The Rabbi's Daughter
by
Zalman Velvel
It was a late afternoon in September when Ariela was walking by Emerald Lake. She saw the Rabbi's daughter a hundred yards away, standing under a small tree by the shoreline.
“What is that crazy girl doing?” Ariela wondered. “Look at her. She’s reading a book out loud, with no one listening, and throwing bread in the water, with no ducks around. And look at the way she’s dressed in this heat. I don’t know any fourteen year old girl that looks like her. She’s got a few screws loose upstairs.”
It was 95 degrees out, with humidity like a steam bath, and the Rabbi's daughter was wearing a long brown skirt and a yellow long sleeve blouse, buttoned all the way up to her neck. Ariela was wearing skin tight white short shorts, a skimpy yellow tank top, and open sandals. She turned heads in their little town of Sunshine, Florida, just west of Miami. At fourteen, she had curves like a full grown woman, and she knew it. Ariela looked down at herself, pleased with what Nature had given her, and proud to show it off.
Emerald lake was peaceful and calm, surrounded by million dollar homes that were unoccupied, awaiting their winter residents in two months. There was a log floating in the water, close to the edge where the Rabbi's daughter was standing, and a large white crane with spindly legs was walking around the shore burrowing for crawdads.
Suddenly, a loud splash cut through the silence. What appeared to be a log was the head of a large grayish-brown alligator. It leaped out of the water onto the shore, wrapped its jaws around the Rabbi's daughter's ankle, pulled hard, and knocked her down. The Rabbi’s daughter grabbed the trunk of a small nearby tree and held on while the gator shook its powerful jaws, tossing the girl around like a rag doll, trying to tear her grip from the tree and drag her into the lake.
"HELP ME!" she screamed. "HELP ME! HELP ME! HELP ME!"
Ariela was stunned by what she saw and heard. She looked around for someone to help, but she was the only one there. She ran to the shoreline, and when she got closer, she saw the alligator had its powerful jaws locked tight around the girl's ankle. The gator was huge, with rows of spiked ridges down its back, and a long tail that beat back and forth on the ground.
"GET IT OFF OF ME! GET IT OFF OF ME! GET IT OFF OF ME!" the Rabbi's daughter screamed.
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© Copyright 2012 by Zalman Velvel Inc.
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