Susannah's father told me. When he first appeared I was surprised. I had been sitting down, deep in thought, about Susannah. I rose to greet him. But then he told me "Go to the hospital right now! Suze needs you!."
In a rush I appeared in the hospital. I wondered around a few of the rooms. Then I found th room she was in. She was sitting near a tall figure which was sprawled on a bed. My Susannah was crying. Water was literally pouring from her lovely emerald eyes. I coudn't handle it. I said her name yet she didn't notice. She just kept on crying. Now I was really worried. I said her name again and yet again she didn't look up. I was in desperation, I put my hand on her trembling shoulder. She started to lift her head.
"Go away, can't you see I'm-" Then she noticed it was me.
She jumped up. She said my name but I was too shocked to acknowledge it. I had noticed the figure on the bed. It bore an odd resemblance to me. If I wasn't mistaken it was me!
"Susannah, what… what did you do?" My voice faltering. Susannah ran up to me and grabbed my hand.
"Jesse I want. Back through time , I mean." Immediately I forgot about "myself" on the bed. Susannah went! How could she! She could have been hurt, I could never forgive myself if anything happened to my Querida because of me!
"You went? You went after Slater? After I told you I could take care of myself?" I glared at her. De Silva calm down. I urged myself.
She let out a burble of laughter as if she was amused by something.
"You did take care of yourself! I-I told you—the past you—about Diego and he didn't kill you, Jesse. You killed him. But then…then…there was a fire. In the barn. The O'Neils barn." She wasn't smiling then.
My eyes narrowed I remembered the O'neils. I felt as if I was in a daze!
"The O'neils. I remember them." I said dazedly.
"Yes there was a fire and Jesse…Jesse, you saved me. Or at least you tried to, But …but," Her beautiful voice trailed off. I dropped her hand as I inspected the body on the bed more closely.
"I don't understand, how did this happen?" I wondered. My brain was still..well Susannah would have said fried.
"I did it. I didn't mean to. I meant to save you, Jesse…not this. But I wasstill touching you when I shifted back into the, and you…you just got caught," Susannah blurted out.
I looked at her. Finally I snapped out of it.
"You really went back? To the past? My past?" I stared at her. She nodded.
"And Paul? I went to the basilica to look for him, but her was gone. You followed him?" I questioned. My Querida nodded again and then began to speak.
"I wanted to stop him. From keeping you from dying. But in the end …I couldn't, Jesse. It wasn't right. What Diego did to you. I couldn't let it happen again. So I told you. And you killed him. You killed Diego. But then there was the fire and –" she cut off a sob, "and now I think that this is goodbye. I'm sorry Jesse. I'm so, so sorry." She sobbed.
"Her eyes were overtook by a flood of tears. I put my hand on her cheek. "Querida" I leaned across the bed to kiss her one last time. I pressed my cool lips against hers. Suddenly I felt a jerk. I had touched my alive body. I gasped and pulled my head away from my Querida's. My "body" flared slightly and I knew that this would be goodbye. I gazed at Susannah, knowing that it was the last time I would see her for many years. I took in her emerald eyes, her long soft hair as well as everything about her. Her soft lips that I hadn't kissed nearly enough… or maybe too much. In a way I was worried that my being gone would hurt her.. I just gazed at her intensely waiting for my fate.
My figure was sucked down into my body. Like smoke into a fan. Immediately everything went dark, then hot then cold and finally just right. There was an odd mask on my mouth, I also had the sensation of someone clutching my hand as if hell had come over. I felt. I felt as if I was alive. The way I felt before I had died. Icouldn'tbelieve it. I wished that this was true. It had to be true. DeSilva there's only one way to find out.I told myself.I opened my eyes, which immediately sought out Susannah's beautiful ones,reached out with the hand that was not in the grip of my dear Susannah's, removed the mask and said the word that was most dear to me. word was nothing. It was the person whom the word defined. "Querida."