‘Good morning, America! We have freshly developing news to tell you. President Trump’s ratings, despite record-setting market values, are at a record low. 40 people are dead or missing from hurricane Florence. 167 people are dead from a ferry accident in Tanzania….’

The flat screen in their living room spat out information. They turn it off and look at their Facebook for some sort of something to make them feel human again. The meme shows a woman holding a dead lion that she had shot on a hunt. The sour comments cascade down. The next pic is a pic of someone arrested for killing his wife and children and the angry comments continue to trickle down their phones as they try to scroll away.

Frustrated with this daily unending of real, but saddening ‘news’ that is fed to them, the people became quiet and sad. They became unsure if it’s all going to be ok. Nobody knew if this world would continue it’s rotation, whether they would wake in the morning. The phrase ‘I don’t know how much longer God is going to keep us here’ was heard more. Sure, they all went about their jobs and life. Pretending to not know what waited on them if they turned their TV to anything but a Netflix movie. And even there, they had to be careful.

In the darkness, they had grown skeptical of each other. In the negativity, they had grown angry at each other. 2018 Technology had indeed made them more connected. However, that very connectivity had driven them apart.

Their lives all craved for the hope and the beautiful promise of tomorrow.

They looked to the sky in frustration and wonder. Surely behind the dark clouds that hung above them and in their lives here, something bright was happening and they just couldn’t see it or feel it’s warmth and comfort.

Surely.

The frustrated sun rolled itself around above the clouds. As if it were playing hide and seek, it tried to get through. It could see that the people below were in distress. It could tell that its warmth was needed but it couldn’t get to them. The clouds would not part.  They were determined to keep their gloomy cover over the people.

However, on September 17th 2018 at precisely 6:22 pm, the clouds made a critical mistake. One tiny crack in the clouds occurred. It was like a rock that hit a windshield. It was just enough of a space for the sun to do what the sun does best: send it’s beauty and warmth to the people below.

With one sudden decision, the sun plucked its favorite ray, said goodbye to it and like an Olympian javelin thrower, the sun flung the ray of light through the crack in the clouds towards a waiting, sad and needy planet Earth.

As the ray fell through the sky it shaped itself. The golden ray of light morphed into 10 movable fingers and 10 long toes. Shiney black hair sprang forth on top of a beautiful head. The black strands flapped about in the windy descent. Eyelashes dotted themselves on tiny eyelids. A perfect nose came forth and the speed of the fall turned it slightly upwards. A smooth and tender covering unlike anywhere else to be found wrapped itself around the plummeting ray of light.

On each side of the lips, 2 puffy pink cheeks popped outward and fluttered in the wind as the ray continued it’s fall towards Earth. Getting closer to its destination, the ray began to breathe. Two tiny lungs began to move and then filled themselves with oxygen for its new life.

Slowing down before it landed, the last preparations were 2 round azure marbles as blue as the ocean’s water were formed as eyes.

This new ray of light, now to be called Emma Rose Thorne, brought with her just what the people had needed; she brought hope.

She brought tears of joy. She brought the promise of tomorrow. She brought warmth to their souls that had grown skeptical and cold.

The little ray of sun came with enough light to affect many, many people. And the light that Emma radiated into those people, therefore, radiated into many more people. And the light was spread over a dark people so much that the people smiled again for simply no reason at all sometimes. They found themselves driving home from work and smiling all alone in their vehicle.

But out of all the things that the chosen ray of sunlight transported to earth that muggy Tennessee evening in 2018, she carried with her something that was hard to define, to see, to hear or to touch.

Emma Rose Thorne brought love with her.

 

For my granddaughter,

Love,

Petaw

p.s. my wife, her mamaw, sewed that amazing little dress for her.

 

~That’s the best that I can tell about it,

Mark