A Love Story
This short story was inspired by the song "Love Song Requiem", written by David Hodges and performed by his band, "Trading Yesterday".
“So Em, since speaking with your grandmother, have you decided if you are going to live with her and your grandfather? Now that you found out that your step-father left your mother shortly after you ran away.” David asked with sadness in his voice. He has spent two years with Emily hitchhiking and living on their own on the streets of Los Angeles. Both of them were from troubled homes. David, from an abusive home and Emily, a victim of rape from her step-father. For the age of 17, Emily is strong willed and a survivor. David was only one year older. “I don’t know, David. She offered for me to live with them but I don’t want to be a burden to them.”
About 3 months ago, living on the street, they went to a soup kitchen for the homeless in a local church. David noticed a minister talking to Em. Since then he noticed a change in her. She spoke of reconnecting with her family. She always known that her grandparents would have taken her in after the nightmare she had endured. But at the time, running away was the best thing she could think of. Shortly after leaving home, she ran into David. They have been surviving on their own. They would sleep anywhere they could, do small jobs to get money for food. Neither of them would do anything immoral. With the trauma they both went through, any form of prostitution was out of the question. They had heard horror stories of other homeless teens and what they went thru after selling their bodies for money to buy food. There was sexual disease and drug addiction. Neither one of them wanted that in their life. It was hard enough living on the streets. They never knew what to expect. Over those years together, David had come to love Emily but was very afraid that if he told her, she would leave him. He hoped that one day soon, he would be able to tell her how he felt but he only prayed that she felt the same way.
The next day, Emily made a collect call to her grandmother. Her grandmother said that an airplane ticket would be waiting at LAX any time she chose to leave and come home. Emily had a mixture of emotions. She was happy that her grandparents wanted her home, but she was full of fear. The rape had took a lot from her. David knew she was scared and he wanted so much to protect her. He wanted to show his love to Emily and wanted the same in return. He knew this was best for her and he hoped that one day, he would have the courage to come and ask her if she loved him as much as he loved her. For once, their lives would be complete. David had seen Emily cry herself to sleep to many times at first. She would awake from horrid dreams. He would be here to talk to her and to hold her hand. He would speak softly to her and comfort her with a slightest touch.
Emily returned to the church several times to talk to the minister. She told David that “She should forgive her family as God had forgiven her for any wrong doings she had done. No one was without sin.” The minister gave Emily a small bible to read in her spare time and at times, it really helped for her to read God’s words. She would share a scripture or two with David to help him forgive his father. But David, he only felt hate. How can a man do that to his own son? David would get angry and walk away and be gone for hours and in those times, Emily would pray for David’s soul to become calm. He would return with a small gift. A cookie from a local bakery that was a day old or a small trinket from a local bazaar. Once he gave her a beautiful bracelet made of cheap beads. It didn’t matter the cost to her, it was the thought that counted and she would smile at David. Her eyes lit up with happiness. At theses times, David heart would burst with happiness. He knew this was what love felt like. He love Em with all his heart.
Two months later, Emily decided to tell David that she was ready to go home. She had spoke to the minister the day before and he felt she was ready. “’David, I need to go home. Please support me in this decision!” she pleaded. “Emily, please just a while longer, then you can return home. I just want you to make sure this is what you really want.” “David, please, I need my family. You need your family. Please talk to Pastor Smith, he can help you!” “No, Emily!” David stormed off. Emily just laid on her pallet and cried. Her heart was breaking. As she cried, she remember the man who was born on this earth and died on the cross for everyone’s sin. She knew that only through the love of God that David would be healed. In her tears, she fell asleep and did not awaken till late in the night when David finally returned. “David, I’m sorry. I never meant hurt you. You know I care about you” Emily said. David reached out and touched Emily’s cheek. Caressing it softly. David took Emily in his arms and held her. “Em, I could never be angry at you. You are my everything”. Emily saw sadness in David’s eyes. “I decided to leave in two days. You will be there with me when I get on the plane wont you?” David didn't say anything. He knew this day would come soon.
David surprised Emily with a outing to the local zoo the following day. They had very little money but Emily loved the zoo. She told David when she was little she wanted to be a veterinarian at a zoo. But she always viewed her dreams as fairy tales that little children spin. Emily enjoyed herself that day and was exhausted when they left. For once, in a long time, they both felt like young children again. Enjoying life without any worries. The day ended too soon for them. He decided that they would spend the night in a local homeless shelter. They would have warm food in the stomachs and a safe place to lay their heads. He knew he would not be in the same room with her but at least she would be safe. The following day, she would be leaving his life. He hoped it would be for just a short time. He needed to get settled and get a steady job to support himself and Emily, if she decided to return with him. He hoped she would. Each day, he knew his heart ached more and more for her. That evening before lights out, David had seen Pastor Smith talking to Emily. He never questioned Em about their conversations. He respected her privacy in that matter.
Early the following morning, David and Emily boarded a city bus to the LAX. They had very little money saved up for this but the Director of the homeless shelter gave them some money for something to eat while waiting for Em’s flight. Later David would return to the homeless shelter to see if they still had a bed for him after Emily got on the plane. David hoped they would. He hated spending the nights on the cold concrete. As they sat there in silence, eating. Emily wondered what was going thru David’s mind. She knew there was pain, for she had felt it to. David turned to look at Emily and she turned away. David seen pain in her eyes as well. About 30 minutes later, over the loud speaker, Emily‘s flight was preparing to board. She looked at David and gave him a weak smile. She knew this is what she needed to do and he knew it as well. They stood and he hugged her for one last time. He told her that she should take care of herself and he would never forget her. He would always remember their time together living on the street. Emily placed a small piece of paper in David’s hand and walked to the boarding gate. As she walked onto the airplane, she turned and waved and he waved back. As he walked away, he opened the piece of paper Emily had given him and scrawled on it was an address. The address of her grandmother’s for she was sure he would write her. She was going to Chicago. It was so far away from Ingelwood. But Em’s mother didn't live in Chicago? Her mother lived in Arcadia, or at least she did when Em ran away. He knew one day, he would go and bring her back to him. But would she be willing to come?
Emily was happy to see her grandmother and her grandfather as she departed from the airplane. She was overwhelmed with joy to be home. She has discussed with her grandmother a visit to her mother. Her mother had returned to the Chicago area after her step-father walked out. She knew it would be difficult but with her grandmother at her side and she decided to rely her faith in God. She prayed many of times that she would get the courage and strength she needed to come home. She remembered the story of the prodigal son that Pastor Smith had told her about. She was hoping for the same homecoming. And here she was, welcomed with open arms from the woman she always relied on when her mother could not be there. There were plans to be made. Night classes to get her GED, college to look forward to and a part time job to help out around the house and to buy things she needed. She did not want to rely heavily on her grandparents for her support. She was old enough to take care of herself with a small fraction of help, love and support from her grandparents.
David returned to the homeless shelter to find all the beds were taken for the night. He walked out into the hot early summer night air and thought about where he should go. He finally wandered into the local park and took cover under some bushes. The hard ground didn't help his aching head. He had thought about Em the whole day. How could he go on without her. She had been his comfort and constant support for the past two years. They had traveled miles together. He finally fell asleep.
A few days later after hanging around the outside of the soup kitchen, David had noticed Pastor Smith walking toward him. He wonder if Pastor Smith was going to try to talk him into coming to church or to preach the word of God to David on the streets. “David!” Pastor Smith yelled. David turned to walk away. “David, can I talk to you for a moment?” David turned to face the minister. “David, one of the men in my church has a construction crew and he was looking for extra help. Would you be willing to work for him for a while? It would give you a bit of an income to help in whatever you need.” David seemed hesitant at first and then he proceeded to talk to Pastor Smith about the job. If he was going to get his life together and bring Em home, he needed a job. This was a great opportunity and a start to a new beginning, one full of hope. David agreed that he would take the job and Pastor Smith said he would inform Mr. Walker. David would be expected there in 2 days time.
As the two days past, David did some serious thinking about how he felt about Pastor Smith. He thought about his family just as Em did. Perhaps there was something in what Pastor Smith talked to her about. He helped Em, could he help him? David searched out Pastor Smith later that afternoon at the church. Pastor Smith agreed to listen to what David had said without questioning anything. Its best to get things out in the open and on better terms with someone who is not used to asking for help. Emily had talked very little about David. She knew David was a private person and only in time, did he tell her about the circumstances of what happened. She never asked and only listened when he would talk. The words were filled with so many emotions, hurt, anger, sorrow. David loved his mother and knew she endured his father’s rage for years. Long before he was born. And just one time is all it took for David’s father to take the rage out on him for defending his mother. After the severe beating David received, he knew it was best to just leave. The police were called and his father was taken to jail and his mother to a women’s shelter. He knew his mother finally had a chance to do what she always wanted for herself and her son, to be out of that house and away from that man.
David made sure he got to the homeless shelter in time for a bed. He knew he really needed this job and things would turn for the better.
David arrived at the construction site long before his scheduled time. He wanted to be a hard worker and to keep this job. The day was long and the work was hard but he was young still and willing to learn. At lunch, David sat by himself as he had nothing for himself to eat. His stomach ached as it had any of times before. Pastor Smith was walking toward David with a brown paper bag. “I figured you wouldn't have what you needed to eat a decent lunch so I asked my wife to pack two. How is your first day?” David told Pastor Smith about the work and how it wasn't as hard as he thought it was. He wanted to perform well because he wanted to keep it. To get off the streets. Pastor Smith decided to take a chance “David, would you consider coming to the church on a regular basis for counseling?’ David agreed and a time was set for later in the day after work. As David met Pastor Smith on a regular basis, more of David’s past had been revealed. All the abuse from his father, the beatings and the cheating that he did on David’s mother. They discussed the alcoholism of his father. They discussed David’s childhood and looked for all the signs that lead to this point. David was wanting to heal.
As David continued to improve on the job, more opportunities opened up. David left the streets and the homeless shelters and moved in with one of his co-workers who was a member of the church that Pastor Smith ministered at. David would pay a small fee for room and board along with helping around the house as needed. He would have a soft bed to sleep in, four walls around him to shield him from the elements, a place to clean up and hot food in his stomach. He was content. At work, David was given more jobs to perform and even was offered a chance to go to college for an architectural degree that he would be able to apply on the job.
After the first few weeks at home, Emily was starting to worry. She had not heard from David. She was excited to return home after her job at a little bodega on the Pier but only to find out nothing had come in the mail. She began to worry. Did he forget her already? Is he ok? They had been together for those few years but they never left each other side for more than a day. Finally after the fourth week at home, Emily got the letter she had been waiting for. David was so excited of all the things he had to tell her. He had a steady job, a home to stay in and a chance to make his life much better than expected. He said he missed her and was waiting each day for her to return the post. She wrote back immediately and told him of her grandparents, her job and school. She did not tell him of the church she started to attend that Pastor Smith told her about. She knew religion was not a topic of discussion with David. She hoped and prayed each day for David to find God. She wanted him to feel the love and true joy she felt.
David and Emily continued to correspond over the next four of months. Writing each other at least twice a week. They talked for hours in their letters. He, of his job, the Berkeley family he lived with and even school. Emily talked about her new friends, school, her grandparents, her job and the church she attended. It was like they were never apart except in body. One letter came the first week of October, from David, through Emily for a loop. David started talking about his sessions with Pastor Smith. How he knew what had happened made him feel the rage inside. And that he was ready to face his father and forgive him. He had even called his mother and talked for a while. At the end of the letter, a small scripture was written in David’s writing, one she remembered reading aloud in a low whisper when she didn't think David was listening. The scripture had touched her in so many ways.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Emily was thinking is the new beginning of an old end? Had David found God? Emily was so happy she wanted to write David back as soon as she could. However, there were chores to be done and homework for college as well.
Later that day, as Emily, was sitting at her desk studying for a test that was the next day, her grandmother knocked at her bedroom door. “Emily, you have a visitor.” “Ok Grandma, tell them I will be right down.” Emily thought it could be her classmate who was coming over to borrow a school book. As Emily, walked down the steps with the book in her hand, she noticed it was not her classmate but a man. As he turned and looked at her, she noticed that it wasn't the David, she grew up on the street with but a different David. He wasn't as skinny as he was before. He didn't wear the clothing they used to buy for a dollar at the local charity thrift store. He was healthy and looked more manly than the kid she left behind. “David? Wow, why are you here?” was the only thing she could think of at the time to say to him. He looked at her, this was not the young girl he let go months ago. “Hi Em.” is all he said. “David, please come in and have a seat. I just got your last letter today and I was going to write you back tonight.”
"Em, please I don’t want to sit down. I have to ask you, Em, will you please come back home with me? Please, Em, I need you. I love you. I always have.” Emily noticed sadness in his eyes, more than there was when she left LAX. And as he said these words to Emily, he removed a handkerchief from his pocket and opened it up slowly. Inside was a small band of gold with a diamond attached. Tears filled Emily’s eyes. She realized that David had found God and she knew for a long time but denied the truth that all those years on the streets together, she had fell in love with this man. Emily looked up at David from the handkerchief and nodded. She said those words from long ago, the night David was full of anger, at God. She said ’David, you are my everything.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head in for their first kiss.
This short story was inspired by the song "Love Song Requiem", written by David Hodges and performed by his band, "Trading Yesterday".
“So Em, since speaking with your grandmother, have you decided if you are going to live with her and your grandfather? Now that you found out that your step-father left your mother shortly after you ran away.” David asked with sadness in his voice. He has spent two years with Emily hitchhiking and living on their own on the streets of Los Angeles. Both of them were from troubled homes. David, from an abusive home and Emily, a victim of rape from her step-father. For the age of 17, Emily is strong willed and a survivor. David was only one year older. “I don’t know, David. She offered for me to live with them but I don’t want to be a burden to them.”
About 3 months ago, living on the street, they went to a soup kitchen for the homeless in a local church. David noticed a minister talking to Em. Since then he noticed a change in her. She spoke of reconnecting with her family. She always known that her grandparents would have taken her in after the nightmare she had endured. But at the time, running away was the best thing she could think of. Shortly after leaving home, she ran into David. They have been surviving on their own. They would sleep anywhere they could, do small jobs to get money for food. Neither of them would do anything immoral. With the trauma they both went through, any form of prostitution was out of the question. They had heard horror stories of other homeless teens and what they went thru after selling their bodies for money to buy food. There was sexual disease and drug addiction. Neither one of them wanted that in their life. It was hard enough living on the streets. They never knew what to expect. Over those years together, David had come to love Emily but was very afraid that if he told her, she would leave him. He hoped that one day soon, he would be able to tell her how he felt but he only prayed that she felt the same way.
The next day, Emily made a collect call to her grandmother. Her grandmother said that an airplane ticket would be waiting at LAX any time she chose to leave and come home. Emily had a mixture of emotions. She was happy that her grandparents wanted her home, but she was full of fear. The rape had took a lot from her. David knew she was scared and he wanted so much to protect her. He wanted to show his love to Emily and wanted the same in return. He knew this was best for her and he hoped that one day, he would have the courage to come and ask her if she loved him as much as he loved her. For once, their lives would be complete. David had seen Emily cry herself to sleep to many times at first. She would awake from horrid dreams. He would be here to talk to her and to hold her hand. He would speak softly to her and comfort her with a slightest touch.
Emily returned to the church several times to talk to the minister. She told David that “She should forgive her family as God had forgiven her for any wrong doings she had done. No one was without sin.” The minister gave Emily a small bible to read in her spare time and at times, it really helped for her to read God’s words. She would share a scripture or two with David to help him forgive his father. But David, he only felt hate. How can a man do that to his own son? David would get angry and walk away and be gone for hours and in those times, Emily would pray for David’s soul to become calm. He would return with a small gift. A cookie from a local bakery that was a day old or a small trinket from a local bazaar. Once he gave her a beautiful bracelet made of cheap beads. It didn’t matter the cost to her, it was the thought that counted and she would smile at David. Her eyes lit up with happiness. At theses times, David heart would burst with happiness. He knew this was what love felt like. He love Em with all his heart.
Two months later, Emily decided to tell David that she was ready to go home. She had spoke to the minister the day before and he felt she was ready. “’David, I need to go home. Please support me in this decision!” she pleaded. “Emily, please just a while longer, then you can return home. I just want you to make sure this is what you really want.” “David, please, I need my family. You need your family. Please talk to Pastor Smith, he can help you!” “No, Emily!” David stormed off. Emily just laid on her pallet and cried. Her heart was breaking. As she cried, she remember the man who was born on this earth and died on the cross for everyone’s sin. She knew that only through the love of God that David would be healed. In her tears, she fell asleep and did not awaken till late in the night when David finally returned. “David, I’m sorry. I never meant hurt you. You know I care about you” Emily said. David reached out and touched Emily’s cheek. Caressing it softly. David took Emily in his arms and held her. “Em, I could never be angry at you. You are my everything”. Emily saw sadness in David’s eyes. “I decided to leave in two days. You will be there with me when I get on the plane wont you?” David didn't say anything. He knew this day would come soon.
David surprised Emily with a outing to the local zoo the following day. They had very little money but Emily loved the zoo. She told David when she was little she wanted to be a veterinarian at a zoo. But she always viewed her dreams as fairy tales that little children spin. Emily enjoyed herself that day and was exhausted when they left. For once, in a long time, they both felt like young children again. Enjoying life without any worries. The day ended too soon for them. He decided that they would spend the night in a local homeless shelter. They would have warm food in the stomachs and a safe place to lay their heads. He knew he would not be in the same room with her but at least she would be safe. The following day, she would be leaving his life. He hoped it would be for just a short time. He needed to get settled and get a steady job to support himself and Emily, if she decided to return with him. He hoped she would. Each day, he knew his heart ached more and more for her. That evening before lights out, David had seen Pastor Smith talking to Emily. He never questioned Em about their conversations. He respected her privacy in that matter.
Early the following morning, David and Emily boarded a city bus to the LAX. They had very little money saved up for this but the Director of the homeless shelter gave them some money for something to eat while waiting for Em’s flight. Later David would return to the homeless shelter to see if they still had a bed for him after Emily got on the plane. David hoped they would. He hated spending the nights on the cold concrete. As they sat there in silence, eating. Emily wondered what was going thru David’s mind. She knew there was pain, for she had felt it to. David turned to look at Emily and she turned away. David seen pain in her eyes as well. About 30 minutes later, over the loud speaker, Emily‘s flight was preparing to board. She looked at David and gave him a weak smile. She knew this is what she needed to do and he knew it as well. They stood and he hugged her for one last time. He told her that she should take care of herself and he would never forget her. He would always remember their time together living on the street. Emily placed a small piece of paper in David’s hand and walked to the boarding gate. As she walked onto the airplane, she turned and waved and he waved back. As he walked away, he opened the piece of paper Emily had given him and scrawled on it was an address. The address of her grandmother’s for she was sure he would write her. She was going to Chicago. It was so far away from Ingelwood. But Em’s mother didn't live in Chicago? Her mother lived in Arcadia, or at least she did when Em ran away. He knew one day, he would go and bring her back to him. But would she be willing to come?
Emily was happy to see her grandmother and her grandfather as she departed from the airplane. She was overwhelmed with joy to be home. She has discussed with her grandmother a visit to her mother. Her mother had returned to the Chicago area after her step-father walked out. She knew it would be difficult but with her grandmother at her side and she decided to rely her faith in God. She prayed many of times that she would get the courage and strength she needed to come home. She remembered the story of the prodigal son that Pastor Smith had told her about. She was hoping for the same homecoming. And here she was, welcomed with open arms from the woman she always relied on when her mother could not be there. There were plans to be made. Night classes to get her GED, college to look forward to and a part time job to help out around the house and to buy things she needed. She did not want to rely heavily on her grandparents for her support. She was old enough to take care of herself with a small fraction of help, love and support from her grandparents.
David returned to the homeless shelter to find all the beds were taken for the night. He walked out into the hot early summer night air and thought about where he should go. He finally wandered into the local park and took cover under some bushes. The hard ground didn't help his aching head. He had thought about Em the whole day. How could he go on without her. She had been his comfort and constant support for the past two years. They had traveled miles together. He finally fell asleep.
A few days later after hanging around the outside of the soup kitchen, David had noticed Pastor Smith walking toward him. He wonder if Pastor Smith was going to try to talk him into coming to church or to preach the word of God to David on the streets. “David!” Pastor Smith yelled. David turned to walk away. “David, can I talk to you for a moment?” David turned to face the minister. “David, one of the men in my church has a construction crew and he was looking for extra help. Would you be willing to work for him for a while? It would give you a bit of an income to help in whatever you need.” David seemed hesitant at first and then he proceeded to talk to Pastor Smith about the job. If he was going to get his life together and bring Em home, he needed a job. This was a great opportunity and a start to a new beginning, one full of hope. David agreed that he would take the job and Pastor Smith said he would inform Mr. Walker. David would be expected there in 2 days time.
As the two days past, David did some serious thinking about how he felt about Pastor Smith. He thought about his family just as Em did. Perhaps there was something in what Pastor Smith talked to her about. He helped Em, could he help him? David searched out Pastor Smith later that afternoon at the church. Pastor Smith agreed to listen to what David had said without questioning anything. Its best to get things out in the open and on better terms with someone who is not used to asking for help. Emily had talked very little about David. She knew David was a private person and only in time, did he tell her about the circumstances of what happened. She never asked and only listened when he would talk. The words were filled with so many emotions, hurt, anger, sorrow. David loved his mother and knew she endured his father’s rage for years. Long before he was born. And just one time is all it took for David’s father to take the rage out on him for defending his mother. After the severe beating David received, he knew it was best to just leave. The police were called and his father was taken to jail and his mother to a women’s shelter. He knew his mother finally had a chance to do what she always wanted for herself and her son, to be out of that house and away from that man.
David made sure he got to the homeless shelter in time for a bed. He knew he really needed this job and things would turn for the better.
David arrived at the construction site long before his scheduled time. He wanted to be a hard worker and to keep this job. The day was long and the work was hard but he was young still and willing to learn. At lunch, David sat by himself as he had nothing for himself to eat. His stomach ached as it had any of times before. Pastor Smith was walking toward David with a brown paper bag. “I figured you wouldn't have what you needed to eat a decent lunch so I asked my wife to pack two. How is your first day?” David told Pastor Smith about the work and how it wasn't as hard as he thought it was. He wanted to perform well because he wanted to keep it. To get off the streets. Pastor Smith decided to take a chance “David, would you consider coming to the church on a regular basis for counseling?’ David agreed and a time was set for later in the day after work. As David met Pastor Smith on a regular basis, more of David’s past had been revealed. All the abuse from his father, the beatings and the cheating that he did on David’s mother. They discussed the alcoholism of his father. They discussed David’s childhood and looked for all the signs that lead to this point. David was wanting to heal.
As David continued to improve on the job, more opportunities opened up. David left the streets and the homeless shelters and moved in with one of his co-workers who was a member of the church that Pastor Smith ministered at. David would pay a small fee for room and board along with helping around the house as needed. He would have a soft bed to sleep in, four walls around him to shield him from the elements, a place to clean up and hot food in his stomach. He was content. At work, David was given more jobs to perform and even was offered a chance to go to college for an architectural degree that he would be able to apply on the job.
After the first few weeks at home, Emily was starting to worry. She had not heard from David. She was excited to return home after her job at a little bodega on the Pier but only to find out nothing had come in the mail. She began to worry. Did he forget her already? Is he ok? They had been together for those few years but they never left each other side for more than a day. Finally after the fourth week at home, Emily got the letter she had been waiting for. David was so excited of all the things he had to tell her. He had a steady job, a home to stay in and a chance to make his life much better than expected. He said he missed her and was waiting each day for her to return the post. She wrote back immediately and told him of her grandparents, her job and school. She did not tell him of the church she started to attend that Pastor Smith told her about. She knew religion was not a topic of discussion with David. She hoped and prayed each day for David to find God. She wanted him to feel the love and true joy she felt.
David and Emily continued to correspond over the next four of months. Writing each other at least twice a week. They talked for hours in their letters. He, of his job, the Berkeley family he lived with and even school. Emily talked about her new friends, school, her grandparents, her job and the church she attended. It was like they were never apart except in body. One letter came the first week of October, from David, through Emily for a loop. David started talking about his sessions with Pastor Smith. How he knew what had happened made him feel the rage inside. And that he was ready to face his father and forgive him. He had even called his mother and talked for a while. At the end of the letter, a small scripture was written in David’s writing, one she remembered reading aloud in a low whisper when she didn't think David was listening. The scripture had touched her in so many ways.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Emily was thinking is the new beginning of an old end? Had David found God? Emily was so happy she wanted to write David back as soon as she could. However, there were chores to be done and homework for college as well.
Later that day, as Emily, was sitting at her desk studying for a test that was the next day, her grandmother knocked at her bedroom door. “Emily, you have a visitor.” “Ok Grandma, tell them I will be right down.” Emily thought it could be her classmate who was coming over to borrow a school book. As Emily, walked down the steps with the book in her hand, she noticed it was not her classmate but a man. As he turned and looked at her, she noticed that it wasn't the David, she grew up on the street with but a different David. He wasn't as skinny as he was before. He didn't wear the clothing they used to buy for a dollar at the local charity thrift store. He was healthy and looked more manly than the kid she left behind. “David? Wow, why are you here?” was the only thing she could think of at the time to say to him. He looked at her, this was not the young girl he let go months ago. “Hi Em.” is all he said. “David, please come in and have a seat. I just got your last letter today and I was going to write you back tonight.”
"Em, please I don’t want to sit down. I have to ask you, Em, will you please come back home with me? Please, Em, I need you. I love you. I always have.” Emily noticed sadness in his eyes, more than there was when she left LAX. And as he said these words to Emily, he removed a handkerchief from his pocket and opened it up slowly. Inside was a small band of gold with a diamond attached. Tears filled Emily’s eyes. She realized that David had found God and she knew for a long time but denied the truth that all those years on the streets together, she had fell in love with this man. Emily looked up at David from the handkerchief and nodded. She said those words from long ago, the night David was full of anger, at God. She said ’David, you are my everything.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head in for their first kiss.