AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And then . . . his life without her.
The long days and endless nights of deafening silence.
Suddenly, it becomes all too clear why he doesn’t want to be revived.
He wants to be with her.
And who can blame him? . . . I want to be with her too.
Where the love and happiness are so fulfilling. The light from her happy heart, so bright that it eclipses anything and everything.
A nurse appears. “Here he is.” Coming behind her are two orderlies wheeling my father on his bed. He’s asleep . . . unconscious, whatever the hell he is. He has a bandage around his head. I stand in the corner and watch as they hook him up to all the machines. The gentle beep of his heartbeat now sounds through the room.
Beep . . . beep . . . beep.
“The doctor will be in soon.” The nurse smiles as she leaves us alone.
“Thanks.” I pull my fingers through his hair to smooth it and take his hand in mine as I stare at him. His skin is smooth. He looks peaceful.
“I understand now, Dad,” I whisper as I cup his face in my hand and brush my thumb back and forth over his stubble. “Now that I’m with Juliet, I understand.”
He doesn’t move.
“I know why you chose to forget everything . . . to forget me.” I brush his hair back from his forehead once more. The lump in my throat is so big that it’s painful. “It was too hard to remember her, wasn’t it?”
He lies still. His chest rises and falls as he softly breathes.
“It’s okay, Dad.” His silhouette blurs. “You can go now.”
Beep . . . beep . . . beep.
“Thank you for looking after me so well,” I whisper. “It can’t have been easy to live with someone for all those years who was just like her . . . but wasn’t.” I screw up my face in tears as I take his hand in mine. “I love you so much, Dad. You did a good job on your own. I’m so proud to be your son.”
His eyelids flutter, and I smile through tears. He can hear me. He’s in there somewhere.
“I know you love me, Dad,” I whisper. His eyelid flickers again, and I smile through tears. “You can go now. It’s okay. I understand.”
The doctor walks into the room holding a clipboard, and I stand back and wipe my eyes; he gives me a sad smile. “Okay, the scan results are back.”
“And?”
“He’s had an aneurysm.”
“When he fell?”
“Most likely before, and that’s why he fell.”
I nod.
“I’m sorry, Henley. Unfortunately, there was no brain activity detected.”
“Meaning what?”
“It’s highly unlikely he will come back from this.”
I already knew.
“So what happens now?” I ask.
