Second Chance (740 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.9 on 22 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Uncle B. (View user info) at 2007-12-02 15:08:11 EST
Second Chance
It was a beautiful summer day...
The day before her one hundredth birthday a woman falls and cannot get up. Her family from all across continent travel at a moments notice to be by the family matriarchs side in what may be her final moments. What a way to spend your 100th birthday:
"How is she doing Doc?" the worried man asked while trying to maintain his composure the best he could. His eyes were red and the dark crescents beneath them echoed his lack of sleep.
"As well as can be expected son, she is almost a hundred years old, but she is in and out of consciousness right now. She took a bad spill, bumped her head pretty hard, there is some minor brain swelling from the concussion but with her age...it really is hard to say, all we can do is hope for the best and see if she decides to pull out of it."
"When can we see her?"
The Doctor looked down the hall into the waiting room and saw dozens of family members, her three children in their 70's with their spouses, her ten grandchildren at their mates in their 30's and 40's, and numerous great grandchildren all anxious for news.
"Small groups, only two or three at a time, and we'll keep a nurse nearby in case her condition changes and I will be notified immediately."
"Thank you doctor," the man turned and walked back to his family and explained what was happening.
The family organized themselves quickly and then for the next few hours all expressed their love and said goodbye as best they could, unsure even if they were heard...
At the stroke of Midnight Nadine Grace Beebe woke up on her 100th birthday
She was not alone.
A man sat in an old beat up hospital chair at the foot of her bed obscured by the shadows, he sat quiet and still.
"I see you there" her voice was soft but clear, her blue eyes peeked out from her wrinkled creases, her snow white hair picking up traces of red and green from the led lights on the machines and looking unseasonably festive for June.
"You know me, everyone knows me," the man leaned forward and Nadine saw her youngest grandson grinning from ear to ear at her.
"I know you're not my grandson,"
"Clever girl, I can see why your family loves you and worry about losing you, in fact that is why I am here."
"What do you mean?"
"For you good works and deeds throughout your life, and the massive amount of love there is for you from your family, the home office presents you with a gift." With a dramatic flourish he produced a glimmering vial of fluid and set it her hand?
"What is it?
"Life"
He removed a tiny vial from his breast pocket that contained just a single drop of the glowing liquid. He flipped open the cap as he selected a flower from one of the many displays that crowded her room and emptied the vial. The single drop hung for a moment and then dropped into the slightly wilted bloom.
A warm silverish and gold aura surrounded the flower as it went from wilted to full bloom and then the bloom closed and shrank becoming a bud. Another few moments passed and all that was left in his hand was a tiny seed.
"One drop equals one year and you have one drop for every year but come sunrise it will disappear."
She looked at the vial in her hand and back up at the man but he was gone.
In the morning so was she...
"What do you mean she's MISSING?" her grandson demanded of the Doctor.
"Sir, calm down, were doing a floor by floor search now...."
"What kind of hospital are you running here? Where a hundred year old woman can simply get up and disappear."
A nurse rushed over a pulled the doctor away from the distraught young man.
"Doctor, I'm sorry to interrupt, but something...something keeps happening."
"What is it Nurse?"
"I can't explain it sir, all over the hospital...the children's ward, the cancer ward, even in the hospice wing...it just that..." She hesitated unable what she had seen. "Cancer tumors reduced in size some terminal folks are now barely showing any signs of the disease...and the children's ward sir... you have to come to the children's ward."
Mystified the Doctor followed the nurse down the hall and into the Children's Ward.
He followed her into the playroom where he stopped and fell to his knees.
He found the missing centenarian woman.
Dozens of children, sat at her feet, some were weeping, others touching her with reverence. Whispers carried the words 'angel' and 'savior' along with blessings and thanks.
She sat in a comfortably in a large chair, a beam of sunshine illuminating her face ancient and withered face, a pleasant smile creased her lips and her blue eyes that matched the sky stared off into the infinite.
It was a beautiful summer day...
User Reviews
Submitted by corn_nugget (user info) at 2007-12-18 13:38:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Thats nice.
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2007-12-03 23:00:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
What the fuck? Is this fiction? I've heard of fiction before. Long time ago.
And it was hard to read...on account of all the missing words and phrases...like 'fuck,' 'cunt,' 'AIDS,' 'die in a fire,' and whatnot. And no picture of boobs or penes. Trippy.
Nice little story.
Submitted by ubetidid (user info) at 2007-12-03 14:43:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
great
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-12-03 13:39:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by ConorJS (user info) at 2007-12-03 13:19:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Well jeez, that was a bit of an upper.
Submitted by Lib (user info) at 2007-12-03 13:12:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
: )
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2007-12-03 13:08:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
nice
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2007-12-03 12:29:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Could've used some editing but a touching story nonetheless.
Submitted by ChaosJester (user info) at 2007-12-03 03:13:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Sweet...
Submitted by Wildman (user info) at 2007-12-03 01:28:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
all mothers and grandmothers were little girls once
Submitted by gravitas (user info) at 2007-12-02 21:48:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Phallic_Cymbals (user info) at 2007-12-02 20:46:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Well, there was nothing new here but it was a solid enough effort. Felt like an A- grade paper from a High School senior.
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2007-12-02 19:14:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2007-12-02 17:29:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
So that's what a happy ending is like.
The typo that really got to me was the "her ten grandchildren at their mates in their 30's and 40's" bit.
Other than that, it's gold.
Submitted by rorrim (user info) at 2007-12-02 18:59:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
uber rules...
Submitted by beer-turtle (user info) at 2007-12-02 17:56:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
not everything has to be dark and depressing and angsty.
my grandmother is 97 and is an awesome woman, I kinda wrote this for her. She and I had talked about the possibility of a rejuvenation treatment, and somehow it came up that should felt that she has lived a long and full life that she is ready to die. Doesn't want to just yet, but is prepared for it.
As long as she is comfortable and not in pain, she is welcome to stick around and share her wisdom with the family for as long as she wants. This woman is a fighter mind you, she survived brain surgery when she was 92, spine surgery at 95, a Gamma knife treatment at 97, and now is living with her eldest daughter in NY.
I am going to see her shortly after New Years.
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2007-12-02 17:32:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
That was...nice.
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2007-12-02 17:29:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
So that's what a happy ending is like.
Submitted by czwij (user info) at 2007-12-02 17:23:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
typical american happy end
good nontheless
Submitted by experima (user info) at 2007-12-02 17:04:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Wuzi (user info) at 2007-12-02 15:59:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Overall good story.
Submitted by beer-turtle (user info) at 2007-12-02 15:54:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
wrote this in about an hour...is a concept draft for a screen play.
Submitted by Doodles (user info) at 2007-12-02 15:24:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Over all pretty good,there were several typos that distract from the story and some akward sentence structure. Still better than most of the shit on here.
Run ons and fragments FTW.