The Zella Chronicles

“Why do we help Elly, and not others?”

Jesus smiled down at Zella, “Someone is praying for her.”  

Jesus let that sink in for a moment then continued, “There is another girl someone is praying for as well. Her name is Madlyn. I think we can help them both at the same time.”

………………………….

Hovering over a modest one bedroom home in San Jose California, Zella and Jesus looked on as Elly came to yet another crossroads in her life.

It was a rainy December day. The Christmas decorations around the neighborhood belied her mood on this blustery night. Elly had been thinking over her miserable situation. She and Gabe had been married for five years and there were no children. Every time they went to see his family, Mama Pajaro would ask, “No bambinos?” What could she say? It just hadn’t happened.

Then Gabe had lost his job. The owner of the hardware store where Gabe had worked had a son who came home from the war. His son, Jerry, got his old job back, and Gabe was out of a job. Now that all the boys had come home from the war, jobs were hard to come by, especially for a man who was deaf. He could hear with his hearing aid, but people felt obligated to hire a vet.

Elly longed to adopt, but there was no money for that. She had wanted to be allowed to work, but didn’t want to be the soul support of the household. The last couple of years had been difficult, and Elly was afraid Gabe was running with the wrong kind of friends. They hadn’t been to church for too long now, and she didn’t feel like God would hear her prayer. She and Gabe seemed to fight more and more often. Elly took a suitcase out from under her bed. The radio began to play “As Time Goes By”. It was their song. She threw a bed pillow at the radio and the muffled song continued from the floor as Elly covered her face and cried.