My Swan Dive into Short Fiction

Memory of a Miracle Long Past


By: Anne Thompson

 In the winter of 1970 life was a white magic wonderland. Christmas was right around the corner and with the fresh fallen snow, everything glistened and sparkled in the city streets. Shoppers were bustling and children were laughing, playing in the snow since school had let out for Christmas. Such was not so for one family, the Murphy family. After just having moved to the southwestern part of Missouri from sunny and hot California where the children, Tom, then five, Jenna, then seven and Maggie, at that time four years old, had never even seen snow let alone ever had to trudge in it, were not liking the cold or the snow at all.

Since school had let out, Maggie had gotten to go with their Dad, who drove a big truck. And, unlike Tom and Jenna, who were probably lounging in front of the television and the fireplace or watching the sun dance on the snow, Maggie was scared and caught in a blustery, blinding winter storm with her dad. He was working hard to see the road and was also more than likely pretty anxious to get home. The storm kept coming and Maggie’s dad kept struggling. All through the day the wind blew and the snow and ice pelted the truck. Maggie slept a lot. Curled up in a ball in the sleeper, Maggie would listen to her Dad try to sing songs to make her feel better until finally, she would fall asleep.

As the day went on and the night drove in along with the storm, Maggie's dad kept trying to drive through the forceful storm and so were all of the other people out on the road trying to get home. It was a horrible night to be out, so many cars on the road were making things treacherous for everyone. Soon my Maggie’s dad had to get off of the big interstate and had to go it alone on a two lane highway. It was a skinny two-lane highway that had not been plowed very much, but my Maggie’s dad kept driving. The night wore on and Maggie’s dad was growing weak. There were headlights coming at them from what seemed like all directions running in and out of the snow. It looked like they were headed right for them and then Maggie’s dad saw an overpass leering ahead. The lights, they were so bright and Maggie could feel her dad tense up and suddenly he grabbed her hand and said, “Hold on baby!” and then it happened. The car that was coming at them lost control. They could see it as it hit them and then Maggie felt it hit them and then Maggie felt the window hit her head. After that, all went black for Maggie for a while.

Back at her home Maggie’s mother was trying to get everyone settled in with supper and wood for the stove when the phone rang. Tom, and her sister were watching their mother and noticed when her eyes went big and she began to cry. A voice on the other end of the phone had asked my mother how long it had been since she had heard from her their dad, who periodically would stop and call her throughout the day. It had been since this morning she said. He was due to be home by now but, she figured the weather had him held up. The voice on the other end of the phone advised their mother that her husband had not arrived at his point of destination and that there was no sign of him. They had issued a search by the highway patrol and county police departments. Maggie’s mother’s sharp intake of air, held for the longest moment according to her sister and then she just fainted.

Long into the night everyone waited and prayed. Those that were searching were taking an awful long time to call with any news and Maggie’s mother was sinking deeper and deeper into the fear of losing her husband and a child.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the phone rang. It was miraculous news about their father and Maggie. They had been found and we were alive. The police said that after finding the truck wrecked and completely totaled, they searched for Maggie and her father and found their father leaning sitting against a phone pole with Maggie cradled in his arms and his coat draped over them both. The police said that they could not imagine how they survived without a scratch or how Maggie’s dad had gotten them to that telephone pole, keeping them alive and warm in the cold as long as he had. It was a miracle. A real miracle.