Little Green Apples

My bedside phone rang persistently at 11 o'clock in the evening, rousing me from sleep.

I got out of bed, grumbling. "Hello""

"Hello, Sheila, It's me, William," he answered.

"William, do you realize what time it is?What could be so important and so urgent that couldn't wait till tomorrow to be discussed?"

"I'm sorry. Sweetheart. But the National Weather Service had just issued a Red Flag warning and Fire Weather Watches to alert fire departments of the onset or possible onset of critical weather and dry conditions that could lead to rapid or dramatic increases in wildfire activity. I just wanted to warn you so that you could stay safe."

"Oh, Will, I am so sorry for being rude to you. Please forgive me," I apologized.

"It's all right, Sheila. I have to go now. Bye, Stay safe...for me, he added for good measure.

"Bye, be safe, yourself," I said.

I chose not to go back to bed. I started preparing for a possible disaster. I roused my driver, my two nurses and cook.

"Wake up, Carlos, Lila, Elisa, Eldon. Wake up, William had warned me that there would be wildfires in this area in the next 24 to 72 hours. We have to get out of here!"

"Lila, get the little green apples out of bed and in the ambulance." Little green apples is what I had referred to the orphans in my orphanage. Why green apples? I loved the color green. They denote growth, nurture, life. These green apples will soon be red apples, ready for picking. If I had nurtured them well and in godly counsel, they would grow up to be good boys and girls and assets to the society. It would only be then I could pat myself on the back and say I have done a good job raising them well.

I am a pediatrician and had worked in the children's ward as soon as I graduated medicine and obtained my license. I saw how little babies were abandoned by their mothers because they were just teens who knew nothing about raising children. Or babies left behind by a mother who died giving birth to him or her. Or babies of drug addicts who could not even recognie their images in the mirror because they were so intoxicated.

I am an only child. Mom died giving birth to me. Dad was devastated by het death and wouldn't eat or sleep for months lamenting her death. One time my grandfather scolded him, "Shape up. You cannot live like that forever. Move on!'"

Of course no one can fully plumb the mystery of another person's heart. You will have to really understand him to empathize with him.

Eventually, Dad got over his sorrow and answered an ad to be a Middle Eastern king's personal physician. That was 27 years ago, long before I had become a physician myself. The king appreciated Dad so much that he volunteered to put up Green Apples Farm for me.

"Doctor, we are ready to ship out," my driver said, interrupting my musings. I waved a hand at him to indicate I understood and it was okay.

Suddenly, Elisa came running and stumbled on her words, Doc Sheila, I cannot find Herbie. I woke him up, dressed him and told him to sit down while I atttended to his room mates. Now he is gone!"

"Goodness, where could he be?" i cried. Herbie was the schizophrenic little boy who was abandoned by his teenaged mother as a baby.

Suddenly, William blared a message on his megaphone. "Sheila, are you missing a little boy I think he wants to stay behind and play but I don't see his playmate." Then he described exactly the spot where Herbie was playing.

Another message came from William. "Sheila, your little green apple is now running aimlessly to nowhere. Could you send your driver to fetch him? In a few minutes I will be dumping a cloud of red retardant from the belly of my Gramman -TS 2A at the site of the forest fire to stamp things down before the ground firefighters arrive."

Alarmed, I ran to the direction William had described, unmindful of my safety, risking my life for one of my little helpless green apples.

"Hey! Don't do that!" William called out from his palne. Let someone else do it!"

But I heard nothing of what he said. I just ran and ran and ran to save Herbie.

William had to force land his plane in a clearing and ran after me. "That was a stupid thing to do!" He chided me as he grabbed me by my waist. I chose not to retaliate. I had to admit he was right.

At last the ground firefighters arrived.But instead of training their hose at the fire they trained them on Capt. William, Little Herbie and me. We three were soaked but alive.. The little green apples clapped their little hands in jubilation, happy and grateful that their captain, their doctor and their playmate were alive.

William went back to his plane and lifted off to finish his job. We loaded some of the little green apples in the coaster because the ambulance was a bit crowded already.

"Herbie, that was not a good thing you did back there, You realize that?" I said as evenly as I could muster. He said he was sorry. He just wanted to play and say goodbye to his friend. The others looked at each other quizically.. But they understood, of course and said nothing,

News of the incident went viral and reached dad in the king's palace. He asked for a few weeks leave from the king . But instead of letting him go alone, the king opted to join him in his journey to the Philippines.

"I want to meet your daughter. I think she is doing a great job of runing the orphanage. I admire her a lot," he said.

As soon as they touched down, the king instructed his personal driver to take them straight to the Green Apples Farm. The driver was only too glad to oblige.

I showed the king around my facility, rather, his facility and mine -afterall he financed its construction and maintenance to this day.

"Allah must really love your green apples so much He spared their home from the wildfire," the king observed."You have done a great job, I am very impressed, Doctor Sheila," He went on. "And because of that, I am making a hefty donation so that you could expand your facility. That way, you could accomodate many more babies."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I am very grateful,"" I said bowing my head in respect. The end.