For Worse Or Better

“What? I can’t believe your sister did that. What could be worse?”

I waited for Terry to reply, but the phone went silent.

“Hello? Terry? You there?”

Still, no answer.

After I checked my phone, saw it had four bars. So, I opened the Internet app and found it working normally. Then, I tried calling home. The phone icon flashed on my screen, then warned me there was no service available. This is so weird, I thought.

Electronically defeated, I hopped on my bike and rode home. I sped up our driveway, jumped off the bike and charge into the living room.

“Mom!” I shouted out, but there was no reply. Perhaps she’s at the grocery store. Curious, as to what happened to Terry’s sister, I dialed him up on our landline and waited for his phone to ring. Again, I was answered with silence.

Hesitantly, I placed the handset back in its cradle. This doesn’t make sense. “Mom!” I called out again. Still no answer.

I peered out the window and found our car parked in the driveway. She couldn’t have gone to the store. Maybe she’s visiting a neighbor.

I stepped outside and listened for her distinct voice, but it was missing from the air. In fact, I couldn’t hear anyone or anything, except the sound of a gentle breeze. Not a single car drove by, nor did I hear trucks roaring on the interstate nearby.

A feeling of dread crawled through my soul, and I began to run towards Terry’s house. I just talked to him on the phone. He had to be home, didn’t he? I wanted to say yes, but my heart stopped me.

I hopped up the front steps and threw his door open. At that moment I didn’t care what his mother would say to my barging in. Not taking the time to rush up to his room, I shouted from the entryway. “Terry! You here?”

Again, I was greeted with silence. There was no reply from him, his mother, or his sister, Susan. The worst part was the absence of their yipping dog. Not once since they got him, did he ever fail to bark at my coming by. That has now changed.

I was tempted to just go home and wait for some sign of life to show itself, but I couldn’t. it all started with that phone call from Terry, and I had to find out what caused this dilemma to begin. Slowly, I went upstairs to see if I could find any clues as to what happened in Terry’s room. Not wanting to hear the echoing sound of my footsteps, I tiptoed down the hallway and stopped by his door.

I turned the doorknob. As I opened it, I felt the hinges resisting my efforts, but where they would normally creak, I was met with silence. All signs of Terry’s presence were visible. The bed was unmade, and clothes were strewed about. But as for Terry himself, he wasn’t there.

I looked at Terry’s desk and saw his stereo was on. The front plate was lit up and the volume LEDs were bouncing back and forth. Still, no sound was coming from the speakers. Besides the muted stereo, there was nothing out of the ordinary there. So, I went to the next room.

As I approached this room, my heart skipped a beat, for this was Susan’s room. Susan was a year younger than Terry and me. She was nearly tall as me, had dark brown hair and greyish eyes. Her looks came from her mother’s side, and she was very attractive. I would have asked her out on a date, but that would mean I had to break a cardinal rule. She was my best friend’s sister and that meant no dating her.

Still, there was a mystery at bay and that meant I had to enter her room to solve it. I walked in the room and was met with the opposite to Terry’s room. The bed was made, and everything was tidy. The room itself looked as if it was never used.

I resisted the urge to go through her drawers and focused on what was in front of me. On her desk, I saw a laptop computer, a teddy bear, and a note. Not wanting to touch anything, I read what she had written down.

“Mom, I’m so sorry for what I’m about to do. It has little to do with you catching me smoking a cigarette, and more to do about how I feel about myself. I feel trapped in a body, being able to see things around me, but invisible to those who pass by me. I am nothing but a ghost and there’s no reason I should live like this. Thank you for all you’ve done. I know you tried your best, but I’m afraid it wasn’t enough. So, good-bye and don’t cry. Susan”

Oh crap! She going to kill herself! I stormed down the stairs and dashed out to the road, looking for any means to escape this nightmare. I yelled at the top of my lungs for help, but to no avail.

It was then I realized the sky was dimming and a dense fog was rolling in. It was two in the afternoon and the weatherman had called for sunshine. I reached for my phone and found it dead. I tried powering it back up, but to no avail.

As the light receded, the stars appeared for a moment before they too vanished. All that remained was the moon, and it was apparent that too was disappearing.

As for the fog, it was slowly closing in on me from all sides, erasing the view of the town, and leaving me no room for escape. Powerless to evade my destiny, I fell to my knees and began to weep. Then I felt a sharp blow to my chest, nearly knocking me over. Is this it? I thought. Am I dying? A second blow struck, dropping me to the ground, and the world went dark.

A moment later, I opened my eyes and found a man standing over me. I could tell he was shouting at me, but I could barely understand what he said.

“Can you hear me?”

Finding my throat constricted, I nodded my head.

“You had us worried for a moment there. Your heart stopped and we had to zap it a couple times to get it started.”

I forced the words out of my mouth. “What happened to me?”

The man, who turned out to be a medic, began to place me on a gurney and replied, “According to the guy who hit you, you were riding your bike while talking on the phone. As he was about to pass you, you swerved out in front of him, and he hit you. He was so scared, I thought he was going to have a heart attack in front of me. Anyways, everything is under control. We’re taking you to the hospital and let them finish patching you up.”

Though the pain was excruciating, I began to laugh. I’m here and so is everyone else. I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s so good to be alive.

The medic was about to close the ambulance door, when I saw a familiar face. It was Terry.

“Hey, man,” he replied. “You, okay?  As soon as I heard what happened, I got here as fast as I could.”

“I’m talking and I can see you. What more can I ask?”

A moment later, Susan came into view. I couldn't help, but to smile. “Hey, Susan, I’m so glad to see you.” I glanced at Terry and decided rules were made to be broken. “Come closer. I have something to tell you.”

She placed her head next to me and I whispered, “You’re not a ghost.” The look of shock on her face told me the note was real and somehow I read it.

“I been attracted to you for a long time, but being Terry is my best friend, I didn’t know how to tell you. Now, I do. So, I’m just going to say it. I like you very much and I would be honored if you would go out with me.” I will never forget the look of joy she gave me.

Terry looked at me with scorn but didn’t say a word. Susan, on the other hand, did.

“Get yourself better first, then we can talk about going on a date.” She turned to the medic. “What are you waiting for? Go on, get him to the hospital. We’ve got a lot of living to do.”

With that, the medic closed the back store and we drove away. As we headed down the road, I thought to myself, I may not know if God exists or not, but I do know, there are miracles and things will be better.