Tracy stood outside the small coffee shop. Her hands were clenched by her sides, and were prespirating. She wiped her hands on her jeans.
For too long she had been silent. All her life she was known as, "The quiet one." She had no friends, because she never talked to anyone. Today, she wanted to change that.
She pushed open the door to the coffee shop, heart thumping in her chest. She felt her pulse in her churning stomach.
She scanned the small coffee shop. There was a young couple off to her left. They were texting and not paying attention to each other, and there was a chair pulled up to the table with a small baby that was fussing. They both contined in their own worlds as if the baby wasn't there.
There was a cashier that looked at Tracy suspiciously. Her hair was deshevled and she appeared to be lacking sleep. To her right was a few scattered adults and teens, much older than her, chattering and laughing.
Something bumped her back, she turned and realized she was blocking the door, she took a couple of steps forward. A man who looked in his thirties stepped past her and muttered something under his breath. She found her voice and told him sorry while his back was turned to her. He found a seat near the corner, plopped down and took a ciggarette from his pocket. He then withdrew a lighter and flicked it to life.
The cashier glared at him and said in a straight forward tone, "You can't do that in here."
He got back up, and stomped out, bumping against the chair where the mother of the baby sat.
"EXCUSE YOU!" She yelled.
He ignored her, brushed past Tracy, and exited.
"Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to order something?"
Tracy looked up and saw the cashier was staring her down. She knew it was now or never. First, she knew she had to draw attention to herself.
"WHO DO YOU THINK I AM!? WHAT KIND OF PLACE DO YOU HAVE RUNNING HERE?!" She yelled.
The chatter and laughing in the coffee shop was silenced, along with the cries of the baby.
Everyone stared at her. She lowered her voice, "I apologize, but I need everyone's attention. I have vital information."
She had the whole coffee shops' attention, so she pursued, "I once was quiet, but I was given a gift that I can't keep silent about."
The people of the coffee shop searched each other's expressions.
"I believe anyone who knows what I'm talking about shouldn't be silent either. One day, we might not have the legal rights to speak up, and that is the love of Christ. His love is not to be treated as something that you are to keep to yourself."
She knew that statement would welcome some grunts and protests. Nearly the whole shop was protesting, except for couple of people. She raised her voice to drown them out, "If anyone here has been silent when you knew you needed to say something, I'm going to give you a chance to join me and make yourself known."
The man who went outside with his ciggarette came storming in the coffee shop again. He bumped against Tracy, nearly knocking her over, and returned to his seat he sat in before he was sent outside. Tracy knew she had to continue, although most of the attention she once had was gone. She was now yelling, "IF ANYONE HERE ADMITS THEY HAVE BEEN TOO SILENT ABOUT CHRIST, EITHER STAND RIGHT NOW, OR RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU ARE ALREADY STANDING."
Tracy lifted both her hands, closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards. She waited a few seconds, then opened her eyes again.
She saw the cashier slowly lift her hand, tears now streaking on her face.
The mother of the baby stood and raised her hand. Her boyfriend grabbed her arm to try to get her to sit down, but she yanked it away.
The man sitting in the corner who had went to get a ciggarette got up once again, but he did not raise his hand. He wore an angry expression. He reached into his jacket and withdrew a gun. The coffee shop broke out in a panic.
"Girl, you better get out of here right now, or I will silence you." Said the man.
"I'm sorry, but I've been silent too long. I won't be silent anymore. But if you decide to silence me by force, so be it." Said Tracy.
The mother of the baby got out of the guns path and grabbed her baby.
There was a loud bang, and Tracy fell to the ground with a bloody hole in her forehead.
The girl at the cashier picked up a phone and started dialing 911. The man aimed the gun in her direction and fired it again, making her collapse to the floor.
The mother remained standing with her baby.
"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!"
She did as he commanded.
He put his gun back and stormed out of the coffee shop.
Tracy was not silenced. Her heroism sparked a new generation of believers who started an origanization called, "Speak Up." The mother who had sat down at the gunman's commands started the organization. She felt she had to make it up to God because she chose to be silent when facing death.After the cashier had dialed 911, The cops showed up just in time to arrest the gunman. He is serving a 30 year term in prision for second-degree murder.
