Jay exhaled as he walked down the hospital hallway for the final time. Damien’s parents were going to make their ultimate decision on whether to keep him alive or to end his life. It was no longer in his control. Truth be told, it never had been. This was going to be goodbye whether to the end of his life or simply for now as he had to stop running away from his responsibilities and get back to school. He had done all he could to be there, but truly he didn’t know how much help he’d been.
Damien would pay for his actions, whether that was to his death or simply to the end of how long this coma would last. No one really knew that much about comas anyway. The science, from what he had read, was very inconclusive and confusing.
Gus had already said his goodbyes and headed back to school. Jay had emailed his professors and explained the situation. Amazingly they were quite accommodating. He read the readings and turned in papers explaining what he had learned. This was considered class credit. Attendance wasn’t mandatory in the senior classes anyways.
The closer he came to graduation, the more confident he felt he would succeed in life after college. Being a teacher hadn’t really ever been his dream, but quickly he realized how much he enjoyed his summers off and wanted that to continue. Plus, he liked school and he didn’t want that to end.
Jay sat beside Damien watching over him as the machine breathed for him. He held Damien’s hand.
“It’s you, Damien. I choose you.”
“You know how I feel about waiting for marriage.”
Jay nodded. “I thought what I wanted was just to rush into it, not build it up so much, just got it over with. No, see I don’t want that anymore. I want to be with someone I believe I could live my whole life with. I’m lucky enough to have met him in high school.”
“I thought you were over me last year at prom.”
“It was a rough year for all of us, but through the dark I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Guess who was standing there waiting for me.”
Damien rolled his eyes. Jay knew it was cliché, stupid, but undeniably sweet, he hoped. Damien gazed into his eyes, he placed his hand on Jay’s face, caressing it. Damien wiped the stray tear that fell down his face. This felt safe. It felt like home all over again.
“Are you sure you’re willing to wait for me?” Damien asked.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything else in my entire life. What do you say?”
It didn’t last a moment before Damien eplied, “Yes.”
Boy how things had changed in just a short amount of time. Their proposal of love didn’t last very long and quickly floundered, the same way it had when they were in high school. It didn’t mean it hadn’t been real, or truthful though…
Leaning in, Jay kissed Damien’s forehead. “I still choose you,” he whispered. “As long as you continue breathing. Forever.”
Jeremy held Julia’s hand walking down the nature trail together. Jeremy had come down for the weekend to visit her. She had asked if he would join her in visiting with Damien, but he thought it would be better to be just the two of them.
“How was he?” Jeremy asked.
“Breathing,” she replied. “Still breathing,” she added more to herself.
Jeremy observed how sad the situation was. “He had his whole life ahead of him. Why would he do something like that?”
“He never really had support from his parents for being gay.”
“You’re saying he attempted suicide because he’s gay?” Jeremy asked incredulously.
“Some people do, it’s not that uncommon of an occurrence. It’s just, I think he distanced himself from his parents and vice versa when he came out and refused to back down. When he didn’t have the community through his relationship and had disavowed his friendships, he sort of wrapped up his whole identity in the relationship. When that ended, there was no hope left for him.”
“You seem to know quite a lot considering you don’t talk to the man.”
“He’s not currently talking to anybody, thank you,” she chastised him. “He and I were really close for a summer, so I got to see how his mind works.”
“Sure,” Jeremy replied, nodding his head.
“No need to jest.”
“Who’s joshing you? Me?”
“Kiss me, you fool.”
“Now that I can get on board with,” he said before he locked lips with her.
They were able to argue with each other, but still respect one another, which to him was a huge feat in today’s world. His cell phone went off blaring the Power Rangers theme song. It always made him jump as it was so loud when it started.
“I love how nerdy you are,” Julia replied.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he responded. When he looked at who was calling him, his mouth dropped. Pax was calling him. He hadn’t heard from Pax in well over two years.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?”
“What?” he asked startled. “Yeah, yes, of course.” He quickly answered the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, uh, is this Jeremy?”
“Yeah. Pax?”
“You got it, buddy.”
Jeremy exhaled. “It’s been a long time. I’m sorry I haven’t kept up at all. Things have been crazy.”
“Oh, that’s, uh, not a problem and that’s not why I called you, not really.”
“Ok…” he paused. “What’s going on?”
“See, uh, I’m getting married actually. There’s this wonderful woman called Maddie and I truly believe that God paired us together.”
“That’s great!” he replied sincerely.
“I was just going to text you, but I thought why not just give you a call and request your address so I can send you an invitation.”
“I’m speechless, flattered, truly. You actually want me to come to your wedding?”
“Of course I do! I poured into you for a whole year and I’d love for you to celebrate the start of my marriage with me.”
“I’ll text you my address.”
“Why don’t you just tell me now?”
“Sure,” he smiled. “It’s 5610 Dawes Ave.”
“Expect an invitation within the next two weeks.”
They bid their farewells. Jeremy cried tears of joy. He couldn’t believe he was invited to his first wedding.
“You are so kind, Jeremy,” Julia said.
“Thanks, darling.” He turned his head sideways and kissed her. “I gotta jet.”
“Bye, baby,” she whispered.
Pax. That name hadn’t come to mind in a long time. Perhaps this could be the start of a brand new chapter in their friendship.
Cadence laid back on her cell cot. Staring at the ceiling she tried to think of anything positive in her life. She couldn’t think of anything. Having been visited by her past, she continued to dream about what could have been, what should have been. Closing her eyes, she tried to quiet her mind and fall quickly asleep.
Within minutes she saw herself walking down the halls of Oak Stream High. She instantly realized how old she was compared to the children walking all around her. They stared and gawked at her. Stifled laughter followed her no matter where she went. No matter which hallway she walked down, she couldn’t find home room.
The hallways all morphed into one. The door out grew smaller and smaller until finally you couldn’t even see it anymore. Then a bright light overcame the hallway until the only thing you could see was the light. All of a sudden, she was no longer in the hallway, she was in the stream where she’d been with Gus. Oak Stream was home, yet she had to leave high school behind. She made a promise to herself when she shook herself awake that no matter what she would make it to that stream at least one more time before she took her final breath and she never broke her promises.
Kerass sat in the back row of his father’s church. He had been welcomed back without question over the course of the summer, but it was still a little bit awkward every time he visited. He didn’t go to church every Sunday and he didn’t see that as a problem, regardless of what other people told him. He felt close to God and to him that was all that mattered.
The rumor had already spread, according to his father, about what they were there for. This emergency member meeting was a big deal. The last time they had a meeting like this, his mother was still alive, before the coma. The music ministry leader, who had been his father’s best friend since childhood was caught in an adulterous relationship with a woman on the same team for two years. It had occurred so long ago that his father had welcomed him back into friendship, fellowship, but the rest of the congregation didn’t feel the same way.
His father stepped up to the podium. Clearing his throat, he began to speak, “I have a confession to make before you, dear church.” He paused asking if they could pray together. After he finished his prayer, he dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief, wiping small tears out of his eyes.
Kerass held his breath.
“I have lied to you. It was not a technical error that killed my wife. It was my decision to pull the plug. I wanted my wonderful, Spirit-filled, son to have a chance at a college education. But what ended up happening, was it created a distance between us that praise the Lord has ended. As many of you know, Damien, the son of beloved members is in a coma. I was asked whether they should pull the plug on him. I begged and implored them to not make the same mistake I had made. I couldn’t continue preaching here without speaking the truth. I cannot say that I believe I made the wrong decision as I firmly believe she is worshipping and celebrating with our Savior now, but to lie to you about it is truly disgraceful. For that I have asked my fellow elders to evaluate me as a church leader. They have decided to put me on a trial period. I will step away from the pulpit for a year, depending on how you vote. If you want me to step down, I shall without question. If you want me to stay, so I can grow alongside you that is fine too. Whatever decision you make. I have complete and utter peace with our Father about it. It has been a gift and an honor to lead you for these years. Thank you.”
The rest of the meeting was a blur. It wasn’t a unanimous vote, but they did elect to have him stay. He would no longer be lead pastor, but a reserve. Kerass waited at the back of the line as everyone gave their two cents to his father.
An hour came and went as he made his way to the front of the line.
“I’m proud of you,” Kerass said.
“I’m even prouder of you. I never would’ve done this had you not encouraged me to.”
“It wasn’t me, but the Holy Spirit who prompted you to do that. See, you’re finally open and fully honest. That’s what makes you beautiful, your honesty and vulnerability and I believe firmly that it’ll only make the church grow closer together.”
They embraced, clutching each other so tight, refusing to let go. He would never forget this moment.
7 months later…
Damien opened his eyes.
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