Chronicle II

The noise was familiar and plain. A monotone and long "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep".

He laid there. He could hear the noises and if he struggled enough he could open his eyes to see the blurry images. The fluorescent glow above him hurt his eyes enough that he could only take it for a few seconds at a time. He wasn't sure why he was here. He couldn't remember the reasons behind his entrapment.

His strength was limited and it took a lot of it to try and move his arms. It was almost like his arms wouldn't obey him. He wanted to move and to scratch his nose. It tingled with annoyance and he just wanted to scratch it to make it go away. He tried to pull together the energy to make it happen but nothing did. He thought he could feel his arm move but wasn't sure if it was being held back or not.

The room was silent. Every once in a while he could hear people walk by. Their random conversations never gave a hint as to why he was there. He was able to piece together that he was in a hospital.

Occasionally he would open his eyes to the fluorescent glow and try to adjust them. He knew that he had to have been asleep for a while since the lights hurt his eyes. After a few minutes they began to adjust to the light and he could make out the tiles in the ceiling.

A few more minutes and the glow of the television started to make sense. The bright colors of the Tom and Jerry cartoon were coming into view. Tom the cat was being chased by a bulldog and Jerry the mouse was flailing his tongue at Tom. The cartoon was familiar, it was his children's favorite.

Then the tickle on his nose came back again. He tried again to muster up the energy to scratch the itch. Nothing. He turned his head slightly to look down at his arm. He thought that if he saw it he could make it move. As he started to turn his head a doctor walked into the room.

The doctor walked over and stood above him. He stared down at him and spoke in terms that weren't recognizable. A nurse walked out from behind the doctor and her eyes grew large while staring down at the man. She spoke the only thing that the man could understand, "Doctor, he's awake!!"

The doctor turned and checked the instruments and the nurse ran out of the room. She came back with a woman and two children. The woman was crying and the children ran to the bed. The man stared at them and wondered what had happened. As his mind worked to try and move him the memories started to come back. It was his wife and children. He still didn't know what was going on.

He tried to get up to reach for his wife. His arm was still not responding. He turned his head to look at his arm again and thats when the familiar sound started.

"beeeeeeeeeeep"

It was then that it all came back to him. It was then that he could see himself in full view. It was then that he was floating above and watching as the doctor tried to resuscitate him again. It was then that the memories came back.

He could remember the accident. He could remember trying to change the tire on the car on the side of the road and another car hitting him.

Then there were the memories that weren't his. The feelings from his family rushed upon him as if they were his own. The months that they spent at his side in the hospital. The news that his arm would have to be amputated. The waiting to see if he would recover.

The decision to pull the plug because money had ran out.

They did what they had to do. He only wanted to say good bye. Time was not on his side.

As the doctor worked on him he knew it was time to go. He knew he would be useless to his family and he never wanted to be a burden.

The family was rushed out of the room. He followed and saw how they were crying and wanted him to come back. He moved closer to his wife and whispered something into her ear. She turned and looked around and found nothing. Her heart felt light and her burden of the decision was lifted from her. She knew he was happier now.

She kneeled down and explained to the kids that daddy was in a better place.

The doctor walked out and consoled the wife. He told her that they did everything they could. She agreed and told him that she understood.

The man would check in on his family from time to time. He would watch them grow and he would see his wife become happy again with another man. He could still hear her speak to him at times.

He would be there forever as long as he was remembered.