Chapter
59
“Brian!”
Jackie gasped, tears brightening her blue eyes.
“Oh, Brian!”
“Mom,”
Brian croaked weakly, a smile spreading across his pallid face.
Blinded
by tears, Jackie ran to her son, hugging him as best she could with him lying
down, still hooked up to many of the monitors and IV’s. She felt Brian’s trembling hand come around
her back.
Harold
was by his son’s side in an instant as well, blinking back tears from his own
eyes. “Oh, Brian,” he whispered, his
heart swelling with emotion. “We love
you so much.”
Kevin
blinked back his own tears as he watched Brian’s parents hover over their
son. Feeling as if he was intruding, he
backed out of the room, blinded by tears of joy.
”We’re so glad you finally came back to us, baby,” Jackie said to Brian, her
voice choked with happy tears.
Brian
smiled, but his smile was a blank one.
Dr. Adele had explained only part of what had gone on in the last few
days, and he had no real understanding of what had actually gone on.
The
last thing he remembered clearly was talking to Nick, who had just come back
from wherever he had gone. Was it Los
Angeles? Brian wasn’t sure; he couldn’t
remember. But he did remember the
pain. The sudden, sharp pain in his
chest. Then the darkness. And then… Harry.
Brian
looked up, struck by the memory of his brother being with him. Dr. Adele had told him he had been in a
coma. He had heard of people who had
been in comas saying that they remembered hearing people talking to them, but
he had never heard of anyone actually seeing people while they were in a
coma. And yet, he hadn’t been dreaming…
had he? It had seemed so real.
“Harry,”
he murmured, his voice still hoarse from the respirator.
Harold
looked up sharply at his son and exchanged a quick glance with his wife. She looked stricken.
“Where’s
Harry?” Brian asked, clearing his throat.
He noticed the look that passed between his parents, as if they knew
something he did not. “He… he was in
here just a little while ago. Where’d he
go?”
Another
look passed between Jackie and Harold.
“Sweetheart, you’ve been unconscious for days. He wasn’t just in here a little while
ago. You’re just remembering… another
time.”
Brian’s
eyes narrowed. Something was going on
here. Something wasn’t right. “Well where is he?” he asked, confused.
Jackie
perched on the edge of her son’s bed, tenderly taking his hand in hers. “Brian, your brother passed away.”
A
look of shock and horror crossed over Brian’s face, and he felt suddenly
numb. “What?” he gasped, staring hard at
them, as if they weren’t telling the truth.
What did they mean ‘he passed away’?
“He
died in a car accident… four days ago,” Jackie said, her voice shaking.
Tears
filled Brian’s eyes, but he rapidly blinked them back. “No,” he said. “He… he can’t be dead. I just saw him!”
“Baby,
that was days ago. That was before he…
he…” She trailed off, too upset to continue.
“No,”
Brian insisted. “I just saw him, today,
before Dr. Adele came.”
“Brian,
please, son, believe us. Harry
died. You got his heart,” Harold said
softly.
Brian’s
eyes widened in shock. Stunned, the
tears returned to his eyes, and he did nothing to fight them. He began to tremble, the tears rolling down
his cheeks. “No,” he moaned
repeatedly. “No…”
Harold
gripped his son’s shoulder, his own tears falling atop Brian’s covers.
When
his tears slowed, Brian looked up again, his clear blue eyes boring into the
eyes of his parents. “Mom, Dad, I saw
him. I really did. Maybe it was a few days ago. Maybe I was just dreaming. But I don’t think so. I swear, he was in my room earlier
today. I… I couldn’t talk to him,
couldn’t even let him know I was awake.
But I could see him. He touched
me. My head… my chest. He was there.”
Jackie
and Harold slowly turned to look at each other, their eyes filled with shock
and wonder.
My dream, Jackie thought in awe, tears rising in her eyes. Could it be…? No.
Harry’s dead. Gone. He’s Heaven now. Not here, in Brian’s room. Her mind told her the truth, but her heart
disagreed. How could Brian describe
exactly what had happened in her dream?
He had been unconscious. But…
maybe not. Maybe he had awoken… or at
least sensed that someone was in the room with him. Could it have really been Harry? As an angel, sent from the Lord to heal his
brother?
It sounded so wonderful. Just the thought of it made Jackie feel so
peaceful. It took away some of the pain
that his death had caused.
“Do
you believe me, Mom?” Brian asked.
“Please believe me.”
“Brian…”
Jackie whispered. “I believe you.”