They both loved their walk to school. It was a great walk, with the river on one side and the road on the other. There were huge trees which lined the road, and the snow lay on each branch, making the street look like a fairy land. Tom glanced down at the river. It had some patches of thin ice on it, but it was such a powerful river that ice usually couldn’t form.
“Boy, that looks cold today, doesn’t it, Annie?” he said.“It looks like a great place to stay away from!” Annie said.
What happened next happened so quickly that neither child had any way of avoiding what Fate had planned. A huge truck was passing them on the road when it hit a patch of ice and started sliding towards the children. Tom, only thinking of Annie, jumped out of the way, grabbing his sister as he went. They were too close to the drop-off to the river, and Tom lost his balance, sliding down towards the water.
“TOM!” Annie screamed. She had kept her balance and was watching helplessly as he slid closer and closer to the water.“I can’t stop, Annie!” he yelled, and with a splash, he was in the water.
“NO!” she cried, running and sliding down the hill after him.
“Annie, stay back,” he cried.
“No,” she yelled. “Grab my backpack!”
“I can’t reach it, Annie,” Tom yelled “Go for help!”
“I can’t leave you!” Annie said determinedly. “Here, I’m closer now, grab my hand.” She leaned over the riverbank as far as she could, and her foot slipped beneath her. With a quick splash, she was in the freezing water, too.
“TOM!” she screamed, but she was caught in the current and started to move away from her brother.“ANNIE!” The terror in his voice was unmistakable, and a passing motorist, who had opened his window to get the condensation off of it, heard the scream. In a flash, the man was down the bank and had reached Tom. He pulled him from the river, but Annie’s head seemed very far away and was just partially visible in the distance.
“Quickly,” said the man, “get in my car, and wrap up in the blanket.” At that, he started to run along the riverbank, trying to keep Annie’s little head in his vision.“Oh, God,” he prayed, “help me to help that little girl.”
Annie wasn’t screaming anymore, she was quietly floating down the river, and her little angel was floating alongside her, holding her hand. Annie looked up, she was very cold, and she wanted to go home very badly.
“Annie.”Annie heard a voice, and she struggled weakly to see where the voice came from.
“I’m here, Annie. You aren’t alone, you never have been, and you never will be.”
Annie smiled, Who is that? She was starting to feel warmer and more comfortable, and she didn’t
know why, but she wasn’t afraid anymore. She could feel something warm in her hand, and she looked at it curiously. Why, there was a hand holding hers. Annie’s eyes followed the hand, up to the arm, into the face of a little girl about her own age. The girl’s face was smiling at her.
“Hi, Annie, I’ve been waiting to take you home…”“Home?” Annie questioned.
The little girl’s face became serious. “Not your regular home, Annie, but the home that always has been yours.”
Annie looked confused, and the little angel’s voice spoke again.
“Close your eyes, Annie, and float. The river will take you home, and you will be very happy, I promise… close your eyes and float.”
Annie closed her eyes and slipped away from the river, from her street, and from her family. She would never be far away, but she would be away.
Annie’s angel bent over Annie and gently carried the little girl away from the river, from her street, and from her family. But the angel knew she would be back, because she still had to take care of this family.
The Good Samaritan, who had helped Tom and followed Annie, had come to a stop. Annie’s lifeless body had floated to the water’s edge, and he reached into the water to get his hands under her to pull her out of the water. He placed her gently on the snow-covered shore and started CPR, knowing that this would probably be unsuccessful. It had been too long, and she was so cold, but sometimes being that cold helped, so he kept it up, hoping someone would come along and help him.
Tom had gotten some help by flagging down a passing motorist who had called for help. Soon Annie’s body was surrounded by ambulance personnel, policemen, and firemen all trying to bring her back to life, but it wasn’t to be. They took Annie to the hospital, where they also tried to bring her back, but that wasn’t part of Annie’s future.
Meanwhile, the policemen had gone to Annie’s house and told her parents what had happened. They rushed to the hospital where they found Tom, cold and shaken, and their dear Annie. What happened over the next few hours was very sad. Somehow, parents should never have to lose a child, and a brother should never lose a younger sister. Their grief was immeasurable, and their hearts were broken.
