by Emma Easter
Lord, why did you bring her my way if you weren’t going to keep her in my life?
He put his hand on his head and groaned. If only he’d found a way to get the solution she needed across her path before she’d suddenly left the school. He stood again, feeling restless, and went out of his office. He stepped out of the chapel and began to walk toward the school gate. Students milled around the hallway and the grassy path leading to the front gate.
He reached the gate, leaned on it and took a deep breath. Lord, where is she?
He groaned and then started to turn.
Look to your left.
He blinked. That was the Lord’s voice. He faced the gate fully again and turned his head to his left. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The salon across the road.
There was a shabby building across from where he was standing with the words ”Royal Palace Salon” emblazoned on the top of it in gaudy gold letters. He’d seen it many times before, but it had never registered much in his mind, and he’d certainly never entered the building. He crossed the road, curious as to why the Lord was sending him there. He didn’t often hear the Lord’s voice audibly, but when he did, he hardly ever questioned it. He knew enough to simply obey. He’d had lots of strange and wonderful things happen when he did.
He reached the building and entered. There were rows of old padded red chairs facing a long mirror stretching from one end of the salon to the other. Two middle-aged women sat having their hair done by two female spiky-haired hairdressers. They all turned as he entered.
One of the hairdressers, who looked slightly orange, said, “Hi handsome, what can we do you for?”
He smiled, not knowing what to say, while he prayed fervently in his heart. Lord, why am I here. He didn’t hear anything, so he said the only thing that came to his mind, “Do you cut men’s hair here?”
His mind rebelled. Are you actually going to let one of these girls cut your hair?
He brushed away his concerns and waited.
The girl didn’t say anything. She craned her neck to the side and called out, “Dan, someone is here for a cut!”
A thin boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen came out. He didn’t speak to Bryan, only indicated for him to follow. Bryan followed him as he opened a door and stepped into another room. An old swivel chair, a single mirror and a wooden desk stacked with magazines were the only furniture in the room.
“You can sit here,” the boy said.
Bryan sat on the swivel chair and decided the Lord had brought him here to share the gospel with the boy.
The boy put a cape around him and went to get the clippers. He glanced at himself in the mirror, and then something caught his attention. A single magazine was lying beside the stack, and on the cover was a familiar-looking face. He couldn’t see it properly, but the face looked like someone he knew.
The boy came back to start cutting his hair, but he turned around. “Can you excuse me?” he asked and stood up. He went and picked up the magazine, and then took a sharp breath.
It couldn’t be.
The face on the front cover looked like Sienna’s, but it couldn’t be her. The girl in this picture was scantily clad in black lacy lingerie that left little to the imagination. His face grew hot.
He looked closely at the picture, ignoring the boy who was smirking at him. Unless Sienna had a twin sister, this was definitely her.
He checked the date and found it was published yesterday. Which meant it might be a new photograph. Lord, please let it be someone else and not Sienna.
But he already knew it was her, and it was a recent photo. This was why the Lord had brought him here. He flipped the magazine to the back, looking for some kind of contact number or address. He found not only an address for the magazine but a phone number also. He asked the teenage boy for a pen and paper, and when the boy brought him what he asked for, he wrote down the address and phone number. After that, he let the boy cut his hair and then strode out of the salon.
He knew now why the Lord had brought him here and what the Lord wanted him to do. He wanted him to bring his prodigal child home.
*****
Sienna pushed her front door open and flung aside her duffel bag. She’d just returned from the weekend getaway with Alessio, and she felt like throwing up.
She collapsed to the floor as her body began to tremble. Her chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it. She took a deep breath, but there was no relief.
The stench of the debauchery she’d seen and experienced at the getaway clung to her. Self-loathing wrapped a firm hand around her throat, strangling her. She writhed on the floor as she felt a dark presence clasp her wrist. She cried out as she felt herself being literarily dragged into the flames of hell. Her chest felt like it was about to explode. Dread, unlike anything she’d ever known, overwhelmed her. It was as if the fiery wrath of God was being poured down on her.
She cried out again, but there was no relief. Instead, scenes from the weekend getaway played through her mind, taunting her. She had shut off her conscience and descended into moral degradation, convincing herself that her career was at stake. But her conscience couldn’t be shut off for too long. The sight of a man at the airport holding a Bible and some gospel tracts had begun her unraveling. Now, she felt like she was going to die.
She took deep breaths, but her chest still felt constricted. “Help,” she cried weakly. An overwhelming sadness settled on her, and she sobbed. “I can’t keep living like this.” She was tired of the constant dread, the panic, the hopelessness; all of it. She got up and staggered to the bathroom. “Please forgive me, God,” she said.
She opened the cabinet where she put all her medicine. She grabbed a bottle of pills without reading the label and emptied it into her palms. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed it all. With tears trailing down her cheeks, she said again, “Forgive me.”
Her vision began to blur and a horrible pain stabbed at her stomach. She grabbed hold of the sink as she began to sway and then collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain. She knew she was going to die and cried out one more time, “Please forgive me,” before everything went black.
*****
Bryan jumped into a yellow cab at JFK airport, his heart beating fast in his chest. For some reason, intense fear had gripped him immediately as he landed at the airport. He knew he had to get to Sienna as fast as possible.
“Lord, please protect her,” he prayed.
He had already given the cab driver a written address of the Paragon magazine. As the man wove through traffic on the way there, Bryan kept on praying, asking for protection for Sienna. He could sense it now more than ever that she was in trouble. In between prayers, he craned his neck out the window, wishing the taxi could move faster.
They came to a traffic jam, and for the first time in years, he felt like swearing. He held his head in his hand and whispered harshly, “Lord, please help us get out of this!”
He tapped his feet continuously while looking outside his window.
If only I could get out of this car and run to the magazine’s office. But he knew that would be unwise, so he kept praying.
Fifteen minutes later, the cars in front of them started to move, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
The driver soon stopped in front of a large building, and Bryan quickly paid his fare. He got out, entered the building, and rode the elevator to the thirteenth floor. He stepped out of the elevator and immediately rushed to the reception area where a young blond woman was standing. The words, ‘Paragon Magazine’ were engraved on a silver panel above her head. People hurried back and forth, oblivious to the terror in his heart.
“Please, I’m looking for a model named Sienna Gardner. She was on the cover page of your latest edition. She’s a friend of mine, and I think she’s in trouble.”
The receptionist stared at him like he was vagabond who had wandered off the streets into her sanctuary.
He pleaded, “Please, do you know where I can find
her?”
She shook her head. “Models don’t work here. You need to contact the agency she’s signed to if you don’t know where she lives.”
“Isn’t there a way you can find out what agency she works . . .”
“Signed to!”
“Yes, signed to. Please. I need to know that she’s fine.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I’m not allowed to disclose that info to just anyone.”
He wanted to scream at her. Hadn’t she heard what he just said? One of their models was probably in trouble, and she didn’t even care. He opened his mouth to plead with her again, but she held up her hand. “I have a call.”
He huffed away and exhaled. “Lord, please help me.” He glanced around, wondering who he could approach that would actually be able to help him. And then someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around.
A man in a tight blue suit said, “Young man, are you looking for Sienna?”
“Yes, do you know where she lives?”
The man looked at him as if trying to figure out what sort of relationship he could possibly have with Sienna. He finally asked, “Are you, family or friend?”
“Umm . . . I’m a friend from her Bible college.”
“Oh, yes, the religious school she ran away to months ago.” He said grimly, “I’m Zack, her agent. Sienna was taken to the hospital this morning. She was found by one of the maids at the apartment building she lives in. I think she tried to kill herself.”
Bryan’s heart stopped beating. Lord, no!
He felt guilty. If only he had been more proactive about helping her maybe she wouldn’t have tried to take her own life. He shut his eyes as his vision began to blur.
“Are you okay?” Zack placed his hand on his shoulder.
He nodded and shook the dizziness off. “Can you give me the address of the hospital she was taken to?”
“Sure, I plan on going to see her this evening, but I’m glad someone is here for her now. I’ve been hoping a family member or friend would show up, but I didn’t have anyone’s contact.” He took a pen and paper from the reception desk and quickly wrote down the hospital address. He looked relieved as he said, “Please take care of her.”
After thanking the man, Bryan again took the lift to the bottom floor and raced out of the building. He quickly found a taxi to take him to the hospital.
He raced into the large Benedict Memorial Hospital with his heart in his mouth. Walking up to the reception desk, he said to the nurse standing there, “I’m looking for a patient named Sienna . . . Sienna Gardner.” He quickly added.
The nurse asked, “What’s your name?”
He told her.
She gave him a visitor’s form.
He filled the form quickly while her fingers flew over her computer’s keyboard. Taking deep breaths to try to calm down, he prayed silently, Lord, please let her be okay.
She looked up at him. “She’s in room four-oh-four.”
He sighed in relief. At least she was still alive.
He took the stairs and found the room quickly. Before he entered, he whispered a quick prayer again. He opened the door and saw her lying in the bed. Her eyes were closed, and her blond hair was splayed out on the pillow. He walked up to the bed, and as he looked down at her, his heart flooded with regret. She looked so pale.
If only I had found a way to help you sooner.
He resisted the urge to run his fingers through her hair. Instead, he gently laid his hand on her forehead. He blinked, totally caught off guard when she opened her eyes.
Her eyes grew big as she stared at him. She looked astonished. “Bryan,” she said weakly and then tried to sit up.
He touched her shoulder. “Don’t. Try to rest.”
“How come you are here?” she asked hoarsely.
He smiled down at her. “The Lord told me how to find you.”
She moaned, and then turned her face away.
He kept his hand on her forehead and whispered a prayer for her. The doctor came in just as he ended the prayer.
“Hello,” the bearded doctor said. “Are you her husband or boyfriend?”
His pulse raced, and he said, “Umm . . . no . . . I’m only a friend.”
The man said to her, “I can discharge you this evening if you have someone to take you home. You need plenty of bed rest and lots of healthy food to regain your strength. Do you have anyone who can get you home?”
She shook her head, but Bryan spoke up. “I’ll get her home.”
“And does she have anyone to take care of her when she gets home?”
Bryan looked at Sienna. She bit her lips and shook her head.
“Then I’ll take care of her,” Bryan said to the doctor.
The doctor looked at him. “First of all, she needs to be watched constantly, so she doesn’t try to hurt herself again. For now, I’ll suggest she doesn’t get up much for a few days. Because of the number of pills she swallowed and how much we had to pump out, she’s a little weak now. She’ll need someone to get her food, maybe help her bathe and change into clean clothes. Can you do that?”
Bryan’s eyes widened with panic. “I’ll have to bathe her?” he asked in apprehension. He didn’t mind caring for her at all. That was why he was here. But he wasn’t sure how he was going to handle seeing her undressed while bathing and changing her. Lord, please help me!
Sienna shook her head. “No,” she said weakly. “My sister Audrey, she’ll come and care for me. Bryan, please call her. Also call my other sister, Trish, and tell her I’m at the hospital, but that I’m fine now.”
The doctor smiled. “When you have that sorted out, we can discharge her.” He left after he gave a few other instructions.
Sienna turned to Bryan. “Can you call them now?”
He nodded. “I’ll call them right away.” He brought out his phone from his pocket.
“Call Audrey first,” she said. She sat up slightly and called out the numbers for him.
He dialed the numbers and waited as the phone rang. He could feel Sienna’s eyes on him, and he looked up at her. He smiled, but she didn’t smile back. She looked at him the way she did when she first saw him—with fear and anxiety.
Why is she scared of me again?
Troubled, he turned away. A confident-sounding female voice came on the line, “Hello, who is this?”
“Is this Audrey?”
“Yes, who is this?”
My name is Bryan. I’m a friend of your sister, Sienna.” He considered telling her that Sienna had tried to kill herself but changed his mind. It wasn’t his place. Instead, he said, “She overdosed on some pills and had to be rushed to the hospital.”
The woman cried out, but he immediately added, “She’s fine now. She just needs someone to take care of her.”
“Can I speak to her?” the woman asked.
He looked back at Sienna. She was lying on her back again, looking exhausted. “She wants to speak with you,” he said.
Sienna shook her head. “I’m not up to speaking on the phone right now.”
He told the woman Sienna was resting. After the woman told him she would be coming immediately, he ended the call and called her other sister. He told her basically the same thing, and she also promised she was coming down soon.
He walked back to the bed and tentatively touched Sienna’s hand. Her eyes were shut now. “I’ll go sign the discharge papers, and then I’ll come right back to take you home,” he said.
She nodded without opening her eyes.
As he went away to make the arrangements for her discharge, he lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving to God for saving her life.
Chapter Ten
Audrey’s heart pounded with fear as she looked at Ken.
“What is it, Audrey?” he asked and leaned forward on his desk.
“It’s my sister, Sienna. She overdosed on something and had to be rushed to the hospital.”
Ken gasped. “Oh no! I’m so sorry.” he replied, looking so conc
erned and worried.
Audrey removed her police hat and shut her eyes. The man who called hadn’t said anything about it, but she had a suspicion that the overdose had been intentional. That broke her heart.
If only I had trusted my intuition. She had known something was off about Sienna after she went back to New York, but she’d let Trisha convince her that their baby sister was fine.
Audrey stood up. She’d come into Ken’s office to tell him about her plans for their special date this evening. They had only five days left together, and they had planned to go on dates every one of those days, even though they were mostly working days.
He had planned yesterday’s date and had taken her to Blue Water, the only proper restaurant in town. Today’s date had been hers to plan. She’d wanted it to be special, an unforgettable experience for both of them before they said their goodbyes. Now it would not be possible. Worse—he might be gone by the time she came back from New York. She felt like crying, but that would do no good. She had no choice but to go to Sienna now.
She told Ken.
“Go . . . go. It’s what you have to do.”
She bent and kissed him. “I’ll try my best to come back before you leave.” She couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. Tears fell down her cheeks, tears for him and for Sienna. “If I’m not back by the time you leave, know that I love you dearly and I’ll miss you terribly.”
He stood and gathered her in his arms. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll talk on the phone and Skype as well. It’ll be fine. Our love will only grow stronger. You’ll see.” He kissed her and then pulled away.
She grabbed her knapsack from her office and hurried out of the station.
Trish was out when she got home, probably at the hospital for her prenatal appointment. She packed a few clothes, unsure of how long she would spend in New York. If she needed more, she would buy cheap new clothes. Sienna’s would be too small for her.
On the flight to New York, she looked out the window at the fluffy white clouds and prayed that God would protect Sienna. After praying, she thought about Trisha and wondered if she’d been informed. Worry had been her constant companion since she got the phone call about Sienna. It had not crossed her mind to call Trish and find out if she knew.