Death, Disease and Deliverance-Short Stories-Chapters 2-5 also involve an updated 21st century version of The Outsiders, though the Johnny Cade chapter is timeless.
Chapter 1 Johnny Cade (based on The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Forgiveness by goldengreaser, and a dream I had early May 7, 2013) (all chapters have a certain basis on The Outsiders)
Johnny's Perspective
I first lay in that awful device in the hospital where I had to be placed in a strange position and could only see the floor. Golly, I sure was relieved when they finally moved me to a bed.
At first, I didn't think I could stand the thought of being crippled for life, but when I thought of those little children trapped in that fire and how Ponyboy and I managed to save them, I knew it was all worth it. I felt so awful for killing Bob the Soc, I could never make up for that-though I only did it to save Ponyboy's life. I'll admit it helped my conscience to know I'd saved other lives from that burning church, but that wasn't the only reason why I did it.
The first night after I had been beaten up by that gang of Socs, something very special happened. This is the first time I have ever told anyone about it-even Ponyboy. After everyone else was asleep in the Curtis house, where my own gang and I were spending the night, I saw a man standing before me in the most dazzling robes of white I had ever seen. He wore a gold sash with the robes and looked upon me, sorrowfully but lovingly. When he laid his hand on my cut and bruised cheek to help it heal, I saw he literally had circular holes in his hands-where nails had once pierced his hands clear through. I knew at once who he was, and it brought me peace and comfort, at least for that night. As I laid now in that hospital bed, I thought of that man, and of all the wrongs I may have thought or done.
"I regret that I ever insulted you," I said weakly but truthfully when nobody else was there. "I'm sorry." A strange sense of peace came over me afresh.
Ponyboy's Perspective
My head throbbed and I felt dizzy. Yet, I was so relieved we were able to see Johnny. Even through his pain and fatigue, he smiled up at Dally and me. Then, he did the strangest thing-he prayed for God's mercy, not for himself but for his parents and for the Socs responsible for having beaten him half to death last spring! He said, "God, Please forgive my parents. Please tell them I love them and no longer resent them and grant clemency to those Socs." Dally and I stood in stunned silence. Johnny praying for forgiveness for those who had done nothing but treat him like crap!
There was the longest pause in time, then he motioned for me to stand by the head of his bed.
"Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." the last sentence no more than a whisper as he head slowly sank into the pillow as he passed away.
"No! No! Johnny! Don't die! Please don't leave us!"
I laid my head on the bedspread and silently wept.
'"Never could keep that hair back you little punk!"' Dallas finally responded. " # #% 'Don't die Johnny! Please don't die!"' voicing my earlier thoughts.
Then, Dallas kicked a hole in the wall and ran like a maniac out of that room.
I, meanwhile, was left to wonder how our gang could make it without Johnny, and what the heck he meant when he told me to stay gold.
Johnny's Perspective
When I saw Dallas and Ponyboy enter the room, I felt no more pain, except for seeing theirs.
I wanted all to be well with them, all to be better with the whole world. My desire was for them to know my same sense of peace. As I uttered my last faltering words to Ponyboy, I closed my eyes for the last time and then there was a soundless void-for a moment. The next thing I knew, I saw the man in the flowing white robes again. He looked upon me with such mercy and compassion, that I was bewildered at first. Then, he smiled at me ever so kindly and took my hand in his own still nail-scared one. "Johnny, I've come to take you to Heaven."
Chapter 2 Kathy Smith (lightly based on Polar Express, by Christian van Allsburg)
It was a Saturday in November at the Curtis house. Everyone was all layered up, as they had to watch the electric bill. It had been a month since Johnny and Dally's deaths, 10 months since the death of the Curtis brother's parents. Though life would never be the same for the 3 brothers without them, they were nonetheless trying their best to retain as much of a sense of normalcy and to eventually achieve their hopes and dreams as best they could. Darry had managed to fix up some cocoa for them to have with their cookies after their neighborhood run about. They were glad to at least not have the Socs preying on them anymore, at least not in their own (the Curtis') neighborhood. That final rumble on the night of Johnny and Dally's deaths had chased all the Socs out.
Darry and Ponyboy were reading various sections of the newspapers while Soda was "reading" (though) mostly looking at the photos of a Western Horseman magazine.
"Hey!" Ponyboy called out suddenly. "Look what they have listed in the local section here! It's an upcoming Christmas festival!"
"Oh yeah? Where?" Soda asks.
"At this Methodist church, not too far from our neighborhood."
"I don't dig sitting still at church you know."
"What's it going to cost?" Darry inquires.
"It's free."
Darry looks over at the listing. "So it is."
"They'll have Christmas music and lots of free food and free desserts."
"Ooo...Free food and free dessert-now you're talking," Soda says.
"I see they've scheduled it for early night hours-Soda and I should be off work for the day by then, and of course it will be after school hours for you Ponyboy" Darry states.
It's scheduled for a Saturday, Darry," Ponyboy responds.
The long-awaited night finally arrived, and all 3 can attend.
They met a matronly lady dressed like a giant Sugar Plum Fairy serving hot cocoa made from milk and melted Hershey bars.
Instantly, they took a special liking to her the moment she smiles at them.
"My name is Kathy Smith. I'm very pleased to meet you 3. Would you like some fresh cupcakes with your cocoa?"
"Yes, Mrs. Smith!"
"This is my husband Rick."
She introduced them to a man dressed as a Christmas cowboy, who says to them "Y'all make yourselves right at home."
Something about the sincere welcome of the Smiths, and their unpretentiousness, especially Kathy's, was reassuring to the 3 Curtis brothers. Later, she even sent them home with extra cupcakes.
The weeks passed and the 3 brothers started to attend the church regularly. They especially bonded with Kathy Smith, though the place where she volunteered was at the thrift shop behind the church. The 3 Curtis brothers came there at intervals to purchase "new" clothing and sometimes extra food. One day, they saw a young woman who appeared to be in even worse economic shape than they were. She had a small girl with her and they saw Kathy Smith give cookies to the child for free. "I have cookies?" she asked incredulously. "Yes. They're yours."
One night, the church hosted a free Valentine's party and Ricky Smith serenaded everyone with singing as he played the guitar.
On another night, not long after, though, Kathy asked for prayers for her discouraged son, out of work and on the brink of suicide. All gathered at this special prayer meeting to send up requests to the Lord that he please, please receive God's guidance so he would not go through with that.
The following Sunday, the 3 brothers arrived at the church.
A family friend of the Smith's said "Did you hear what happened to Kathy Smith?"
The three looked at him, and at each other, their pulses paused.
"She passed away."
"What?" "Kathy?" "Did she have a heart attack?"
"We do not yet know the cause. She was happily dancing with Rick the night before."
Later, the church members all learn that she had had a type of brain disease, that showed very few symptoms, until the ultimate bitter end. Her family was brought closer together by her death, and the son Ricky found work and no longer contemplated suicide. However, all hearts went out to her kindred, especially to widower Rick. Though he was able to withstand the shock, he looked grayer and thinner and once refereed to her absence as "like the summer sans the sun." Ponyboy, both the most faithful and most fantastical of the brothers, helped him by reassuring him that her spirit must be close by, watching over him and his kin, and wearing a silver crown (Kathy had always liked items of sparkly silver)
Chapter 3 Jane Green
Darry was doing household chores when he suddenly received a phone call. Picking up the phone, he recognized a pleasantly familiar voice, though he had not heard it in many years.
"Hi-Mrs. June White?" (his 3rd grade teacher, the best teacher he ever had-at least from his perspective)
"Yes, I want to thank you for that birthday card you sent me-and I want to see if we could meet at the cafe?"
Darry answered that he certainly does, but he had to make special arrangements in his schedule between his jobs and family support.
When they were able to work out a time on a day off for them both, they filled one another in on what had occurred in their lives.
Tragically, James Greene, who had been a classmate of Darry's in Mrs. White's class, had died of cancer, a year after the death of his (James') father.
Jane Green, James' mom, was still living, and Mrs. White informed Darry that Mrs. Green now worked with juvenile justice ministries, a program that reaches out to prisoners and former gang members on the north side of town. The program is through a Christian church. Mrs. Green, even before the double deaths in her family, had always had a difficult life. She was raised by an impoverished single mom, did not have a proper relationship with her father, nor meet her stepbrother until after she was already grown. Mrs. White described Jane Green as her closest friend and spiritual counselor. Darry, upon learning all this, asked for and receives contact data for Mrs. Green from Mrs. White.
A year passed, and Mrs. Green fell ill from hardened lungs.
To help bring her comfort, Darry sent her birthday and holiday cards.
Springtime arrived, and the by then 21-year-old Darry informed his younger brothers he was sending Mrs. Green an Easter card.
"She's going to be so lonely this Easter-and she's so ill-I thought this card might cheer her up-would you two like to sign it?"
"Sure," said Ponyboy.
"I can't read and write-you know I'm stupid," protested Soda.
"Soda, you are not stupid. Don't let me hear you say that about yourself again. You can read and write,
it's just hard for you to do. Difficult, but not impossible."
Hesitantly, Soda managed to sign the card too.
Darry then mailed the card and the 3 Curtis brothers and their church family all prepared for and celebrated the Easter festivities, then settled back into their routine and looked forward to a little time off in the upcoming summer.
One day in late April, however, Darry received an unexpected call from a strange lady (Mrs. Janice Gray) from a suburb north of town-who told him that Jane Green had died the previous February-the Easter card had been rerouted to Mrs. Gray. Mrs. Gray had arranged for hospice care for Mrs. Green, but even in that final condition, nobody knew she would pass so swiftly. At the end of the phone call, Darry knew he needed to make certain that Mrs. White was aware of the passing of Jane Green.
He calls her "Yes-Mrs. White-about Jane Green-I mean-Mrs. Gray-she told you what happened-
didn't she?"
"Who's Mrs. Gray?"
Darry turned pale.
"Oh, no, not this", he thought. "I always thought it would be her telling me, not the other way around like this. I can't leave her in the dark wondering-but I sure as heck never wanted to be the one to have to inform her-oh G-, this is going to hurt her something awful."
Through stammers, he managed to get it over with as quickly as possible.
She was able to withstand it but neither are ever again entirely the same, and nor is the world at large.
They take comfort in Jane Green's spirit meeting with her deceased husband and son, and then the 3 of them crossing the Rainbow Bridge to the other side of Heaven.
Chapter 4 Benjamin Brown
All the church was really happy when Benjamin and Betsy Brown joined the group. They were dear old family friends of the choir director's. The Curtis brothers and Ashley Taylor the organist especially liked Benjamin. He was physically large, yet gentle and soft-spoken. Darry especially wished to model himself after Benjamin for this reason. Not only that, but he treated the Curtises out to lunch on a certain number of occasions, and Ms. Ashley Taylor on others (at the occasional post-church cafeteria lunches the Curtises would attend) Darry and Ashley, at separate times, had both tried to return the favor, but he wouldn't hear of it. Plus, he made sure to provide gifts for needy children when the
church collected toys for charity at Christmastime-even though Benjamin Brown never earned all that much money himself, not even withstanding all his hard work. Finally, he exuded an ever-cheerful presence when operating the sound system on Sunday mornings and at the church Christmas party karaokes.
Little did anyone know at one early December party that Benjamin would be hit with a stroke in a matter of days. The following Christmas Eve service was very subdued, and it was an anxious and exhausting last week of the secular year for Mrs. Betsy. Come January, though, Mr. Benjamin was back singing in the choir while jestingly stating that strokes were not what could fell a "63-year-old kid." It appeared that he had made a full recovery.
It was then the first of February. Frost and ice lay all around outside as 22-year-old Darry and 16-year-old Ponyboy Curtis were performing various tasks in the library while 19-year-old Soda was working at the gas station. Darry was checking the e-mail at the library on the computer (he was not able to afford a home computer) when he came upon an e-mail message from Mrs. Betsy that sent a pain through his gut. It was entitled "Benjamin Brown." Darry feared the worst but could not yet bring himself to look at it until later. When he had finally mustered the courage to do so, his worst fears were confirmed: "My Benjamin passed away." Darry's heart sank to his shoes, and so did Ponyboy's when Darry motioned for him to read it. They dreaded informing Soda, though in the end he took it well.
Darry phoned and babbled to Mrs. Betsy how sorry he was, over and over. The following Sunday, he soothed her as best he could when she weepingly said "He's not up there, (in the loft where he used to operate the sound system), I've got to get out of here." He put his arm around her and led her out.
Upon everyone's return home, Soda baked Mrs. Betsy a chocolate cake, while Ponyboy wrote her a poem about "The Waiting Place on the West Side of the Rainbow Bridge," where the souls of the deceased wait for their loved ones still on earth to join them, after which they all cross over into the full realm of Heaven together. All of these things proved comfort to Mrs. Betsy's grief.
Chapter 5 Don Richards-and Shingles
Don Richards exuded joy and humility from his very being. Though he had always had difficulty with speaking, he had a beautiful smile that lifted the spirits of all of those around him. His tenor voice added an asset to the church choir, and he had a great talent for operating electronic devices. Following Christmas and Easter cantatas, he would provide videos of the performances.
Yet, after some years had passed, he grew ill and could no longer work. He had to be in and out of the hospital. To cheer him up, the church people would pay him visits. On a few such visits his condition appeared to have improved and he was able to walk out of his room to greet his visitors. Not long after, his father Edward announced that he had been able to go home from the hospital. Most of the people thought Don would then get well, but he had to re-enter the hospital again about a week later, and everyone prayed, but the majority of them thought he would be released again, like before.
The Sunday before Memorial Day, 24-year-old Darry, 20-year-old Sodapop and 17-year-old Ponyboy Curtis arrived-and no sooner had they had exited their car, the choir director announced "Don Richards passed away" (as he had previously said to Ashley Taylor).
"Oh no!"
"Darry, what did you do?" (Darry had a scab over his left eyebrow)
"I must have bumped my head in my sleep against the bed board." (Darry had had to come home from work early the previous Tuesday due to a headache, and when he woke from a nap he felt a swollen red area over his left eye that felt like a bump, that later expanded and became a scab)
The choir director then mentioned that Edward Richards was present at church.
The 3 brothers found him in the fellowship hall to say how sorry they were for his loss.
"What happened to you?" he asked Darry as Darry hugged him.
"I must have bumped my head." ("What a compassionate man Edward is," he thought to himself-"here he's just lost his son and he's worried about my little scab")
Sodapop and Ponyboy then went for the doughnuts and coffee, while Ashley Taylor gently indicated that she wished to speak with Darry.
Once they were seated together in the parlor, Ashley inquired:
"Did you start having headaches before you think you hit your head against the bed board in your sleep?"
"Yes."
"Also, do you feel greater sensitivity when you run your fingers through your hair, as well as more prone to fatigue in general?"
"Yes-why?"
"Because I don't think you really hit your head in your sleep-I think you have shingles."
"How could I have shingles? I'm only 24!"
"There's still a lot of ignorance about the cause of shingles. Many people still think you can't get it until age 50-60+, when in fact you can really get it at any age-like when you've been under a lot of stress. What actually happens when we've had chickenpox as children is that while the pox eventually goes away, that virus takes up residence in our bodies, settling along our nerve paths and it stays there."
One of the men, who had joined them in the parlor, adds: "She's right. Almost all of us over a certain age have the virus lying dormant in our bodies, and when a stressful situation arises, it can activate into a scab-like rash. It often involves fatigue too."
"Yes" Ashley added-"I'm afraid yours has spread."
"Spread?" Darry asked, by then truly worried.
"If you look in the mirror and close your left eye, you can see a blister on your left eyelid-and unless you see a doctor about this situation, that's going to expand into the cornea of your eye."
The man who had joined him said "I know of someone who had shingles on his eyelid and it spread into his cornea-he had to go to a cornea specialist, and it took 1-2 years to clear up the lesions in his eye."
"1-2 years?"
"I don't think you have them in your cornea, Darry, at least not yet."
Fortunately for Darry, he was able to schedule a doctor's appointment the Tuesday after Memorial Day, and then a dermatologist appointment the day after that. It was then confirmed that the shingles indeed had not spread into the interior of his eye, and he was given bacitracin to alleviate the pain and itching plus valacyclovir to clear up the rash. He then quickly began to heal, and everyone noted he had "a spring back in his step" as he and his brothers attended Don Richards' funeral the first Saturday after Memorial Day.
All present for the service paused to look at the handsome photo of the deceased man, who ironically looked much younger than his actual age. Yet, his father had said that Don had had pneumonia at the end and "5 or 6 other things wrong with him—he's better off now."
Everyone present described Don Richards' kind-heartedness and all the men removed the red carnations from their lapels and laid them on his casket. The coffin was lowered in front of a headstone marked with his name, and next to the headstone was one marked with his mother's name.
He's up there with her, to this day and beyond, and they sing together in the celestial choir with the angels.