I spent a great amount of time on my costume trying to decide what I would go as and in the end decided to go as the Roman goddess Ceres, the goddess of growing things. My mother made an amazing green dress that looked like it was made out of leaves and I painted leaves and flowers on my arms and face and tied flowers in my hair. It was an amazing costume if I do say my self and I would like to think I would have been the center of the party if I had ever arrived.
About 6:00 pm Halloween night I dressed up into my outfit wished my parents good night and departed from the house. I climbed into the back of the family car and gave our driver directions to the house.
Now is probably as a good a time as any to mention the fact that my families rich. Both of my parents have pretty incredible jobs: My mom’s a lawyer and my dad’s in the FBI. Since I’m their only child I pretty much get anything I ask for and since I’m so rich not to mention an A+ student I’m pretty poplar with both my peers an my teachers.
Some people say I’m spoiled but I don’t see it that way. The way I see it I’m just blessed or at least that’s what my mom says. My mom’s a Christian and goes to church every Wednesday and Sunday she used to take me with her when I was younger but after I met Carly I began to hate the fact that I spent half my weekend at church and backed out.
My dad used to go to church to but that was before he got so grounded in his job. Now he only goes for Christmas and Easter and since he goes I go too. I guess I figure if Dad can take a break from his work to go to church on a holiday I can take a break from my parties and shopping sprees. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Anyway back to Halloween: I sat in the back seat of the moving car as Bert, our driver, drove the young goddess to Carly’s party. We had barley pulled out of our gated community when my cell chirped and I pulled it out to discover Melody had sent me a text.
“R U goin 2 prty 2nite?”
“Ya” I sent the text and waited a second sure enough a moment later the phone chirped again.
“Wat U goin as?”
“Ceres.”
I soon was so caught up in my text conversation that I didn’t realize when Bert started heading the opposite direction of Carly’s house. 15 minutes later I heard the car turn off and looked up to realize I had no idea where I was. “Bert, where are we?” But as I looked up I realized that the man who was staring at me through the rear-view was not Bert at all but a complete stranger. “Who are you and what have you done with Bert?” The man just smiled at me wickedly and got out of the car.
In a panic I tried the door handle but the man must have set the child lock because I couldn’t open it. I snatched up my phone and started to dial 911 but before I could hit send the door opened and I was pulled out of the car. I was thrown into a completely dark and empty room where my captor said I would stay. Until my father paid him the money he was owed I would stay right there. Than he slammed the door leaving me in complete darkness.
I don’t know how long I was balled up in that room but I do know this: It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I know it sounds strange for me to say something like that but it’s true. Let me explain.
While I was in that room I thought I was going to die. Plain and simple, I thought my life was over. I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch since we were supposed to be eating at Carly’s and I knew that if my parents didn’t pay, my captor would either kill me or let me starve. Either way if my parents didn’t do something I was dead. Soon my thoughts overcame me as I began to think:
I thought about the party I was missing and began to imagine what it would have been like if I had actually succeeded in arriving. My green flowing dress would have been the star attraction no doubt and maybe just maybe I could have stolen a dance or two from Jared Blare.
I thought of my parents and what would they think when they received the call telling them I had been kidnapped. How long would it take them to gather the money? Would they even care? I had always been a disappointment to them constantly asking for money to buy this or that but never having the tiniest bit of compassion in my heart to go to church with my mother.
I thought of my childhood. How I used to go to church every Wednesday and Sunday with my mom then just on Sunday and now only when Dad went which was barely ever. I remembered a time long ago when I had sat between my mother and father and listened to the pastor preach his sermon. I suddenly realized that I missed those days. I had always felt safe in church and then I had met Carly and safety was replaced with pleasure. I had spent the last 2 years of my life searching for something but not really sure what that something was. And now as I sat reminiscing about my childhood I realized the one thing that had been missing from my life: God.
I soon realized tears were streaming down my cheeks and suddenly a thought popped into my head actually something my mom used to always say to me when I was younger. Pray Heather, when ever you’re in trouble don’t ever hesitate to pray. He’ll listen to you even if you don’t think you deserve to be heard.”
So right then and there I prayed. I prayed that God would get me out of this dark room, I prayed he would release me from my captor and most of all I prayed he would change me from the inside out.
I was in captivity for about a month. My captor who’s name was Bill- at least that’s what he told me to call him- let me out of the dark cell within a day and locked me in another room with bared windows and a camera in the corner. But at least I had a bed, lights and my own bathroom-void of camera’s and window’s. Bill told me that he had given my parents one month to get the money before he would do away with me. I was frightened but thanks to my Sunday school memorization program when I was 10 I had all the encouragement I needed to get through the month.
The end of November brought great fear to me as the money from my parents never came- I found out later that my parents had been struggling financially for a long time but hadn’t told me and so trying to come up with the amount required to rescue me had become impossible to get. One night Bill came into my room and he was carrying a gun. I was frightened and thought suddenly that this would be my last night on earth. But he suddenly started crying. When I asked him what was wrong he told me. “Heather, I have never met anyone like you. There’s no way I could ever kill someone as amazing as you. The threat of death has been hanging over you for the last month and still you smile as if nothing was going on. I can’t do this to you or your family. You’re free to go.”
I could hardly believe it. I thought for sure that he had something up his sleeve but he wasn’t and about an hour later I was safe in my mother’s arms.
I went to church with my mother that Sunday and at school I told Carly about my changed life. Needless to say she thought I was crazy and I never spoke to her again but I soon made new friends at my parent’s church. I never saw Bill again but 4 years later I received a letter in the mail. The letter was from Bill thanking me for being such a wonderful example to him and putting him on the “Straight and Narrow”. Attached was a picture of him and his wife and his beautiful new born daughter. I was completely thrilled to know that I had made a difference in this mans life when at the same time he had made a difference in mine.
