The Little Lost Girl By Richard Hughson

Tom Sawyer enjoyed telling this because of the many lessons found in it. On its face it is a beautiful story of a mother reconnecting with her developmentally disabled daughter who had wandered off one day. She was returned unharmed, facilitated by Tom's psychic / clairvoyant ability. But it also incorporates the dilemmas Tom went through during the event and afterward. That gives it relevance for those who seek to improve their own Divine connection, and the responsibilities which come with it.

Here's the story. On a warm Sunday afternoon Tom and Elaine went to the Parkside Diner on the corner of Ling Road and Dewey Ave. in Rochester, NY. They enjoyed their meal while sitting near a large window facing the empty parking lot. Upon returning home Tom sat down on the sofa. As he sat he precognitively became aware of what would happen to a lovely young girl with a severe intellectual disability. Despite her actual age she had the mental capacity of a 5 year old. 

Tom describes it as a borderline situation. He could ignore it as a precognitive event which he simply came to know about, or he could choose to become involved and perhaps change some aspects of it.

The girl's mother desperately needed to use the ladies room and, having assured herself by prior experience, explained clearly to her daughter that she should stay in her seat until her mother got back. In all prior experiences the daughter had stayed put as instructed. So, throwing no 'shade' on the mother, this exact scenario had been successful in the past. She went to the ladies room.

But this time, the moment her mother was out of sight the little girl got up and bee-lined for the door. She appeared old enough to the others in the diner to be very capable of stepping outside unaccompanied, so no one stopped her.

The girl immediately turned left, crossed the parking lot, walked across Dewey Avenue, and disappeared into the woods growing on the abandoned Odenbach Shipyard site. Doing so put her within sight of a man who was mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared to sexually abuse her and likely kill her.

This entire scene is what Tom came to know while sitting in his living room. 

Tom understood he had a choice to make. It goes against much of our human compassion, but his understanding was that it was spiritually 'ok' for him to let the scenario play out on its own, with no involvement from him. He also knew it would be 'ok' for him to become involved, be of assistance in some manner, and that if he did he would forever afterward be 'linked' to the little girl in some manner.

He chose to get involved.

His first action was to say to his young son Todd, “Hey Todd, want to go on an adventure?” For some as yet unexplained reason when Tom and Todd were out together they would often run into an unplanned 'adventure' whether it was changing a tire for an older couple or something more. Tom at first saw this as an opportunity for more of the same, but after a moment changed his mind saying, “I'm sorry Todd, I think this time I need to go alone.”

Todd understood and Tom jumped into his hopped-up pick up truck to drive over to the diner – mistake number one.

It may seem odd to us in this day of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Super-Heroes, that personally going to save a little girl from a rapist/killer could be seen as a mistake, but it was. 

What we need to realize is that when operating at higher spiritual levels the appearance of even a slight amount of ego can diminish the fullness of the event. The higher, more subtly you are able to operate, the more corruptive a tiny amount of ego can be. His mistake was the arrogance that he, Tom Sawyer, had to personally go and do something.

So off he goes, parking in the northwest corner of the parking lot alongside Dewey Ave. By this time people in the diner have been made aware of the missing girl by the frantic mother. They've searched the entire building and some are outside looking into the dumpster, between cars, and other nearby buildings.

Tom got out of his truck, walked across Dewey Ave. and into the woods. There he found the little girl squatting down, loving a Queen Anne's Lace, a wild form of the domestic carrot. Now when I say 'loving' I mean really loving it. She was absolutely, totally, completely loving that beautiful plant in a way that so many Down Syndrome kids can. If you've spent any time with some you'll know they're only natural, no pretense, and quite spiritual.

When Tom was a young man his mother ran a day-care center so he had a lot of experience dealing with young kids. He first walked past her then came back and said, “How would you like to make your mother very happy? I bet she would love to have a hug from you.” 

This got the girl's attention away from the flower. She stood up and took Tom's hand. That was 'mistake' number two. 

Tom had failed to assess the girl's level of spirituality, and his own in those early years. At the moment they touched hands a column of Light went upward from them, well beyond normal perception. Tom described it as pure white Light. It can happen for one person during times of fervent prayer and for these two at that time, just by physical touch.

Not that physical touch or a column of pure white Light is a bad thing. It's that Tom, with his lifelong sense of logic and preparation, felt he should have 'looked into' and been aware of the possibility of it occurring. He felt he had not looked into it fully enough.

Then mistake number three. He knew that he was to walk away without looking back at the man who would have abused the girl, but he didn't. It was not supposed to be part of this event but he turned and looked into the eyes of the man who would have molested and possibly killed this beautiful little girl. 

Was he not supposed to connect with and have an impact upon the man and the path of his life? Was Tom's focus to be solely on the little girl? Tom never explained. 

But, when Tom and the man made eye contact the first thing the man saw was the eyes of the old Tom Sawyer – the man who was physically and mentally capable of beating the man to death on the spot, and feeling fully justified in doing so. Then, as Tom knew he was to only love that man, it became as if the man was looking into the eyes of God, with total knowledge of the man's life and unconditional love for him in spite of it all.

Whatever what was supposed to happen spirituality for this man, for his learning and for balancing of his karma, it was instantly re-adjusted in the moment to account for Tom looking at him. Whether Tom was supposed to have any further connection to the man or not, I do not know. But in later years when asked what became of him Tom replied that society suffered twice more from the man's actions.

We sadly understood that staring into the 'eyes of God' wasn't a guarantee of immediate growth.

So, back to the story. Tom walked the little girl through the woods and across Dewey Ave. He began wondering how the people, who were still looking for the girl, might think or act upon seeing him walk out of the woods with her in hand. He wondered if the cops might be there by then. How would he explain what he was doing? That's mistake number four, a lack of faith and self-centered worry.

I'd like to offer that when doing spiritually righteous work, it's better to go forward with openness and curiosity. But no worries this time. Tom let go of the girl's hand and she ran to her mother, her arms waving in the air as she ran. She was full of love and the expectation of making her mother happy, which she very much was.

Tom watched for a bit as people gathered around the little girl, and ignored him. He walked back to his truck and pulled slowly out of the lot. The girl was safe, and no one paid any attention to him.

About Richard Hughson: Richard Hughson, a machinist by trade, came to understand the many STEs he had experienced since childhood through his friendship with Tom Sawyer. Tom's unique NDE brought him both spiritual responsibilities and the ability to fulfill them. The two remained close friends, traveling the world and goofing around together until Tom’s natural passing in 2007.
 

Their adventures included healing the Dalai Lama and a healing by Mother Meera. All have relevance and deep implications for personal growth and the future of humanity. Richard shares the joy of his spiritual growth as a healer through storytelling, hospital clowning, and even as Santa. He leads workshops on Healing with Humor and lectures on Tom Sawyer at spiritual conferences and IANDS chapters across the country. He has authored the Heart-Session Meditations blog for 16 years at https://heart-session.blogspot.com/.