Jimmy

A Story by Jess Holden

"I have so much to say, but you're so far away," she mumbled into her pillow, her voice heavy with exhaustion and sickness. Bec had been ill for months before being admitted to the general hospital, her future looking grim.

She has no complaints; her years of depression made her feel somewhat better, knowing she had no future. The doctor's had been working solidly for well over a week to find the source of her sickness; so far, nothing was working.

From CAT scans to MRI's, all scans were clean, showing she was in perfectly good health.

"Lived a life so endlessly," she sang further, her voice drifiting in and out, only mumbling brief moments of her favourite song. "Sleep tight," she said, slightly louder, "I'm not afraid."

She sighed, and opened her eyes to gaze out the small window by her bedside. Autum leaves fell from the maple trees, casting small shadows before falling to the ground.

One day, she thought, I'll be below you. Below your falling leaves and roots, Mr maple tree.

"I loved you, you were ready," tears began to run down her face, her breathing becoming slower and slower, "the pain is strong and I just rise."

She closed her eyes and shut out the beeping monitor, the coughing paitents, and the heavy footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Please," she begged, her voice coming out as a low choke of air, "I can't do this anymore."

As she lay, her eyes streaming with hot tears and her pillow muffling her cries, she heard a man clear his throat. She opened her eyes to see a man, dressed in a black suit and tie, hair a mess, with piercing blue eyes.

"Rebecca?" he asked, his voice calm and inviting. He smiled, and extended his hand towards her, inviting her off her bed. She felt calm with him; he wasn't going to harm her. There was a warmpth about this man, that gave Bec the courage to reach out and take his hand, and take a step off her bed.

Without a single word, they smiled at each other, and walked out of thehospital room, and into a bright, warm light that engulfed both of them whole.