David’s alarm clock went off at 4:30 A.M. He peeked into his mom’s empty room. “Figures!” He mumbled to himself. He quickly packed his breakfast and lunch. “Let’s see, what books should I take - Chemistry, Algebra, Physics, Engineering - engineering, that’s what I will take. David hopped on his bike and took off to Madison Lake. Halfway there, a thought occurred to him - his swimsuit was still at home! David turned around and headed back home. After putting his swimsuit on, he headed back towards Madison Lake. Soon, he started noticing something wet was landing on his forehead. He felt his forehead with his hand and then held his hand to his bike light. “Yuck! Bird turd!” David looked up towards the sky. A big raindrop landed in his eye. He wiped his eye with his other hand and turned around once more, heading for home. It started raining harder and harder. He held his dirty hand out to clean it in the rain. He wiped his forehead to clean it too. Soon, he was home and could do a proper job of it. Plopping down on the couch, he opened his engineering book and started reading. Soon, he was fast asleep as the engineering book plopped to the floor.

************

Mary woke up with a start. It was 5 A.M. Something wasn’t right. She found herself racing towards her closet and getting dressed in several layers of clothes very quickly. She plopped into her wheelchair, raced into the bathroom and doused herself with water. She grabbed several towels and soaked these then plopped them into a plastic bag. She had no idea why she was doing this, all she knew was that she felt an urgency and a compelling force making her do this. She raced out the door with her bags of wet towels, and raced down the street, not knowing where she was going. Before she knew how she got there, she found herself outside of a burning house. It was as if she was jaunted there by some unforeseen force. She raced up the sidewalk and quickly and lightly touched the knob to see if it was too hot. Using her sleeve, she opened the door. Leaving her wheelchair behind, she tied the rope around her waist, grabbed a wet towel and held the rest of the rope in her hand. She used her hands that were in 3 layers of wet gloves to propel herself into the burning and smoking house. Not knowing where anything was, her hands led her to the left and to the stairs. She was always fast at going up stairs, however, she found herself breaking records and physical impossibilities as she bounded up the stairs 3 at a time. She thought her head would get in the way or something. Her hands led her down the hallway and into the first bedroom where she ran into the crib. She climbed up the side of the crib to tip it over. She grabbed the now crying baby, wrapped the baby in the wet towel and bounded down the stairs and outside. Quickly, she turned around and bounded back up the stairs as the sirens came closer. She bounded down the hallway and back into the same room. Her arms automatically leapt for the bed to the left of the doorway. She grabbed the younger child who weighed as if she was 6 years old and quickly wrapped her in another wet towel. Once more she bounded down the stairs outside and then back up. The fire engines came to a stop outside. The firemen ran to get their hoses and suit up. Mary bounded down the hallway and to another room. She ran as fast as she could to find the bed. She bumped her head on its foot. Quickly, she went around the bed and climbed up on it. She shook the occupants awake. The father yelled “Who are you?” into the loud roar of the fire. He stopped short, realizing that this was his salvation and grabbed his wife. Mary threw towels over him and gave him one for his wife. She then tied a rope around his waist and tugged. He understood to follow. He kept falling and tripping. She stopped and grabbed his wife out of his arms and tied his wife to her back with the extra rope she had. Slowly, she inched down the hallway. His wife was very heavy and definitely over 160 pounds. Suddenly, she heard a crash behind her. Her adrenaline propelled her forward at an amazing rate of speed. Soon, she felt herself being lifted up as a fireman picked her and the wife up. Another fireman had grabbed the father. Together, they bounded down the stairs and out of the house. One fireman started CPR on the father who had passed out. The wife came to briefly and started crying wildly making unintelligent sounds. Mary came to realize that she was deaf. Seeing her eyes, she realized that this person was also blind, not just seeing-impaired, but profoundly blind. The fireman asked her how many others were inside. Mary did not know, but had an idea. She quickly signed into the mother’s hand and asked how many people were in the house. The mother signed back into Mary’s hand 3 kids and 1 husband. Mary asked how old the older child was. Mother said 8.
Turning towards the fireman she exclaimed, “An 8 year old is still in there.”
Another fireman came out and said that it was hopeless. The house is in bad shape and impossible to penetrate. Mary leaped to her hands and bounded past the firemen and into the house. She knew exactly where the child was and she was going to find that child, alive! The firemen tried to stop her, put was too late. Mary bounded up the stairs and down the hallway. She bounded over the fallen ceiling and into another room. Shoving material from the house aside, she found the bed. More of the house fell to the ground. She felt the floor below her move. Quickly, she grabbed the limp body, took a blanket and tied the body to her back. Without a wet towel, she took off the skirt that was closest to her body and put this around the 8 year old and then bounded out the door. She didn’t care how tired she was. She mustered all the energy she could and leapt over obstacles that had fallen from the ceiling, and the roof. As soon as she got outside with the victim, the house collapsed. Someone put a breathing apparatus to her mouth as someone else untied the 8 year old victim. Mary awoke several hours later in a hospital bed, her parents at her side. She found out that the 8 year old and her father was still in critical condition.

Her mother spoke quietly but harshly to her, “You know you could have been killed? Why? No note… no nothing! I find your bed empty and no indication what so ever where you’ve been!”
“I couldn’t leave a note. I did not know what was going on until I got there!”
“And why were you trying to rescue people from a fire? You have cerebral palsy! You should have known that you can’t bring people out of a burning house. You need legs for that!”
“Do I? Tell that to my arms! Tell that to the victims who I dragged out of the house. Tell that to the fire chief who is coming into the room! Ask him what happened!”
“Now, now,” said her father, trying in vain to calm her. “I believe you, its okay. You need to rest.”
“Mind if I ask her a few questions?” the Fire Chief asked her parents.
“Yes, you heard him. She needs to sleep. “ Her mother said gruffly.
“Go right ahead, if Mary is up to it.” Her father answered. “My wife is just a little bit emotional right now. I am sure you understand.”
“I just rescued 3 people with out any help, all of them children! Why should 3 people die because no one could save them because the good Samaritan might die! Well, maybe 3 people might live? Maybe, the parents will now get to see their children marry and graduate and have children of there own! Maybe, one of those children are the one with the gene to figure out how to cure the diseases we have not found cures for yet? Just maybe, your selfishness is a bit too selfish!” Mary attempted to fold her arms across her chest but stopped, realizing that she still had an IV in her arm.
“I guess, I am wondering why you went in after the 8 year old when the firemen said that it was impossible?”
“I knew I could do it. You with all your heavy, fancy equipment and working legs could not get thru the tighter spaces. The weight of your men would have collapsed the second floor. I am smaller, lighter and know my way around because of some force that shows me the way. I knew I could do it because of my disability has already taught me how to. You are not trained to sit on the floor and try to move things. You are not trained to use only the arms to leap over fallen timber. Further more, you are trained to think one way. I have not had the adult fear placed in me yet. Therefore, I can access adrenaline that adults do not possess.”
“I am surprised at how strong you are! I am led to understand that after the timber from the roof fell, you were able to carry that 250 pound lady down the hallway like a feather! She is easily more than 3 times your weight!”
“You carried a 250 pound lady on your back?” cried her mother disbelieving. “You would have been squashed! You are frail with your cerebral palsy.”
“Quite contraire, only your mind is frail. My body is quite fine, thank you very much.” Mary said obstinately. She expected such ignorance from people outside of her family, but from her own mother, was not quite use to.
“How old are you?”
“ten.”
“But how can you carry so much weight?”
“ I lift weights.”

The Fire Chief asked some more questions asking for details about the house, and what she saw, felt, and so on. He was trying to piece together what started the fire. A special dog, trained to sniff out clues in fires would soon be searching the house. A knock came at the door. It was a nurse wheeling the father and another nurse wheeling in the 8 year old child. Mary leapt up from her pillow.

“You are doing better! Oh, thank you for coming! Thank you, thank you!”
“I thank you for saving my family, “ the father said in a raspy, slow voice. He still had problems speaking because of the smoke damage to his lungs and throat. His lower body was wrapped in bandages to cover the damage caused by the burning timber that had fell near his legs. “I did not believe it when they told me a young child had lead me out of my house and had carried my wife. I have asthma and passed out in the house. I was told that you got me to the stairs.”
“When I took your wife out of your hands, did you pass out then?”
“I had! The firemen told me that you had carried my wife and dragged me behind you to the stairwell.”

************

Mary knew that it became slow going when she took on the weight of the wife, but she had not realized that she was pulling him as well. No wonder it was difficult! She knew she could lift 200 pounds. She had done that for years, but she estimated that she had pulled a combine weight of over 500 pounds! The 8 year old signaled the nurse to bring her closer to Mary. She then reached up to try to hug Mary. This was made difficult as she had burns all down her body and was heavily wrapped in bandages. Mary hugged back, being very gentle so as not to hurt the frail 8 year old. The Mother was brought in with the other 2 children, the infant and the 6 year old. Mary was allowed to hold the baby in her arms. Carefully, Mary reached down to kiss the baby on the forehead.

The mother looked up at Mary and said in a quiet voice, “Thank you! I will now get to see my children graduate, marry and hopefully have children of their own. I am very grateful for your selflessness.” She then turned to Mary’s parents. “Thank you for raising such a selfless child. I know it must be hard on you, to think what your child had done, knowing that she could have been killed. I know…but thank you. You don’t know how grateful I am. I almost lost my 8 year old a few years back to a selfish ex-father. He wanted to take her back to a country that he had petitioned to become a citizen of. My 8 year old was 4 at the time and had ran into the court room and shouted that she would run away if her father won. She also shouted that she would get a lawyer to divorce her from her father. It was a long, drawn out battle with many appeals. We finally won when we allowed her to get her own lawyer and sue her father for divorce. I was afraid that all those lawyer bills and court fees would be for nothing. Again, I thank you!”

Mary finally was allowed to rest some more after promising that she and her family would keep in touch.
******
David stretched his arms and yawned. He picked up his engineering book off the floor and placed it on the coffee table. David changed his mind and grabbed the textbook and took it with him. He had decided to eat out. He tip-toed to her bedroom and peaked inside. “Good, she isn’t home! I don’t want to be here when she gets home either.”

The rain had stopped and a rainbow shown brightly in the sky. A Jewish deli at the corner was busy with activity. People rushed in and out buying special food for Shabbot. Shabbot is Sabbath in Hebrew. It is a special day of worship and rest. The Christian Sabbath is on Sunday. Jews, however, celebrate on Friday, at sundown until sundown on Saturday. David was told he was Jewish but didn’t celebrate anything remotely Jewish. His parents did not believe in a God. He wasn’t sure. He didn’t know anything about God to even form an opinion. David walked in and bought some challah bread. Challah is a semi-sweet braided bread. Its very good with cheese. David biked over to the town park and stopped at the pond. He grabbed his challah bread and walked over to the ducks. He tore off some bread and tossed it to the ducks. The ducks fought for a piece of the heavenly bread and then squacked for more. David tore off pieces of the bread as quickly as he could. The ducks ate the bread up faster than he could tear it. The sun shown brightly in the sky, warming up everything in its path. Birds flew around the pond, looking for a morsel of food. The squirrels played tag in the trees, jumping from one branch to the next. He was oblivious to the trama that was taking part in another part of the city; oblivious to the fire rescue, the rush to the hospital, the near death experiences of the family.
“I wonder what school would be like this year? Maybe I can get my plan into motion before school starts? No, I should wait until Spring after Winter. Duh! Of course spring is after winter.” He laughed at himself while he wrapped his arms around his legs. The wind blew lightly through his dark brown hair. A butterfly flew from flower to flower.
“I feel like I am in another world - a world of peace and comfort - a world that like cottony clouds just floating along. No wars. No problems. No pain. I am free, like the birds, flying where ever they may. No care in the world. Tranquility - ducks floating gracefully around the pond.” David breathed in deeply and slowly let the air out. He was happy and content. No real cares in the world.
“My plan will go smoothly. I mustn’t rush it. No, soon I, too, will be free, truly free. I will not rush it. I will enjoy each and every day. Yes, even school, even though its pathetically lacks challenge. I will not rush and make a foolish error or have a foolish over site. And mother, oh yes, she was a big part of my plan. Maybe she’ll change and realize where her heart should be. It doesn’t matter. I’ll be free. She, too, can be free but only if she wants to be set free. And my dad? Well, he’ll be surprised, hurt and worried. But, in the end, he’ll be alright. He’ll support me and my plan without me even asking him or telling him about it.”
David went to his bike and headed around the pond. He turned off the path and towards Le Carousel. He looked down at his jeans and t-shirt and decided he’d better go home and change. Le Carousel is just too fancy of a place.

************

The Doctor gave Mary a clean bill of health and sent her home with her parents. She protested, wanting to be moved instead into the room with the 8 year old so she could encourage her. Soon afterwards, Mary found herself with her parents in Le Carousel Restaurante`.
“How many?” asked the host.
“3 please for non-smoking. Well, of course.” the father said more to himself. “the whole place is smoke free.”
“Right this way,” said the host as he grabbed three menus.
Mary loved Le Carousel. The room was round and slowly rotated a full 360 degrees. Every third window had an ornately and beautifully decorated carousel horse placed in front of it. Each window was framed ornate, intricately carved gold gilded frames. The entrance to the restaurant was through the center of the circle via 4 elevators. The middle circle area that housed the elevators, kitchen, host stand and restrooms, did not rotate. The carpet throughout the restaurant was peacock blue with gold rings intertwined with Victorian flowers tossed through out the design. The tables were formally laid out with damask linen with intricately designed lace, and a glass top over that. A gold runner with a flower pattern engraved on it and tassles on both ends, was neatly placed down the middle of the table. Each table had its own private view of a waterfall with vines, roses, white peace plants and other flowers delicately and intricately placed throughout. The vines had some kind of purple flower laced through it. The elevators were even lavishly decorated with gold gilded frames and “star of davids” through out in gold, over a solid mirror on all sides of the inside of the elevator. The table was made of the most expensive mahogany with a smaller buffet separating her table from the other tables. Mary looked in awe around her. She loved the décor, the richness. Someday, she will have a home like this. She looked down at her plate and at the 3 forks neatly placed to the left with 3 knives and a spoon with the oyster fork nestled in it placed to the right of the plate. She didn’t bother opening her menu. She knew what she wanted - Salmon Fettucine Alfredo with freshly steamed red bell peppers and broccoli.

************

David quickly put on his Ralph Lauren shirt and his power suit. This consisted of a blazer, vest and pants in a dark blue/gray color. David arrived at the restaurant and quickly readjusted his tie and recombed his hair, looking into the mirror conviently placed at the entrance foyer before the elevators to go up to the restaurant. “I feel excited - as if I am meeting someone very special. Silly, I know. I am too young. But, their food is so good, and their hot fudge sundae…? It is definitely the hot fudge sundae that is making me so giddy. I haven’t had one of those in weeks!
“How many please?”
“One, please,” David answered in a very distinguished British accent one might hear a prince use instead of a 10 year old American boy.
“May I start you off with a drink?”
“Yes, Jupiter’s Extra-strength Cherry Ale please, with extra cherries, please. “
“Very good.”
David looked down at his menu but didn’t open it. He knew what he wanted. He overheard the order at the table in front of him.
Mary’s father voice bellowed out authoritatively, “We will start of with the oysters and she, “ he added pointing to Mary, “will have the stuffed mushrooms. I shall continue with the clam chowder, salmon, steak, and finish off with the Caesar Salad. My wife will have the same.”
“And please do bring the dessert tray around a little later,” Mary’s mother added.
“And you, young lady?”v “I will have my usual, Cream of Stilton Cheese soup, continue with the Korma Risota stuffed red bell peppers. For my entrées, I shall have Salmon Fettucine Alfredo with extra red bell peppers, Salmon ala` Strawberry Glaze` and yes, with the traditional baked potato, sunflower seed spinach salad with the traditional Raspberry dressing, and for dessert I would like the hot fudge sundae with triple-decker Russian dark chocolate fudge cake.
“The traditional drinks with each course,” the waiter asked her parents.
“Yes.”
“And I shall have Jupiter’s Extra-strength Cherry Gingle Ale with each course with extra cherries, if you will.”
“Of course. Very good.”
Mary would have wondered how he could remember all of that, but she had nearly perfect auditory memory and found it easy.

David wondered to himself, “Who is she? She has excellent taste. Well, I guess it wasn’t the hot fudge after all. I wish I could see her face - blasted buffet! Oh well, she has a lovely voice!”