Visit Seventy-eight
Ranger Blevins tries unsuccessfully to console the weeping mother. Marisol wails, “Where can she be? Oh, God, don’t let anything happen to my little baby… Please God!”
Raul, her husband, pulls her into his arms and says quietly, “Please, Marisol, don’t do this. It does no good. Let’s try to figure out where Rachel has gone. The Rangers will help us find her. It will be okay.”
Ranger Blevins asks, “Do you remember when you first noticed that your daughter was missing?”
Raul looks at his watch and replies, “I believe it’s been about an hour when we couldn’t find her. We were busy cleaning some fish for supper and didn’t notice that she wasn’t around. We called for her and searched near the campsite and then contacted you when we couldn’t find her. What do we do now?”
“I’ve contacted the Sheriff’s department and they should be here soon. There is only one other Park Ranger on duty this afternoon, but we have requested some off-duty rangers to come in. We’ll have plenty of help in searching. Do you have any idea where she might have gone and why?”
Raul scratches his head and then replies, “I can’t think of any reason. We were planning on going home tomorrow and she was disappointed. I don’t have any idea where she would go.”
“She’s looking for the white dogs.” Marisol says in a quiet voice.
Raul turns toward his wife. He asks, “What did you say, honey? What about dogs?”
Marisol replies, “She mentioned them this morning. She told me she saw two white dogs down by the river and she petted them.” Marisol sees her husband’s facial expression and she continues, “Yes. I know. I told her it isn’t good to be around stray dogs or touch dogs that might be sick. She said they weren’t sick and she wanted to go play with them. I told her no… to stay close to the tent until we could go with her.”
Ranger Blevins asks, “When was that, Mrs. Rodriguez?”
“After lunch… a little after one o’clock.”
Ranger Blevins looks at his watch. It’s three now. She might have a couple of hours head start on us. It gets dark early around here… we might have until five before we run out of sunlight. What was she wearing?”
Marisol replies, “She had a long-sleeved shirt and long pants with her knitted gloves. She also has her blanket. She hardly goes anywhere without it.”
“Well, let’s head toward the river and check that out since that was where she saw the dogs.” Ranger Blevins didn’t want to alarm the parents, but it was supposed to get very cold tonight. He was also thinking the dogs might be wild or maybe even wolves since he hadn’t had any reports concerning them. He was more than a little concerned for Rachel’s safety.
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In the land beyond the ticking of the clock, where dreams are the only reality and hope has been fulfilled, you feel the gentle breeze of grace on your face and smell the rosy fragrance of faith. You immediately have the impression of joy and laughter cascades from your mouth like rushing water from thawed winter snow in early springtime. Your soul shoots into the air like a blazing rocket and then bursts into brilliant red, yellow and blue spears of flame. You float on white puffy clouds in the sky and then gently glide like a feather to the ground.
Then you notice the Guardian, Blasdon, running toward a young man named Michael as he plays a game of fetch with his white Shepherd dogs, Blaze and Cricket, nearby.
Blasdon says, “Michael, you can’t go to the world unescorted. It’s not allowed. You know the dangers and the Lord does not want you to go without a Guardian.”
“It’s okay, Blasdon. I was very careful and slipped past the demon guards unnoticed. I only stayed a few of their hours. Blaze and Cricket had a great time.”
“You were noticed. You were seen by one of God’s little ones. Did you speak to her?”
Michael looked away from the angel’s piercing stare and took a deep breath. He said in a low voice, “I might have talked a little to her… she loved the dogs. We didn’t talk too long… I told her we had to go.”
Well, the devil is using this violation of space and time to his advantage. He has caused the little one to disobey her mother and she is now looking for you and your white friends. The Lord wants this rectified now… You know he has plans for the little one and we have to make this right. Are you ready?”
Michael nods his head and in a blink of an eye he, Blasdon, and the Shepherds vanish.
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Rachel has been walking for hours and she is lost. It is dark and she is tired, cold, hungry and she is crying because she is very scared. “Mommy! Where are you?! Daddy!” She yells as loud as she can which is not very loud due to her crying.
Rachel thought she knew the way to the river, but for some reason, she turned left on the path instead of right and became lost in the thick growth of trees and briars. She wandered further and further away from the river. She walked up a steep incline to the top of a high hill which is not anywhere near the river where the search for her is about to end in that area. All she sees is the tops of tall oak trees. She can’t even see the river in any direction she looks.
Rachel finds a deep recess in the side of the hill and she lay down on the ground with her blanket wrapped around her. Soon Rachel stops yelling for help and cries herself asleep.
However, her cries for help have attracted attention. It is attention that is not desired and very dangerous. Two dark four- footed shapes are slowly climbing the same incline to where Rachel is softly whimpering in her sleep.
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There are about ten rangers and sheriff deputies that have scoured every inch of the river area looking for Rachel. Some of the searchers are speculating that she may have fallen in the river and drowned. Unknown to the distraught parents, the sheriff has made a call for divers to arrive in the morning.
Marisol is frantic and is crying. Raul tries to comfort her, “We’ll find her, baby. Don’t cry.”
“Where can she be?” Marisol wails. “She must have gone another way and became lost. She’s not here.”
Ranger Blevins has approached the couple. He says, “We agree, Mrs. Rodriguez. We are going toward that high hill over there. We’ve searched everywhere in this area. We’ll probably find her on the way.” He calls to the group, “Let’s go everyone.”
It takes about an hour for the group of searchers to travel the distance between the river and the hill. The darkness and the heavy underbrush is making travel very slow. Raul holds Marisol to his body for protection against the thorns and briars as they push ahead of the search group.
“We went to that hill yesterday… remember, baby?” Raul says. “I believe she’s up there… I feel it in my soul. We’ll find her there… don’t worry.”
Marisol prays as she stumbles along with Raul, “Please, God. Help us… help my little girl. Don’t let anything happen to her… Please, God.”
As they get closer to the top if the hill, Ranger Blevins calls from behind, “Wait for us… Don’t get to far ahead.”
Raul shines his flashlight around the area and the light finds the recess in the hillside. He sees two white dogs lying on the ground with a small shape between them. He makes out Rachel’s blanket and he yells, “Get away from her!”
He runs
toward the recess, waving his arms and yelling. The two dogs leap up and disappear over the top of the hill.
Raul with Marisol close behind arrive where Rachel is laying on the ground. Raul scoops her up in his arms. Rachel awakes and yells, “Mommy! Daddy! You found me!”
Ranger Blevins and the search group arrive. He says, “Oh, this is great news. I can tell you I was very afraid for your daughter. There has been reports of wolves in the park and she is very lucky.”
One of the searchers calls, “Ranger, come look at this!”
The ranger goes down the hill a short distance to where the group is gathered. He exclaims, “Wow! Those are two big wolves. What got hold of them. It must have been a bear… They are really torn up.”
Raul is holding Rachel in his arms as the family comes to where the group is standing. He says, “I saw the white dogs… they look like German Shepherds to me. I thought they were harming Rachel, but she says, they were lying close to her and keeping her warm.
Rachel says, “Yes… they were really warm. The nice man sat with us too. They are his dogs, you know. I felt real safe.”
“What man, honey?” Raul asks. “I didn’t see any man when I arrived.”
“He was there… I went to sleep and I don’t know where he went.”
“Did he say anything to you? I want to thank him. Did he tell you his name?” Marisol asks.
“He only said one thing to me that I remember. I think he said ‘the shepherd provides for his sheep’ or something like that.” Rachel thinks a moment and then blurts out, “Oh! Oh! He also said to tell you, Daddy, that the red socks did win the… world… the world serious. Then he laughed real big. What did he mean, Daddy?”
Raul replies, “I think he said ‘The Red Sox did win the World Series’. It’s a baseball thing, honey. The Red Sox is a baseball team that never won the World Series… until last year. It’s a game that if a team wins it, they are the best in the world.”
Marisol says, “He must know you, Raul.”
“I don’t know anyone with white German Shepherds,” Raul replies.
“Your dad raised them… and he was a Red Sox fan. You two were always arguing about who was the best team.”
Raul says, “Come on, Marisol. Dad died before Rachel was born. You don’t think he somehow came back for a visit. It’s just someone who knows about Dad and our baseball discussions. A lot of people overheard us at the coffee shop. It’s just a coincidence about the dogs. Come on, let’s get this little one back to the cabin and in bed. It’s very late. One think is certain… The Good Shepherd does take care of his own. We can thank God for Rachel’s safety.”
Marisol says, “Amen to that. God has blessed us for sure.”
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A short distance away, Blasdon says to Michael, “He doesn’t recognize it now, but one day when he is maybe reading his Bible or walking down a street, it will come to him. He will realize God touched him in more than one way today.”
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