I am aware that a crystal must be absolutely perfect in order to continue growing to completion. I am greatly dismayed to find that my crystal has developed a flaw due to possibly my teacher's mistake or a small lie. It seems a small falsehood, something small, that caused a crack to appear. It is as if the small falsehood created a subtle imbalance in the crystal and a weakness, a crack, appeared.

The crack in the crystal starts to spread. Soon it is growing out of proportion; the crack is spreading out of the showcase. The floor starts to crack. I look at a Jewish calendar on the wall and see that it is ten days until Rosh Hoshana. I realize that we have only ten days to get out or we will all be destroyed. Everyone quickly realizes the situation.

I run down the stairs and try to get to my car—a small, yellow Volkswagen—but I can only move in slow motion. I panic, feeling so frustrated to be able to move only so slowly. Then a policeman in blue uniform comes to help me. He picks me up bodily and throws me toward my car. But he throws me too far. I have to scramble in the air with all my might just to go part way back from where I had come. I do reach my car, get in and head for the exit. Everyone has the same idea and cars are jamming the opening and crashing into each other.

We all do get out and go a short distance to a mission, like an adobe, Spanish mission. It is a simple place, very quiet inside. As the roar of impending disaster, the deafening noise of the cracking, induces fear in us, we all tremble in our waiting. We do nothing. We are frozen, as if numbed emotionally and physically.

Suddenly, all noise stops, completely. We know the crack has stopped growing. Everything is all right! We look toward the hospital and see its name on the roof: "Our Lady of Good Hope." The nuns who live and work and teach in the university-hospital had remained behind to pray continuously in the face of the danger. Their prayers saved the world. We are overjoyed with gratitude.