From World Radio, this is Double Take.

I'm Les Sillers.

Everybody knows you're not supposed to bargain with God.

It's just a bad idea.

God doesn't answer prayers that begin.

Dear God, if you give me just this one thing, I'll do this other thing.

For the rest of my life, I promise.

Today we have an essay from someone who actually did bargain with God.

Trinity Clumparons is a journalism student at Patrick Henry College.

Here's Trinity.

Still. I'll just stay still. My room is so quiet. My older sister Sophie turned off all of the lights hours ago.

My parents set up the room so that our three beds line up in a row along our room's wall.

Either way I turn, I can see my sister's sleeping.

Charity is halfway off of her bed, but she's still fast asleep.

Sophie's computer is humming faintly from the corner of the room.

It's the only noise I can hear.

I turn and look at my alarm clock.

Bright red block numbers.

203 a.m.

I'm sitting bolt upright on top of my covers.

I can only think one thing.

This is an embarrassing way to die. My head hurts. My head hurts, but only at the top right. It's a stabbing pain. I can feel it just beneath my skull and just above my right eye.

...