My son called me. “Is Katie (his 5-year old daughter) with you?”

I said, “No, she’s with her mother.” He said, “I called her and Rayan (her new husband), but nobody answers. Then I called Katie’s grandma and she didn’t know but said may be at her mom’s place (Katie’s great grand-ma).”

It was still early afternoon, so I said, “Don’t worry, they must be on the beach or just out, call later.”

“I have such a weird feeling that something is wrong,” he said. “I’ll call Kate’s great-grandma”.

She lives in a community center for senior citizens somewhere in a mountainous area.

He calls and the grandma tells him that they were out on her golf cart riding around. So he asks them to go see where they are because he tried to call them but didn’t get an answer after many rings.

Grandma realized that they’ve been out for a while and said she would investigate. In the meantime, Kate’s mom

and my son drove down there. My son lived in Long Beach and quite far from them.

Kate’s grandma had arrived and a whole commotion went on. The golf cart had lost the brakes and drove into a ravine. Destiny landed with her head against a big stone and died very quickly. She was pregnant and lost her baby as well.

Katie’s grandma was there. But Katie landed a ways down and was all bloody but found a walking path. She saw a truck and waved at the man and said, “My mom fell, she’s up there!”

He drove her up and saw her mom and told Katie to stay in the car. By this time they were taking her mom away in the ambulance.

But then Katie screamed out, “Rayan, Rayan is down there.” A helicopter rescue team was still there and investigated and indeed they found the golf cart upside down on the bottom. They got him out and flew him to the hospital, Katie went also.

My son was instructed to go directly to the hospital where Katie was. She looked pretty bad but had no major injuries.

Well, Destiny died and Rayan broke his back. He spent one year in the hospital but after that he got a lot better. Today he works and walks again.

Katie had scratches and scars bleeding from her body, but by the grace of God she was fine and went home with her dad.

Today they still go to the spot on the day where it happened once a year -- Rayan, Katie and my son -- to remember her, saving her and Rayan.

Katie lived with her dad from then on, coping with the memory and loss of her mom. She has since, finished high school, still studies, has a job and is OK.

Maria Zeeman is a member of the writing class offered through the Cerritos College Adult Education Program. It is held off-campus at the Norwalk Senior Center.