Three Wishes

Miracle is a seven-letter word. Improbable events, yet they happen. No one can explain them...

The bitterness of winter nips at my bare hands. Balling them up or stuffing them in my pockets have no warming effect.

My toes are like ice cubes attached to anvils trudging through the deepening snow. Frostbite creeps, searching for unprepared victims.

I occasionally look back through the heavy snowfall toward obscured, flashing hazards on a car that gave up. I don't know where I'm going, I'm just going. I must.

Morbid thoughts of dying alone out here invade my skull. They crisscross and fiercely collide, destroying barriers that restrain anger.

I wish I had a signal. I wish I had a backup plan. I wish I was a better father.

None of these wishes can help; it's more about the cries of a pleading soul facing death head on. Thoughts alone, can't save me.

Stamina wanes, mobility shuts down. I collapse onto my back like being struck by the solidifying effects of Medusa's deadly glance. Dying right now would be much easier...

A Labrador interrupts my diminishing thoughts by licking the mounting flakes off my face. He begins to bark profusely until his owner investigates. Images and voices I can’t discern, drag me to safety...

The power of scent coupled with a canines' curiosity, prevents a six-foot journey underground. My second chance to right the wrongs.

Was this a fortuitous occurrence of immaculate timing, or an angelic miracle?

I wish I knew the answer.