One Last Goodbye -- Part 12: Heather's Arrival -screen_writer-

The drip-candle, that sat on Heather’s nightstand, re-ignited, and burned brightly. Suddenly, as her bedroom door began to open, and the light flicked on, the candle blew out; it was as if a ghostly breeze swept through the room. Judith walked into the room with a pile of folded clothes in her arms. She didn’t notice the small sliver of smoke drifting up from the candle’s wick. She laid the clothes on Heather’s bed, turned, and walked towards the door.

Halfway between the bed and the door Judith stopped dead in her tracks. A tear began to rise in her eye, and dribble down her cheek. She raised her hand and wiped the tear off with her thumb. And as she rubbed the tear into her thumb and middle finger she looked at the wetness of her fingers wondering why that just happened. She continued out the door, turning the light off as she left. Once the door was shut, the candle magically re-ignited.

Sobs came from the third floor nurse’s lounge at Furlong Meadows. Kayla sat on a bench in front of some lockers alone; her head in her hands; her nose running, and her eyes red from the tears. Moonlight, slanting in through the window, reflected off the lockers surrounding her, illuminating the left side of her face ever so softly, leaving the right side dark with shadows.

And as Scott lay on his bed, wondering where Heather could be, there was a knock on his bedroom door. Now it was very strange that anyone would knock on his bedroom door; he didn’t even hear anyone enter the house. Scott got up, and walked over to the door, he turned the knob, and opened it.

Standing in the doorway, staring at Scott with her big brown eyes – her magic eyes – was Heather… drenched from head to toe. She seemed to be staring into Scott’s soul. Rainwater and melting ice, which clung to strands of her hair, dripped off her hair onto her cheeks, forehead, and shoulders. She shivered, and her face was pale. Her hands gripped one another as she held them up to her chest. Heather’s knuckles were white from the pressure of her grip.

Putting his arm around her, Scott led her into his room. He was really taken back by Heather’s appearance; he didn’t know what to say at first. He led her over to his big comfortable chair that Heather had loved. She sat down, and he sat down on the edge of his bed. He took her hands into his – they were as cold as ice – and he separated them, holding them in his hands. Words didn’t come to him. He had never seen her this way before. Yet, looking at her, her eyes were still magical.

Seeing her eyes, finally made the words flow. “What happened Heather? Did your car break down or something?”

Heather turned her head, and smiled at Scott; the sweetest smile he had ever seen. And again, her piercing eyes speared his soul, and the wonderful feeling of his stomach twisting and turning came to him… the feeling a true love. That smile… that smile could melt steel on the coldest day your mind could imagine.

“Yes, I had some car trouble.” She said after a moment of silence.

“You were out walking in this?” Scott asked alarmed, as he motioned to his window.

“It was no big deal. I’m fine.” Heather said. The peaceful smile was still on her face. Her voice was that of an angel, Scott thought; so calm, so serine. It was nothing new to him. To Scott, Heather was an angel.

“You look so cold.” Scott said.

“I’m warming up.”

Letting her hands go, Scott said, “You know, your smiling, but there’s something in your eyes that looks sad.”

“My magical eyes?” Heather said and smiled.

“Yeah – your magical eyes – they look sad. Did you have a fight with your mother?”

Heather chuckled. “No, I didn’t have a fight with my mother Silly Goose. And I’m not sad. I’m… fine.”

It wasn’t the first time Heather had called Scott ‘Silly Goose’, but it was rare. Being called that made Scott feel more at ease about the whole situation. Calling Scott ‘Silly Goose’ seemed like Heather’s secret way of saying ‘I Love You’; ‘silly goose’ was what grandma Edith called Heather when she was a little girl, it was a term close to Heather’s heart. Though there was still something about Heather that wasn’t right, he couldn’t place it though.

“What if there isn’t a tomorrow. Do you ever think about that?” Heather asked, in a low soothing voice. The ice that had clung to her hair had melted off.

Scott, puzzled, said, “What do you mean – if there isn’t a tomorrow?”

“Like, when you pass an accident on the road; a bad one where you know no ones coming out alive. They’re plans die too; plans for the future, their dreams, and their hopes. In the span of one second you can go from a person with feelings, dreams, and hopes… to a soulless human form slumped over a steering wheel.

“Heather what –?” Scott’s question was cut short by Heather’s interruption.

“ – Nothing. I’m sorry. I just had a bad dream earlier. I didn’t even remember it until now.”

“Dreams are funny like that.” Scott said.

“Remember the conversation we had a few months ago… the one about God?” Heather asked.

Scott shook his head up and down.

“There is a heaven you know.” Heather said in a normal conversational tone.

“What makes you say that?”

“I never told anyone this before, but… Timmy told me.”

“Your little brother?” Scott was a little surprised by this. Heather’s brother was only two years old.

Heather continued, “Yeah… When he was nine months old. He woke my mother and me up with a loud sheik on night. But it wasn’t a sad cry, or a painful cry… it was a cry full of joy. We both jumped up out of bed, and went into his nursery. He was standing up in his crib pointing to the corner of his room, and saying ‘da-da bwight, da-da bwight’. At first we didn’t know what he was saying, but then it came to us, he was saying dada bright, dada bright! – Timmy was seeing his daddy – hard to believe huh? And at first my mom or me weren’t really sure what to make of it; but it kept happening every now and then for another few months. I tried staying in the room with him a few times to see him, but nothing ever happened. Then one night I passed by Timmy’s room on my way to bed, and I saw him… standing in the corner… just staring… staring at his son. I walked in… he looked at me, then disappeared.” Heather looked down at her hands, interlocking them nervously, like she’s giving up a deep dark secret. “I still don’t know why he didn’t want to see me.”

“All of these thoughts were caused by a dream.” Scott wondered aloud.

Heather didn’t answer. She looked at Scott, smiled, unlocked her fingers, and dropped her hands to her side.

Scott returned Heathers smile.

Abruptly, the kitchen phone rang… then rang again… and again. His portable phone, which was lying next to him on the bed, did not ring; he had had it off the ringer so much that night that the battery had gone dead. Scott, like so many times before, was hypnotized by Heather’s eyes. He was just staring at her. The kitchen phone rang again.

“Aren’t you going to get the phone silly goose?”

“Yeah,” he said, snapping out of his trance. “Didn’t even hear it.” He got up off the bed, and left the room.

To Be Continued…

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