THE BLESSING

Sergio stopped when he felt the soft, subtle vibration edging its way through the soles of his boots. Then the vibration grew, and the sound of a low guttural rumble penetrated his eardrums. He dropped his drill as fear suddenly seized him; knowing it was the one thing that terrified him the most. “Cave-in!” he screamed at the top of his lungs in his native Spanish language. “Run!” And run Sergio did, as did thirteen other miners who were in the same tunnel of the coal mine. The rumbling sound increased dramatically and the ground began to shake uncontrollably under Sergio’s feet. He saw the lights hanging overhead suddenly go out. A single light from the lantern attached to his helmet was now the only illumination that allowed him to see. Sergio then saw the beams of light from the other miner’s lanterns as they also tried frantically to scramble toward safety. In his frenzied effort to sprint back through the cave, Sergio bumped hard against another miner lying on the ground, hearing the man cry out. Sergio immediately stopped running. “He needs help,” his mind called to him. As difficult as it was—his mind now screaming, “No, no, forget him! Get out!”—Sergio forced himself to turn back. He was horrified when his lantern cast its light on his good friend Saul who was sprawled on the cave floor; blood gushing from a wound on his leg caused by a falling rock. “Saul!” Sergio cried out. “Go, Sergio. I can’t move. Go! Get out!” “No! I’ll help you.” Sergio started to lift Saul, but then heard a sound so dreadful it caused him to close his eyes. Not a hundred feet from where they were, the top of the tunnel suddenly let loose and tons of rocks and boulders, plus enormous amounts of dirt and dust instantly sealed off the escape route. When the rumbling ceased, Sergio brushed debris off of Saul’s face. “Are you all right?” Saul nodded, but Sergio knew his friend was in great pain. Then Sergio heard the voices of the other miners calling out. He called back, informing them that Saul was injured. Shortly, Sergio saw beams of lights approaching. All fourteen miners were still alive, but knew that the amount of oxygen trapped in the sealed tunnel wasn’t enough to allow them to continue breathing for very long. Three hours following the cave-in, all of the miners were huddled in an open area of the tunnel near where Saul had fallen. Each man prayed silently, hoping that help would arrive before it was too late. And then another lantern went out. Sergio now saw only two other beams of light besides his own. He began to pray again, knowing that complete darkness would soon envelop them. Then suddenly Sergio thought he heard something. He straightened up and listened more intently. It was a voice, a faint sound as if from a small girl whispering to him. He looked down at Saul. “Did you hear that?” “Hear what?” Saul asked, punctuated by a cough. “A voice. A girl’s voice.” Saul listened for a moment, but then started shaking his head. Sergio asked the other men if they had heard anything. They, too, indicated they hadn’t. “There,” Sergio said excitedly a moment later. “There it is again.” Sergio slowly started heading back down the tunnel toward where they had been drilling. He could still hear her calling to him. As he came closer to where he had been when the cave-in first started, her voice became clearer and easier to hear. Stand back, Sergio, it instructed him in Spanish. I will open the rocks above you and you will have fresh air. “What?” Just stand back. You will see. Hesitantly, Sergio took a few steps back. He wasn’t too sure about following instructions from a voice no one else could hear. Then a realization came over him; he was hallucinating from lack of oxygen. He crumbled to the ground and started to cry, knowing his life, and those of the other miners, was over. He didn’t want to die and lowered his head into his hands and made no attempt to hold back the tears. Then another noise shook him from his torment. Sergio immediately looked up, knowing this was the end, and began praying for God to accept his soul into Heaven. Then Sergio suddenly felt a strange sensation. He concentrated on the sensation. It was … it was cool air rushing in at him. Breathe, Sergio, breathe, the girl’s voice told him. Sergio closed his eyes and took in several deep breaths. Then he turned to where he had last heard the voice. There, as if standing in a haze, was the distorted form of a girl. Call the other men over, Sergio. Let them breathe the air, too. “Who are you?” he asked. “Are you really here?” No, I’m not, Sergio. You only sense my presence. Call the other men. The vapor thin haze then vanished, and the form of the girl was gone. Sergio finally began shouting to the other miners. “Over here! Come over here, quickly! There’s fresh air.” “Fresh air?” someone shouted back. “Yes! Yes!” Sergio cried out again. “Come quickly, all of you.” “Where are you, Sergio?” another miner called out. “Back down the tunnel. Help Saul and bring him too.” The thirteen other miners finally trudged into view of Sergio’s lantern. Two of the miners were carrying Saul. They placed him on the ground and then frantically took in breaths of oxygen-enriched air. All the men fell to their knees and gave grateful thanks to God for saving their lives. Sergio, however, had the strangest feeling that it wasn’t God who had saved them, but rather a small girl, or at least the form of a small girl. She was the one who had provided the miracle.