Goodbye

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Visitor

On a sunny later-afternoon in Whoville, Ned came home after another day in City Hall. Then, he noticed some green and satin baggage in the hallway towards the living room. Only to realize that he saw his father sitting in the chair. He gasped and said, "Dad!"

His father, 64-years old, hazel-grey eyes, brown and yellow fur, a little taller and wearing a blue-collared turtleneck with a purple sweatshirt, casual pants, turned and saw his son standing there in hallway, and exclaimed, "Son!"

They came over and hugged each other. Ned was extremely happy to see his father again. His dad, "Let me look at you, boy. You must've grown at least, about 8 1/2 inches."

"Well, I'd say 10 1/2." said Ned.

"Since breakfast." said Sally.

"How long have you been here?" he asked.

"I just got there for 10 minutes."

Ned chuckles and said, "How's mom?"

"She's doing fine. She's still a journalist at The Whereville Post." his dad said.

"That's good."

"Where are the kids?" asked his father.

"Girls! Come on down and meet your grandfather!" Sally called.

The 96 daughters all came down and saw their grandfather coming. He said, "How are all my granddaughters?"

"We're doing fine." said Holly.

"Doing well in school?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." said Hooley.

"Now, where's that only son of yours, Neddy? I haven't seen him in so long." said his father.

"He should be home any minute." said Ned.

The door opens and Ned looked in there and saw Jojo walking through the hall and he looked at him and said, "Hey, son. Your grandfather's here."

"Really? Where is he?" asked Jojo.

"He's in the living room."

Jojo walked to the living room and saw his grandfather standing there. He smiled and said, "How are you, Jojo?"

Jojo walked to his grandfather and gave him a hug. He said, "I'm doing fine, grandpa."

"You've grown so big over the years. Been doing fine?" said grandfather.

"Yes, sir." said Jojo.

"That's wonderful."

Jojo walked out of the living room and went to his room. His father looked at Ned and said, "You think he's climbing up the mayoral crest anytime, son?"

"Well, I don't think he'll be doing any mayoral stuff for a while, since he's been doing what he likes to do in his future, so music's his passion and inventing musical instruments is the same thing, so, I decided not to put so much pressure on my son on wanting to become mayor, so it's okay with me." said Ned.

"You know, he used to be so silent."

"Well, he used to, but he finally broke out of his shell."

"So, why did I hear a rumor that you and your son actually saved Whoville?"

"Well, how do I explain this? This might be crazy, but we're actually living on a speck and our friend, Horton, he's an elephant, by the way, helped us to find a safe place and Jojo helped us out by letting the other animals know we're here. So, everything's cool now."

"You're joking, right?"

"No, sir."

"You look very serious."

"How serious am I?"

"You made your point."

Later in the evening, Ned's father went in the living room to turn himself in for the night. He looked over to the bag and took out a few pills and put a few in his mouth with some water in it. Ned came downstairs and went in to check on his father.

"Doing okay, dad?" asked Ned.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine, son. Just... a little tired, is all." said his dad.

"Are you sure?"

"I know so."

"Are there doctor's orders?"

"Well, I've just done my 12th surgery on my stomach 5 weeks ago and I'm in full health. Why are worrying about me so much, son?"

Ned sighs and sits down his dad. Giving out a little worried look, he turned to his dad and said, "I just want to take care of you and that you could live a long time. Since that heart surgery ordeal 10 years ago, I was scared to know whether you'd still be here or not."

"Son, you know I'm always gonna be here for you, right?" asked his father.

Ned stared at him and nodded his head. His dad put his arm around Ned's shoulder and he leaned over his left shoulder and closed his eyes. He patted his son's head and rubbed it. Ned was scared deep inside knowing that his father was gonna live or not. His father then said, "You've really grown up in front of my eyes. Just want you to know, that I'm very proud of you. Always."

"Thanks, dad." he whispered.

"Go on up to bed, son. I'll be fine."

Ned went upstairs and went back to get some sleep. He went to bed and felt completely worried about his father. He sighs sadly and closed his eyes and went to sleep. 6 hours later, his father's heart was trying to go on, but he tried to get some water, but unfortunately, it was too late. His heart stopped and he fell to the floor and laid there, dead.