Wendy was sitting at her desk one day, poring over Patriarchs and Prophets by Ellen G. White. But she was mainly just skimming, the concept of Josh fresh on her mind. Her mind kept roaming to all the fights they’d had. He was not only in her band, but also in her group riding lesson and on her swimming team.

There was the time he had trotted up beside her horse on his horse and forced Wendy’s horse against the wall. Wendy had been able to squeeze her horse into a canter to get out of the way of a dangerous situation, and Josh hadn’t followed since she had been riding for longer.

On the swim team, he had dunked her head underwater from behind. She had been completely unprepared but thankfully came out unharmed.

“In the words of Bericus, slightly paraphrased,” she had said, coming up and whirling on him, “‘Why, you sodden son of Mithras, I’m needed sound, not drowned!”

What does Josh have against me? she wondered.

Just then, a question mark leapt out at her from her skimming over the story of Abraham right before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Patriarchs and Prophets, an exclamation mark might come along sporadically, but question marks were rare. She went to the start of the paragraph and began to read again:

“His deep interest for Sodom shows the anxiety that we should feel for the impenitent. We should cherish hatred of sin, but pity and love for the sinner. All around us are souls going down to ruin as hopeless, as terrible, as that which befell Sodom. Every day the probation of some is closing. Every hour some are passing beyond the reach of mercy. And where are the voices of warning and entreaty to bid the sinner flee from this fearful doom? Where are the hands stretched out to draw him back from death? Where are those who with humility and persevering faith are pleading with God for him?”

The questions leapt out at Wendy as if attacking her. Where was her voice to warn the sinner to flee from his doom? Where were her hands that should be stretched out to draw the sinner back? Where was her pleading to God? Had she been doing any of that for Josh Mans?

“But Sodom never wronged Abraham,” she told herself quickly. “And Abraham never had to face a sinner face-to-face when the sinner was trying to make a fool of him.”

Wendy shook her head. Sure, she was a sinner. She knew that. But she was saved. It wasn’t her fault if Josh wasn’t saved. No one else was reaching out to him, so why should she?

She quickly flipped the page, her cheeks turning a perfect scarlet.

“Wendy, are you coming to gymnastics practice or what?” Mrs. Jonson called up.

Wendy looked down at her leotard, suddenly realizing she had to go.

“Coming!” she called and zoomed down the stairs.

Once in the gymnasium, their coach started the team off doing bars. They were going to a competition soon and Wendy had her bars all planned out. But as her coach called out names of the people who were going to go next, her mind wandered back to the question:

“And where are the voices of warning and entreaty to bid the sinner flee from this fearful doom?”

She pushed the question out of her mind. They were there, but it wasn’t up to her to find them!

“Wendy,” the coach called, beckoning with her head to the uneven bars, “you’re up.”

Wendy nodded. But as she was about to start, her hands grasping for the lowest bar, her mind paused a moment.

“Where are the hands stretched out to draw him back from death?”

Wendy gritted her teeth. It was easier to grab this bar than stop her racing mind or reach out to Josh!

She was in a mood the rest of the day. She didn’t want to answer the questions, and, as far as she was concerned, she didn’t have to.

In the words of Lily McKinley, she thought, “I’m just a kid. Not to mention I’m probably crazy, since I’m arguing with a talking dragon.”