A Moment In Time

One Shot

Ben's P.O.V

I stood there, in the cold, crepuscular and aberrant hallway; with my bewildered head placed directly into the palms of my hands. Trying to grasp the fateful news that I had been given. I could feel a sudden jagged pain shooting towards the direction of my heart. I felt as if a thousand knives had been inserted straight to my heart.

It was only a few short hours ago that everything seemed fine. But that all changed in an instance; with a gut wrenching call. The one night that I had planned to be spontaneous and romantic had just been overridden by the remorse and guilt of this tragic occurrence.

As I headed towards to morgue to identify the body which was once of whom I cherished and loved; that jagged pain returned. This time it felt even more tremendous. I just felt torn apart. I hadn't even had a chance to cry yet, I was still in so much shock.

This wasn't supposed to happen. As far as I am concerned I should still be at the hotel, waiting for my soul mate to arrive. But instead I was in a gloomy hallway. I arrived at the mortician's door. Trembling with fear in what I was about to see.

I slowly turned the door handle. It just seemed too much. I was suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. I felt as if the air around me was choking me to death. As I stepped closer to the bed, my heart began to race even more.

The mortician was about to unveil the pale mint green sheet covering my deceased wife when my distraught father arrived. I had never seen him like this. He was always the strong one; who would hardly ever shed a tear. He stood by my side, trying to comfort me. I was still bemused about everything.

The tremendous heart ache feeling was slowly pouring back into the veins of my fragile body. The Mortician asked if I was able to stomach a fast unveil or a slow unveil. A flashback then occurred. I could see a distance fuzz; it was slowly becoming clearer and clearer with the more thought I gave it. I could vaguely make out an outline of a person.

It was a woman, with mid lengthened luminous brown hair and a radiant smile. And we were at what appeared to be the boat club. A sudden glimpse to an indication of a hurt knee and more importantly a band-aid became part of the flashback.

After a while it was clear that this could only be one person. Mel. I was having a flashback to an incident of when Mel was alive. The flash back was now clearer than ever. We were at the boat club; celebrating mums birthday. I was working and was in a drowsy state. I was carrying drinks over to the table of where my loved ones sat. I delivered them successfully.

Moments later Mel entered the room; beginning to take her seat at the table. She surprised me with a colossal hug; unaware that I had to grab more glasses from the table parallel to the one of which my family sat at, she tripped in her heels and stacked it, into me. The glasses along with Mel went flying. Mel had landed knee first into some of the smashed glass.

I immediately got Mel the medical attention she needed from my nervous self; it's ironic a nurse injured. But she sat in her chair; and Mel assisted me through it. I wiped the dripping blood down; and placed, by memory a Rugrats band-aid on her injured knee.

Mel had to take it easy over the next few days. But when it came time to unveil the progress of the healing of her wound; she told me to rip the band-aid of quickly so that it would be over quicker and would hurt less.

The vision was slowly starting to become fuzzy again. I was starting to slowly lose Mel again. But I knew exactly now what I had to do.

Telling; the mortician of my decision to unveil Mel's now deceased and lifeless body I requested it to be in a quick nature. The mortician nodded with a sign of strong agreement and commented "Quick like a band-aid". Normally I'd find a statement like that insensitive; but it just reminded me of how I had just been brought back to a moment in time; a precious memory, that I once had, had with Mel.

I don't know what the future will hold for me; and I know it won't be easy. But that vision was just a sign. A sign to indicate that I should cherish every memory that I ever had with my soul mate and to treat it as if it were happening all over again. I drift off to thought for a split second; and all those precious; moments in time instantly come flooding back. I know it'll take time. But I'm going to be ok. But for now I'm just going leave the hospital and head down to the boat club and reminisce on all the moments in time, Mel & I ever had.

The End