Different

  Different

          Chow was different than the rest of his classmates, slanted eyes and skin the color of a baby born with jaundice. His parents brought him to the states fleeing Christian persecution in their beloved China. At sixteen he was a black belt in a few forms of martial arts. He would practice daily in the secret of his home.

          John and his best friend Matt were the stars of their High School Basketball team. John was a misguided youth from an abusive home with an alcoholic mother and father. Matt was being raised by his mother in a single family environment. The two friends were always playing practical jokes on the other student and on occasion they were harsh and even bully their peers. Chow found himself on the short end of there not so friendly jokes; “we were just kidding” they would say when confronted by the school staff. Whenever Chow ran into them outside school grounds, things would get a little out of hand with John pushing Chow around. Chow knew that with just one swift kick he could not only stop John but hurt him badly. Chow was taught to only use his skills in self defense and never try to prove himself otherwise. The two boys couldn’t see Chow without calling him names and making racial innuendos.

          One day as darkness fell over their town; the two boys came across Chow in a secluded area near some woods. The boys decided they would have some fun, since there wasn’t anyone around to reprimand them. The two boys were called the twin towers on their team, John at six feet three inches and Matt at just over six feet tall. Chow stood there for the hundredth time taking their verbal abuse as they stared down at his five feet six inch frame. Unaware to the three of them, two men with weapons stood behind them listening to what was being said. One of the men tapped John on the shoulder and caused him and Matt to do an about-face. One was pointing a gun and the other was flipping a knife from hand to hand. The man with the gun told Chow to move forward, “you may leave” he said, “you have been picked on enough for one day” Chow stood there looking straight at both men and replied, “not without my friends” The man with the knife looks over at his accomplice and laughed at the same time asking Chow, “these two are your friends”? Chow instantly replied, “Yes but they just don’t know that yet” The two big ball players stood there frozen with fear as the gun man pointed his gun right at Matt and demanded all their belongings. With no response from John or Matt, the gunman fired his weapon catching Matt on his thigh, dropping him to the ground. Chow step forward with lighting speed delivering a round house kick that sent the gun sailing and before his left foot had touched dirt his right one was in the man’s chest and sending him for air. All the while Chow had the man with the knife by his wrist with one hand, forcing him to bend at a ninety degree at his waist. When the gun man was down and gasping for air, Chow turned his full attention on the knife man, twisting his wrist clockwise and immediately counter clockwise the man was slammed on his back hard to the ground, follow by a kick to the head, he was out cold along with his partner. The action lasted about ten seconds flat. Afterwards the police were called, had taken the criminals and Matt was rushed to the hospital. John turns to Chow and asked, “Why did you hang around when you could have left and then risk your life to save us after the way we have talked and treated you”? Chow looked at John with a sincere smile and replied, I ask Jesus the same question every day.