Eli had shouted Mr. Albert\u2019s name, but it only confused him. Then my son remembered the one thing his old neighbor had always loved: baseball. Mr. Albert had coached Little League for thirty years and had even taught Eli his first curveball. So Eli shouted, \u201cCoach! Practice is starting!\u201d Mr. Albert turned toward him, smiled, and stepped away from the tracks.<\/p>\n
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Less than a minute later, the freight train thundered past. Eli\u2019s phone died shortly after he texted me, leaving him unable to call anyone. Instead of panicking, he took Mr. Albert\u2019s hand and began walking him home. For twenty-five minutes, Eli kept him focused by talking about pitching, batting averages, and baseball. He held his hand at every corner so he wouldn\u2019t wander away. When Rosa finally saw them coming up the street, she called me before even notifying the police. I looked at my son, realizing that the shortcut he wasn’t supposed to take had just saved a man\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
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