Saying it was cold was an understatement, really. The weather pretty much gave a new definition to the word ‘cold’, and that was a fact. The news that morning was full of warnings: Don’t go outside without the proper attire. Don’t leave pets outside and when you do let the out, bring them in as soon as they are done with their business.

Check on your elderly neighbors, and if they have a need, fulfill it if you can. “Keep them warm” was the day’s motto.

If you go anywhere in the car, take a blanket and a candle in a coffee can, just in case. With the actual temperature hovering at 20 below and the wind chill taking it down to 30 below or further, frostbite moves right in within seconds.

“Don’t tempt fate,” sayeth the weatherman.

She had no intention of leaving the house today. She watched the world drift by in various stages of ignorance. Honestly, don’t these people watch the news? She thought to herself. Dress modes ranged from Old Lady Fitzsimmons out in her snow suit to fetch the mail to the young man next door who ran a mile every day ‘for his constitution’ he would tell everyone who listened.

He jogged in baggy red gym shorts with a faded cardinal on them and a head band, and sockless Nikes. Today he wore the same outfit regardless of the temperature. She stood at the window watching him warm up. His skin was already getting blotchy. She shook her head. Silly boy.

A young lady sprinted by with a yappy dog on a leash. They barely had time to stop and smell the roses before she was tugging at the leash. Dressed all in shades of pink, she painted quite a picture. It didn’t take long for her to disappear around the bend.

Her name was Nancy. Nancy Applebaum. ‘Fancy Nancy’ she was called as a kid. She was always dressed to the nines when she was in school. Raised in a poor neighborhood, her family had money, and her mom let everyone know it.

Nancy stood at the window, day dreaming of the past. Her blue eyes didn’t see the neighborhood, high school lockers from the past crowded her view. She brushed her brownish hair out of her face and straightened her gown.

Perhaps she shouldn’t be standing in the window in her bathrobe over see through lingerie, but she was past caring what people thought now. In her 60s and retired, she had finally shed the shame and guilt of her high school years and lived for herself now. Criticizers be danged.

She stood at the window for a while, although she was not entirely sure why. She felt unsettled, like something was wrong. She didn’t know what, but something was off.

A fleeting flash of the young man next door popped into her head. “Nonsense,” she told herself. “He must have slipped by while I was daydreaming.” She didn’t know, but the fact that she didn’t see him bothered her. The longer she stood in the window the more obsessed she became about it. And the more she worried about him.

Such hullabaloo! She knew of him, but didn’t know him, not really. Even though he lived next door, they had never really spoken. She didn’t even know his name.

She did like to look at him though. She thought he was a fine figure of a man. Anxiously she checked around but saw no sign of him. No cops either. No cops meant there was nobody to stop the bad guys, shoot the zombies, round up the rabid critters, grab the picnic basket and run with it, or do a search and rescue for someone missing.

She was really getting antsy about the young man. She started each time she saw someone walking out there, despite the weather, slumping a bit when it wasn’t him. He was gone twice as long as usual, already, and she was losing it.

The Good Lord said to help your fellow man whenever you could, and this looked like it was shaping up to be one of those times. She watched for a few more minutes, but when she didn’t see him, she decided to go out and look for him.

Did she know where? Nope. Having never really talked to him she had no clue of where his running took him. Was it through the city streets? Maybe the city park a few blocks away? Maybe the small city gym with the treadmills? She did not know.

She did know time was of the essence. Every minute that passed she grew more and more anxious. Especially since the television still spouted on about the horrible conditions outside. She panicked.

Calmly, (outside, not inside) she walked to her hall closet and opened the door. A plethora of outdoor attire met her gaze. She began to pull out her heaviest, warmest outerwear: boots, thermal gloves, snow pants, subzero coat, wind and water proof hoodie, and a face mask.

She hesitated, then pulled out another pair of snow pants, boots, jacket, and two battery operated emergency blankets. She paid a pretty penny for those a while ago, but they were the perfect choice for today. A pair of thermal gloves landed on the pile as she scurried off to get dressed and fetch the biggest duffle bag she had.

Girl Scout motto: Be prepared. She intended too. She dressed in padded jeans, thermal shirt, thick socks, boots, and a hoodie. Finding the duffle bag, she hoofed it downstairs and stuffed all the extra stuff in the bag. Last thing she added was her phone.

She dressed in all the gear she had pulled out of the closet, and immediately started to sweat. ‘Didn’t matter,’ she told herself. ‘You’ll be glad to have it when you go outside.’ When she opened the door, she truly was.

Standing outside, the wind whipped by, pulling strands of her hair out and whipping them around her face like Medusa’s snakes. She ignored them as best she could, her mind was confuddled. She still didn’t know where to look.

Looking up and down the street revealed no one. All were safe and warm indoors except for her young man. When he became ‘her’ young man was a mystery, too. Perhaps it was as early as when she decided to find him, or when she pulled out extra clothes for him from her stash.

Regardless, his becoming ‘her’ young man just might save his life, if she could find him. The sooner he came in from the cold, the better for him physically, and her mentally. Besides, it was what the good book said.

“Ok, God, guide me. I don’t know where he is.” She said, standing on the corner with the wind rustling through her ears. Even with all her paraphernalia on, she could feel the cold trying to creep in. Time was running out.

She closed her eyes and tried to open her mind to the Voice of God. He wanted her to come out and search for the guy, maybe he would point out the way. She had no doubt he could.

After a few moments, she moved off to the left, towards the city park. Something about the hiking trails nagged at her. She felt compelled to go there. The urgency was incredible. She went at a brisk walk.

Reaching the park, she studied the sign showing the pathways for hikers. The second one on the right seemed to stick out and caught her attention. It was the shortest one. Staring at it, it seemed to glow. She could explain it, but that was where she felt compelled to start.

Checking to make sure she still had her phone, she walked quickly to the entrance of the pathway and walked in, hefting the duffle bag. She didn’t have to go far.

About 150 feet in, she found him. Laying in the middle of the trail, face down and unconscious. His skin was white, and he felt cold to the touch. Freezing cold. He was breathing, barely. She pulled out one of the blankets and covered him with it. She turned it on and made sure it was getting warm, and tucked it around him. She pulled out the second blanket and covered him with that one as well, trying to keep the heat in close to him.

Using her phone, she called 911 and reported his location and condition. She sat back and watched him. He was still not entirely awake, and was shivering.

She pulled the parka out of the bag and draped it over him. “You’ll be fine,” she said, soothingly. “I’ve called for the paramedics. They should be here shortly.”

He struggled to roll over, she helped him, then tucked the blankets around him again. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her. He was actively uncontrollably shivering now.

“You’ll be fine,” she said again. His silence unnerved her. Most people in his position would say something.

“Th-th-thank you.” He stammered. “H-h-how did y-you find m-m-me?” He got out between shudders.

She looked at him, studied him for a moment, then decided he needed to know the truth. “God told me where you were. He said it was time to come in from the cold, and sent me to find you. Believe it or not.”

The young man just stared at her, his expression unreadable. Just then the paramedics charged in and took him over.

They arrived with stretchers, blankets, and equipment to measure his vital signs. Laying him on the stretcher, they tucked several blankets around him and carried him off to the ambulance. One of them stopped to talk to her.

“These are yours, huh?” He held out the battery operated blankets and the parka to her.

“Yes, they are.” She folded them up and stuffed them in the bag again. He watched her.

“Are you the one that called this in?” He asked, watching her nod in the affirmative. “Those things are so cool. Where did you get them?”
“I have had them for quite some time now. Never had a chance to use them, but they sure came in handy today.” She glanced over to the ambulance. “Is he going to be ok?”

“Too early to tell, but those heated blankets were ingenious. They probably saved his life.” He glanced toward the ambulance himself. “Do you want to ride in with him?”

“No. I don’t really know him, I’m just a neighbor,” She glanced towards the ambulance, and sighed. “It’s enough that he is safe now.”

“May I have your contact information? I can ask the doctors to call you and give you an update, if you like.” He pulled out a pad of paper and a pen.

“That would be great, if they will.” She gave her name and phone number to the paramedic, then said, “I think I will go home now. This weather is creeping into my clothing.”

“Yes! Please do! You need to stay warm, Mrs. Applebaum. I will make sure the young man knows who to thank.” He stuck out his hand.

She took it and they shook hands. She left and walked back home. She undressed and made herself a cup of tea. Taking her phone out and laying it on the table, she waited.

She waited to hear about her young man, and while she waited, she prayed. She prayed that he would fully recover from the cold, and that he would be fine. She glanced at it from time to time, as if willing it to ring. As she prayed, a peaceful feeling came over her, and she found the waiting easier to bear.

He would be fine. God said so.

Just them the phone rang. She snatched it up. “Hello?”

“Mrs Applebaum?”

“Yes, this is she,” she answered.

“My name is Dr Spinner, from the hospital. I am calling in regards to Joseph Dean, the young man you rescued earlier today from the park.”

“Yes! How is he?”

“Mr. Dean is a very lucky young man to have you as a guardian angel. Thanks to your quick thinking, he will make a full recovery. He should be out of the hospital in about a week.”

“Were we in time to prevent frostbite?”

“Not entirely, but there will be no loss of limb. You did get to him in time to prevent that. I am grateful on his behalf, and I am sure he will come see you when he gets out.”

“Thank you so much for letting me know. I appreciate it.”

“You are so welcome. Bye now.” The doctor hung up.

She sighed heavily and hugged herself. She was overjoyed that the young man, Mr. Dean, would be fine. There was a part of her that wished, still, that she had gone with him to the hospital. She sighed again. Too late now.

Those feelings didn’t abate. They did not overwhelm her, but they didn’t go away either. The Voice of God said those events were not over yet. So, again, she waited. She just didn’t know what for.

A few days later, a knock came at the door. When she answered it, the young man from next door was standing there, dressed and with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. She smiled at him.

“Good morning,” she said, smiling.

“Mrs Applebaum?” he asked, his voice soft and quiet. At her nod, he handed her the flowers. “I just wanted to thank you for helping me. The doctors told me that you saved my life, and I can’t thank you enough. How did you find me?” He looked up and down the street.

“Won’t you come in?” She waited until he entered then shut the door behind him. “Can I offer you some tea? I need to put these in some water. They are so beautiful!”

“I would love some tea.” He said, following her to the kitchen. “You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you.” She pulled a vase from under the sink and ran some water for the flowers and filled the kettle. Placing the flowers on the table and the pot of the stove, she said, “Do you believe in God?”

“Most assuredly.” He sat at the table, his hands folded in front of him. “God does a lot of beautiful things.”

“You asked me how I found you. God led me to you.” She looked at his face. He didn’t look shocked, he looked interested. “That’s how I found you.”

“I am not surprised. God has been with me for many years. I had just stopped letting him guide me. Maybe I should start listening again.” He smiled, gently.

She laughed quietly. “Maybe you should. I would think this would be a wake up call for you.”

They talked for a while, and parted as good friends. They even walked together occasionally. God certainly did work in mysterious ways!