Disclaimer: I own nothing
Summary: A post-it lead George back home.
Chapter 1.
I closed my eyes took a deep breath picked the lock and opened the door. I walked through the front entrance way and saw the dining room table. I dragged my hand around the side it was a different table…smaller. I looked up at the shelves they were filled with different things then I remember. Nothing of mine was here anymore. I guess what they say is true nothing stays the same forever. Except for me of course. I guess at the end all we really do keep is our thoughts and memories.
I finally forced myself to turn around and look in the living room and there…she was…on the couch…my mother.
She was staring straight ahead at what I don't know, she was eighty-three years old now. I carefully walked over to couch, past her and sat down. She didn't move or turn to look at me. I saw the pill bottle hidden beneath the pillow cushion and the empty bottle of vodka standing upright neatly against the couch. Always neat and ordered at least some things stayed the same. I held my hand in the air next to her shoulder for a few seconds. I just looked at her, her white hair and wrinkles. She had it cut in almost the same style that I remembered. She was older of course, but underneath I could see her, how she used to look. How she used to look at me.
I finally started to rub my hand down; I dragged it slowly feeling every inch of her arm as it went down wanting to hold on to it forever, I saw the whiteness of her soul leave her body. I held my hand over hers, until she turned her head and looked at me through her cataract drugged eyes.
"I don't know you" she said finally"Not yet" I said and closed my eyes and grabbed her hand as she slumped over. I focused on my breathing; I felt my heart pounding in my chest. If I weren't already dead, I'd probably be having a heart attack.
I opened my eyes and started straight ahead, unable to bring myself to look at her body. At first I just glanced out of the side of my eye, it looked like she had just fallen asleep.
I saw her sit up and blink her eyes. "Am I dead?"
"Yes" I replied. Then she slowly turned her head towards me. She inhaled deeply.
"George" she whispered tears starting to stream to her face. "George" she said again, this time bringing her hands to her face. "It's…it's…really… you?"
"Yeah, mom" I said feeling the tears fill my own eyes. "It's really me"
"You…you…look exactly the same. You haven't…you haven't changed at all, you look exactly like I remembered" she brought her hand up and I buried my face in her hand. Bringing back floods of memories of all the times she held me. I fell into her side and she brought her arms around me."Oh Georgia...George"
At eighteen every kid can't wait to get out their house, have no parents and be free. I admit I wanted that too. I got my wish. Only I didn't have the choice to come back home if wanted. The tears started steaming down my face, I couldn't help it. I've been on earth for almost sixty years, but here in this house, with my mother I would forever only be eighteen.
"I missed you so much mom…I…I…didn't want to die…I'm sorry" I chocked out through my tears. I wanted my mom to hold me more then I ever wanted anything in my life or afterlife. Sniffling I started telling her everything I was thinking about the day I died."I didn't want to go…I wanted to see you…I wanted to do things differently…I wanted to live…" I said pratically chocking on my tears.
"I know honey" she said and wrapped her arms tighter around me. "I wanted to see you, I missed you so much" she said.
We sat there crying for what felt like hours. Crying for each other and crying for the time we never had, crying for everything we missed. She was thinking about how she wanted to see me get married, have children, grow old. I was thinking about if our relationship would have changed. Would I've come over every other Sunday to visit like Reggie does. Would we have grown closer as we got older. Would anything have changed.
"George" she kept saying over and over. I finally pulled my self away and brought my hands to my face to wipe away the tears and push my hands through my hair. She brought her hand to my face and wiped away the leftover tears.
"Who needs boot camps, when death is the quickest way to make you want to change your life" I said chuckling through my tears.
"That's not funny George" She said with a serious face then smiled.
"George?"
"Yeah"
"Why?...how are you here with me?"
"I never left"
Tbc….
