Dunlap’s mouth dropped open and he was speechless. When Mara handed it to him, he almost dropped it. “This must weigh at least a thousand carats,” he said, when he was able to speak. Then, Mara proceeded to pull out the blue, pink and red diamonds, which were all larger that the yellow one. Mr. Dunlap was in shock. He had to sit down for a minute. He took out his digital camera and took several photos of each diamond at many different angles.
“Mara, do you have any idea how much these diamonds are worth” asked Mr. Dunlap.
“Not exactly, but I know that they are worth millions of dollars,” said Mara.
“If these stones are cut correctly, all of the polished diamonds would be worth over fifty million dollars,” said Mr. Dunlap.
“You’re rich, Mara” said Bailey.
“No, I am not,” said Mara. “I can’t keep these diamonds. I did not find these by myself. God directed me to find them. I know what to do with the proceeds from the sale or auction of these gems.”
“What are you thinking, Mara?” asked Mrs. Louis.
“After talking with the staff at John Adams High School, I learned how little money they have to properly educate the students in the state of Arkansas. The buildings are falling apart and they are overcrowded. There aren’t enough books, and very few computers.”
“Do you realize how happy that money would make you, Mara?” asked Bailey.
Mara looked at Bailey and said; “Do you know how happy those students would be to have new books, and computers and buildings that aren’t falling apart? Those smiling faces are what would make me happy.”
“Could you do me a favor, Mr. Dunlap? Could you wait for one day before you go to the press with this discovery? I want to meet with Mr. Murphy and a lawyer in Little Rock, to arrange for the disposition of the diamonds.”
“That’s not a problem Mara,” said Mr. Dunlap. Then, Mr. Dunlap shook Mara’s hand and shook his head in disbelief. “If this doesn’t beat all” he said. “I have never seen anyone as unselfish and caring as you. To top it off, you do not even live in Arkansas. You could just as easily spend that money on the schools in Maryland.”
“I know that I was meant to find the diamonds and to keep the money in Arkansas,” said Mara. “By the way, I filled in the holes where I found the diamonds, so that future diamond seekers will just have to take their chances. You might want to suggest an increase in the admission price, as this place will become a lot more popular. You could even earmark the increase for the educational system.”
Mara, her parents and Bailey checked into a local motel that evening. Mara called Mr. Murphy and told him that she would like to meet with him and Mr. Alonzo the next day at the school. Mara also asked Mr. Murphy to find the best attorney in the city and have him be at the meeting as well.
The next morning, after Mara and her family checked out of the motel, they drove back to Little Rock. When they arrived at John Adams High School, Mara met with Mr. Alonzo, Mr. and Mrs. Murphy and an attorney.
“What’s this meeting for?” asked Mr. Alonzo.
“Well” said Mara, “Thanks to Mr. Murphy, I figured out the meaning of the rest of my dream. We went to Crater of Diamonds State Park and with God guiding me, I was very successful”. Mara reached into her backpack and pulled out a bundle, wrapped in a towel. When she unfolded the towel, there were all four of the diamonds. Mr. Alonzo, the attorney, Mr., and Mrs. Murphy were stunned, to say the least.
“Mr. Dunlap from the state park told me that if these diamonds were cut the right way, that the polished diamonds might be worth fifty million dollars or more. Mr. Murphy, I would like for you to be my agent, and handle the process of having them appraised, finding the right expert to cut and polish them, as well as arranging for the auction/sale of them. That’s why I asked you to contact an attorney, to assist you in this process.”
“What do you plan on doing with that money?” asked Mr. Murphy.
“First” said Mara, “after the diamonds are sold, I want you to set aside enough money in trust funds for Alex and Marissa to cover all of their college expenses. The rest of the money will go towards the education of the children of Arkansas. The money can be used for any aspect of education, such as books, computers, building repairs, music, art programs, etc., as long as it directly affects the students. If you have any money left, set up scholarships to be used state wide.”
“You trust me with all of that money?” asked Mr. Murphy.
Mara looked at Mr. Murphy and said; “God also trusts you, or else he wouldn’t have placed Alex and Marissa in your care.”
Mara asked the lawyer to draw up the appropriate paperwork and FedEx it to her in Baltimore. She added that she would sign the papers and have them notarized, and FedEx the papers back to him. “The other thing I ask of all of you is that my name is kept out of the press. As far as the public knows, the donations came from an anonymous donor. Nobody outside of this room needs to know my part in all of this. Is that okay with everyone?” Everyone nodded and agreed to Mara’s request.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. When it opened, there stood Alex and Marissa. When they saw Mara, they ran in and hugged her. “Are you getting settled into your new home?” asked Mara.
“Yes”-said Alex. “We each have our own room. At the Nelson’s house, we had to share one small room with only one bed.”
Mr. Murphy asked Alex and Marissa to wait in the hall while they finished some business.
“Okay Dad” said Alex as they stepped into the hall.
Mara noticed that Mr. Murphy was overcome with emotion. “They said that they wanted to call us Mom and Dad,” said Mr. Murphy. “They said that if their parents trusted them enough to take care of their children, then it was good enough for the two of them.”
Mara shook hands with everyone and then Mara joined her parents and Bailey in the waiting room of the office. Once they were in the car, Mara told her parents and Bailey about the meeting. Mara noticed that Bailey was very quiet. Mara knew what she was thinking.
“Bailey” said Mara, “There’s something that I never told you before. When we first met at the airport, something happened to me when we hugged. All of your terror and fear and emotional pain surged into me at that moment. Well, the same thing happened when Alex grabbed hold of me that day in the police station. However, in his case, two years worth of abuse, anger and fear flowed into me. He and Marissa deserve the best life possible, and if a top college education will help, then so be it. Hopefully, with therapy, they will one day be able to put their memories of fear out of their minds.”
Bailey understood what Mara meant. She told Mara that she was sorry that she was jealous. Then Mara told Bailey that she always planned to sell a few coins from her collection to pay for Bailey’s college expenses. Bailey hugged Mara and thanked her.
When Mara and Bailey returned home, they still had the weekend off before they returned to school. Mara called Betsy and talked her into having a sleepover at the White House. When Mara and Bailey arrived at the White House, Scott, Betsy and Jordan began asking all sorts of questions. They had watched the national news broadcast and they knew all about the diamonds. They also knew that Mara was responsible. So, Mara and Bailey filled them in on the details of the vacation.
“I can’t believe that you just gave away one hundred million dollars,” said Scott.
“You mean fifty million dollars,” said Mara.
Scott held up that day’s newspaper. The headline read ‘Good Samaritan donates diamonds valued at one hundred million dollars to help the Arkansas School system.’ It turned out that Mr. Dunlap had underestimated the weight of the diamonds. Each actually weighed more than fifteen hundred carats.
“Scott” said Mara, “You would have done the same thing, if you had been there and God wanted you to do it that way.”
“I guess so” said Scott, “but t
hat sure was a lot of money.”
“Scott” said Mara, “I have two of the best parents in the world, several good friends and five friends who are like brothers and sisters to me. What could make me any happier? Certainly, not money!”
Unquestionable Faith, Unconditional Love
Mara had no more prophetic dreams for the rest of the school year. Well, that is not completely true. She did have several dreams, but they were all about Mara and the cave-in. She must have dreamed about the cave-in at least a dozen times over the next three and a half months.
Even though the dreams made Mara wake up shaking with fear, she never told her parents about them. She knew that it would only make them worry more about her. Besides Scott, Betsy, and Tony, the only person she talked to about her dreams, was Pastor Joe. Pastor Joe told Mara that God loved her unconditionally and that he would watch over her. “You must have unquestionable faith in him,” said Pastor Joe. “Trust in him with all of your heart and soul. God will protect you.”
When School was out for the summer, Mara got a job working in a day care center. She loved children and they loved her. Since she could not yet drive, her mother usually drove her to work. Mara could not wait until July 29th, when she would turn sixteen and finally get her driver’s license.
Mara’s parents were also looking forward to July 29th. They were