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Gasping I shouted for help and worked ot up the steps and under the porch roof which leaked I was soaked to the skin I practically lunged for the door, but it was locked I pounded hard and finally Suze came to it

"Look you now I said so" she reet clothes off quickly and not track in all thatthe floor"

She shut the door

"Wait" she said and rushed down the hallway Moments later, she was back with a towel and started to rub h, Then she started to help me take off my clothes

"I get these dry," she said as she gathered my jeans and my blouse My bra and panties et as well She waited, beckoning ive my

undergarments to her I did so quickly and wrapped the towel around me Then I moved as quickly as I could to the stairvay and went up to ot out so with another pair of panties Then I went into the bathroom to clean up

I considered taking a warain Then I started to fill the tub What aI do to try to make it better, just makes it worse However, once I lowered myself into the ater I i It even helped ining I was back hoo downstairs to one of Mrs Geary's wonderful lunches If you pretend hard enough I thought, maybe you could make it happen

Of course, it didn't but I did feel better The rain would stop The phone line would be fixed and Id be able to call Mommy and Daddy They'd understand They'd be happy to hear froet to know his father and all would be well

Why I wondered, did that sound so much like someone's fairy-tale hope?

It wouldn't be all that er before I would find out

12

The Shrine

It suddenly occurred to me that here I was in

so in a bathtub, but daydrea under us and dropping us back into reality, and the reality was that I was in a place so different from my home, I could be on Mars!

The water arm