Worn Leather

Sun burst through the shades as the alarm was blaring.

Ann scooted to the foot of the bed as her head pounded, vertigo shook her world, and hips felt as though with each monvement tiny bones were breaking. She looked over to her peacefully sleeping husband with an overwhelming desire to strike him. Chris always offered to sleep next to the wall but Ann knew he was more comfortable on the other side. Soon as her feet were firmly on the floor she though her bladder would betray her at any moment, her joints didn't allow her to move as swiftly as she need to make it to the bathroom.

Pressed up against her sink for support brushing her teeth, Ann began thanking God for another glorious morning. She asked for forgiveness, a day filled with blessings and to be lead by HIS will.

Returned to the bedroom and gently woke Chris. It sometimes annoyed her that he was so cheerful in the mornings. If she were honest with herself she was just jealous she was not a morning person.

They sat together over coffee and avocado toast discussing plans for the day.

Every day was just as before, Chris left 7:30 am to run his construction company Ann began running the house at 7:35 fitting in time at her computer to look over submissions for her on-line greeting card company. For their 35 years together neither could ever decide what to cook for dinner. Ann would take the 3 boys request into consideration while waiting for Chris' call on what he would like. He always would first ask what the boys said, usually agreeing with one of them. Ann knew the grocer by name, Jack passed the same comment each time, "Its as if you just met your family" he joked. She stopped telling him many years back why she shopped each day , "you would miss me if I shopped for the week" she replied with a smile.

While loading the trunk, she heard sobs from a near by car. The desperate sound broke her heart. Everything in her nature was beckoning her to follow the sob and give comfort. After placing the last bag in she could not deny her calling and did in fact follow the sob. Once again her body would not move as swift as she needed. The near by car started pulling out. The driver clearly a woman, instead of rolling down her window opened the door threw an object to the floor slammed the door shut and speed away. Ann stood there with hand raised praying comfort over the driver. When she opened her eyes she saw a worn out brown leather bound book is what was thrown out.

Ann picked up the book feeling such sorrow and empathy after seeing the book was the Bible. She held it to her chest as if holding one of her children when they were new born. Again she prayed comfort over the woman.

Ann brought the Bible along with her groceries into the house setting them on the table. She kept one eye on the Bible as she emptied each bag. Her mind was wondering of what could have distraught the woman severely enough to disregard the good book. She noticed how worn the book appeared and knew the pages were turned over and over. She knew dinner ought to be stared in order to be hot on the table in time for everyone to be home just as every day before but the Bible was calling her. She picked it up lifted it high asking for revelation. She opened to a passage that was high lighted, Psalm 147:3, "HE heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds". Ann continued flipping through and stopping at every high lighted passage. All pertained to the fatherless or widowed.

Before serving her family she told the story of the woman sobbing and throwing the Bible to the floor, pointing out how worn it was and the highlighted passages. Each had their own version of what may have caused the women distraught. Ann stopped the chatter and deflected to Mathew 18:20, " For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them". They bowed their heads lifted hands high praying comfort over the woman.

The men of the house were quite hungry from their physically hard day but Ann could not get a bite down. Her heart saw the door open and woman slamming the Bible to the floor, knowing she must of been in a very dark place. Ann picked the Bible from the table and opened the cover hoping it would reveal a name. Ann was sure there would be a name, each of the family have their own Bible, either gifted or bought and gleefully wrote their name where it stated this Bible belongs to...

To her surprise what she saw was a library stamp. Having only a few checked out stamps the last one really tugged at her heart. It was years over due. Ann quickly went on line and searched the library location, she was surprised when it turned out to be the branch in her neighborhood. She became anxious knowing she would have to wait till morning to full fill what was placed upon her heart.

The next morning started just as the day before, only that morning Ann had a calling from God. She prayed all morning for the day to go according to HIS will as she waiting for 11:00am which was when the library would open.

She refused to take the privacy law into account, insisting to the librarian that he understand it was placed upon her heart directly from God to seek and comfort the woman. Ann was all but escorted out the door without the information. She sat in her car a while praying on how she could possibly change the mans mind until finally heading to the grocery store.

"Your right Ann, I did miss you in fact I was worried something terrible happened to you" the grocer stated with relief.

Albert, the librarian felt bad he could not give the information the kind lady was asking for. When he entered the book return into the computer he was stunned at the years it was over due, especially when he saw who had checked it out. The name on his screen was very familiar to him. He checked out books for her weekly as well as having conversations with her several times a week. Julie would come in often with her cold coffee, pick a table by a window and unpack several spiral note books from her mail carrier style bag. During her hours by the window writing she would take many books from the shelf and thumb through them. When she found what she was looking for she wrote notes in one of her spiral books. Albert came to know the white spiral notebooks were for information, red for research and the blue was for her work. He knew everything about her writing and reading habits even knew her favorite colors, music and food but nothing more. What he wanted to know more than anything was why she hand wrote.

He could not believe the woman Sue described could possibly be Julie. If Albert had to give his best guess he would guess Julie to be in her 30's. Nothing about her stature stood out, she stood somewhere between 5 feet to five feet and a half. She was neither thin or heavy, her mousy brown hair laid upon her shoulders with what would hang in her face while writing pinned back. Her red rimmed glasses always dropped down her button nose forcing her to push them back with perfectly manicured fingers towards her brown almost black doll like eyes. She dressed comfortable, usually in sweats and a t-shirt but always a long colorful scarf around her neck which she would constantly fling over her shoulder and lean back when she apparently wrote or discovered interesting.

Albert glanced at the time and knew Julie would be walking in at any moment. He looked over towards the window table making sure it was empty for her. he phoned the local deli and placed an order for t he two of them to enjoy his lunch break.

He ate his lunch alone for the rest of that week before he looked up her phone number. He called during and after hours for several days before his concern turned to panic. He defied all laws and wrote her address on a torn envelope shoved it into his pocket planning on knocking on her door on his way home.

As he was walking to his car he reached into his pocket for the torn envelope not paying attention to the car rushing towards him.

When Ann came too she reached for the door handle but the excruciating pain prevented her from opening it. She felt warmth rushing down her face, when it reached her mouth she knew it was blood. She tried to look at herself in the rear view mirror but could move under the tightness of the seatbelt. Without looking she knew the groceries were tossed around her car, she could smell tomatoes mixing with milk. When she came too again this time on a gurney being rushed through a hospital corridor she heard voices ...

" Do your best doc, we'll be here waiting to question her" a police officer stated.

Chris wheeled his wife into the court room praying comfort over her. "Jesus suffered for our sins, he rose to the father, honey nothing that can happen here today can compare to that suffering" he whispered to her. "Our Father will be before you, sweet heart"

"Chris, I killed a man" Ann sobbed. " I was rushing hoping to make it there before the library closed to see if he knew who the Bible belonged to" "God forgive me, may he rest in eternal peace" she begged with casted hands raised high.