“Shhh …” John calmed her down while he called the ambulance. “Don’t try to talk.”
“But … I can still make it,” she said, moaning. Her head fell to the side. Kisha and Lylian ran from the stairway. Lylian gently pushed John away and knelt next to Martha. On the other side, Kisha did the same. John squatted near her legs.
“It’s never too late … is it? It’s never too late to … shout to the Lord?” Martha asked with a halting voice. She looked at Lylian, who shook her head.
“Never,” answered Lylian.
“Even … right before you die?”
“Even then …” said Kisha, crying.
“Even if I had never … truly believed in God? And … if my conversion was … just a lie?”
“Yes, even then … anytime,” answered Kisha.
“Please say the prayer of conversion with us—truly this time,” Lylian whispered.
Martha’s lips
