THE HEART IS GOLD
Chapter Four

Celeste walked around town, searching for Sam. They had been good friends for quite some time now. She spotted him.

"Hello, there," she softly spoke, smiling.

"Why, hello. I think I know you. You do look kind of familiar…"

"Oh, stop it! You know me, silly!" Celeste laughed and gave him a playful punch.

"Hey! Now, what do I look like, a punching bag? I feel so mistreated…" He pretended to look as if he were dwelling in deep misery.

"Oh, yes. A nice one, perhaps." She gave him a mischievous smile.

"We’ll see!" He playfully grabbed her and pretended that he was going to throw her into the pond. "Into the pond you go!"

"Ah! No!" she screamed, squirming to get out of his grip. He finally let go of her.

"Ha ha." He gave a laugh.

She grinned. "Oh, stop it. You know I am much too good for you." She pretended to be exasperated.

"Yes, I know. That is a very true statement." He went along.

She grinned. "Oh, really?" She gave him a sly look. Quietly, while he was not paying attention, she went and hid behind a hay bale.

"Celeste? Where’d you go?" he called, looking for her. He walked right past her hiding place, not seeing her. Suddenly, she jumped out from behind it. "Boo!" she yelled.

"Oh, my goodness!" he yelled, toppling backward onto the grass, sending her down with him. They laughed so hard their sides hurt. "Why…why did you do that?" he stammered between laughs.

"Oh, just a little trick." She laughed once more.

"Gosh. You gave me quite a scare!" Suddenly, their eyes met. She blushed and quickly got up, avoiding his gaze.

"Um…I…I had better be getting back…" she stammered.

He looked slightly disappointed. "Okay. Should I walk you home?"

"Um…thanks, but no…"

"Okay. Well, I’ll see you next time, then."

She sadly walked home. She had had to leave. She had just felt something different…something she had never felt before. She quickly hurried home, dreading what was on the other side of her door. She slipped inside and quietly headed up to her room. She thought about Sam and how good he had been to her. He was indeed her best friend. She picked up the skirt of her embroidered dress and headed up the stairwell. She carefully and quietly made her way down the hallway to her room. She took a deep breath and turned the doorknob…she was astonished. The room was very clean. No one else was in it, strangely. Hmm…I wonder where everyone has gone to? she thought to herself, but sighed with relief. No one to bother her! She gratefully picked up a book and began reading it. Suddenly, she heard footsteps down the hall, and her mother and John’s voices. She gasped, her heart pounding. The doorknob slowly turned.

"Celeste Martha Callister! Where have you been? You’ve been missing most of our meals for the past few weeks," John’s angry voice sounded. She did not see her mother, and figured she had gone to bed. She began to panic.

"Just for a walk, as I told you," she answered, though that was partially a lie.

"A walk! I think it must be more than that! I will find out where you are going! And you will be sorry!" He came and struck her hard across the face. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. This was terrible!

"Now you will get what you are worth!" he yelled.

She screamed loudly, awaiting the worst. Oh, please, don’t let anything terrible happen now, she prayed. She yelped in pain as he punched her very hard. She attempted to kick him, but failed. He began continuously slapping her across the face. It hurt so badly. She tried to free herself from his grasp, but he was too strong. He knocked her down to the floor and held her down, beating her.

"No! Please!" she cried.

"I told you, you will get what you deserve!" he yelled.

Oh, why…why, why, why? Please let me escape, she prayed. She sobbed as he put her through this pain.

"Stop it!" she yelled to the horrid man.

"No!" he answered, and hit her harder.

Suddenly, the heavens opened, and John was in just the right spot. She kneed him hard in his solar plexus and then took off out the front door, leaving him bellowing in pain. She ran like she had never run before. She had to get out of there--and now! She ran, on and on, not really knowing where she was headed. She realized she had no idea where she was at! She was frightened, and very sore from John beating her. She sobbed, wishing that she could just find her way around. She suddenly felt faint, and the next thing she knew, she toppled over backwards into the hard street.

*****

She was running, running very quickly. Suddenly, a bright figure appeared. "Trust me. You will be rescued," the voice said, and then it suddenly disappeared, leaving her there. She suddenly fell back into comforting arms. She nervously turned around to see Sam there.

"Sam…" she whispered. "Sam!" she happily exclaimed. He had protected her.

*****

"Shh, Celeste," a soothing voice told her. Celeste slowly opened her eyes to find herself lying in a bed in a room with white walls. Where was she? Before she had a chance to ask, a nurse walked in.

"How is she?" the nurse asked kindly.

"I don’t really know. Wait. Look. She’s waking up!" he exclaimed. They looked over at Celeste.

Celeste stared up at them. "W-what happened?" she stammered. And then she reached up to touch her face. She felt pain. She suddenly knew. John. She had been running from him after he had beaten her.

"You fainted last night in the street. What happened, Celeste? And who gave you all these marks and bruises?" Sam asked gently.

"John…he…he struck me…I finally got a chance to break free, and I ran and ran. The next thing I knew, I was toppling over, and that is all I remember…" She sighed with relief that she had escaped, and Sam was there. He swept her up into a comforting hug.

"Oh, Celeste! That’s terrible! How could he?" Sam asked, angry at John.

"I do not know…but please, Sam. Please do not make me go back to him!" She began to sob. He held her warmly.

"Shh…Celeste. Of course I won’t make you go back to him. He’s horrible. He made you end up in the hospital."

"So, that is where I am…you found me, didn’t you?" She smiled.

"Yes. And I brought you here as soon as I found you." Sam smiled warmly.

"Thank you. It means a lot…" She sighed. She had no idea where to go after this.

"But where will I go after this?" she asked.

"Look, Celeste, I have an extra room in my flat you can stay in. I don’t mind," he offered, which made her smile.

"Thank you very much." He was kind to her. He seemed to have a great solution for everything.

"Well, I definitely feel better now," she answered.

"That’s very good. I’ll check with the nurse to see when you can leave." He went to go ask the nurse, and quickly returned. "Anytime, as long as you have only bed rest today."

"That’s really good," she answered happily.

"Sure is. Now, come on. Let’s get a move on." He helped her out of the hospital bed, and she stood painfully. "Hold onto me," he told her softly.

"All right," she said back. With his help, they were soon out of the hospital.

"Do we need to get a ride or anything?" he asked.

"Thank you, but I would rather walk."

"Don’t expect me to leave your side, then."

She laughed. "All right, then. I won’t." They strolled along, enjoying the sunlit day. They soon came to a nice-looking building. It looked clean.

"Well, here we are," he told her softly, pointing to a room up the flight of stairs.

"All right." She turned and followed him. He helped her to keep her balance as they climbed the stairs leading to his flat. He opened the door for her and led her into a small but tidy parlor. It held a comfy white couch with a table next to it. She looked around at the cozy room. Just walking into it, she felt an atmosphere of love and compassion. "It’s really nice."

"Thank you," was his reply. "Now, let me show you to your room. It’s a bit small; but hopefully, it will do. I really don’t want that John guy to find you and try to hurt you."

She instantly felt touched by his words. He really did care about her. He wanted to protect her. So, this is it. He only wants to keep me safe and for me to have a warm place to stay, she thought happily. "Thank you." A certain warmth stood in his eyes that she had never really seen before. He led her into a small but cozy room, decorated with a few pictures. In the corner stood a small bed with an elegant red, gold, silver, and purple-checked quilt covering it. In the middle, it was white, with flowers of just about every color of the rainbow. That was all the room held. It seemed as if he must be a traveler, which was very pleasant. "I like it."

"Thank you again. Just make yourself at home. But remember--bed rest!"

"Oh, all right, then!" She playfully slapped him.

"Bed rest." He pointed to her bed. She sighed and went over to it. Quickly, she fell asleep.

Chapter Five
Stories