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Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Virginia
Posts: 15
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For a Life
This was originally for a contest where they gave you the first few words of a sentence then you had to finish it in 5000 words or less. The words for this one were "He approached slowly". Will give more back story if anyone is interested. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
For a Life
He approached slowly, which surprised her, but considering it seemed to be the embodiment of Death come to see her, she guessed he could walk however he wanted.
Moments ago she’d been in bed, finally able to relax after living through the last few days of pain and suffering which almost did her seventy year old body in. It started two weeks ago when she got sick and was rushed to the hospital. It wasn’t surprising since she had been in and out of the hospital for the last few months. However, this time the doctors decided they would keep her a few more days than usual. She didn’t remember much about her stay but she vaguely recalled a lot of tests, some x-rays, and she was pretty sure they stuck an IV needle in her arm which was making her feel so good. She had no idea what was in it but if it allowed her to relax some then she was all for it. The doctors came in discussing her case, while she couldn’t remember everything they said, she did hear them say that she was going to be all right.
Believing herself to be out of the woods and on the mend she tried relaxing and watching TV but soon the room seemed to grow colder and a dense smoky film engulfed the room. At first she thought it must have something to do with the drugs or maybe the hospital was on fire. She idly wondered what they do with patients if the place did catch on fire but then realized she smelled no smoke. Maybe it was steam or something she thought but then again, it couldn’t be. The room had gotten colder, not hotter like it wound if it was steam. Just as she was about to push the call button next to her, she had heard the door click open. Expecting it to be a nurse coming to explain what the problem was, she watched as the door slowly opened. To her surprise, a hunched figure cloaked all in black made its way into the room closing the door behind it. It slowly floated across the room and only when it came to a stop next to her bed could she finally make out the skull that leered at her from where its head should be. It stood silently looking down at her as if waiting. Having recovered her senses somewhat Beth realized all the noises in the hospital had disappeared. Usually she could hear movement in the hall or people being paged over the speakers but now there was nothing. It was as if she and the menacing figure gazing at her were the only two things that existed.
“What the heck are you supposed to be?” She asked.
The cloaked figure looked at her with hollow eyes and said nothing.
“If this is some kind of joke, you can just get all this fog or whatever it is out of here” She added uncomfortably.
“Oh,” It finally said in a deep voice that reminded her of thunder, “I assure you this is no joke my dear.”
“Who are you then?”
“Who do you think I am?”
“You aren’t who you want me to think you are.”
“My dear, I am exactly who you think I am.” the figure stated ominously.
“If you are, where’s that scythe thingy that you carry around?”
“Oh, that? I don’t carry that when I come to give someone a choice. It tends to scare them to…well, to death, actually” it said with slight humor in its voice.
Beth paused a moment then said, “Well, I still don’t believe you. For all I know you’re just some dressed up skeleton on a pole with a speaker or something in your cloak. One of my grandkids is probably trying to be funny or something. I’m old, not dumb.” She hoped she sounded braver than she felt. If this really was Death maybe the doctors were wrong and she wasn’t going to get better.
“Maybe this will help you” the figure said as it folded in on itself. The hood of the cloak slid down over the skull until it was no longer visible. The body continued shrinking until she thought it was going to disappear but then it slowly began to fill out again. As it grew, hands appeared and the cloak parted.
“Dean? Is that you?” she whispered shakily. The man she had married some forty years before stood smiling at her just as she remembered him from when he passed away.
“No, my dear,” he said regretfully, “I’m sorry to say that I am not Dean. I only took this form to help you understand; I am who I say I am and so you would be more comfortable while we spoke.”
“Oh” she said quietly. Death was actually standing in the room talking to her. She almost started praying but looking at him she guessed it was too late for that now. As she was thinking she remembered something he said when he first arrived. “You said something about a choice?”
“Good! Quick on your feet! I like that in a person. Well, let me see,” he said excitedly as he pulled a little black book out of the air, “Yes! Here it is. As you know you’ve been quite sick recently. But the good news is you’re going to live; but only for about another year or so. The cancer in your lungs will eventually kill you.” He paused, observing her reaction. “I see you aren’t surprised.”
“Well, I’m kind of surprised, what with you telling me I’m going to die in a year or so but I’m not surprised about the reason for it. I knew I just haven’t told anyone yet. Didn’t want them to worry anymore than they had too.”
“Beth, dear, they will worry regardless.” he said. “They worry because they love you. But that’s neither here nor there. Let’s talk about that choice you were to have.”
The air at the end of the bed shimmered and swirled until it coalesced into a hazy picture. Through the haze Beth was happy to see her oldest grandson with his wife and six month old baby girl in their living room. Her grandson and his wife were sitting on the couch while the little girl was sleeping on the floor. Everything appeared normal.
“The events you are about to see will happen in exactly eight hours and forty-two minutes.” Death said from beside her.
Her earlier happiness slowly turned to horror as she watched her great grand-daughter begin to shake. Noticing it, her grandson quickly knelt down checking her. Beth could see that something was obviously wrong when he quickly turned the baby over. She saw the little arms flop over as if they belonged to a doll and not a human being and then she saw the little face that should be pink and healthy was instead turning a deathly blue. As tears ran down her face she watched her grandson attempt to save the life of his daughter. He tried everything he could up until the paramedics arrived. Then he slid out of the way, watching, as they attempted to succeed where he could not. She watched in horror as they worked. After what seemed an eternity, the two men looked at each other and stopped. One slowly reached up to close the little girls eyes as the other turned his head as a tear escaped his eye. Her grandson sat against the wall, his hands held uselessly in his lap as he watched his wife cry over the body of his dead little girl. When Beth thought she could take no more the scene
stopped.
“These events will happen regardless of your choice. It is the ending that you may change. According to our records, you and this baby girl are both somewhat in between. You are both close to death. The best way to describe it is eight hours from now neither of you should be alive but neither should be dead either. Unfortunately one of you must die to keep things in balance.”
“So what’s the choice?” Beth asked.
“Simply this, on one hand, you live and the baby girl dies. However, while you live, it will be a painful existence. Cancer isn’t a fun thing to die from. On the other hand, you instead die and since you have lived such a good life, devoted to your family and friends, you get a choice. Today, when your great grand-daughter has her seizure your grandson will do as he did in the scene you saw with one difference. This time when nothing is working, he will pray.” He paused allowing his words to set in then said, “He will call out to God and yourself and ask for help. Calling out to the two of you is a powerful thing. Since you have led a good life and also since a child was taken from you, you have been given the chance to help your grandson.” Beth felt a pang of grief at the mention of her lost child. He had been a baby the same age as her grandsons’ child.
“Don’t worry, we have plans for him.” Death said seeing her sadness.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that if you choose as we hope, your grandson and his wife will soon want a sibling for their daughter. It has been decided that the soul of your lost child will go to them.”
She smiled at the thought of her son living again even though she would never see him.
“If I say yes, will it hurt much?” she asked looking up uncertainly.
“Only for a minute and much less than the other way.”
“Ok. I’ll do it but could you do one other thing for me?”
“Of course, my dear, just ask.” He said as he took her hand.
“Make sure my family knows I love them.” As she finished her sentence she felt
a jolt go through her body. As Death had said it hurt but only for a moment. When her heart stopped, Death stayed a moment longer looking at her side as a
tear rolled down his cheek before saying “They already know my dear.”
Beth seemed to float in nothingness until the sound of her grandson’s frantic voice drew her out of the void. She saw again the scene of her grandson trying to save his daughter. Then she heard his prayer. “It’s not working! God! Gran! Someone help me; don’t let me loose my little girl!” She saw her grandson attempting to save his daughter’s life. Above the little body she saw the infant spirit watching her daddy. She reached out to it telling her to go back with her mother and father. That was where she belonged. As Beth saw the little spirit move towards her body she began to fade but not before she heard her great grand-daughter’s whine and her grandsons’ voice. “Thank you Gran. Thank you.”
Then she was gone.
In Remembrance of Elizabeth Ann Hunter
February 22, 1929 – February 15, 2000
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