The Fourth Man // Short Story

"God will protect you. You will see, Amalie."

"I wish I could believe that, Mother."

     A rough hand ripped the blindfold off my face. I blinked, taking in the beauty of sight once again. I noted four men at the campsite: The two who held up the stagecoach and captured me; a chunky, older-looking one; and one lone man crouched down by the campfire. The chunky man, apparently the outfit's leader, looked me over with a crooked grin.
     "Good work, gentleman. I'm sure your uncle will be more than happy to pay for your safe return, Miss De Bois. Tie her up."
     "My uncle?" The two stage robbers grabbed my arms. "B-but," I managed. "My name is Amalie Mundy, not De Bois. I've only traveled out here to teach school in Manitou..."
     "Teach School!" The leader guffawed, along with his two partners who were now tying my hands and waist around a nearby tree. Their leader turned toward the campfire. "Ya hear that, Big Mike? Everett Debois, richest man this side of the Rockies... his niece is a little ol' schoolteacher!"
     The fourth man crouched by the fire now stood up slowly, his height exceeding the chunky man's by at least a foot. His mouth stayed in a steady line.
     "Oh, well, Mike," the chunky man said, laughter still lingering in his voice. He turned back toward me. "I reckon you can't expect a man to obtain our sense of humor in just two days. You'll get used to our work soon enough."
     Big Mike rested both hands on the end of his rifle. "I don't plan to get used to it."
     The chunky man turned back around. "Oh, now, Big Mike, what are you talking abo..."
     My eyes widened. Big Mike now had the rifle pointed right at his leader.
     "Untie her."
     A few moments later, I found myself being hoisted up onto Big Mike's horse, and the three outlaws tied in my place. "I know'd we shouldn't a trusted 'im!" was the last thing I heard of the rogues as we rode toward town.
     Big Mike let me down beside the main road at the edge of the town of Manitou. He stayed seated on his horse.
     "You can inform the sheriff about the outlaws," he said. "I have other business to attend to."
     All this time, I hadn't found any words to say. But now, I finally found my voice. "Oh, yes, I will. Thank you... very much, Mr. Mike, I... I don't know how I can ever repay you."
     "You don't have to."
     "But... I owe you my life."
     He smiled slightly, shaking his head. "You only owe God that."
     I looked carefully into his face. "Why should I owe God that? You were the one who saved me from those outlaws. I don't see what you mean." Just then, a wagon rushed by, and I turned to look.
     "You will see, Amalie."
     I swirled back around at the familiar words. He was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hello again, guys! I've missed you all and this blog so much! I wasn't exactly sure how to go about re-entering the blogging world after my unexpected year-long hiatus... so, I thought, why not just throw one of my short stories out there? So, here we are!

I wrote this piece last year for Brooklyne's flash fiction story contest that she hosted last fall on her blog. My story actually ended up winning, which was, of course, quite exciting! But then, just recently, I realized that I never did post that story here on my blog... So, here it is, finally! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. :) 

The challenge of telling a story in so little words was actually a lot more fun and interesting than I thought it would be. It reminded me again of the power of words -- and how much one little word or sentence can tell. Reading through this story once again also reminded me of the Lord's protection He surrounds us with when we trust in Him, and even through the prayers of others in our life, and how much the Lord works for us behind the scenes. And sometimes we don't even realize or think about it until we're out of the trouble.

As I look back on this past year, 2020, there have been a lot of negative points to which I could focus on, as I'm sure all of us could do with this year -- or any year really. But then, I remember how much the Lord has brought me through and out of, how He has always been by my side, how He has protected me at every turn. The fact that you and I are still alive today in the midst of everything, is a miracle in and of itself. The Lord has likely even protected us from things we won't ever know about until we go to be with Him in Heaven. 

So, as we look back on 2020, let's remember the good things the Lord has done for us. Even through all the trials, the hardships, the heartaches... the Lord has delivered us -- and is continuing to deliver us -- out of them ALL.

Praying that all of you have a very blessed New Year! God bless, and I'll write to ya again -- hopefully sooner than later! :)

~Faith