Excerpts

SPECIAL DELIVERY

ooooJosh cupped his hands around his eyes and looked through the window.  A woman in her late fifties was working alone in the office.  Her back was to the window.  Josh turned the knob on the door and entered the office.

oooo"Good morning," said Josh, as the woman turned in her chair.  "Are you Elizabeth…mother!" he yelled, as he ran to her and placed his arms around her neck.

ooooThe woman pulled his arms away and said, "Excuse me, sir, but I don't know who you…Josh!  Josh!  Is that you?"

oooo"Yes!  It's me!" Josh exclaimed as he hugged his mother again.  He picked her up and spun her in circles.

oooo"Josh!  I saw you and the others drown," said Lizzie.  How are you here after drowning and being dead for six years?  Are you a ghost or the soul of Josh coming to comfort me?"

oooo"We didn't drown," said Josh.  "The mailbox transported us back in time -- three thousand five-hundred years!  I'll tell you about it later, but now I want you to meet some people.  Josh went to the door and motioned for the group to come into the office.  Lizzie's eyes grew wide as eight people filled the small room.

oooo"Is that woman Maggie Wickersham?" Lizzie asked.

Josh replied, "Yes.  She's not only Maggie my friend, but she's Maggie my wife."

oooo"Your wife?" Lizzie exclaimed.

ooooJosh brought his two children to the front.  As they tried to hide behind Maggie's dress, Josh said, "Mom, this is little Josh and this is Elizabeth Anne -- your grandchildren."

ooooLizzie knelt on the floor and scooped her grandchildren up in her arms.  Tears flowed down her cheeks.  "I really questioned God's wisdom in taking you from me and leaving me here with no way back to my former life," said Lizzie.  "Now, I'm hugging my grandchildren.  I still think this is a dream."

oooo"It's not a dream, Mom," said Josh, as he brought the rest of the group closer to Lizzie.  "Here is Junior all grown up." 

ooooLizzie hugged Maggie and Junior at the same time.  "I have bad news for you," she said to them.

oooo"We know," replied Maggie.  "The blacksmith told us."

ooooJosh placed his hand on Milford's shoulder and said, "Here's Milford and his wife Deborah."

oooo"Milford is married too?" Lizzie asked.

oooo"Yes," said Josh.  "And they have a child."  Milford picked up Caleb and handed him to Lizzie.  "He's the great grandson of Caleb."

oooo"You don't mean the Caleb of the Old Testament?" Lizzie asked.

oooo"The one and the same," said Josh.  "Joshua Hamilton, you have certainly made some changes in history.  Do you suppose we still exist in the future?"

oooo"I'm not concerned with that now," said Josh.  "But I know you must be thinking about Dad."

oooo"You have no idea of the torment I experienced after the Wickershams and Zimmermans died.  I felt alone and trapped.  There were times when I wished I had died of the Cholera too."

oooo"How did you escape it?" Maggie asked.

oooo"I received an immunization injection for Cholera when I was a girl," said Lizzie.  "Little did I realize that it would save my life."

ooooJunior tugged on Josh's sleeve and said, "Look out the window!  It's Gottfried Hesselbein!"