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by her parents, by John, and by God.  She must now forgive herself.  Oh how she remembered those nights when John would hold her as she cried and begged God for a child. 
    But what a celebration they had had when she found out she was finally going to be a mother.  Thank you, God, that you answered my prayer.  Thank you for giving me another chance.  
          She could still hear John soothing her in the delivery room, encouraging her. 
                  “Just a little longer, honey.  You can do it.”
                                “I’m so tired -- so tired.”
                  “Two, three, four,” the doctor began.
                                “Oh...ohh...”
                  “Seven, eight, nine, and ten.  Good job, Carolyn.  The head is out!”  And then everything grew quiet.
                                “What is it?” John asked.  The concern was etched in his forehead.
                  The doctor was strangely silent.  Instead another contraction hit, and Carolyn could not hold back.  She pushed the baby out, and then fell heavily back to bed.
                  “Is it a boy?” she remembered asking.
                       “It’s a girl,” the doctor answered quietly, still not revealing the cause for his concern.  John was so horrified when he left the head of the bed.  His little girl was blue.  The umbilical cord had been wrapped around her neck, and the doctor was deftly working to revive the infant. 
                  “Why isn’t she crying?  What’s wrong with her?  Oh God, someone please say something.”
                  Finally after doing infant CPR, the doctor noted a pulse.  He held the baby up by its ankles and smacked her bottom --a practice he had long abandoned.  The baby coughed hard and inhaled sharply.  A loud wail erupted in the birthing room, and everyone else exhaled a collective sigh of relief.  I was so scared for my little Beth.
                  Satisfied that the infant was going to be okay, the doctor wrapped her in a warm towel and placed her on Carolyn’s belly.
                  “Ready to meet your daughter, Mrs. Merriweather?”
                                “She’s so beautiful.”
                  John was wiping tears of joy from his eyes and managed to find his voice.
                                “You sure make beautiful babies, Mrs. M.”
                  “You’re not too shabby yourself, big guy,” she had said.
          So long ago, and yet it seemed like yesterday.  Carolyn had had seventeen years of joy, seventeen years of smiles and infectious giggles to warm her heart.   But now Beth was missing.  And there was this blog that opened the door to a world of fears that was new for Carolyn. Her chin dropped to her chest with a pitiful groan and her body erupting in deep sobs just as John entered the room.
                  “Honey,” he began softly and placed a hand on her shoulder, “the police are here now.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    Led into Captivity
    “ And there rose up a new king in Egypt.” Exodus 1:8
     
                  Checkout time was approaching.  Beth showered and changed clothes and brushed her teeth, then promptly gagged and dry heaved. The first order of business would be to get something into her stomach.  Then she could walk to the bus stop. The continental breakfast in the lobby had already shut down, so she settled for the Waffle House next door.    She left the room keys on the television set and pulled the door to behind her. 
                  She walked to the lobby