Forty One - AR
The following evening the lounge was relatively quiet. Jeff was in his customary place. Scott and Brains were challenging each other to a game of chess. Scott had insisted that Brains remove his glasses, reasoning that if the two couldn't compete on brainpower, they should at least be on equal terms for vision. Virgil was at the piano, trying to remember the tune he'd composed while he'd been trapped in the ventilator shaft. He nearly had it. He'd periodically trill a few notes on the keyboard, and then he'd scribble a few bars down on the rapidly filling sheet of music in front of him.
Alan and Gordon came into the room, whispering to each other like naughty schoolboys.
"There he is." Scott heard Gordon say.
"Go on!" Alan said.
"No you go!" Gordon pushed Alan forward.
No one else took any notice of this pantomime.
"S-Scott. It's your move." Brains squinted at his opponent.
"Sorry." Without really paying attention Scott shifted a piece.
"Ah ha! Check!" Brains said.
Scott looked back at the chessboard. He hadn't meant to shift that rook and now he'd sacrificed his queen. He was starting to consider his next move when his attention was once again commandeered by his two youngest brother's antics.
They had their eyes on Virgil, who, head bowed over his music, was oblivious.
Gordon shoved Alan again. "Go on!"
They were beside the piano now. "Ah Virgil?" Alan said nervously.
Virgil didn't look up. "Mmmn."
"What was... what was it like?"
Still concentrating on the score Virgil murmured indistinctly, "What was what like?"
"Um. You know."
"No? What?" Virgil laid down his pencil.
"Being... Being dead?"
Virgil looked at him, surprised.
"We were just wondering... you know." Gordon said quietly.
"Why?" Virgil asked for want of something better to say.
"We-We've all seen it." Alan stammered. "But you've actually experienced it."
Scott was wondering if he should butt in, but Virgil was shaking his head. "I don't remember."
"But you hear of people having near death experiences." Gordon pressed him. "You must have experienced something."
"I don't remember." Virgil repeated. "All I remember is talking with Scott and then the next thing I'm back in bed, aching all over and Father's looking as if he's ready to have a heart attack."
'If you knew what they'd done to you, you wouldn't be surprised at how sore you were.' Jeff thought as he monitored the conversation.
"But you were dead for 28 seconds..." Alan insisted. "Surely you remember something!"
"You know... bright lights... someone waiting for you at the end of a long corridor... meeting deceased family members... a sensation of floating and looking down on yourself... Anything?" Gordon prompted hopefully.
Jeff decided the conversation had gone on long enough. Virgil's expression clearly expressed that he thought so. Jeff opened his mouth to speak...
"Guys. Leave it." Scott said quietly, beating Jeff to the punch. "He's told you he can't remember anything. Now leave him alone."
"But Scott..." Alan protested.
"I'm sorry." Virgil apologised. "But I can't remember."
"That's okay." Gordon said brightly. "Come on Alan."
"But..."
"Come on!" Gordon said with more force and he grabbed Alan by the sleeve and dragged him out of the room.
"I-It's your move, Scott." Brains said quietly.
"Just a minute." Scott stood up and walked over to the piano. He leant on it so he could see the troubled frown on Virgil's face. "You okay?"
"Yeah... Yeah I'm okay." the frown softened. "I just didn't expect that question."
"They shouldn't have asked it."
"Don't be hard on them. I might have been asking myself if it had have been one of you guys." He chuckled. "Maybe next time I should take a camera... or at least my sketch pad."
"Don't let there be a next time." Scott ordered him quietly. "Once was enough. My nerves couldn't stand a second time."
'Me neither.' Jeff thought to himself.
"What's this about you talking with me?" Scott was asking. "I don't remember that."
"You were asleep, sleep talking. We had quite a conversation until I passed out."
"You were talking to me? And I was asleep?"
"Funny isn't it. You were talking to me like we are now, except you were asleep and I wasn't feeling too good."
"What were we saying?"
Virgil furrowed his brow in thought. "You wanted me to shine a light so that you could see. I had to tell you I didn't have a light." He said a trifle sadly. "You also made me promise not to leave you."
Scott looked at him seriously "I'm glad you didn't break your promise."
The following evening the lounge was relatively quiet. Jeff was in his customary place. Scott and Brains were challenging each other to a game of chess. Scott had insisted that Brains remove his glasses, reasoning that if the two couldn't compete on brainpower, they should at least be on equal terms for vision. Virgil was at the piano, trying to remember the tune he'd composed while he'd been trapped in the ventilator shaft. He nearly had it. He'd periodically trill a few notes on the keyboard, and then he'd scribble a few bars down on the rapidly filling sheet of music in front of him.
Alan and Gordon came into the room, whispering to each other like naughty schoolboys.
"There he is." Scott heard Gordon say.
"Go on!" Alan said.
"No you go!" Gordon pushed Alan forward.
No one else took any notice of this pantomime.
"S-Scott. It's your move." Brains squinted at his opponent.
"Sorry." Without really paying attention Scott shifted a piece.
"Ah ha! Check!" Brains said.
Scott looked back at the chessboard. He hadn't meant to shift that rook and now he'd sacrificed his queen. He was starting to consider his next move when his attention was once again commandeered by his two youngest brother's antics.
They had their eyes on Virgil, who, head bowed over his music, was oblivious.
Gordon shoved Alan again. "Go on!"
They were beside the piano now. "Ah Virgil?" Alan said nervously.
Virgil didn't look up. "Mmmn."
"What was... what was it like?"
Still concentrating on the score Virgil murmured indistinctly, "What was what like?"
"Um. You know."
"No? What?" Virgil laid down his pencil.
"Being... Being dead?"
Virgil looked at him, surprised.
"We were just wondering... you know." Gordon said quietly.
"Why?" Virgil asked for want of something better to say.
"We-We've all seen it." Alan stammered. "But you've actually experienced it."
Scott was wondering if he should butt in, but Virgil was shaking his head. "I don't remember."
"But you hear of people having near death experiences." Gordon pressed him. "You must have experienced something."
"I don't remember." Virgil repeated. "All I remember is talking with Scott and then the next thing I'm back in bed, aching all over and Father's looking as if he's ready to have a heart attack."
'If you knew what they'd done to you, you wouldn't be surprised at how sore you were.' Jeff thought as he monitored the conversation.
"But you were dead for 28 seconds..." Alan insisted. "Surely you remember something!"
"You know... bright lights... someone waiting for you at the end of a long corridor... meeting deceased family members... a sensation of floating and looking down on yourself... Anything?" Gordon prompted hopefully.
Jeff decided the conversation had gone on long enough. Virgil's expression clearly expressed that he thought so. Jeff opened his mouth to speak...
"Guys. Leave it." Scott said quietly, beating Jeff to the punch. "He's told you he can't remember anything. Now leave him alone."
"But Scott..." Alan protested.
"I'm sorry." Virgil apologised. "But I can't remember."
"That's okay." Gordon said brightly. "Come on Alan."
"But..."
"Come on!" Gordon said with more force and he grabbed Alan by the sleeve and dragged him out of the room.
"I-It's your move, Scott." Brains said quietly.
"Just a minute." Scott stood up and walked over to the piano. He leant on it so he could see the troubled frown on Virgil's face. "You okay?"
"Yeah... Yeah I'm okay." the frown softened. "I just didn't expect that question."
"They shouldn't have asked it."
"Don't be hard on them. I might have been asking myself if it had have been one of you guys." He chuckled. "Maybe next time I should take a camera... or at least my sketch pad."
"Don't let there be a next time." Scott ordered him quietly. "Once was enough. My nerves couldn't stand a second time."
'Me neither.' Jeff thought to himself.
"What's this about you talking with me?" Scott was asking. "I don't remember that."
"You were asleep, sleep talking. We had quite a conversation until I passed out."
"You were talking to me? And I was asleep?"
"Funny isn't it. You were talking to me like we are now, except you were asleep and I wasn't feeling too good."
"What were we saying?"
Virgil furrowed his brow in thought. "You wanted me to shine a light so that you could see. I had to tell you I didn't have a light." He said a trifle sadly. "You also made me promise not to leave you."
Scott looked at him seriously "I'm glad you didn't break your promise."
