Coming Home...

There was a hand in her stomach that was clenching and twisting, making her break out in sweat despite the chilly night air.

Walking barefooted on the graveled road meant walking slow, her feet still hurt from the one size too small ankle boots she had had them squeezed into and though she had taken the shoes off long ago, she knew she would rather brave the abrasive road barefooted than put them on again tonight.

Shoe laces tied and dangling from one hand, mini skirt ripped and sequined top that had been white hours before but now brown from dirt, she knew she looked a far cry from what she was.

The skimpy outfit was no protection against the biting cold. Reaching under her blouse, she pulled out her phone from her waist band and held it high above her head, turning in a slow circle."Please give me one small bar, Lord, please, just one tiny bar" she whispered earnestly. As if taunting her, the cell phone beeped in a low battery warning.

An envelope icon was flashing on the screen, she didn't need to open it to know it was the message she had been trying unsuccessfully to send for the past two hours until the battery had gone from green to yellow to red.The message had kept bouncing back with a "No network coverage" automatic response from the network provider.

Hungry, scared out of her mind, tired and cold, the beginnings of what she was sure was a panic attack hovered and threatened to dissolve her hold on calm.Fear and hopelessness settled on her and as she switched the phone off to conserve what was left of her battery, the tears she had bravely held back all night, came running down her cheeks as it became very clear that although she had escaped one tonight, she was still in deep, deep trouble.