The End

She sat there. Just sat. Numb, that’s all she felt, numb. "Why?" she wondered. How did they expect her to understand at the young age of thirteen? Her thoughts wondered back to yesterday. Yesterday, it’s hard to believe it was so much different than today; her first real kiss. She and Tommy fishing at the creek, she was so in love. Now this, she wondered why, over and over, why?

She could hear them in the other room. Panic, fear, anger, she couldn't help but hear it overflowing into her room. "That stupid president!" she heard her father say. "Didn’t he think about this happening?" "I thought our government was suppose to have something in place to stop nuclear attacks!" His anger was stronger than she had ever heard. "What was the reason for this war? I'll tell you! It was to keep this kind of thing from happening, now look!" "He has destroyed us, all of us! You can sure bet he is in a safe place. Pawns, that’s all we are, pawns in his overpowering plan! Now what are we suppose to do?"

She could hear the tv. Newscasters were talking, warning people, sirens were going off in the background. But, no one was saying what could be done to stop this.

"Pray," she heard her mother say in the quiet voice she always used, "We need to pray. God is the only one who can help us now. We won’t get anywhere criticizing, its already been done, just pray with me. Please."

The sounds drifted off and slowly, as if in a dream, she got up and walked to the window. Outside it was raining. But, she didn’t see any rain; she was gone. Gone in a fog of memories. She thought about her life, playing in the yard outside, the first time she rode her bike, the feeling she had of pride that swept through her when she finally learned to ride. She thought of her first bike wreck and the fear she felt when she saw the blood from the scrapes on her knee. She remembered the strong hands of her father picking her up and carrying her in the house while she cried on his chest. He made her feel so much better. His words, love and strength had always been there for her. But now, he couldn’t do anything.

She looked over at the garden. She and her mom had planted it. She enjoyed her time in the garden with her mom. She had the wisest mom in the world. They would talk about anything and everything in that garden. Once, her mom had told her that gardens were good for more than just growing plants; they were good for growing girls as well.

Her mind drifted back to the time she asked her mom about love. She had loved Tommy for so long, he never seemed to return the love, or even like her. She just knew she must have been the most ugly girl in school. But, when she talked to her mom, she felt so much better. "Your not ugly," her mother had said, "You're more beautiful than any flower on this earth."

Then, her mom explained that sometimes girls have to make the first move. She should ask him to go riding, fishing or even to get a coke with her. "But, always remember," she said, be yourself and don't try to be something your not."

It had taken every bit of courage the young girl had to walk up and ask Tommy if he wanted to go fishing.