Prayer Power

 by Lizzy D. 

 

Andi Prescott slowly strolled the path along the field. The wild flowers slapped at her ankles.

 “Andi!”

Andi turned her head toward her husband, Riley, who was coming down the path. Andi crinkled her forehead. “I thought you had ranch work to do?”

Riley smiled. “I got Joe and Matt to cover that.”

Andi giggled. “What do you have planned?”

Riley dramatically gasped. “How would you know I had something planned?”

Andi laughed. “You don’t take a day off every day.”

Riley nodded. “Alright. I do have something planned.”

“What?” Andi asked.

“The horses are ready. Come on!” Riley latched Andi’s hand and rushed toward the barn.

 “You didn’t tell me what we are doing!”

Riley shook his head. They walked into the dark barn. He led Dakota and Shasta out and gave Shasta’s reins to Andi.

 “Where are we going?” Andi persisted.

 Riley hopped on Dakota and looked at Andi. “On a adventure.”

Andi giggled and got on Shasta.

 “Let”s go!” Riley pushed Dakota into a canter.

Andi loped after him. “Come on Riley! Where are we going?” Andi looked intently towards Riley.

“You’ll see.” Andi shrugged and rode on silently. They rode on for another hour before Riley motioned toward Andi. Andi looked up. The Sierras loomed over her.

“Where are we going?” Andi asked.

 “Over there.” Riley pointed towards a nearby cottonwood tree on a hill.

“Why?” Andi looked skeptical.

“For a picnic.” Riley said. Riley hopped down and grabbed a basket that Andi hadn’t seen before.

Andi hopped down and walked next to Riley.

“I haven’t gotten to be with you recently, and since I am going on a cattle drive next week, I figured we should go on a picnic.”

Andi smiled. “I love that idea. Thank you, Riley.”

Riley pulled a light weight quilt out of the basket.

“Did you pack this by yourself?” Andi asked.

“Yes, I did.”  Riley pulled out a canteen of water and a few sandwiches.

 “Yum.” Andi settled down on the quilt.

 Riley dug around in the basket. “I can’t find the cookies. I must have left them in my saddlebag.”

Andi playfully scowled at him. “You packed cookies? Did you bake them?” Andi laughed.

“I did not bake them. Melinda made them for me.” Riley stood up. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to look for those cookies.” Riley walked toward the horses.

He went down the hill until Andi couldn’t see him anymore. She leaned against the tree. She heard a faint noise in the nearby grass. She turned and stared at the grass.

Silly me. Its just a jack rabbit. Andi thought. She leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes.

***

Andi had dozed only for a minute when a hand was pressed over her mouth. She could only hear her pounding heart.

“Shh, Senora, and you will live.”

Andi could feel hot breath on her neck. The hand slowly moved away.  “Who are you?” Andi whispered. Silence.

 The man tied her hands together behind her. He wrapped a rope around her and the tree and tied it off. “Senora. I know your esposo is coming. I have to hurry.” He tied a handkerchief around Andi’s mouth and hid in the grass again.

 Riley came walking up the hill, looking down at a smashed cookie. “I think I smashed-” Riley looked up and stopped. “What happened?” He rushed forward as Andi shook her head.

The man jumped out from behind the tree pointing a gun at Riley.

 Riley stopped.

“Do not move any closer to the senora.”  The man moved over to Riley and caught his arms. He shoved Riley over to the tree and tied him up next to Andi.

“Who are you?” Riley asked.

“I am Matias. Benita’s younger brother.”

Andi’s eyes popped.

Riley’s jaw dropped.

“Where are your horses?”

Riley shook his head.

“Tell me!” Matias shoved his gun into Andi’s side.

“They’re down the slope.” Riley warily told him.

“Because you told me, senor, I will ungag your lovely esposa.”  Matias ungagged Andi and walked down the slope.

“What is he going to do to us, Riley?”

Riley shrugged. “I don’t know, Andi.” Riley stared down the slope.

Andi could hear Shasta squeal as Matias probably grabbed his reins. Andi flinched as Matias yelled in Spanish.

 “Shasta, listen to him.” Andi whispered. It seemed as Shasta heard her, because the squealing and yelling stopped.

Matias came walking up the hill leading Dakota and Shasta. Matias tied the reins to a branch and walked over to them. “Here is the plan. I will untie the senora, and she will get on her horse. You, senor, will not move.” Matias untied Andi and roughly led her over to Dakota. “

This isn’t my horse.” Andi loudly whispered.

 “Senora! I do not care. Just mount a horse.”

Andi walked over to Shasta and mounted. She watched Matias untie Riley.

 Matias pushed him towards Dakota. “Mount.”

Riley threw Andi a loving look. He mounted and grabbed the reins.

“No, senor, you won’t be needing these.” He tied Dakota’s reins together and threw them over his head. He tied a rope to Dakota from his horse and went over to Shasta. He tied another rope from his horse to Shasta.  Then he tied Andi’s hands together. He did the same to Riley and mounted his horse. “There. We are ready. Come.” He clucked his tongue and pulled the ropes.

Then started the long, tiring trip. On and on they plodded. Over hills and in valleys.

Andi had tried to ask Matias where they were going once, only to be answered with silence. After three days in the saddle, they finally broke out of the trees into a small village.

“Matias is here!” Men and women came out of their homes and towards the three on horseback.

“Matias!” A woman holding a baby called out to him.

“Maria!” Matias dismounted and rushed over to her.

An older man came over to Andi and Riley and helped them dismount. He led them to a shack and locked them in.

“Ow. He tied my ropes too tight.” Andi said, wiggling her hands.

“Yeah, mine too.” Riley agreed. Riley scootched over to Andi. “Maybe if we get really close, we can loosen the ropes a little.”

Andi nodded. They put their heads together and reached for each other’s arms.

Riley was an inch away from Andi’s ropes. He stretched and stretched, but could not reach the ropes. “See if you can get mine.”

Andi nodded again and stretched her arms. “I can’t reach.” Andi slumped against the wall. “Oh, Riley! What are we going to do?”

Riley sat against the wall across from Andi.

The shack was so small they were practically touching knees.

 “Andi. There is only one thing we can and should do. Pray.”

Andi slowly nodded. They both bowed their heads.

“Lord, we are stuck in this little shack and we don’t know how to get out or what to do. Please help us. Amen.”

They leaned back on the walls again.

“I just thought of a perfect verse for us, Riley. Isaiah 50 verse 9. ‘Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.’”

“Andi, that is a very good verse. I am glad you remember that.” Riley smiled.

Suddenly a noise sounded from outside. A yell, a scream and the sound of running feet.

“What could it be?” Andi asked, looking toward the door.

“Prender fuego a todos los edificios!”

Riley and Andi stared at each other. Set fire to all buildings? What could that mean?

“Andi, we have to get out of here!” Riley started to slide to the door.

“How?” Andi slide over with him. “He locked the door!”

Riley grunted. “The door isn’t very sturdy. If we bang it with our feet, we should be able to get out.”

Riley started to bang on the door with his feet. Andi scootched over with him and banged as well. Splinters of wood started to fly.

Someone outside stopped in front of the door.

“Fuego!”

Andi heard the crackle of fire. Smoke started to fill the small shack.

“Hurry!” Riley croaked.

They banged even more as flames started at the end of the room.

“Lord! Help us!” Andi cried.

Finally, the door broke.

Riley and Andi scrambled out as fast as they could with their hands being tied.

“Hurry! This way!” Riley ran towards the woods.

Andi ran after him.

“Hid!” Riley ducked behind a tree.

Andi went in with him. “Are you sure this is far enough in?”

Riley nodded. “I don’t think anyone is looking for us yet.”

Andi and Riley sat there, crouched close to the ground, for over an hour.

When the commotion in the small village had stopped, Riley and Andi straightened and walked slowly into the center.

Silence. Nothing but the wind in the trees was moving.

“Look! A knife.” Riley knelt next to the knife. He grabbed a rock and set it in front of him. He looked around for another rock the same size. He found one about three feet off. He hopped over and picked it up. Turning around, He fell on his backside.

In spite of all that had happened, Andi laughed.

Riley grunted and sat on his knees. He crawled back over to the rock and knife and set up the rocks next to each other. He set the knife right in the middle and started to saw away at his ropes. In two minutes, his ropes fell at the rocks.

“Here. Let me untie your ropes.” Riley untied her ropes.

“What now?” Andi rubbed her wrists.

“We should try to find a horse.” Riley looked around. “I think that it’s impossible after what happened. We’ll just have to walk home.”

“But what about Shasta and Dakota?”

“I don’t know, Andi. I hope they ran, but I don’t know. We’ll just walk for now.”

Andi groaned. “If it means we get home, alright.”

****

Andi’s stomach growled. “I wish we could have found some food.”

“Me, too.” Riley wet his lips.

“Riley, I need to rest a minute.” Andi sat on a nearby rock.

“After three days of walking, I’d think we’d be close.”  Riley looked around him. “But I don’t see anything I recognize.”

Andi looked around her as well. “There! That clearing! It’s a creek!” Andi pointed excitingly.

“Yes!” Riley helped Andi up. “I think that’s our creek! The one that runs right by our ranch!”

“Does that mean we just follow that creek to get to our ranch!” Andi hopped up.

“Yes, Andi!” Riley hurried towards the clearing. When he got to the creek, he felt the water. “It’s running, just like the one at home.”

Andi whooped.

“Let’s head downstream.”

Riley and Andi walked down stream for an hour before coming to a bramble patch.

“I am not walking through that.” Andi shook her head.

“Let’s walk up around, instead of through the creek.” Riley pointed up from the creek.

“Alright.” Andi trudged up.

After another few minutes they reached the top of a hill.

“Let’s rest here for a minute.” Riley gasped.

Andi breathed heavily.  She suddenly stood up straight. “Riley, look!”

“What?” Riley looked around.

“Isn’t that the ranch house?”  Andi pointed to a white building.

Riley bounded up from his spot on the ground. “It is! It looks about 15 minutes away!”

Andi sprinted down the hill. “Come on!”

In less than fifteen minutes Andi and Riley were on the Circle C ranch house porch.

Andi opened the door and walked into the kitchen. “Mother?”

Mrs. Carter came down the stairs. “Andrea? What are you doing here? What happened to you?”

Andi looked down at her clothes. Her split skirt had several tears and her blouse had dirt streaked down the front.

“We were kidnapped.”  Riley said

“What!” Chad, who had come down the stairs after Mrs. Carter, burst out. “Who?”

Riley cleared his throat. “Matias, Benita’s younger brother.”

“Who is Benita?” Chad asked.

“Procopio’s wife.”

“Oh. How did you get away?”

Riley dove into the entire story, including the verse Andi had remembered.

“Every one is gone.” Riley finished.

“Oh, Andrea, I’m so glad your ok!” Mrs. Carter hugged Andi. “We should get you cleaned up and fed. Its almost time for supper. Justin and Melinda are coming tonight.”

Andi nodded. She and her mother started up the stairs.

****

At supper that evening, everyone was amazed at the outcome of Riley and Andi’s week. Justin had almost choked on his roast beef when Riley told him about what Riley had seen when he came from fetching the cookies.

Melinda had scolded him when he told about the smushed cookies.

After the peach cobbler dessert, Andi and Riley stood up.

“We have an announcement to make.” Riley said.

“We are expecting a baby!” Andi announced.

The dinner table became a hub bub of activity as everyone congratulated the happy couple.

As the hugs engulfed Andi, She though of the wonderful power of prayer.