MISSING 

By Tessa Harvey

He staggered, turning pale. "That man...." he began. "No, silly,"  she giggled, then  caught her breath on a sob. "How would I know already? Anyway, he didn't touch me, except to pull me out of the river and sometimes pat my hair. You are going to be a daddy."

    Gabe was delighted, but felt a pang of pity for the unknown woman who had died with her tiny baby. Who was she?

    The police helped them back to their vehicles. Lisa's detailed description of her dream had saved precious time in locating Angel. The paddock, the river, the dwelling place had been God working through a child to save his wife. Gabe believed that with all his heart. Many questions remained unanswered, as did many prayers, if he were honest. There was much evil in the world, but God's Light was greater than any darkness.

    Ryan Smith was placed in a secure environment. For a while he kept looking for his "pet," but one day the nurses brought in a beautiful alpaca. Ryan was besotted with the animal. Its visits were the highlight of his week.

    His parents were located and horrified to think he could have been responsible for someone's death. However, careful questioning revealed that the woman had escaped and Ryan had no idea what had happened to her.

    The man's parents were old and frail. Ryan had insisted he could live alone in the converted barn. After several long decades, his parents had given him his independence, bringing supplies, clothes and food periodically.

They had no idea he had been so lonely he had looked elsewhere for company.

 They saw for themselves how much better he looked and were simply glad he was being cared for with good food and medication.

    For a long time, they felt bad about the dead woman until police discovered she had lived a very sad and abusive life. The verdict was 'death by misadventure.' It had been nobody's fault, except that of perhaps her violent former partner.

    Gabe and Angel thanked the children, especially Lisa, but she insisted God had helped her. They simply told the children the other woman had probably slipped into the water because of the storm.

    At ease, the children and their parents had a wonderful Bonfire and Fireworks Night, shared by Gabe and Angel.

    Roger, the dog stayed inside with the television on, so the noise did not frighten him.

    And, yes, the bonfire was still glowing in the morning, a light in the darkness!

THE END