley’s banana doll, and was running around with it. He wouldn’t give it back to her. He finally threw it into a truck that was parked on the big long hill, by the Maple trees. Shirley opened the door of the truck and dove in to get it, and she must have hit the emergency brake and the gear shift by accident, and there she went. Racing down that hill and right into the pond. I should have never parked on that hill!”
“There there now, Deborah my darling,” said Leon to his wife of 25 years. “It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault. They’re just kids. Everything’s gonna be alright.”
“She loves that darn banana doll so much. She was fighting with Quinn about those darn Tarzan cartoons that he loves so much. She called him a big baby and then he ran off with her doll. How could this happen? How could this happen?”
~12~
Mama, Papa, and Quinn - with new dry clothes - sat now in the waiting room. Deborah, the mother, was still sobbing.
“Leon Lavorski?” the doctor who had been working on his daughter finally called out, emerging from the E.R.
“Yes that’s me. This is my wife, Deborah. How is my girl?”
“Well Sir, It’s nothing short of a miracle. I’ve never seen anything like it. A miracle I tell you. Her lungs and stomach, intestine and just about every other organ in her body filled up with that pond water. She’s stable now but, was in a comatose state for some time.”
“Can we see her?”
“Of course, right this way.”
“I’m gonna wait here.” Quinn said quietly.
“Alright son, but don’t leave this area.”
Upon entering Shirley’s room, her Mama burst into tears again. They walked up to the side of the bed, and Deborah knelt down and kissed her daughter’s cheeks, while Leon held her hand.
Shirley was mumbling quietly, “Um..um, I, um, IAM IAM, IAM.”
“Baby...baby, mommy’s here, mommy’s here, and Daddy’s here too. You’re gonna be OK, baby, you’re gonna be OK!”
***
Back out in the waiting room, the retired paramedic officer, who had happened to be in the park when the incident occurred, now entered the room and approached Quinn. He was an extremely large man; nearly 500 pounds, with a large neck and shoulders.
“Hey kid. You remember me?”
“Yes Sir, of course.” Quinn said, half angrily.
“What’s my name, then?”
“Franky! You told me your name was Franky!”
“That’s right! And, look what I got for you,” he said, pulling the cleaned and dried banana doll from behind his back.
“Does this belong to someone you know?”
“That’s Nana!! My kid sister Shirley’s favorite thing in the whole world! She’s had it since she was two years old!”
“Well? Don’t you think she’d like to have it?”
“Yes,” Quinn said, with tears in his eyes. ”Where did you get it?”
“Well kid, after I got your sister out of that truck, I heard the story of what happened. And, I could see how bad you were feeling so, I went back to that pond with some divers. And guess what, we found it. Here now, you go and give it to her.”
Quinn stood up and gave the biggest hug he’d ever given in his life to Franky, and accepted the doll.
“Will you come with me?”
“Sure kid, sure.”
“Me too,” said little Christina, as she rounded the corner with nurse Cindy.
“Alright then,” Franky said. ”Let’s all go.”
When they arrived in the room, Shirley was just opening her eyes, and coughing a bit. “Mama? Papa? What happened?”
“Don’t worry about that now. You just rest.”
“Yes Shirley, you need your rest,” said the Doctor. “You can call me Melvin, OK? Dr. Melvin. We’ve been through a lot together, little lady.”
“Hey! You remember me?” The retired paramedic asked, moving his large frame in and around to the other side of the bed.
“No...” said Shirley. “Who are you?”
“My name is Franky. Franky Roswell. My friends call me, ‘The Hippo’!”
Shirley began to smile. “Yes, yes I remember you!”
“Shirley, Shirley, Shirley?” little Christina said, ever so cutely. She ran up to the bed. Leon picked her up so she could give her sister a kiss.
“Tina? Of course I know you, little sis. Where’s my ice cream? Did you eat it all?”
“No,” Tina said shyly, looking down at her feet and shaking her cute little head.
“Put her here, Papa!” Shirley said. “Put her here in the bed right next to me.” Leon looked at Dr. Melvin.
“If it’s alright with you, it’s alright with me,” he said.
Tina gladly climbed into the bed next to her big sister with her Papa’s help. She held onto Shirley’s arm.
“Where’s Quinn?” Shirley asked. “Where is my brother, Q?”
“I’m here, Shirley,” he said, walking out from behind Franky. As he touched her hand, he broke into tears, crying; “I’m sorry! I’m sorry Shirley! I’m so sorry!”
“Me too,” Shirley said, laughing and grabbing his arm, pulling him in close. She wrapped a few fingers on his throat and said; “Sorry I got to watch those dumb Tarzan cartoons with you. But I love you anyways!”
Franky reached down to a chair, where Q had set the banana doll. He pressed it up against Q’s back and nodded.
“I got something for you, sis,” Q said.
“What?” she said. “A cold?”
“No,” he said, managing a grateful smile. “Something even better.” He produced the doll from behind his back and showed it to her.
“Nana! Nana! Nana!” Shirley yelled loudly. She sat up in the bed and took the doll from his hand. She kissed her Nana, and then pulled her brother Q close to her, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. They were both crying now.
“What in the world?” Leon spoke softly. Franky looked at him and shook his head, as if to say Ssh, with his finger up to his lips.
“Great God in Heaven!” Shirley’s mama Deborah cried out, as just then, thunder boomed and lightning flashed outside the window. Two enormous white clouds stood out luminously in the sky, totally dominating the smaller gray clouds.
“It’s Sonny. It’s Sonny and I AM, Mama!” Shirley said, overjoyed. They all looked out of the window at the two unusual looking clouds, finding it strange that they weren’t gray like the others. “See them glowing, Mama? See them glowing, Papa?”
Leon backed away and pulled Doctor Melvin aside. “What’s going on here Doc? Is she gonna be OK?”
“Sure, sure,” Dr. Melvin assured him. “It’s just a little Post Traumatic Stress. Some side effects should be expected.”
Then, tiny Tina looked out of the window and shouted; “IAM IAM! I see you, IAM!”
“Do you see Sonny too, Tina? Do you see Sonny?” Shirley repeated.
Q walked up to the bedside and grabbed his sister’s hands. “I see him, Shirley. He’s right there, outside the window, just as plain as day.”
“I see him, too.” said big Franky.
“You know what?” Deborah said, walking up to the bedside and brushing back her daughter’s hair. “I see him too now, baby.”
“They’re both there, Mama!” Shirley smiled. “They’re both the
re!”
“Sure enough,” Leon said. “There they are, right there! Just look at them! That’s some glow there.”
“Heya,” Melvin chimed in. “I’m kinda slow but, I see them now. Right there for sure.”
Shirley closed her eyes and smiled. She held her Nana close. A voice came to her;
“I am here. I AM here, Shirley! I AM with you, now and always!”
______________
Other Stories By Jw Landmon
Suddenly Solomon-The Last Musician
'An End-Times Tale like you've never known!'
“When the lights go out, Mickey and her brother Virge at first think it's just one of those things. But then, the Angel comes...and the Earthquakes begin...and the world as we know it will never be the same again. Join the adventure, as this small group of survivors discover that they are THE Remnant of Believers, and the last hope for those who have put off their Salvation maybe just a bit too long.”
Eddie Fontane; The Big Winner!
A Story about discovering real value.
“Lottery winner Eddie Fontane believes he now has all he's ever dreamed of or wanted. But by the grace of God, and the love of his Godly woman, he'll soon discover that true treasure can't be won...or taken away...because it's found in the Heart.”
Inside Irrelevancy-And Other Prose
{Print Only – visit BLOG}
Praise, Ponderings, and Powerful Prose!
Ducksing I.E.
“In this day and age, many of us long to see proof, to have our faith strengthened with a miracle that can't be denied, like in the days of Jesus and Moses. But would You recognize an Angel if you met one? What if he appeared to be no more than an awkward, homeless bum?”
Kate's Diner
It's just a little diner, in a little town in the South. Good food, and decent company. But not even Kate knew the secrets that are about to come out, about one man who helped too much, and another man that hates him for helping.
Find these and more
About The Author
Jeffrey Wesley Landmon -also known to the many in his online circles as ''Jw Hammond'' - was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An early interest in music led him to begin playing the violin in the second grade. He went on to write his first school play in the sixth grade, and has remained passionate about music and writing throughout the course of his life.
At age 20, he moved from Wisconsin, and spent the next two decades in New York City. There, he discovered David Wilkerson’s ministry, and became deeply aware of Jesus Christ. Now, as a member of 'The Remnant' and a host of the Holy Spirit, he is as passionate about sharing his love of the Lord, and the Good News of Salvation, with all. Although widely praised for his imaginative creativity, Mr. Landmon has maintained his practice of sharing his varied talents and gifts, in both his music and writings, openly and free of charge. You can find more of these works by following the Links included below. As he brings more of his works to publication, it is his hope that he is able to leave a legacy that can be remembered as an honor to the Lord Jesus, one that will be shared by others as a continuing encouragement to those who are still seeking for truth.