Chapter 7: A Letter From the Other Side

Doctor Alan opened the door to mom's room. I could not say that I was prepared to see what he had to show us. I was hesitant, but I looked inside regardless of my fear.

Mom was lying in her bed the same way that she was before. Her eyes were closed, and she was smiling. I looked her over to see if I could find anything different. From what I could see, nothing was special.

"What is wrong with her?" I asked, "you said that there was something to see. She is just asleep."

"You need to look more closely," Doctor Alan said calmly.

I walked to the side of mom's bed so I could see her better. Still, I was obviously missing something.

"I don't see anything," I said again.

"Don't look for it. Listen for it," Doctor Alan looked at me as he spoke.

I looked back at mom and leaned my head as close to her as I could. It was then that I understood what he intended for me to. She was not breathing. I gasped and backed away from her bed. Faith was still in the doorway watching nervously.

Wait a second; she isn't breathing, I thought to myself.

"Doctor Alan, do something. She isn't breathing," my voice was frantic.

I expected for him to rush over and begin CPR, but he did not. He stood there motionless, like a zombie.

"Aren't you going to do something?" I searched his face for answers as I asked. I found none.

He finally spoke, "There is nothing left to do."

"What!" I made my way over to him.

"I discovered her like this about an hour ago. The first thing that I did was CPR. I began to notice peculiar things as I studied your mother. It seems that none of Madeline's body functions are working - none except for her heart that is."

Her heart? Why would mom's heart continue pumping if nothing else inside of her was working with it?

"Christian, her body died hours ago, but her heart still beats. My colleagues and I are baffled by this medical anomaly. Her heart is not pumping blood although it maintains a steady rate."

I looked at him in disbelief.

"So… how is this-"

"Possible?" he finished my sentence, " I do not know. I cannot even pronounce her dead."

I gave him a hard look. Faith was still in the room, and she was still upset about the entire situation. I would not even allow myself to look at her, but I knew that the word dead did not make her feel any better.

"I am sorry," he realized his mistake and corrected himself.

There was not much for me to do so I joined my sister in the doorway. She took my hand in hers.

"What is going on?" she asked me quietly.

"I'm not exactly sure." I thought for a moment. "Come with me for a second."

I led her by the arm to mom's bedside. I did not expect for mom to open her eyes by some miracle like in the movies, but I was willing to try anything at that point. Having her children beside her was as good a chance to revive her as anything else.

Nothing happened. I went as far as putting my hands on her, and Faith did the same thing. Her body was still warm.

Faith's eyes began to tear up. She buried her face in my shirt. Crying was a good idea, but I told myself to be strong for Faith's sake.

I noticed the heart monitor on the wall. Speaking of movies, I knew how that worked too. It was beating at a normal pace. I expected for it to slow down at any moment, but it did not.

I looked at Doctor Alan again, but he just shrugged.

"Do you have any other ideas?" he asked, "my team and I have done all that we can do here."

Faith tugged on the shirtsleeve on my arm. I looked down at her. Her eyes were fixed on the small table next to mom's bed. My gaze followed her eyes to the table, and I noticed what had her attention.

On the table next to mom sat a folded piece of paper. I picked it up; and when I did, something strange happened. The heart monitor stopped its steady heartbeats and switched immediately to a continuous note which I recognized. It meant that her heart had stopped.

Doctor Alan hurried himself over to mom and checked her pulse.

"It has stopped," his Latino accent had a hint of confusion, and his expression told the same story.

"We can see that," Faith and I said simultaneously.

I looked at the note for a moment and shoved it into my back pocket. If I did not forget, I made a mental note to read it later.

"Looks like mom wanted to make sure we got it," Faith said pointing at my pocket.

She let go of my hand and kissed mom on the forehead. She had gotten her emotions under control, but not it looked as if she was ready for round two.

Doctor Alan pressed a button on the monitor which turned it off. I appreciated that because the sound of the steady note of death, as I nicknamed it, was getting on my nerves. My mind was already arguing with itself about what to do next.

So this was what it was like to lose your mother. Faith and I were completely alone for the first time in our lives. Mom told us to stay together, and it seemed that we did not have much of a choice now.

"I think that I should proceed with pronouncing -"

"Could you wait a second!" I cut him off this time, "we are still in the room, you know."

I did not mean to sound harsh; but at the same time, I did. He could have had the decency to let Faith and me leave before he started pronouncing anyone dead.

For a second, I found it amusing that his medical team had seen something that baffled them that day. Mom's willpower kept her heart beating even after her body had died. She waited for us to get the note off of the table before she fully shut down.

Faith and I left mom's room while Doctor Alan did his doctoring thing. We were unsure of what to do for the first time. Mom had always given us guidance and a pattern to follow. Our guidance and pattern were gone now. We were left to make our own decisions.

"I guess that there is no reason to stay here anymore," Faith said with her head hanging low.

I looked at her. Knowing that mom was gone was enough to drive her insane. She was such a brave person. The funny part was we had a lot to do in a small amount of time. I was hoping that her bravery would hold up so she could help me.

I looked at my watch. 4:30 a.m. Doctor Alan walked out of the room with a dejected look on his face. It made me feel guilty for snapping at him, but I chose not to mention it. I had a better question for him.

"Doctor Alan?" he looked at me with dread. "What time does the cafeteria at the hospital open for breakfast?"

Faith and Doctor Alan both looked at me with surprise. At least I woke them up.

"They serve snacks all night, but breakfast begins at six," he spoke so low that I could barely make out his Latino accent.

He walked down the hall with his clipboard in hand. I knew that I had been mean to him. The poor guy was just doing his job. I told myself that I would make it up to him later -buy him a muffin or something.

"Faith, what do you say to breakfast?" I asked.

"Breakfast? Breakfast? How could you be thinking about eating at a time like this? Mom just passed away five minutes ago. Have you gone insane?" Her answer was not exactly what I would call polite.

"Being hungry is not going to help anything. Besides, we have a note to read."

She gave me an odd look and rolled her eyes at me. She did not smile, but she started down the hall.

"Are you coming?" she asked when I did not follow.

We drove to the hospital and parked in the same area as before. I assumed that it would be smart to take a similar route to the one from earlier. I was right. Finding the cafeteria was a simple task the second time around. The halls were less crowded because it was so early.

When we reached the cafeteria, it was still a bit too early for breakfast. We were stuck with muffins and cheese which I did not complain about. Faith did not enjoy it as much as I did; she nibbled over her muffin.

The entire time we were sitting there, Faith would not look me in the eyes. I understood… she would have gotten upset.

"Aren't you going to read the note?" she asked.

I had almost forgotten it. Scratch that. I had not forgotten it; I was afraid of what was in it. I was not going to be able to avoid reading it with Faith around so I pulled it out of my back pocket.

The note was not actually a note. It was more of a full-blown letter. Mom must have gotten a pen from one of the nurses during the night. To be honest, I had never noticed how beautiful her handwriting was:

Dear children,

If you are reading this, then I have passed on. I knew that it was coming, and I felt no pain. I hope that the two of you are not having problems dealing with your abilities. I am truly sorry for not telling you about them before. I wanted to give you a chance at a normal life, but I see that I failed. Your abilities found you without any influence from me.

Remember to go to Carol and Chuck when you need help or advice. They have dealt with this for many years at my side. They raised Charles knowing that he was different. The two of you were raised to know right from wrong and to make reasonable decisions. You are very intelligent and will be fine together.

Find my diary at home. It has instructions on what to do next. I did not have the time to write them all in this letter.

I love both of you more that words can express. We will meet again when your journey is complete. See you in the next life!

Forever and Always

Mom.

"Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise." - Micah 7:8

Just like mom to leave a Bible verse as a closing note. I smiled.

When I was finished reading, Faith had a smile on her face. By telling us that she felt no pain and that she loved us, mom allowed us to let go of our sadness. I felt the same way that Faith did. I did not fear not knowing what to do next because I did know what to do.

Mom wanted me to take care of my sister and learn how to use my ability effectively. She wanted the best for us. She knew that she was dying, but she also knew that we were ready to take care of ourselves. She trusted us.

"What do you think?" I asked Faith.

"I think that we are going to be fine," she gave me a smile.

We left the cafeteria after we finished eating. Next stop, the hotel. We had to get our things before anything else.