It was in that moment everything seemed to fade away. Nothing seemed to matter. As soon as the car collided with the other one, I began to hope that everyone in the car was alright. I always like to think about others before myself, that is what God taught me. It was just a second ago that I was trying to read my book, while my stepsisters were arguing with each other.
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis was the book I had been dying to get through; however, with all of the noise in the background, I couldn’t concentrate. Lewis talks about how the devil tempts us to sin, and with stepsisters like Margot and Hanna, it was really hard not, but as my mother always told me, “Have patience and be kind”. My mom named me after the saint Kateri Tekakwitha, who no matter what obstacles came her way, she always had faith and believed in God. My mom had died first, from cancer, and then my dad just recently passed away overseas. We were on our way home from the mall, and stopped at a stop light ready to turn left. When the signal turned green, Heather, my stepmom, began to make the turn. I saw a car from our right going straight to the other side. Wow this is going to be close. Then I saw the airbags were down. I had a huge gash on my forehead, and my shoulder was screaming in pain.
I wasn’t completely awake, but I decided to pray, just as my mother had taught me. “One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be” Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…. next the Hail Mary, Hail Mary full of grace, the lord is with thee…. finally the Glory Be, short but sweet, Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen. I then looked to the sky, to Mary, the strongest person I have ever known. No matter what came her way, she tackled it with glory and grace. She is the best Christian that has ever lived. I only aspire to be the fraction of the woman/person she was. She always put others before herself, so I decided to do the same. I think back to the people who are my so called family and remember one good memory I had shared with each of them. If we are going to die or live, I want to have happy thoughts running through my head.
I knew that Margot and Hanna were not my biggest fans, but in this instance I wanted to remember them in the best way. I recalled the night of Prom, I was doing their hair and makeup, trying my best to bond with them. Margot and Hanna thought I was crazy for skipping Prom to go on a retreat with my parish to deepen my relationship with God. Overall, however, they were too wrapped up in themselves to criticize me or care. I had actually enjoyed doing their hair and makeup: there was music was in the background and they were laughing. Margot’s red hair was bouncy with curls and her nose scrunched up when she laughed. She had picked this beautiful evergreen mermaid dress. She reminded me of Ariel, the little mermaid. Hanna had beautifully straight brown hair, that matched her hazel eyes. She had picked a gorgeous purple dress with a sweetheart neckline covered with sparkles and rhinestones. I felt very underdressed in my sweatpants, band tee, and messy bun. They looked like princesses. Snap. Picture taken. All of us smiling and having fun.
Next, let me think about Heather, who loved to give me chores and blame me even though it was one of her daughter’s fault. There was one moment though that I shared with Heather that wasn’t horrible: Heather had made me give up my big room to Margot and Hanna. Okay, not so great to start out, but it gets better. When I was finally done putting my stuff in the attic, Heather came up and gave me some books stating, “Here put this trash with the rest of your crap.” What a witch I had thought at the time (not my proudest thought) and then to make matters worse, Heather then proceeded to shut and lock the door, locking me in the room with no way out, but I guess that was not the point. She might not have consciously been nice to me, but I decided to stay optimistic and think of it as a lapse of her cruel ways. That brief moment of “kindness”, (her giving me the books), that is what I wanted to remember Heather by.
Suddenly, a light blinded me. I couldn’t see anything in the car or around it. When it finally dimmed, I could see an outline of a woman. When my eyes came back into focus, I realized it was the Virgin Mary standing in front of me. I blinked twice to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. The deafening silence Mary and I shared didn’t last long. “What can I do for you Mother?” I asked breaking the silence.
Mary smiled. She absolutely took my breath away with her inner and outer beauty, and then she spoke, “My dear child, we need to get you ready to meet my son.” With this, my makeup was being removed. My was hair going back to its natural form. All of my clothes and accessories were gone. The gash on my forehead was healed, and with that, so was the pain in my shoulder. I felt exposed. I felt vulnerable. “There, now you are ready.”
A light flashed. I wasn’t in the car any more; I was standing in a open field completely bare and yet the feelings I had before were completely gone now. I felt the most confident I had ever felt in my life. Then He appeared. Jesus. He looked just as I had always pictured, yet he still took my breath away. The most beautiful human being I have ever seen. I ran to him and embraced him. Both of us raw. I smile. I relax. In…. and out, in…. and out. In this moment, nothing matters. I am eternally happy. I have found my Prince Charming.