One Last Goodbye -- Part 11: Memories -screen_writer-

As “That Spirit Of Christmas” by Ray Charles played, softly, over the car stereo, Heather was closing in on Furlong Meadows. The tree-lined street that ran through the woods had changed to a street lined by light poles indicating that Furlong Meadows was just around the corner. It had been a smooth ride – the roads weren’t nearly as bad as the weather was claiming. ‘There would be no problem driving to the theatre’, she though to herself. The only problem Heather was having was fighting the refection of light, coming from the street lamps, off the wet street. And there was also a hint of fog developing. But Heather saw the entrance to the nursing home up ahead.

The parking lot was, for the most part, empty – a few cars scattered a bout – but that was it. One of the cars was pulling out of its parking space – a black BMW – and started toward the exit – which, in this particular parking lot, the exit used the same opening as the entrance. Out of the corner of Heather’s eye she saw two security guards jogging, in the parking lot, toward the entrance. There legs looked ghost like in the developing fog. ‘I wonder what’s going on?’ she thought.

As the Chevy Nova rumbled into the entrance, at that exact same time the other car was turning to exit. At this point Kayla came running out the main entrance of Furlong Meadows yelling for Ms. McCray. Heather didn’t notice her friend come outside. Suddenly, in the headlights of the other car (the BMW) Ms. McCray appeared in Heather’s sight.

“What does this mean?” Ms. McCray yelled at the top of her lungs at Heather; she was holding up the sign marked with those three letters.

Inside the Nova, Heather’s eyes were big, and bright. She didn’t hear what Ms. McCray said. Seeing Ms. McCray so suddenly caused Heather’s eyes to play tricks on her. For a split second Heather thought she was seeing her Grandma in front of her, and as she swerved on the slippery road trying to avoid Ms. McCray, all of a sudden there was a crashing noise… memories flooded her mind.

Memories, which at first came slowly, then gradually came faster and faster; early memories she had never even thought of before; memories that for most were impossible to remember. Like laying in her crib, which was at grandma Edith’s house, playing with the baby toys hanging over top the crib; being feed baby food by her mother – who made airplane noises, and whirled the spoon around in a circle as the food got closer and closer to her mouth. Then there were thoughts of her father; video taping her first steps in the living room while mom stood close by with tears in her eyes; her father video taping her fall into some bushes the first time she tried to ride a two wheeled bike. Moving on to thoughts of her first day at school, and how scared she was to go. The first time she met Kayla. Then the thoughts went to the summers in grandma Edith’s kitchen making crafts… with the smell of apple pie in the air.

More memories came; the time she broke her arm, the time she played lead in the school play, the first time she picked up a guitar, listening to the gossip on the stoop of Ruth’s. Memories flooded her mind like a broken levee; they were coming at the speed of light now. There was the memory of the time she and Kayla wrote their names in the wet cement at the park; there was the memory of the first time she drove a car by herself. Then difficult thoughts came to her, like learning of her grandma’s death, learning of her brother’s birth a few days after that, then learning of her father’s death days after that… seeing the picture of his twisted car in the newspaper (why that’s your father ‘silly goose’).

The first time she saw Scott, and the way it made her feel in her stomach. That wonderful empty feeling… the feeling of butterflies… the feeling of love. And Kayla telling her later that day that Scott said her eyes were magical (magical) (MAGICAL!!!).

“Do you believe in God?” The question appeared in Heather’s head out of nowhere. She remembered that question well though. It was a question Scott had asked her a few months earlier. Her mind went back to that night:

“Do you believe in God?” Scott asked timidly. “I mean after your father’s accident and your grandmother’s death.”

Heather and Scott were sitting on the dock in Richardson Lake. Stars filled the sky by the billions. Crickets chirped all around them, and night birds called. On the other side of the Lake their friends had set up a bon fire; flickers of flame flew high into the air. It was breathtaking. The night was theirs, there were no worries; Heather actually thought she could touch the stars that night.

“Do I believe in God.” Heather repeated, and then paused for a few seconds before answering. “Yes, I do… Do you?”

Scott shrugged, and looked up at the stars. “I don’t know… I just wonder that if there is… God, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?”

Heather smiled ever so slightly, and said, “If there isn’t a God why do we care about the pain and suffering.”

Scott looked at Heather and smiled. Then Heather looked up, she said, “The stars are beautiful aren’t they?”

“Magical, just like your eyes”, Scott said.

Heather smiled at that comment, and… that was her last thought she ever had. Her life flashed before her eyes, and now everything was over.

The accident scene was much like Heather’s dream, though it wasn’t a head on collision. There still would be no cries for help. The front end of Heather’s Nova smashed into the BMW’s driver’s side door. A plain white cover was placed over the Nova’s driver’s side door. No blood was on the cover; all of her injuries were internal. As for the other victims… there was massive blood loss. Red and blue lights circle, endlessly, in the darkness, reflecting off the wet, icy pavement. Emergency personal rushed around the scene in an insanely cohesive way.

There was no need for Ms. McCray to carry the DNR card anymore… she died instantly; the result of being crushed between the two cars. From the waist down, there was nothing. Yet, she still clutched that card in her hand… her lifeless hand. Her quest met a horrible conclusion.

A tiny patch of black ice is what destroyed three lives that night. The impact killed Heather, and the driver of the BMW instantly. Poor Ms. McCray survived for a few minutes, finally passing in front of the first officer on the scene, which was keeping her company. Her final words… “What… does… this… mean…? She never got that answer.

Heather was slumped over her steering wheel, gone from this world. The wish she had made, earlier in the evening, had been answered though. For the last hour of Heather’s life she was genuinely felt good; for the first time since her father, and grandmother’s death Heather felt great actually, because she wasn’t scared of life anymore. If not for the accident, Heather was going to take life in her hands, and mold to her liking. She was going to make a difference in the world. She was… going to do so much. Now, slumped over her steering wheel in front of Furlong Meadows, she had become part of the town’s history; just another tragedy for the old timers to talk about.

Yet, through death, a new begining awaited her. Now another journey started.

To Be Continued…

Show all stories by   Author:  56359 ( Click here )