Moments with God

Running out of Time Ring, Ring. The sound of the phone startled Carla. She glanced over at the clock. It read 3:30 a.m. “Who could this be calling me at this hour?” she thought. She contemplated whether she should answer or not. Something inside told her she should. She reached over to pick up the phone. “Carla.” It was the sound of her mother’s voice. By the sound in her voice she could tell that something was wrong. “Mom, how are you? What’s wrong?” Carla replied. “Carla, I can’t talk long. I called to tell you that you are running out of time. You need to get on the next plane and get here as soon as possible.” Her mother replied. “Mom, what are you talking about? What’s going on?” Carla needed more information and right away. “Carla I have to go, I’ll see you shortly.” Before Carla could get another response her mother was gone. The only thing talking to her was the dial tone. She hung up and tried to call her mother right back but the line was busy. She then remembered how many times she told her mother to get call waiting. Especially for times like these when she didn’t have a clue what her mother meant. “You’re running out of time!” Those words her mother said continued to replay in her mind. “What am I running out of time with?” she thought aloud. It just didn’t add up to her. She sat up in the bed and attempted to drag her weary body to the living room to turn on her computer. Her career as a nurse had begun to take a toll on her. She had just finished working twelve hours straight and was looking forward to sleeping in all day today. “You’re running out of time.” Her mother’s voice popped up in her head again. At that moment she realized that she needed to move faster. She signed on to the computer with hopes of finding a reasonable price on some airfare. She only had to go a few states over from Virginia to Atlanta. Luckily there seemed to be an airfare deal on Continental Airlines and she booked her flight. She looked at her clock. It was 3 a.m. “Okay,” she thought to herself, “I have exactly 3 hours to get to the airport for this 8 a.m. flight.” She picked up the phone to call her friend Linda and let her know that she was leaving town and she needed to keep an eye on the dog, Fluffy. “So your mom wouldn’t give you any details?” Linda asked. She sounded so tired. Linda was the only person Carla felt she could depend on. “No. She just said come home because you’re running out of time. I tried to call her back but you know she has no call waiting at all. So I found a flight leaving at 8 a.m. I don’t know how long I will be gone. Just keep an eye on Fluffy and I’ll call you when I get there.” There was this awkward silence on the line. “Okay,” Linda replied. “Carla, can I ask you a question?” Linda sounded hesitant and Carla wondered what question she would be asking at 3 a.m.. “Yes, Linda. You can ask me a question. And it better be important because I have to pack.” “When is the last time you spoke to your sister?” Linda asked. “Bye Linda,” Carla replied sharply. “I have to go. I will give you a call when I get there. Thank you for your help.” Carla hung up and started packing. At precisely 8 a.m. her plane took off and she put her seat back with hopes of making up on some of the sleep she missed. She closed her eyes but she couldn’t seem to fall asleep. She pulled out the book she had brought along with her to read. She read about five lines but didn’t have a clue what it said. Her mind was somewhere else. She began to think about the question Linda asked her. Why would Linda ask her when was the last time she spoke with her sister? She hadn’t thought about her sister in so long. It had been seven years since they had last spoken or seen each other. Her mind went back to the days when they were young girls playing in the fields in Grandma’s backyard. They were so innocent then. They meant the world to each other. It seemed like nothing in this world could come between them. Until the betrayal… “Why am I even thinking about this?” Carla said out aloud to herself. She immediately tried to change the subject in her mind. She didn’t want to think about any of this. She was going home to see about her mother. This had nothing to do with her sister. And she was mad at Linda for bringing the subject up at such a chaotic time. Somehow she fell asleep and before she knew it the stewardess was tapping her shoulder to tell her to bring her reclining chair up to prepare for landing. Linda pulled out her mirror to look at herself. The bags under her eyes were so big. She pulled out her Visine and attempted to help her tired eyes. It didn’t seem to help. She knew the only cure was sleep. After she gathered her luggage she went out to the front of the airport to catch a taxi to her mother’s house, which was only a few minutes away. Thankfully, there was a taxi nearby and she jumped in. A few minutes later she pulled up to her mother’s house. From the outside she could smell the breakfast cooking. Her mother was known for the delicious smells that came from her kitchen. But Carla was so nervous that she couldn’t eat if someone forced her to.