Playing God

She thought it was just a dream. It wasn't.

               The scarf did nothing to protect her face from the cold that threatened to whip her with its bitterness.  Alice walked down the street dragging her bum leg behind her.  Usually, she could get by with just a limp, but the cold didn’t help foster any circulation.  Her stringy hair fell over her eyes, and she scanned the area for Sparky.  She owed Sparky money, and knowing him, she owed him interest since she was a month late.  There was no way she could explain that two months ago, the dreams had started.  At first, Alice thought that she was sick since wasn’t hard to get sick living on the streets. The dreams had concerned.  A boy,  maybe ten years-old,  had innocent eyes that Alice hadn’t seen in years.  He gave her hugs, told her that she was special, and spoke seven numbers.  Every night that month, Alice found a way to shelter herself from the winter and waited to fall asleep. Then suddenly, she didn’t dream about him anymore. 

   

             Dr. Justin Reynolds just happened to see the commotion outside in the emergency room lobby as the guard was escorting the old lady out of the area.  He walked up to the reception desk and received an eye roll from Linda. 
                “I really wanted to admit her just based off of the craziness that was coming out of her mouth,” she said.  “Talking about having dreams about little boys tell her that she’s chosen for something.”
                “What?” Justin frowned. 
                “Yeah.” Linda humphed and shook her head.  “I’m telling you that being out on the streets does something to those people.”
                Justin set his clipboard by Linda and walked out of the emergency room doors.  He passed by the security agent and caught up to the woman.
                “Hey!  Excuse me?”  The woman turned around.  Justin  stopped a few feet from her.  “I-um"I heard you’ve been having dreams?”
                “They think I’m crazy.  I’m not crazy.  I know I’m not.” The old lady muttered under her breath, but directed the words to him.  Justin held up a hand.
                “I don’t think you’re crazy,” he assured.  “Can you tell me what the boy looked like?”  Justin listened to a very detailed description which confirmed everything that he was thinking. 
                “What’s your name?” Justin asked when she was finished. 
                “Alice,” the lady said.  Justin smiled. 
                “Alice, I think that I can help you.”

                

Kaitlin stared dumbly as the casket was lowered into the ground.  She didn’t feel like she had the right to be there.  She felt she was the villain that had taken Ethan’s life.  The pastor was saying something, and the family were comforting each other as dirt was being shoveled into the hole.  Thump.  Thump.  Dirt falling onto the coffin sounded like someone walking on it to make sure everything was sealed. 
                “Kaitlin.”  Kaitlin stiffened at the whisper in her ear.  She looked around at the bystanders. 
                “Justin, what the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you we were done.”
                “Didn’t come here to fight, sweetheart,” Justin  said softly.  “How are you holding up?”
                “We killed a little boy.  How do you think I’m holding up?” Kaitlin whispered harshly.
                “It worked, Kaitlin.” 
                She turned to look at him.  The was a small smile on Justin’s face as he grabbed her hand and pulled her slowly away from the site.  She replayed his words.
                “What"how"it worked?”
                “A homeless woman came into the hospital thinking she was going crazy because she’s been having dreams with a little boy talking to her and giving her numbers. She described Ethan as the boy.”
                Kaitlin clenched her fists and stomped her foot.
                “Justin!  That means we did it. We created telepathy.”  She glanced back at the funeral. Yes, Ethan was dead, but maybe the next one would live.
                “So, what do you want to do?” Justin asked.  Kaitlin chewed on her lip and then nodded.
                “I want to talk to this homeless woman.  Her life is about to change.”

Author's Note

writing project for someone random. Tired to make it interesting

Reviews

[A.C. Jones]

thank you so much. like i said..it was very random writing request from someone

[Jennifer]

I thought this was extremely interesting and original.The beginning hooked me and kept me reading. It was a little creepy-because the little boy had to die, and I like/dislike the Dr-Justin but it all makes sense for the story.

Fun read!