Mara Louis; Girl of Mystery

by Timothy Paterson

text asking for an update on the situation. Betsy quickly responded, saying that the work was progressing very slowly, because the size of the rocks and the fear that more of the mine tunnel will collapse.

  “I can’t believe that Mara’s dream finally came true,” said Tony. “I thought that it was just a recurrent nightmare.”

  “You mean that Mara has had premonitions about the cave-in?” asked Mrs. Giovanni.

  “Yes”-said Tony. “Mara has had the dream at least a few dozen times over the past four years. She only told Scott, Betsy and I. She didn’t tell her parents, because she didn’t want them to worry about her all the time, and watching her every minute of the day.”

  Tony just sat there as if in a trance. “She has to be okay,” said Tony. “She just has to be.”

  Mrs. Giovanni’s heart ached to see Tony like that. She tried to comfort him, but nothing she did seemed to help.

  Mara had moved several rocks from the tunnel, throwing them behind her as she worked her way towards the entrance of the mine. She had barely made a dent in the huge pile of rocks that was blocking her path. She had been trapped for over six hours by that time. She had no idea if the other children had gotten out of the mine in time and if they did, she did not know if they had called for help.

  Mara was trying to conserve battery power on her flashlight, and she only turned it on occasionally. She had tried to use her cell phone to call or text for help, but she could not get a signal. Mara began to worry about her parents. “They must be going out of their minds with worry,” she thought.

  An hour later, Mara was beginning to get a little scared. She wondered if she would die in that cave. Then, Mara began to pray; “God” she said, “I am putting my life into your hands. I have complete faith, that you have a plan for me. Can you please watch over my parents? They must be so worried about me by now. That is why I never told them about my recurrent dreams about this cave-in that I have had over the past four years. I hope they can forgive me for not telling them about it before. Please take care of them. They are the best parents in the entire world.”

  As Mrs. Louis, paced back and forth outside the entrance of the cave, she heard a beeping noise in her purse. She reached in and took out her cell phone. It showed that she had a text message. When she read the message, she realized that it was from Mara. When she tried to reply to it, she got a message that the message would not go through.

  Then, a thought came to Mrs. Louis; “Could it be possible that Mara’s thoughts were coming across her phone as text messages? And if so, could it work both ways?”

  “Mara” thought Mrs. Louis, “If my thoughts are coming across as texts on your phone, please respond by telling me what special name I had for you when you were little.”

  A few seconds later, Mrs. Louis received another text; “Yes Mom, I got your message. I do not know how it is happening, but I guess that we are texting telepathically. I am so glad you are here with me. Does anybody know where I am? By the way, when I was little, you called me your little pookie.”

  Both Mara and her mother felt a little better knowing that they could communicate now. Mrs. Louis told her daughter that there were over three hundred people working to get her out of the mine, including President Morgan and almost every governor in the nation.

  Scott and Betsy saw Mrs. Louis reading a text on her phone and they asked her whom it was from. She explained that she and Mara were able to mentally text messages onto their cell phones.

  “Tell Mara that we can’t wait to see her” said Scott. Mara’s next text was directed at Scott, “Maybe if I had kept those diamonds, I could buy my way out of this mine.” Scott replied; “Tell Mara that I understand what she meant, now: ‘If you having loving family and friends, you have more wealth than all the money in the world.’”

  Evening had turned into night and night had turned into early morning. Mara had not eaten in over twelve hours. She was hungry and thirsty. She kept sending and receiving mental texts with her mother, to help her stay awake, but by three a.m., she was getting sleepy and having trouble breathing. “I’m getting sleepy. It’s getting harder to breathe” she mentally texted to her mother.

  As Mrs. Louis read the text, Tony and his parents arrived. Scott and Betsy had been keeping Tony updated on the situation, and when Tony saw the texts, Scott explained that it was mental texting.

  Mrs. Louis was beginning to panic. By this time, she was thinking aloud; “Mara, please stay awake. You must stay awake.” Then, Tony tried; “Mara, it’s me; Tony. I am here. Concentrate on my thoughts. We will be seeing each other again very soon. Do not give up. There is something I must tell you, but I have to say it to you face to face. It is nothing bad. It’s good news.”

  The next text on Mrs. Louis’s phone came across immediately; “Tony, I’m so glad you’re here. I will try to stay awake. I want to see you too.”

  A few minutes later, another text came through; “I hear noises in the tunnel. I think that they are close. Please tell them to hurry.”

  Word was passed along the tunnel, from one worker to another, all the way down the tunnel, to the ones closest to Mara. The workers began to work faster, and finally, they broke through into the part of the tunnel where Mara was trapped. They found her lying on the ground, cell phone in hand. The last text that Mrs. Louis received told her that Mara had been found. It said; “Thank you God! I owe you one!”

  President Morgan was the person who broke through to Mara. He carefully picked up Mara and started to carry her out of the tunnel. As he picked her up, Mara grabbed her backpack and held it to her chest. When President Morgan walked out of the mine, carrying Mara, everyone began to cheer for them. President Morgan carefully laid Mara onto an ambulance stretcher and she was given some oxygen and some water.

  The first people that Mara saw were her parents. She looked at them, with tears in her eyes and said, “I love you.” When she saw Scott and Betsy, Mara handed them her backpack and whispered, “hold onto this for me. Don’t open it.”Scott promised that he would not open it.

  As Mara was being loaded into the ambulance, Tony walked over to her and said; “Mara, I have to tell you something.” Mara put her finger to his lips and said; “Not now, Tony. I am very tired and need to sleep. We’ll talk soon.” Tony sighed and said “Okay, Mara. I guess it can wait a while longer.”

  As the ambulance drove to the hospital, Mara’s parents followed in the presidential limo with the first family and Scott. Betsy sent texts to all of Mara’s friends, to let them know that Mara was okay.

  Mara was completely worn out, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally as well. The last thing she remembered was being loaded into the ambulance.

  Soon, Mara was dreaming. She saw Mr. Logan, the owner of the mine, speaking at a press conference, saying that he was going to blow up the tunnel so that no one else would be trapped in there again. Then, Mara found herself inside the mine again. It glowed so bright, that it the entire mine was lit up. Mara was amazed at what she saw. Then several numbers and measurements filled Mara’s mind.

  A few minutes later, Mara had another dream. Mara found herself in a beautiful garden. It was the most beautiful garden that Mara had ever seen before. The colors were so vivid. There were more varieties of flowers, trees and plants, than Mara could name. There was a stream running through the middle of the garden, and at one end, Mara saw a breathtaking waterfalls. The stream was filled with clear sparkling water. Mara could see fish of all colors and sizes swimming in the stream. The trees were filled with colorful birds that made beautiful music. Mara watched as animals walked up to the stream to drink the cool water. As Mara watched the animals, a gentle rain began to fall. The air was filled with the aroma of the flowers natural perfumes, and the rain. Mara felt at peace, a kind of peaceful feeling that she had never known before.

 
; Mara saw a man dressed in a simple white gown coming out of a forest, on a path leading to her. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked Mara. “”He’s quite an artist.”

  Mara hesitated and then asked; “Are you God?” The man laughed and replied, “Oh no, I’m just one of his angels that work with him. My name is Michael.”

  As Mara stood there, mesmerized by him, he continued to speak; “God is very pleased with your work on the earth, Mara.”

  “Why did God choose me?” asked Mara. “Why did he give me psychic abilities?”

  “Because you have always put other people’s needs ahead of your own,” said Michael. “God knew that you would use your abilities wisely and unselfishly. You are a kind soul, with a heart of pure love.” Then Michael added, “Personally, you are one of his best workers on earth”

  “You mean there are others like me that help God?” asked Mara.

  “Yes” said Michael, “many others, but you are one of my favorites.”

  “Why did I have so many dreams about the cave-in, when it didn’t actually happen until four years later?” asked Mara.

  “God was testing your faith,” said Michael. Each time you had to enter a cave-like structure, you hesitated, but as time progressed, your hesitation became less and less.When the dream