Frank awoke in a sweat in the security of his own bedroom. His wife slept quietly to his left as Frank weakly arose from his bed. Touching his face, he noticed it was burning hot.
He turned to the bathroom where he splashed cold water to clear his senses. He looked back up at the mirror and saw Eddie Barini and the boy from the jungle standing in his bathroom, both of whom were grinning devilishly back at him.
The startling display of the two young men frightened Frank who screamed silently and tumbled down to the floor of the bathroom. His heart rate, which was beating the life out of Frank's inner body minutes ago, slowed to a more comfortable rate as Frank groaned in shame.
The bathroom door opened and through pained eyes, Frank saw his wife in a bed robe, her eyes, deep blue pools of concern.
"Frank?" she asked meekly. Frank turned away, too ashamed to stare back at his wife. Maria Castle knelt down beside her husband and wrapped her arms around him.
"Maria," Frank whispered, "please go back to sleep."
"Why? Frank, why are you doing this to yourself!" she asked him with insistence. Frank shook his head and got up with the strength that he could muster to walk and walked over to the bedroom window where the sun began to creep up slowly. Once again, Maria walked over and wrapped her arms around Frank's muscular chest.
"Maria please!" said Frank with pain and frustration. He pushed Maria's soft arms off his chest and went back to bed.
"No Frank! You've been suffering for too long! Why can't you see your blessings!" All the frustration that boiled inside Maria Castle finally released itself. "Frank, you are blessed. We are blessed with such a great family and you always fail to see that!" Maria collapsed onto the bed, her sobs disheartening Frank. To Frank, the situation was simple. He did not want his wife to share the misery in his incessant brooding.
"Maria, I…" Maria turned to face Frank. Her youthful face, her sapphire eyes, Frank was a fool for rejecting her faithful love, her submissive and patient compassion.
She was so beautiful. The tears in her eyes tore Frank apart. In his head, he chastised himself for dwelling on tragedy when his life was filled with everlasting boons.
"Maria, I'm sorry," said Frank slowly. "I--"
"Frank, it is okay," interjected Maria. "I understand why you struggle to enjoy your life. I just want you to be happy. I don't want you to languish so frequently that you fail to see the good things in your life. Think about your daughter, your son, think about me please." Frank fought back tears. Maria was the reason he didn't fall through the abyss. Maria was the reason he didn't swim in a lake of alcohol. Yet, why did he push her aside?