The last time I saw you

A Story by KL Coburn

short heart-felt story.

I gave you a kiss and a hug and told you I would be back, we almost always travel together but not this time. I had some free time on my hands and the family had its needs and you of course had to work and tend to the home front, namely a little brown pup that thinks he owns the place.

We have been together for an eternity, not in a negative way but in a way that when you think about everything that is good in your life you can’t remember a time when she wasn't a part of it. Funny a blind date some years ago would end up with us meeting the person we were intended to meet and be with for the rest of our lives.

I think about all those happy thoughts as I grow colder. I also think about telling her that I would be back when it’s clear to me now I misspoke. I could never lie to her and this one wasn't intentional but something that just couldn't be helped I guess.

We joked that if something happened to one of us that the other haunting is something that would happen. I guess I am about to test that too.

I hear the sirens growing closer. I lift my throbbing and bloodied head up from the steering wheel and see through the shattered windshield the faint flicker of red and blue lights coming towards me. My body aches, like nothing I have ever felt, and to even take a breath is a painful task. I lay my head back down and fad back out to black.

I find myself back watching my wife give birth to our baby girl. I see the young fella holding her hand with a panicked look on his face that has no idea how much his life would change and I know he or rather I certainly didn't. I remember after she was born walking across the hall to the waiting room where our families were waiting patiently and just breaking down. The first time I ever cried so hard that I couldn't speak from being happy.

I hear someone yelling “We have one here!” and feel two fingers touch my neck, looking for a pulse. “He is still alive!” I faded out again.

I am setting in the back seat of a very small car and hear me ask her “How are you feeling?” I look ahead and all I see is headlight hitting snowflakes. “I would be doing better if you slowed down!” I was driving my wife to the hospital to have our “lil fella” as I called him. I remember it snowed hard that night but I wasn't going to let that slow us down.

“Sir, can you hear me?” I raised my head up and said yes but it sounded like a grunt. I got my head to a point where gravity took over and it fell backwards now and I let out another grunt from the pain that shot down my spine. I didn't think I could hurt anymore but that slight head movement showed me that indeed I could.

I find myself walking through a field with something heavy tugging at my arm. I look down and see myself hold a leash and on the other end I see a young basset hound that resembles a puppy we had.

I hear a male voice yell “Clear!” and feel something cold on my chest followed but pain and every muscle in my body going rigid and then relaxing. “We have a pulse but its faint.” Once again I fade out.

I open my eyes and find myself at home standing behind my wife at the front door about to open it. I look beyond her and see a man in uniform. My wife opens the door and receives the news. I hear critical condition and see my wife crying but I also hear and see something odd; a man in a black suite, white shirt, and a black tie looking at me and asking me if I am ready. It’s so odd because neither my wife nor the officer reacts. With all this happening I look at the man’s feet and he has yellow Crocs on.

“Ready?” I ask “for what?” Looking at him, I had to shade my eyes a bit because his white shirt glowed bright and those yellow Crocs did the same.

He reaches out and grabs my hand and with a blink of an eye I see myself on the operating table with my abdomen open like I was on display. I feel my stomach start to turn.

“The feeling goes away,” he said in a very calm, monotone voice. “Are you ready?”

“If you mean ready to leave my wife and kids then, no!” I followed up with, ”I have a choice?”

“Some people get a choice some do not. If it’s their time to go the choice is made for them.” He paused “In your case, like others, your time isn't up but you are given a chance to choose. If you choose to stay then we take someone else, if you choose to go then someone else stays.”

“You have a quota!”

“We have to keep the balance.” He replied.

“Why would someone choose to leave if given a choice?” I asked.

“Maybe you are looking for a way out, maybe you have too much debt, maybe you’re just tired of living,” he replied.

A bright flash and I look around to see I’m in the backyard of the house I grew up in, my dad setting at the picnic table with a cup of coffee and his ball cap cocked to the side as he always wore it. There was a little blonde haired poodle setting next to him with his tail wagging. Missing was the clear tube inserted into his nose that helped him get oxygen that his lungs failed to give.

“Hi son,” he paused calmly to take a drink of his coffee “I look in on you and the family ever so often.”

I stand struggling for something to say but feel so peaceful. Dad gets up, walks over to me and extends his arms and gives me a hug. “I love you son. I am so proud of the man you've become but you’re not done yet.” He pauses, “You have so much more to do.”

“Son I want you to let your sister and brother know how proud I am of them too and tell your mother I love her.” He hugs a little tighter. “Now go back and finish your work.”

Everything goes black and I can hear a faint rhythmic beep and I start blinking my eyes.

“Doctor he is starting to wake up.” I don’t recognize the voice but it’s very soothing.

I blink my eyes for a second and open them up to a blurry silhouette of a head. “Did you take me?” I asked.

The doctor laughed a bit and started explaining what I had just been through. He talked with me about the injuries I had and told me how lucky I was to have survived. He also let me know the family was in transit and should be there later today.

I nodded my head to let the doctor know I understood but didn't have the strength to do much more than that.

When he left the room I heard something and turned my head toward the sound. Standing in the corner of the room I saw my dad again standing among other family members who had passed looking at me with smiles. I knew I would get to see her again.