"Laying On The Death Bed"

Written for my Great Grandmother.

“Laying On The Death Bed”

By Cody Williams

 

            Shirley Keene peaked her head into the room looking over at the hospital bed. Dave looked up at her with tears in his eyes and stood from his chair. He lifted up his glasses and wiped the tears from his eyes and then walked over to the door.

            “Hey Shirley. It means so much that you came! Especially since the divorce!” Dave said softly trying to keep his voice down. The two of them hugged for a second and then turned to face the old woman lying in the hospital bed. Shirley stared at her for a moment. She was one hundred and two years old. She had short silver colored hair and a very boney body. Her skin just drooped over her bones with not much meat at all.

            “How is she doing?” Shirley asked him. Dave got a lump in his throat and began to tear up again.

            “She’s not doing well at all. Her days are numbered.” Dave told her. She looked down at the floor and then backs up at Dave. “Come on in.” He said as he moved aside. Shirley walked into the room and over to the hospital bed. She sat down in the chair beside the bed and looked over at the old woman. Dave walked to the other side of the bed and sat down. He reached over grabbing her boney hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Shirley looked up at Dave.

            “Has Ray been to visit?” Shirley asked him softly. Dave chuckled and looked her in the eye.

            “I haven’t seem Ray since your divorce hearing.” He said somewhat humorous. “You were lucky to get him to show up for the divorce!” Dave added trying all he good to bring some cheer to the conversation. Shirley continued to look at him seriously.

            “You mean to tell me that he had not been here to see his own mother before she died?” Shirley asked as she began to raise his voice.

            “Shhh!” Dave said as he placed his right index finger to his lips. “Keep it down! Now you know better than I do that Ray had a lot of problems. I mean Jesus Crist you were married to the guy.” Dave told her.

            “Did you even try to call him?” Shirley asked him.

            “Of Corse I did! Hell, I even went to his house! I never could get in contact with him. I left him message after message to get no response.” Dave said. “My bet is he’s laying passed out drunk in a bar somewhere!” He added. Shirley looked over at the woman again. She reached up and rubbed her forehead and began to tear up.

            “She really loved you Shirley! It meant the world to her when you married Ray. And she understood you when you divorced him. She loved you like the daughter she never had. You know that don’t you?” Dave said to her. She nodded as a tear began to roll down her face. The two of them sat in silence again and just looked at the old woman until Dave’s cell phone began to ring. He took it out of his pocket and looked down at the screen.

            “I got to take this! Shirley, would you mind staying here and sitting with momma?” Dave asked her.

            “I’ll stay.” She said.

            “Thank you!” Dave replied. He stood up from the chair and walked out of the room. Shirley looked back at the old woman.

            “Come on Sarah! You can beat this!” Shirley whispered as tears began to roll down her face. She bowed her head for a moment and then looked back up to see Sarah looking back at her.

            “Shirley? Is it you?” Sarah asked as she tried to sit up in her bed.

            “Yes. It’s me. How are you feeling?” Shirley asked her. Sarah let out a soft groan as she pushed herself up in bed.

            “Let me tell you, I’m just wondering why the good lord won’t take me yet. Why won’t he just let me go?” Sarah asked as she began to sob. Tears continued to roll down Shirley’s face.

            “I just wish you didn’t have to suffer anymore!” Shirley said to her. The two of them sat in silence.

            “Maybe I don’t have to!” Sarah said. Shirley wiped the tears from her face and gave her a strange look.

            “What do you mean?” Shirley asked intrigued.

            “I want you to end it!” Sarah answered. Shirley stood from her chair and began to back away from the bed.

            “End it? What do you mean?” She asked.

            “I want you to be the one to send me home! Please just end my pain and suffering!” Sarah pleaded.

            “Why me?” Shirley asked.

            “Dave won’t do it. God only knows where Ray’s. You’re the only one I can count on!” Sarah said to her.

            “Sarah, you know I can’t do that!” Shirley told her.

            “Why not? I thought you didn’t want me to suffer anymore!” Sarah declared.

            “Why do you want this? Why?” Shirley asked her.

            “Because I’m tired of suffering! I’m tired of being here! I just want it to all be over with. I’m ready to go home!” Sarah requested. “Consider it a dying woman’s last wish!” She added. Shirley walked back over to the chair beside the bed and sat down in it.

            “But you don’t have to do this! You’ll get better! And then we can take you home!” Shirley said hopefully. Sarah shook her head.

            “No! Stop fooling yourself! I’m dying! I know it! You just need to accept it and end my suffering. You won’t be doing anything wrong! You’ll just be speeding along the process.” Sarah said trying to convince her former daughter in law. Shirley shook her head again.

            “I’m sorry Sarah! I just can’t do that!” Shirley told her. She leaned over gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. She backed away and began walking towards the door.

            “Fine! I’ll do it myself!” Sarah declared. She shoved the blankets over of her black rotting flesh and leaped out of the bed falling in the floor. She laid there and groaned as Shirley ran over to her.

            What are you doing? Are you crazy?” Shirley asked her. She looked at the black colored rotting sores on her body and then looked up at her bleeding face.

            “Please Shirley! Please! Just end it!” Sarah pleaded. Shirley began to tear up again as she looked over at the bedpan that was lying on the floor beside of it. She reached over a grabbed it. She raised it high above her head and looked down at the dying old woman.

            “I’m sorry!” Shirley told her.

            “Thank you!” Sarah responded. Shirley held the bedpan high above her head and forcefully bashed it into the skull of the old woman. She held up bedpan again noticing that the woman was still breathing. She hit her in the head again and again with the bedpan until the woman was no longer breathing.

            Shirley dropped the bedpan and began to sob. She stood up and began to back away from the body.

            “Shirley! What the hell did you do?” Dave asked in shock.

            “I killed her! She asked me to end her suffering!” Shirley said sobbing as she fell to the floor with despair. Dave ran out of the room and left Shirley crying on the floor.

Copyright 2014 by Cody Williams

Courtesy of TTP Entertainment

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.copyrighted.com/copyrights/view/kyah-q1vf-gya2-clcb"><img border="0" alt="Copyrighted.com Registered &amp; Protected 

KYAH-Q1VF-GYA2-CLCB" title="Copyrighted.com Registered &amp; Protected 

KYAH-Q1VF-GYA2-CLCB" width="150" height="40" src="http://static.copyrighted.com/images/seal.gif" /></a>

Author's Note

A little something different. Deciding a title was tuff with this one. I really hope you guys like it! This one's for my Great Grandmother!

-CW

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A sad ending to the story. I have known people who had to live with great pain. I believe when someone reach a certain point. Better to send them off with a gentle drug. I was surprised by the ending. Always hard to watch someone die from a serious illness. Thank you for sharing the story.
Coyote

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Coyote!

-CW

[Jay Steitler]

Having a severe disability, and having faced the reaper on occasion, I find the piece highly relatable. I'd be considered a right to die advocate. Excellent work setting the emotions in this.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Jay!

-CW

[Dayran]

Its a great leap to end one's life ... by our own will and volition. Perhaps we think we have a right to ... in a mix of right and wrong ... in much the same way that we lived. Nice.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Dayran!

-CW

[icelandicblue]

I remember my father in law asking for the "black" pill as he lay dying from pancreatic cancer. It is a hopeless and helpless feeling to watch someone suffer so. I understand the sentiment behind this story.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading!

-CW

[Marie]

I think Shirley picked too forceful a way to end Sarah's life. But maybe you could show that she was so distraught that she simply chose the first thing that came to hand.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Marie!

-CW

[Michael Stevens]

I don't know if I could do this out of love, but there's plenty of people I don't like, then, no problem!

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Michael! Many of my stories are usually dedicated to someone close to me. I realized that I hadn't done one for my Great Grandmother yet...so this is it.

-CW

[Lyn Anderson]

Okay, I certainly wasn't expecting that. But I kind of dug it. Two things I noticed in grammar etc. corse should be course and shouldn't it be Lying in bed?

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading KL!

-CW

[Sami Khalil]

End the suffering or prolong it. It seems to me about the debate raging on in the USA about doctor death and if someone has the right to end others life at the end or prolong it for religious reasons. The poem was dead on ...Bravo.............

[Cody Williams]

Thanks so much for reading Sami!

-CW

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome...:)..............

[Delmar Cooper]

Cody caught your invitation to read. Thanks.

I wouldn't share this with Great Grand Ma if I were you. Might be misconstrued. Seemed generally well written but with about seven misspellings, mostly homophones your spell checker wouldn't catch. Trust your eye on spelling.

I frankly didn't see being bludgoned to death by a bedpan as a merciful ending, but as long as the killing is in full swing why not go ahead and beat Dave's brains out at the same time. Neatly solves the witness issue and what does the world need with one more wimp?

Seriously, the ending is a real pawn swap as Shirley has traded her life (admitting parole possibility here) for Sarah's life.

I really think you could devise a more interesting ending or develope the humor potential in death by urinal more fully.


Hope this was helpful.
Cooper

[Cody Williams]

It was helpful! Thanks for reading! This is not about my Great Grandmother, just dedicated to her. I dedicate almost all of my stories to someone and this one is hers. Thanks again for reading!

-CW

[Delmar Cooper]

Yes, I understood that.