God Has Spoken by Theresa A. Campbell

down in Dumpsters, felt around in the grass, and checked behind the fountain walls, but there was no bag. The bag was gone.
    Exhausted, Tiny sat on a bench and wept. All her money and clothes were in the bag. Now she had nothing. Her stomach grumbled again, and Tiny felt a cramp in the bottom of her tummy. What am I going to do? she wondered. She had only planned on getting some rest before taking a bus to New Kingston to look for Dolly. Instead, she had fallen asleep for hours while someone stole her bag.
    Tiny got up and sluggishly walked out of the park into the street. Wandering around, she noticed a handful of buses and a few cars while the shutters of most of the businesses were closed. The crowd from earlier was gone, and the few people remaining were packing up to go home.
    As Tiny dragged herself up the street, she passed a small car parked by the side of the road. The left front door was open, and a man dressed in all-white stood in front of it.
    â€œHello, beautiful. How ya doing?” the animated driver asked, a toothpick dangling from the corner of his mouth.
    Tiny paused, shrugged her shoulders, then walked away.
    â€œWait!” the man shouted at her back. “Hold on a minute.”
    Tiny stopped and turned a long sad face to the man, her teeth gnawing away at her bottom lip.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, baby?” the man asked. “Come here. Tell me what’s going on.”
    Tiny took a few steps toward the man. She had no money and needed a ride to get to Dolly. Maybe this kind gentleman would help her. “Someone stole my bag in the park with all my money. Now I don’t know how I’m going to get to my friend in New Kingston,” Tiny said solemnly.
    The man noticed the look of despair on Tiny’s face and instantly his face lit up. “Maybe we can work out a little something,” he said to her, licking his lips as his hungry eyes roamed over her body. “A beautiful girl like you will have no problem getting a ride.”
    Tiny looked at him horrified as it dawned on her what he was implying. “Are you suggesting that I sleep with you in exchange for a ride?”
    â€œListen, baby.” The man leaned his back against the car. He crossed his ankles and folded his arms. “It’s obvious you have no money. You have something I want, and I have something you need. Yeah, exchange is no robbery.” Grabbing his crotch, he winked at Tiny.
    Tiny’s mouth popped open in shock. Without another word she turned and hurried away, the man’s mocking laughter trailing after her.
    Once again in the park, Tiny sat on a bench squeezing her legs together. Her full bladder wasn’t cooperating. Unable to hold it any longer, she crept behind a tree and sheepishly looked around. Bending down, she quickly relieved herself and hurried away.
    After a while, Tiny sat in the grass, her back against a tree. This one was directly under a street lamp, but it gave her little comfort. She noticed a homeless man sleeping on a bench across from her and another a few feet away under a dark tree. At least she wasn’t alone. “I’ll just stay here until morning,” Tiny said aloud. “Tomorrow, I’ll ask someone for directions and walk to the club to find Dolly. Then everything will be all right.”
    As the hunger pain slammed into Tiny’s body, she ignored it as her mind flashed back on Aunt Madge. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I love you, Aunt Madge,” Tiny whispered. “Please forgive me, but I just had to get away.”

Chapter Eight
    Back in Falmouth, Aunt Madge was on her knees by Tiny’s empty bed praying. “Dear God, I place my little girl into your capable hands. It’s a cruel world out there, Lord. But I know with you watching over her, Tiny will be all right. Please bring my baby back home to me safe and sound. I decree and declare that the devil shall not hurt a single strand of hair on her head. In your