To Dance with Destiny

A circle of stones contained the small fire in the center of the room. The slender pillar of smoke ascended straight up and out the narrow opening at the top of the teepee where the poles were tied together. The steady rain that had begun to fall could be heard as it hit the canvas and was amplified. All else inside was quiet.

Jonas and Jacob were asleep. They were peacefully unaware of any problem, as they lay curled up on their blankets. To them, it was only a little rain, nothing to lose sleep over. If anything, the rain only made their campout more of an adventure. They didn't know that rain and storms opened a nightmare world for Johnny. He had never told them.

He had never been able to share with them what he tried so desperately to forget. He prayed he could make it through the night. He had nervously watched the clouds gather and had desperately wanted to escape to the safety of his own four walls. However, he had found himself unable to disappoint his two best friends. Now he lay frozen in the darkness with fear. He struggled with all his might to control the panic.

Low rumbles of thunder in the distance caused him to start shaking. He clinched his teeth tight together and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, he saw a faint flash of lightning and another roll of thunder followed. The storm was coming closer and growing louder. He sat up, clasped his hands over his ears, and squeezed his eyes as tight as he could. His body began to shake even harder as he struggled to control the scream that threatened to escape his throat. Remember! He must remember Jonas and Jacob.

The thunder came again closer and louder. His hands could not block the sound. A quivering moan escaped his lips but the two sleeping boys were undisturbed. At that moment, a bolt of lightening struck so close that it sounded as though a bomb had exploded next to them. This time Johnny could not contain the scream, but it was lost in the echo of the blast, and neither boy heard it. Instead, they were shaken from their sleep by the force of the lightening strike and were on their feet in seconds.

"What was that!"

"It was really close! I wonder where it hit!"

"Johnny, where do you think it hit?"

There was no answer

"Johnny?"

For the first time, the two young boys looked in the direction of their friend. What they saw was a small shape huddled up against the canvas wall. They took a cautious step toward him.

"Johnny?"

The shape began to moan and sob as it rocked back and forth. His arms moved between hugging his legs and pressing his hands against his ears in an attempt to block out the noise.

"Johnny? What's wrong?" The two boys forgot about the storm and inched closer.

Johnny's voice came in low pleading whimpers. "Stop, please make them stop."

"It's just rain and thunder, Johnny. We can't make it stop."

"I don't want to see any more death. I can't stand to lose any more friends. Please, no more killing."

Now Jonas and Jacob were on either side of him. They tried to comfort him and assure him that no one was going to die. The war had been over for a long time, and the noise was only thunder not bombs. Johnny didn't seem to hear or understand. He just kept pleading for the bombs to stop. Suddenly, he grew quiet. His eyes were fixed in a glassy stare. The boys looked at each other bewildered by his sudden silence. They watched as the look on his face slowly began to change to one of terror. Without warning, Johnny jumped to his feet and screamed. He darted out the covered entrance and left the two brothers sitting alone and wondering what had happened.

They didn't wonder long. A faint glow of light and moving shadows on the teepee wall soon caught their attention.

"Jacob, Look!"

They both watched in disbelief, as the light grew brighter. It could mean only one thing. Quickly, they scrambled outside and looked in the direction of their home. It was on fire. The lightning bolt that they had heard had struck their house.

Johnny was running back and forth across the yard screaming at the sky to stop. He stopped and dropped to his knees, pressed his hands over his ears as hard as he could, and bent his head until it touched the rain soaked ground.

"Please, please stop!" He begged through his tears.

Jonas and Jacob only had a moment to observe Johnny before they turned their attention to the burning house.

"Mom! Where's Mom!"

"She must still be inside!" Even before Jacob had finished speaking, both boys had begun running and in only a few seconds were on the porch and through the door.