About the little known Sanity...(LONG POST) (473 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.25 on 10 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Sanity <CypherAcid2.at.charter.net> (View user info) at 2005-01-27 07:22:15 EST
I wish to tell my story. Not because I seek pity or approval for the events that transpired or the events that will, but because I wish to educate the people who still have a beating heart in their body.
I stand before my wife. The room is a more intense black then midnight in the desert. But I can still see her beautiful figure. Her long auburn hair is combed nicely down the left side of her face and continues on to cover her left breast. Her hands are gently placed at her sides as she slumbers peacefully through the night. Her small, perfect ears beckon for a sound to be heard, and her jade-green eyes desire to open and view the world as it once was. But she has neither seen nor heard a thing in nearly four years, as she lies comatose at a hospital in St. Louis.
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My name is Scott. I moved to St. Louis from Colorado when I was seventeen. The reason I began to tell others was that my parents had died and I was forced to live with my uncle. This was only partially true. My parents were very much alive although very dead to me. My dad was the clichéd abusive drunk and my mother was a whore. In fear of my life and sanity I sought refuge in the hands of my uncle who welcomed me with open arms.
The day after I got unpacked I was already registered to attend school. The first two days were mediocre at best, but on the third day of classes I met my future wife Sarah. It was not love at first sight by any means. In fact I had every intention to play her like so many women before. I began my conquest and introduced myself. After two minutes of conversation I was approached by her now known boyfriend and used as a punching bag. Caught by surprise I stood little chance.
I do not recall much after his third blow had landed, but I remember waking up in the hospital the next morning. Sarah was sitting asleep in a chair next to my bed. She had a bandaged wrist so I had only assumed that he had hurt herself. I only found out several years later that she had punched her boyfriend in the face and faked the injury to stay with me in the hospital. When she awoke she crawled into the bed next to me and apologized for him kicking my ass. She told me he was very protective of her and wanted to send out a message to guys like me. It was a message well received.
I couldn't help but earn a respect for her over the brief amount of time I had known her. She stood up to her controlling boyfriend over a stranger whose little known intentions were harmful. And even though I had received a mild concussion and a broken nose because of her, I desired her friendship. Two days after the incident Sarah broke it off with her boyfriend, and being expelled and facing a possible lawsuit he moved back to Chicago to go to work. After I fully recovered and with her ex-boyfriend out of the picture, Sarah and I became inseparable. Within months she and I fell in love. A year after high school we became engaged and then married.
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December 17, 2000, was the best and yet the worst day of my life. That is the day my daughter Ashleigh was born. But it was also the day that Sarah had gone into a coma. During labor Sarah began to run a high-grade fever. And as the labor continued it began to rise above the human capacity of tolerance. She lost consciousness, forcing the doctors into giving her an emergency cesarean section. She never regained consciousness. She never saw our baby.
For the first year after Ashleigh's birth I had visited Sarah every day. I spent most of my time at the hospital reading her books that she had always loved. I guess I was hopeful that her subconscious mind was able to comprehend the vast stories of unearthly places and perhaps visualize a place other than her eternal void of nothingness. But I saw no signs of improvement in her condition and I began to lose hope. Soon the sorrow began.
It started with an empty feeling in my stomach and over the course of several months moved to my nervous system. I would start to shake uncontrollably with every thought of my wife. It was as if a dull blade was slowly and recklessly cutting through my body. And every day that I thought of her in the median between Heaven and Hell the blade became embedded just a little deeper. It almost overtook me. Ashleigh was my Savior. She was my god.
By her fourth birthday, it became apparent that Ashleigh was Sarah's clone. She had the same straight auburn hair and adorable round nose. Her jade-green eyes came from generations that Sarah and I traced back to Scotland in the fourteenth century. Ashleigh's rate of learning far exceeded anything I had ever imagined. By the age of three Ashleigh already understood the concept of life and death. And she understood that her mommy was in between. She was a perfect child born from the womb of the perfect woman. And in life she was everything.
But even that happiness was taken away from me.
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The last time I saw my child was November 6th, 2004. At least I was given the chance to see her before she moved with her grandmother to Tampa Bay, Florida. Looking back, I see how Fate has played his hand.
Ashleigh and I spent the day at Forest Park visiting the Science Center. She worshipped the wonderful gadgets that children could play with or look at. She even spent a solid hour in amazement staring at the giant dinosaur exhibit on the main floor and the laser exhibit above it. We spent almost six hours there searching every crevice for new and exciting things. When we saw every possible item we could we left for home exhausted. I could not have asked for a better day.
When we arrived at my apartment I made her favorite foods: a grilled cheese sandwich and tater-tots. She ate hastily so I could read her a book before I dropped her off at Sarah's moms. I do not recall the book I chose, nor the drive to her grandma's house. But I do remember her goodbye.
She looked up at me with her wonderful green eyes as I placed her into bed. Before I could start to tuck her in she asked me when we could live together again. I remained silent because I did not want to lie to my only child. Within seconds of silence she began to cry. I grabbed her hand and for the first time in my life I began to pray.
"Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."
Her grandmother cited this prayer every night before she tucked Ashleigh into bed. It had become a ritual with her, and Ashleigh knew that when it was said that no other words would be spoken before she fell asleep.
Ashleigh wiped her eyes and whispered, "I love you daddy."
I turned towards the door, a single tear rolling down my cheek. "I love you too."
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After Ashleigh left for Florida the sorrow began again. But this time it was deeper and darker than before. I often found myself lying in my apartment barely capable of moving. But was it from the depression or the lack of nutrition and appetite? Of that I am not sure. But this state lasted several weeks until my uncle, concerned for my health and mental well being, sent me to the hospital.
Once there I was admitted for dehydration and given a psychiatric evaluation. The psychiatrist determined that I suffered from depression, and after I was medically cleared was sent to the psychiatric wing for observation.
It was here that I met the man that sealed my fate. He called himself Sebastian and was a patient in the wing. I later found out he was self-admitted for Bipolar Disorder, Delusions and Paranoia. He was an evil looking man with dark hair and eyes of stone. You could feel his gaze when he looked at you even when your back was turned. And I knew he was crazy when even the nurses urged the patients to stay away from him to respect his own wishes. This was not an issue most of the time because he was a recluse and often refused to leave the confines of his own room. He slept during the day in a room with no windows and was often brought food throughout the night. He only attended group therapy in the evening, but being self-admitted, he had that right. While attending he often spoke about the life he led in Europe traveling from city to city to avoid "them". Although he was never clear as to who "they" were, he was certainly terrified in his own mind.
My last scheduled night at the hospital I was asked to tell my story in group therapy. I told them all of my depression over Ashleigh and Sarah. And I told them of Sarah's condition, lying in a bed three floors up from where I sat. It was then I felt Sebastian's stare pierce through my soul. I stared at him for several moments trying to read his thoughts and his movements. I failed the latter when he leaped from his chair across the room and met my face with his in a blink. Smiling ear to ear he whispered, "As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. Rescue her, friend."
All went dark.
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I stand before my wife. Waiting. Watching. She will wake up soon. The gift I was given will beat it. I have no doubt.
Sebastian is not an evil man. He is misunderstood. He explained how the gift works and that if anyone should find out, "they" will come after me. The Hunters. The ones that fear what I have become and will stop at nothing to end it.
"Who's there?" Her voice was dry and cracked. But it was beautiful in my ears.
"It's me Sarah."
"Why is it so dark in here? Where is my baby?" she mustered as her eyes opened for the first time in almost half a decade.
"I will take you to her. But first we need to talk..."
I have my wife back. And soon I will get back my daughter. And I will stop at nothing. After all, that is the vampire way...
User Reviews
Submitted by Sanity (user info) at 2005-01-28 05:25:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by DamianD (user info) at 2005-01-28 04:35:58 (#)
Ranking: 1
excellent. Going to be a follow on??
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Probably not. If I do anything with it I will rewrite the ending. But who knows? I might be inspired given the overall rating. No -2 Die (yet) for my first post means a lot, and the only negative response I found humorous. So we'll see...
Submitted by DamianD (user info) at 2005-01-28 04:35:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
excellent. Going to be a follow on??
Submitted by Sanity (user info) at 2005-01-27 22:18:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I agree that the ending was a little weak. I was approaching shift change and needed to end it quickly or lose it all. It was worth it to at least get it out there.
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2005-01-27 09:06:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Yes, agree about the ending but still excellent.
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2005-01-27 07:56:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked this a lot.
The end was kind of weak in my opinion. It just seemed to fade away slightly.
Still very good though.
-Dave
Submitted by MandaPanda (user info) at 2005-01-27 07:52:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Wonderful read.
Submitted by PeanutButterJellyTime (user info) at 2005-01-27 07:51:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Kudos
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-01-27 07:39:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Bravo
Submitted by FuckTheArmy (user info) at 2005-01-27 07:35:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Much as it was obvious fiction from the beginning, it was solidly written and a good story. Not deserving of a +2, if compared to the greats... but a very promising start.
Submitted by Jay_Bassman (user info) at 2005-01-27 07:33:58 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
You fucker. I was completely sucked into that right up till the last line... then it all went to shit.