SARA, BOOK 2 by Esther And Jerry Hicks Page B

believe that they know, ’cause if they did know, they’d probably be figuring out things that needed
     to be done to keep me from spending so much time here. And yet, I can’t believe that they haven’t figured out that I’m going somewhere after school.”
    Sara sat back against the tree and pulled her legs up close against her chest and then pulled her jacket down over her legs.
     She was always fascinated by the stories Seth told of his life at home. It was hard for Sara to imagine having parents who
     were so strict. It wasn’t that Sara didn’t have responsibilities. She had plenty of them. But it always felt to Sara that
     it was important to her parents that she have a good life and a good time. She never felt that they were trying to come between
     her and a happy life. They didn’t stand on their heads to make Sara’s life perfect—nothing like that, but they didn’t get
     in the way of it either.
    It seemed to Sara that Seth’s parents deliberately made his life hard. As if a hard life would somehow make him turn out better
     or stronger or something.
    “We just have to have as much fun as we can while we can, Sara,” Seth said.
    Well, I guess this is as good a time as any, Sara thought. Here goes. She gulped. She just couldn’t seem to find the words to begin.
    Solomon was aware of Sara’s struggle.
    Sara, Solomon spoke in Sara’s mind, are you worried about Seth disapproving of you?
    “Maybe,” Sara said out loud.
    “Maybe what?” Seth asked.
    Sara was concentrating so hard on what Solomon might say that she didn’t even realize Seth had spoken to her.
    Sara, rather than worrying about whether Seth will approve of you, think, instead, of the value you are giving to him.
    Sara’s fear vanished. A flood of wonderful memories washed over Sara as she realized, in that moment, the extraordinary value she had discovered in knowing Solomon.
    “Of course,” Sara said, out loud.
    “Of course, what?” Seth said. “Sara, you’re beginning to scare me.”
    Sara brought her attention back to the tree house and to her friend sitting before her.
    “Well, Seth, are you ready for the next chapter of my strange but wonderful life?”
    Seth smiled. He’d been dying to hear more about her owl experience, but he’d decided to wait for it to be her idea. “You bet!”
    “Okay, here goes,” Sara said.
    “Remember, I told you about how I fell on the ice and how I heard a voice that said, Have you forgotten that you cannot drown?”
    “I remember.”
    “And how I saw this amazing, gigantic owl?” Seth nodded eagerly.
    “Well, the next day I went back to the thicket to see if I could find him again. And when I walked into the thicket, there
     he was, sitting right there on a fence post, right in front of my face.”
    “I’ve seen lots of owls,” Seth said, “but not up close like that. Were you scared?”
    Sara took a big breath. “No, I didn’t feel scared because it was all happening so fast. He said to me, Hello, Sara, isn’t this a lovely day?
    Sara spoke slowly, studying Seth’s face for some sort of reaction, but Seth was quiet. That was even worse. She almost wished
     he would laugh, and then she could just pretend she was making it all up to tease him, and then they could swing from the
     rope and just forget it.
    “Go on,” Seth said slowly.
    “Well, I mean, his mouth wasn’t moving, or anything like that, but I could hear what he was thinking. He knew my name, and
     he said he had been waiting for me. He said that he was a teacher and that I was a teacher, too. He knows everything, Seth.
     He’s funny and smart and will talk about whatever I want to talk about. He says that all is well, and that whatever happens
     in our lives is because we’re making it happen.”
    Sara’s mouth was so dry she almost felt panic. She was in too deep to back out now, but she felt too paralyzed to go any further
     with her story. She had never told any of this to anyone.
    “Sara, I don’t