The Hardest Word
The moon is half full, and the wind is strong. Clouds formulating from afar warn of a rainy night. Jack takes out a pen and a small note book from his jacket and writes something on it, then he leaves it lying on the floor, right next to the beer bottle. He takes one last look at the cloudy sky and the colorfully lit city, and then he jumps. Like an Olympic gold medalist diving into the deep pool of success, Jack's jump looks confident and carefully pondered upon. The emotions behind it, however, are far from confidence, and feel a lot more out of necessity and despair. For his jump is not one that ends with cool water. He is jumping off of the roof of his apartment building. The street lights and the passing cars below are quickly becoming bigger as he approaches the ground. His pounding heart is accelerating. And so is the speed of the fall. Everything is happening so fast, yet it seems like it's lasting a lifetime. Maybe the accumulated flash of memories is giving that effect. Nothing is making sense. One thing is for sure, a loud and clear question on his mind is the most dominant of all his rushing thoughts. 'WHY?' And to that question only one answer pops up like a bubble, so clear and so ironic, but it disappears just as fast as he is about to hit the ground and face the one thing he never feared and always thought he understood. DEATH!
The sound of the crash that would shatter his skull into countless pieces is replaced by the sound of a startling alarm clock. Jack abruptly opens his eyes. His heart is still pounding. His body is still intact. He's still alive. It gives him a great sense of comfort to realize that he's in bed and that it was all just a nightmare! He sits upright in his bed trying to catch his breath. The fall seems to have brought with it all the chaotic mind chatter as well as the full physical reaction. It's strange how dreams affect us in ways we can never understand. And it's even stranger how they can be affected by us as well. Jack's dream stirs a question in his mind. The same loud and clear question he had in the dream itself. 'WHY?'
Tru's alarm clock turns 10:00 AM, automatically setting the radio on. A witty presenter announces the day and date (December 31st, 2004), reminding his audience of the big New Year's Eve celebration that will be held in the City tonight. Tru smiles and excitedly gets out of bed to prepare herself for a much needed day of fun. She has planned for this day weeks in advance, marking it on her calendar as 'A Break'. Her busy schedule at the morgue and at school leaves her little time, if any, for a social life. Jensen's promise to meet her there adds extra anticipation and excitement. They are slowly but satisfyingly becoming a couple. His interest in the morgue and the extra hours he spends at the medical school autopsy department makes it easier for her to explain to him the job hazards. And after giving it much thought, she insists that it would be wise to tell Jensen the truth about her ability to relive days; though Davis believes otherwise. But Tru does not intend to do the same mistake she did with Luc. She believes that Jensen is more open-minded and accepting of any crazy story she would tell him than Luc ever was. After all, she did save Jensen's life and he is very appreciative.
The phone rings, she picks it up. "Morning Davis!" She says.
"Good morning, Tru. Ready for the big night?"
"Totally!" Tru responds excitedly. "You?"
"Well, I'm still obsessing about which pair of socks to wear. You think Carrie would dump me if she notices the colorful designs on my socks?"
"Just be yourself, Davis. If that's not good enough for her then she's not good enough for you."
"But she is good enough for me, she's more than good enough for me, she's perfect."
"If so then she'll love and accept you for who you are. And that's exactly what I'm anticipating from Jensen, too. Tonight's the night, Davis. I'm telling him about what I can do."
"Tru, please think about this. If you tell him now, …"
"I would be saving us both the trouble later." She interrupts. "It's my New Year Resolution, Davis, no more secrets."
Jim uploads the last suitcase in the back of the car. It's a chilly morning but the sound of birds' hovering and singing all around is making him smile. He finally has a chance to take his beautiful wife away for a nice vacation. They both need it. After everything they have been through lately, it would be good to invest more time on each other. It's true that the ghosts need Melinda to help them cross over and they seem to find her on a daily basis, but Melinda needs a break. New York City is where Jim first proposed to Melinda, making it hold a very special place in their hearts. Celebrating New Year's Eve there is obviously a great idea. Now everything is set, except for Melinda. She's still asleep. Jim caught a glimpse of her talking to a ghost late at night and thought she needed the extra rest. But now it's time to wake her up. He locks the car and goes back into the house.
As the early morning sun rays find their way through the window and land gracefully on Melinda's face, she yawns lazily while trying to wake up. But the soft rays and the songbirds could never compare to the tender kisses her loving husband is planting on her bare shoulder.
"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty." Jim whispers. "It's time to hit the road."
Widely smiling, Melinda pokes Jim on the nose. "Hey there, handsome!" He pokes back. "You know I can't start the day without a nice shower." She says.
"Is that an invitation?" He flirts.
"Maybe." She flirts back, laughing.
"Well then, your wish is my command, my lady." Jim smiles and bows his head as he says that, then swiftly carries her off the bed and into the bathroom. Their joyful laughter adds a harmonic glee to the melodious sound of songbirds.
TO BE CONTINUED...
