Rising Higher Than Ever

CHAPTER 1
Another Hand Reaches Out....

She lies at the corner of the dirty alley; blood trickling down her chin,
No one knows where she's been and all that she could see was HIM.
He leers and sneers toward her, reviving memories of her abusive childhood
A vision of her estranged father, who would beat her as hard as he could,
leaving her with emotional and physical scars that she has concealed for years
Until new danger rears its grotesque, blackened head, raising her worst fears
Once considered the belle of the ball, she once felt that she could have it all,
A handsome debonair yet deceptive young man would lead to her downfall.
He tells her she is beautiful beyond compare; beyond the clothes that she wear
Slowly but subtly he undresses her physically and mentally until she stands bare,
teaching her how to use her body to get anything she wanted in the world.
Now if she had the choice, she would trade every dollar, dime and diamond pearl.
Feeling empty and withered like an empty, unquenched rose vase out of place,
her mind swam with the images of different men that she can still smell and taste.
The man she took to be charming and handsome turned out to be cruel and insane,
a pimp who has gambled her for money and fame without a penny to her name.
Time after time, he has beaten her into submission without any remorse or remission.
She now lays battered and bruised from the hair on her head to her legs and thigh,
The pain is so intense in the sense that all she could do is lie there and cry.
Let the stream of tears flow so that everybody; or nobody would hear or know,
Another hand reaches out and she cringes; expecting another backhand blow.
But this hand is much more real; much more genuine so friendly yet so unknown,
All that she knew though, was that this hand also had scars of its own.....

The sirens blared loudly as the police car rounded an intersection, running at a speed of about forty five miles an hour. Officer Caruso received the distress call and his partner James Todd was in the car heading toward 14th and Main Street. According to the dispatch, the 911 call came from a citizen who just happened to walk by an abandoned building and saw a woman lying there, barely conscious. Caruso sped past another traffic light, not knowing what the call was about, but he already had a bad feeling about who the prime suspect could be. Randy Mays. The guy had a notorious reputation for being a known womanizer in his community and he has had brushes with the law before. He was arrested previously for assault and battery of a woman; whether that woman was his wife or not, he wasn’t exactly sure but due to insufficient evidence, they were forced to let him go. That was about two years ago. Now this call comes in, and Caruso couldn’t help but have a feeling of déjà vu while he drove toward the scene.
“I guess watching the Colts game tonight’s out of the question huh?” joked Todd. “Yeah.” Caruso agreed. He had the whole night planned out too. He was hoping for an early night so he can get home and watch the game while downing six-pack beers and have some of the guys come over. Now not only was he going to miss the game, but they might end up spending the next couple weeks or so trying to find the guy that did it. “Hey Todd, you don’t think Rain had anything to do with this do you?” Caruso asked. “Rain” was Randy’s nickname or aka, as he likes to refer himself. “I don’t know” Todd responded. “It’s hard to know what to think nowadays. These streets are filled with so many low lives, they might have to build another Alcatraz. I know one thing though. If Rain has anything to do with this, I guarantee he won’t slip through our grasp this time around.” Caruso secretly hoped so as well, because his wife, Charlene is already on his case about them not spending enough time together. Hopefully if Rain (which was Randy’s nickname) was connected to this crime, they might be able to tie him to the first crime that he got away with. “There it is.” Todd said, as they drove to the scene where they saw a woman who looked like she was in her mid-twenties, lying on the ground, barely stirring. She was still alive, but Caruso knew he couldn’t waste any more time. “Get the paramedics over here.” he said to Todd. Todd got the radio and quickly called for more help.
Tia Anderson opened her eyes. She was lying in the emergency room. She had a cast on her arm, a bandage over her head, and she had a strange, lightheaded feeling. In the next room, she overheard some people talking. “…yeah that’s right. She had a concussion, bruised cheekbone and a fractured bone in her arm. “Thank God we found her when we did”. They had to be doctors, Tia thought. She adjusted herself in the bed so she can sit up. Next to her bed, there were some flowers with a note that read Get well soon! There was no signature. Tia wanted to know who sent her the flowers, but the biggest thing that she wanted was that devil put behind bars. No, she wanted something much more. She wanted him to suffer. The man that she often called her protector and her shining knight, turned into something that she didn’t even recognize. While everyone called him Rain, she always called him Randy. She thought he loved her. They met while she was still in school, majoring in nursing. Randy swept her off her feet. A gentleman with polite manners, etiquette at any dinner table, not to mention very attractive, Randy pushed all the right buttons. He was a regular class act who acted like he had home training. Even though her friends warned her about him, she refused to believe all the stuff that they say about him being a bona fide player. She even questioned him about his past. He would laugh it off and say “Baby, you don’t really believe all that, right?” She decided to take his word for it and continued the relationship. While he did admit that he had girlfriends in the past, he reassured her that she was the only one for him and that he had eyes only for her. Boy was she the biggest sap around she thought as she looked outside the hospital window. It was a beautiful sunny day outside, but she didn’t feel sunny inside. Why couldn’t she see it coming? She thought everything was going ok. That is until the deception began.
One day, Tia was coming home from class, and when she walked into her kitchen, she saw another woman sitting there, eating an apple. Who was this? “Um, can I help you?” she asked. “Excuse me, but I don’t think we met.” the woman said. “My name is Peaches.” Tia didn’t know what to say at first, but remembered that Randy did have a reputation for inviting friends over, sometimes unannounced. While she did give Randy the key to her apartment, they always agreed to let each other know beforehand when company was going to come over. “Ok…..I’m Tia.” she said uncertainly. “Did Randy invite you here?” Peaches smiled and said “Yeah, he did. Rain is a great guy, isn’t he? You are so lucky to be with him.” Tia nodded, thinking to herself that she was going to have a talk with “Rain” about this later.
Randy came home that same night from work. Tia had prepared dinner for him and as they sat down, she told him about the mysterious visitor. Randy shrugged it off, saying that it was just one of his “clients.” Tia thought that was all well and fine, but one thing irked her. What did Randy do for a living? What was his job?
Tia would soon find out what Randy did. She hired a private photographer to follow Randy wherever he went and the photographer went right to work. The next day, the photographer returned with his pictures. Tia couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There were about four or five scantily clad women coming out of a small, abandoned apartment building, and one of the pictures showed Randy coming out of the same building a couple hours later. What was going on? What was Randy involved in? Tia’s heart sank in the worst way. This is it. Randy is into some freaky fantasy with women and he is cheating on me. Tia waited until he came home. She then confronted Randy about the pictures and what he did. Randy was surprised and less than pleased to find out that he was spied on, but he finally told her the truth. His “job” was actually being a manager for a call-girl company. Women would be “escorts” for businessmen and men of distinction, fulfilling their every physical desire. That’s just a nice way of saying you’re a pimp Tia thought. Randy told her that even though she thought it was strange, it did make good money and that nothing changed about his feelings for her. Randy also thought it would be great if Tia tried working for him. “Just have an open mind about it.” he said. “Just remember, that it’s a job and the goal is not to get emotionally attached to your clients”. Tia wasn’t sure about this. She wasn’t saying that she was a saint or anything, but this seemed downright wrong. She wouldn’t feel right about this at all. Besides she was going to school. But Randy said that by doing this, she would be making the same amount of money that nurses make at less than half the time. Tia was still unsure about it, but she didn’t want to disagree with Randy. After all, times were difficult and they needed every little bit that they can get.
One week has passed. Tia stepped out of Bill Sagley’s hotel room. The former oil tycoon still has it in him she chuckled. Counting the wad of cash in her hands she felt liberated. She felt great. However she still couldn’t help feeling the stares of other women as they seemed to look through her. They all think I’m a cheap hooker. But these were people who weren’t driven to desperate situations. They didn’t know what it was like to need money. They probably had it made. While these thoughts seem to give some type of comfort, they offer little comfort. She knew one day, she would have to stand up to Randy and tell him that she didn’t want to do this anymore. She climbed the steps of the abandoned building to meet with Randy to give him the day’s earnings.
Retching over the bathroom toilet bowl two weeks later, Tia felt really nauseous. This new job was not good to her health at all. Now she had to tell Randy she couldn’t do this anymore. But during the past couple weeks; Randy has been short-tempered and easily irritated by the low amount of cash flow from his clients. He has also taken to drinking lately, so he has resorted to violence to resolve issues. So she would wait until he was in a good mood to tell him.
“WHAT?!!!” Randy thundered later on that day. “What do you mean, you want out? Baby I need you. You got what these other girls don’t have. I need you to stick with this gig.” “No Randy!” Tia yelled. “I’ve had enough. I hate doing this. I hate going out and being used as a tool by other men. Look, either you get me out of this or we’re through” Tia threatened. Randy, who was not used to a woman standing up to him; got closer to her face until his nose was inches from hers. “Look you ain’t through until I say you through” he said and as Tia started to walk away, he grabbed her arm. They were standing next to the abandoned building in dark alley. The more Tia struggled, the stronger Randy got. She managed to claw her way out of his grasp but he grabbed her hair and started hitting her face and head. She cried out in pain but her calls were unheeded. This is it. I’m going to die in this alley alone and unloved. She fought back with everything she had but then everything went black.
Lying in the hospital, Tia reflected the events that occurred and anger coursed through her like a red stream. She wanted him to pay for everything he did to her. Suddenly a man walks in. Sitting up, Tia did not recognize who walked in. “Hi how are you feeling?” the man asked. “I don’t know how I feel right now.” Tia replied. “Hurt and angry is just the tip of the iceberg. I feel less sore though.” “I’m happy to hear you’re recovering.” the man replied. “Oh by the way, my name is Milton Lee. I’m the pastor from the church just two blocks from here. It was actually one of my church members that saw you at the alley and called for help. She came to me and told me she saw a man walk away from the same alley where the police found you. I hoped I wasn’t too late, but now I see that you’ll make it through.” “Thank you for your concern, pastor.” Tia replied, “But I’m not in the mood for visitors now.” “I understand.” Pastor Lee said. “You were in a terrible ordeal today. I will let you rest. I just wanted to tell you that just before you came to, the police arrested Randy Mays and took him to custody. Another witness saw him fleeing from the scene and called the police. Obviously he fit the description of a man who was just released two months ago.” Tia just sat there, speechless. Here she was, thinking that this guy got away with his crime and then in a matter of a few hours, he was caught. She couldn’t quite put it together. It was like someone was watching over her. “So he won’t be out anytime soon?” she asked. “That’s right.” Pastor Lee said. “He’s already done this once before, so the police now have probable cause to put him away for some time. The important thing to remember is that we all want to take revenge toward those who hurt us. But the battle always belongs to the Lord and He will always see to it that justice is done according to His will.” Tia sat there and listened. Maybe the pastor was right. Someone was watching over her. That someone had to be the Lord. As the police started to come into the room to take a statement from her, Tia said “Thank you pastor, for everything. I don’t know how to repay you and your members for any of this.” “Don’t worry about it.” Pastor Lee chuckled. Just get some rest and once you’re back on your feet, whenever you want to talk, I’m here. “Before he left, he said, “I hope you enjoyed your flowers…….”
 
Author’s Corner
Sometimes we are involved in situations that seem to be out of our control. We spend most of our time planning our future without taking account for the here and now. Tia invested so much time in her relationship and her future so much to the point that she couldn’t see who the real Randy was, until it was almost too late. Tia could have lost her life for making the right decision and following her heart. There are times where the devil poses as a smooth Rico Suave character and sweeps women off their feet. Then once he has women at his mercy, his true colors begin to show. He will do whatever he can to stray other people away from the truth of Jesus Christ and persuade them to live his lifestyle. Satan is known as the “master deceiver” so this is naturally his game plan. He does this time and time again, especially when it comes to certain ministry leaders and church deacons. 2 Corinthians 11: 14 states: “Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light (NLT).” Everyone can be deceived by the wiles of Beelzebub. He shows us the benefits of what we can gain if we continue to serve him. In this case, Randy showed Tia that if she became a call girl, she would make money more quickly and efficiently than if she became a nurse. The enemy uses worldly appeal to tempt God’s people. If you recall the Gospel of Matthew chapter 4, one of the ways that Satan tempted Christ was by “showing Him the nations of the world and all their glory (NLT).” Satan basically gave Jesus an ultimatum: serve me and you’ll get all this. Not only will you rule the world, but you get to partake of all the pleasures within it. Rings a bell? Satan told Eve in the beginning that if she ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge, her eyes would be open and she would be like God. Randy showed Tia the amount of money she could make if she degraded her self-respect, her body and her spirit for him. But Tia felt her conscious gnawing at her soul, telling her, “You know this is not right. You know this is destroying your body. It’s destroying you mentally and spiritually. Stand up in my name. Stand up for yourself in the name of Jesus Christ.” Even if Tia wasn’t saved or born again, she had a feeling within herself that what she was doing was wrong. She stood up and she nearly paid for it with her life. But in the midst of it, the Lord came to her rescue. He saved her life and allowed the police to apprehend Randy not too long after the fact. This is what makes the Lord great beyond measure. When we least expect Him to show up, that’s when He actually shows up. Hebrews 10:30 says “I will take vengeance. I will repay those who deserve it” (NLT). God is a merciful God, but He is also a just God. That means He will always see it in His power that justice is done. What we must thank God for is placing people in our lives that we can count and depend on in our times of hardship. Like Pastor Milton Lee, God’s people will always stand in the gap for those who are suffering or find themselves in terrible situations. These are all the prayer warriors and bondservants of the real world today, those who believe that the Spirit of God surpasses all problems and God is greater than anything we get involved in. So if you ever find yourself in this situation, fall on your knees and give it all to God. He knows the reason why tears fall from our eyes and He understands and reads the pain that we go through.