An Important IOU

IOU

Fifteen years ago, my mother taught politics at the local middle school. She loves to teach people and tell them about what is really happening in the world. She takes everything very seriously; she is so strict that both her students and their parents were nervous around her.

One day, my mother and I stopped by our relatives’ house to borrow some money and then went home. To save money, we chose to walk along the side roads instead of taking the bus.

We walked in a hurry; neither of us spoke. When I was crossing a small bridge, my right shoe fell off. After I had retrieved my shoe and put it on, I looked around. It had gotten dark, and the words of my relatives sounded again in my ear: “There are dangerous people on the roads during the last months of the year; don’t go back tonight.” My mother, however, was sure that we would be all right.

It was a relief that we had been able to borrow the money. When we left our relatives’ house, my mother had smiled at me and promised to buy my sisters and I half a pound of chocolate the next day.

We were half an hour from home when it happened. With a fierce “Stop right there,” two men came out of the darkness and blocked our way like a pair of mountains.

I shivered in fright and reached out to hold my mother’s hand. My mother pinched my palm and gently said: “Do not be…