Free Sarah's Promise by Leisha Kelly

stay here alone,” the woman said from somewhere I couldn’t see her. “There’s a sick mother with a sprained ankle and ailing children to think about. I’m going to go with this young man if he’ll help me, and do what I can till the father gets home.”
    “God bless you, ma’am.” The relief was so deep in me I almost couldn’t say anything more, but I thought of something real sudden, and I knew I had to ask it. “Can you spare a sack of food? I made ’em some soup just now, but they ain’t got much a’ nothin’ else left if Mr. Platten’s held up gettin’ back to ’em. Not even enough for a decent supper tonight, I don’t think.”
    “God love you, young man,” Mrs. Clark answered me. “You always this concerned for strangers?”
    “Don’t usually need to be.”
    She hurried to the kitchen to fetch some food to bring along. Mr. Clark just stared at me. “My wife hadn’t oughta be walking a half mile through them snow drifts.”
    “I understand. An’ I’m sorry, sir, but I didn’t know who else to ask.”
    “It’s cold in that house?”
    “Not as bad as it was. I got the fire goin’ good and wood enough to keep it that way for a while. I’ll split some more before I leave.”
    “Shouldn’t be our affair to see to another man’s family. Seems like he could’ve taken care a’ things better than this.”
    “I don’t know, sir. Maybe he’s been short of work and had to go some distance to find anything. I’m trying not to judge. I just don’t want to think of that family sufferin’.”
    Mr. Clark looked down at his boots. “My wife’s liable to have her hands full with all them sick youngsters. Maybe I best come along to keep the fire up for her and see to anything else. They got chores done?”
    “I milked for ’em. But there may be more needin’ done. Mrs. Platten’s feeling awful bad to need the help. But she can’t do much of anything right now.”
    He got his coat. Mrs. Clark joined us, looking almost twice as wide as she had before, bundled in her big coat with two scarves—one for her neck and one for her head. I took the sack of food to carry for her, and we trudged back through the snow. The Clarks were both a lot shorter and older than me, and we didn’t move as fast as I would have liked, but I thanked God the whole way that they were willing. Bless them. Oh, Lord, bless them and send Mr. Platten home quickly. Let this be the start of good neighbor relations between these families. Thank you!
    I felt released. I felt free, certain that everything would be all right now and I could go. But I still needed to split some more wood, just to be sure, and I worked at it as fast as I could as soon as I got back. Mr. Clark couldn’t work so fast as I could and there wasn’t but one ax, but he took the hatchet and split up kindling and a pile of smaller stuff while I worked. He and Bennie shook my hand when it was time to go. Mrs. Platten asked my name, and that was the first I realized I hadn’t told them till then. She seemed to think I must be a minister, like the Ensley relatives had thought, and I wondered what there was about me to give folks that impression. I hadn’t even prayed with these people. Not out loud, at least.
    All I had to do was tighten down a wheel on the truck, and I could go. Thank the Lord. I prayed I could find a telephone and get through to the Marathon station in Dearing before Mr. Wortham left for the day, if he’d been able to get there at all. I prayed Sam wasn’t stewing too bad over not hearing any more word since the first message. And most of all I prayed that Sarah would have peace, because I knew she’d be scared for me if she had any idea I hadn’t called.
    My brothers would prob’ly think I’d gotten lost, but not Sarah. She surely had more confidence in me than that. But that would have her thinking far worse things. About the storm. And some of the awful wrecks we’d heard about.
    Give her the peace that passes