SAMANTHA'S SERENITY
ALM No.70, November 2024
SHORT STORIES
Samantha looked over the mountain where she stood. The beauty of the scenery was breathtaking. The cool air kissed her skin as the sun beamed on her head. Nothing could take away her peace.
“I might stay a couple more days,” she said out loud to no one. She was in pure bliss and not ready to leave just yet. As she stood, looking over at the beauty before her, she did not notice the man that came up behind her and set the trees around her on fire.
She turned to go back to her cabin, only to scream out in fear. She was surrounded by blazing flames. The smoke filling the air. Samantha tried to run. Just as she made it to a clearing, a tree fell and blocked her in. Her serenity was engulfed in flames and her lungs were being filled rapidly with smoke.
She screamed out for help, only to be met with the sound of the fire roaring around her. “This is payback for what I said to my husband,” she said to herself.
“I’m leaving you Robert. I can no longer stay here and be miserable with you. You lost your job, and everything has fallen on my shoulder. You are no longer the man I married, and I will not continue to take care of you,” Samantha said as she grabbed her suitcase and stormed out of the house she shared with Robert. She was finally free of him. When they got married, he had a six-figure job. He got laid off three months ago and struggled to find another job. Samantha was not used to having to pay bills and she did not want to stick by Robert until he found something else.
As the flames continued to spread around Samantha, she could only pray that God allowed her to get out this alive. With that last prayer, she succumbed to the darkness as she could not breathe. As she was passed out, she should feel herself being lifted off the ground and the voices of her rescuers.
Samantha woke up in the hospital with the couple that rescued her sitting in the corner, sleeping. She wanted to thank them for everything but did not want to wake them. She called the nurse into the room.
“Can you please call my husband, Robert,” She asked the nurse. The nurse nodded her head and handed Samantha a piece of paper with the names of the couple that were sleeping in the room with her before she turned to leave.
“Brenda and Mark,” Samantha called out to the couple. They did not move. She called out again, this time a little louder. She smiled at them as they woke up and ran to her.
“I just want to thank both of you for saving my life. Can you please call my husband Robert and tell him I need to see him?” she asked the couple and passed a piece of paper with the number on it.
Robert got to the hospital half an hour after Mark called him and gave him the news of Samantha. Despite how she treated him, he still loved her. When he entered the room, he ran straight to the bed.
“Robert, I am so sorry for everything I said to you and how I treated you. Would you please forgive me and give me another chance? I promise to love you unconditionally,” Samantha said in tears as she hugged Robert as he pulled her in for a kiss, letting her know that he would always forgive her.
Christina Langford was born in Charlotte, NC. She is currently enrolled in Full Sail University where she is studying to get her Associates Degree and will continue on to get her Bachelors Degree in Creative Writing. She loves to cook and entertain her family and friends. Her ultimate goal is to write inspirational stories based off of her life experiences.