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The Tornado Man Seleta V Johnson
Driving home in my car, I couldn't stop thinking about how hot and humid this day had been. I turned the air conditioner up as cold as it would go, but it still didn't seem to help stifle this impending heat. And it wasn't just the heat that was bothering me. For some reason, I had this dreaded doom kind of feeling inside. It is hard to explain but, it is almost like you know that something bad is about to happen.
I tried to concentrate on other things like, what I was going to prepare for supper, lying down on the couch, relaxing, maybe watching some television before I fell asleep for the night. It had been a long ten hours at work, and I just wanted to pull off my shoes and put my feet up and rest for a while.
All at once my thoughts were interrupted by the car radio. It started making a loud almost screaming noise that I had never heard before. I turned the sound down and realized it wasn't the radio making the strange noises at all, but the tornado alarm in our little town was blasting it's warning for everyone in the neighborhood to take cover.
Shivers went up and down my spine as I thought only about getting home to my Daughter and Grandson. They lived in a little house right beside mine, and both were terrified of the mere mention of the word, Tornado. My Grandson started calling it the Tornado Man when he was barely able to talk. Each time the news would come on with warnings of possible storms, the first thing he would tell me is, "Nanny, I hope the Tornado Man doesn't get us!" I never knew where he got Tornado Man from, but sometimes I think a child knows more than we (adults) do.
I drove as fast as I could, all the while wondering if my Daughter had heard the warning siren, and knowing deep down inside that she did. She would be terrified! I made it to my house just as the storm was about to hit. Rain was already beginning to pelt the windshield of my car like bullets when I pulled into the driveway. The clouds were turning black as pitch and thunder had started to crack with a terrifying roar. Lightning rippled across the late August sky sending more shivers of terror throughout my body.
I jumped out of my car and ran to the door of my Daughters house. I tried the doorknob but the door was locked. Frantic now, I began to pound furiously on the door while screaming my Daughters name. I heard the shuffling of footsteps behind the door as I kept pounding and screaming at the top of my lungs. The door finally opened, and my four year old Grandson was standing there. His little face was soaked with his tears, and I could see the fear in his face as he reached out his tiny hand and clasped mine. "It's the Tornado Man, Nanny", he cried. I scooped him up quickly in my arms while at the same time, I was trying desperately to close the front door. The wind was already whipping against it with a mighty thrust, but I slammed my back against it with all the strength I could muster, and it closed with a sickening thud.
I ran into the bedroom where my Daughter was hiding in the closet under mountains of blankets and clothes. She was trembling with fear and unable to speak as I knelt down beside her. Still holding my Grandson in my arms, I inched my way into the closet beside her. She reached out her arms and hugged me tight as her tears fell on my shoulder. We huddled close together and covered ourselves with blankets to ride out the storm.
I was trying so hard to be strong and not let her see that I was just as terrified as she was. But, I think we all know that in a situation such as this, we are all afraid. The electricity went off and we sat in total darkness. The wind was blasting against the shutters, and even with the blankets pulled firmly over my head, each time the lightning would strike, I could see the house light up with a frightening glow. It was unbearably hot in the house, so I pulled the blankets off of my head, just as hail stones the size of quarters began to pound against the bedroom window. The thunder crashed again, and I heard a cracking sound just as the old oak tree from the front yard came crashing down onto the roof of the bedroom where we sat hiding in the closet. That is when I started to pray.
As I sat there praying and begging God to let us live, my Daughter went into screams of hysterics. I didn't know what to do. I was trying to comfort her and keep my Grandson from being more frightened than he already was. But a child of four can surprise you, and he did. All at once I heard his tiny tear- filled voice say, Please God, don't let the Tornado Man get my Mommy and my Nanny. I love them!
That's when I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. I looked at my Daughter but she wasn't crying or shaking anymore. And something else had just happened.
There was a silence in the house that meant only one thing, the storm had suddenly stopped! I started hugging my two loved ones and praying to God, thanking him for watching over us and letting us live. My precious Grandson suddenly pulled away from me , and I had no idea what was about to happen, but the following words are the sweetest words that I have ever heard spoken. He had a big smile on his face, and a sparkle like diamonds in his eyes as he said to me, "It's ok now Nanny!" "You don't have to be afraid anymore because the Tornado Man is gone!" He spoke with a wisdom that was known only to him as his beaming little voice proclaimed, "I told God that you were scared Nanny, and he didn't want you to be scared, so he turned off the storm"...
And, He Did!!...
God Bless The Little Children...
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