Terminus

TERMINUS

            In the end, God preserved heaven but destroyed the Earth. God said, Let there be light: and there was light as the sun expanded and engulfed everything in its way, including the third rock in its path. This was the seventh day of destruction.

            And God said, Let the firmament that separates the heavens and the Earth be depleted and destroyed: and volcanoes sprung forth throughout all the lands and emitted toxic gasses that depleted the firmament of Ozone. This was the sixth day of destruction.

            And God said, Let all of the grass, herb, seed, fruit, and every plant be wiped from all the lands: And there was an excessive buildup oxygen and lack of carbon dioxide suffocated all matter vegetation from the plant and fungal kingdoms. The lack of sunlight getting through to the surface also starved the plants of photosynthesis. This was the fifth day of destruction.

            And God said, Let there be no division of the day and the night: and the light from the sun, moon, and stars were shunned from the Earth’s crust as a nuclear winter dominated a dreary atmosphere. This was the fourth day of destruction.

            And God said, Let all of the whales, fishes, and sea creature and all of the fowls of the air perish: And every creature the sea and air perished as toxic nuclear chemicals spilled into the oceans, seas, and air. This was the third day of destruction.

            And God said, Let every land creature and human bite the bitter sting of death: And every beast died as a select and respected few humans decided that there disputes would be better served by trading nuclear missile launches. This was the second day of destruction.

            And on the first day of destruction, God rested.

78 years old

            Elijah Cohen rested in a box. Just last Friday, God had sucked from his nostrils the breath of life. The box lay on 5^th Avenue at the Temple Emanu-El. The synagogue’s rabbi—who Elijah had never met—read scripture in Hebrew. His wife, Abigail, sat on the first row next to their daughter and son. She looked to the pews on her left and saw well-dressed people that she did not recognize. They were either from the press or lawyers that Elijah knew, she thought. Abigail looked behind her to see the multitudes of people. Abigail wondered how many of these people Elijah knew. She wondered if they were there to celebrate the life of Elijah or to hear the Supreme Court Justice give the eulogy of some man. 

            When the Torah reading concluded, Elijah’s daughter, Aya, listened to the words of the Justice’s eulogy. The justice used the words “follower of the tradition,” and “brilliant mind,” and “impeccable sense of humor,” and “good father.” Aya had met this man once at someone’s wedding whom she did not know when she was just a girl.

            Elijah’s son, Levi, did not pay attention to the words of the main attraction. Instead, he looked through the funeral program that showed Elijah’s face from a picture he took eight years prior. Levi read the words, “Elijah Cohen is survived by his wife, Abigail; his daughter, Aya; his son, Levi; and predeceased by his son, Adam.

73 years old

            Adam used to love coming here, thought Elijah, as he sat on a bench in Central Park, watching Levi play catch with his son, Michael. Elijah wore a charcoal trench coat, black scarf, and a Yankees hat. He huddled like a lone penguin in the frigid Antarctic winter. It was just October, but Elijah already felt cold. Michael sported a New York Mets hat. Elijah didn’t understand why such a young boy would like the Mets when the Yankees were objectively a better team to follow. At least it wasn’t as bad as Levi wearing that stupid Red Sox hat he got when he studied law at Harvard.

            “Grandpa, come play catch with me,” ordered Michael.

            “Oh, you go on and play with your dad,” said Elijah. “I didn’t bring a glove.” Levi took his glove off and tossed it on his father’s lap.

            “Use mine,” he commanded. Elijah reluctantly stood up, put the glove on, and walked away from the bench. He and Michael didn’t stand too far apart because Elijah did not have the arm strength for it. Michael floated the ball to allow Elijah to catch it easier. Elijah’s shoulder started to hurt only after the second throw, but he endured the pain. Michael smiled at his grandfather and he smiled back.

            After playing at the park, Elijah, Levi, and Michael got lunch at the deli Elijah would take his sons to after playing catch at the park. Michael was in the restroom while they waited for their food.

            “Still sticking with the corned beef, huh?” said Elijah.

            “Gotta stay loyal to the one you love,” said Levi without making eye contact with his dad

            “Thank you for inviting me to do this today. I think this was a great idea. Brings back some good memories,” said Elijah sincerely.

            “Yeah, I just wish we had more of them,” said Levi.

            “What do you mean?” asked Elijah.

            “We really didn’t go as often as you think we did,” said Levi, still refusing eye contact with his father.

            “I took you about once a month. That’s pretty decent,” said Elijah.

            “It maybe started out that way when you took Adam, but by the time I got older, we really only went once or twice a year,” said Levi.

            “I got a little busy with work but I did the best I could,” said Elijah. “You know how it is now that you are an attorney.”

            “You know, that’s the funny thing,” said Levi. “It wasn’t until I became an attorney that I realized how easy it is to schedule time with the family.”

            “Oh please, how often do you take Michael to the park?” guffawed Elijah.

            “Every Sunday,” said Levi.

            “How do you get the time off?” questioned Elijah with skepticism.

            “It’s Sunday,” said Levi. “You are supposed to take that day off.” Elijah felt fire in his throat. He wanted to spout off about how his job expected him to work seven days a week and that this younger generation is lazy. He extinguished that fire with a deep exhale.

            “Do you think I’m a bad father,” sincerely asked Elijah.

            “You’re not a bad father," said Levi, making eye contact for the first time. “You just seemed to value your other family more than us.”

61 years old

            “I’m doing this for my family,” admitted Elijah.

            “But we are your family,” quipped Solomon Rubenstein. Elijah and Solomon sat privately in Solomon’s pristine office that overlooked a busy Upper West Side street. Solomon was one of the founding partners of Maynard Beckley Rubenstein, where Elijah called home for the last 34 years.

            “I know, I know, but…”

            “This is just all so sudden. Why now? Three weeks ago you told me you wanted to work until you die,” said Solomon.

            Solomon thought about the conversation he had with Abigail the night before. When we first got married, you constantly bragged to everyone about how you were going to make so much money that were going to retire at fifty. We had enough money for you to retire at forty and you’re still working at sixty-one!

            “We still have the Borges case. I know you don’t want to walk away from that,” tempted Solomon. Solomon knew Elijah well and this was a hard incentive to say no to.

“Sol,” said Elijah somberly, “I’m afraid Adam might happen all over again.” Elijah wished he wouldn’t have use this. 

“Oh…” said Solomon, not knowing what else to say. He wanted to ask which of his kids was in trouble but decided against it. Elijah thought about the discovery Abigail uncovered in Levi’s room last night.

“When is your last day?”

“Today. I’m sorry to leave you in the lurch but I really need to sort my family out.” Solomon was saddened by the news, but knew in his heart that Elijah’s decision was best.

“Thank you, Sol. For everything. You and this firm made my life worthwhile.” Elijah began to cry as he walked out of Solomon’s office.

56 years old

Everyone in the room was crying except for Elijah and Adam. Elijah had dry eyes because someone needed to stay strong for the family. Adam’s eyes were closed. He had a breathing tube down his throat and had no awareness of his surroundings as he laid on the hospital bed. His doctors just informed the family that Adam’s body was physically stable, but that his brain activity was dead with no chance of recovery. The doctor handed Elijah a boilerplate form that was titled AUTHORIZATION TO WITHDRAW LIFE SUSTAINING TREATMENT. His hand reflexively tremored every time his brain acknowledged the meaning of the papers he held. Other than the intermittent sniffles, the room was silent. No one wanted to speak their mind.

“What is everyone thinking? I want to hear everyone’s input,” said Elijah. There was a long pause.

“I think we should sign the papers,” said Levi. Aya, who was sitting next to him, punched him in the arm.

“Why do you think so?” asked Elijah.

“I think it would be best for the family to move on,” said Levi. Aya punched him again. Levi rubbed his arm after the second punch.

“Yeah, let’s just forget all about Adam. He was only our brother. No big deal,” snapped Aya.

“My poor baby doesn’t deserve this,” cried Abigail.

“He did do this to himself,” reasoned Levi. “And to us.” Abigail stood up out of her chair and slapped Levi across his cheek, which instantly turned red. Aya followed it up with her strongest punch yet. Elijah held Abigail back and brought her back to her seat.

“Why the hell would you say that, you little shit,” said Abigail, visibly upset.

“You are a little shit,” piled Aya.

Levi stood up out of his chair, bawling. “I don’t want Adam to die!” he screamed. “It kills me to see him like this! I don’t even want to be in this room anymore! These last couple of days have been utter hell for me. I don’t know how I can go on living if I have to keep seeing him like this. I just want to move on so that my memories of Adam are of us playing ball or having fun; I don’t want to remember him like this.” The room was silent. No one wanted to admit that they agreed with him.

Elijah signed the papers, forever banishing Adam from this life.

49 years old

“Daddy, please don’t kill Gracie,” cried Aya. Aya held Gracie in her arms as she on her bed. Gracie wheezed and her eyes were barely open. Elijah didn’t want to kill Gracie, but knew it was the right thing to do. Gracie was in a lot of pain. He and Abigail agreed to not mention anything to Aya so he wondered how she knew Elijah’s intentions.

“Who said I’m going to kill her?” asked Elijah.

“Adam,” said Aya. “He said that that’s what parents do when dogs get sick.” Elijah felt disdain towards Adam for teaching such vile truths to his little girl.

“But honey, she is sick. She is not feeling any joy or happiness anymore. It is the right thing to do,” reasoned Elijah.

“No!” cried Aya. Elijah paused, plotting how he could convince such an innocent mind.

“I’ll make a deal a with you,” said Elijah. “What if we let Gracie sleep in your room tonight. We will all pray for a miracle that she will get better. If she gets better, we keep her. If she is still sick, we’ll talk more tomorrow. Does that sound ok?” Aya thought about it. Complete relief did not come, but there was enough for her to nod. Elijah smiled, kissed Aya on the head, and went to his room.

That night, Elijah sincerely prayed to God for a miracle. He did not know what the miracle would look like, but for some kind of miracle.

Elijah woke up early the next morning. He peacefully let himself in Aya’s room. Aya was awake and crying. She was holding Gracie’s carcass in her arms. Elijah got down on the floor with Aya and held her. He did not say anything to her.

Elijah thanked God for answering his miracle. He thanked God for preserving his innocence, sparing him from killing one of his creations. Elijah had never killed anything before.

43 years old

“Mr. Cohen, YOU ARE A MURDERER!!!!”

Elijah read an email from his phone from a distraught mother whose daughter euthanized herself. She blamed Elijah for her death because of the euthanasian laws Elijah advocated for.

“Elijah, put your phone away,” snapped Abigail, “It’s family time.” Elijah looked at Abigail and then at Adam, Levi, and Aya. He had never seen such excitement on his kids faces. Elijah put his phone in his pocket and made a covenant that he would do any work for the rest of the day. They were almost at the front of the line to buy their tickets to Disney World.

Elijah focused his attention on Adam. He had never seen Adam so happy. His interactions with his brother and sister were kind. Adam was never this sweet with Levi and Aya. Adam was arrested two weeks ago for possession of narcotics. This was the first Abigail had learned of Adam’s addiction. Instead of handing down the harshest punishment of his life, Abigail suggested that they go on a family vacation together.

Elijah hugged Abigail. He kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “This was brilliant idea. I think Adam will be alright. I love you.” 

40 years old

Adam’s Bar Mitzvah was a success. Adam was so nervous to read from the Torah that he had anxiety hives that morning. However, his Torah reading was beautiful. Elijah did not know if truly sounded as beautiful to other people as it did to him, but he did not care. Everyone still congratulated Elijah on Adam’s Torah reading. The party brought a lot of people and a lot of energy. Adam did not appear to be disappointed. 

After hours of talking with their friends, Abigail grabbed Elijah and told him she wanted to get a family picture but that she cannot find Adam. Elijah said he would go find him.

Adam did not appear to be anywhere in sight. He walked around the reception room, weaving between the crowds of people, but Adam was nowhere to be found. Elijah decided to check the restroom.

Once Elijah walked in the restroom, he saw Adam and two of his friends huddled over a sink. They looked at Elijah with fear and surprise. Elijah saw a line of white powder on the sink and Adam was holding a rolled hundred-dollar bill. Elijah grunted at Adam’s friends to get out of the bathroom. They ran out without a moment to lose. He walked over to Adam and looked at him.

“Please don’t tell Mom,” said Adam.

“What were you thinking?” said Elijah. “Did we not have a conversation about how drugs can ruin your life?”

“I know, I’m sorry, Dad,” lamented Adam.

“You deliberately disobeyed me,” said Elijah. Adam didn’t immediately respond.

“So, are you going to tell Mom?” asked Adam.

“I want you to promise me that you will never do this again.”

“I promise.”

“Ok. I won’t tell Mom,” said Elijah. Adam exhaled. “You’re a man now. We will just keep this as our secret.”

“Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you too,” said Elijah.

34 years old

Elijah had never been so nervous in his life. He vomited in the bathroom. He thought that if he were to fail, it would be the end of the world. He was about to argue in front of the United States Supreme Court for the first time in his career. He was trying to overturn Washington v. Glucksburg which prohibited physician assisted suicides. His head ran in circles trying to remember every detail of every Substantive Due Process case.

*          *          *

Elijah ran through the door and hugged his wife. “It was a success!” he yelled. “This is the happiest day of my life!”

27 years old

Elijah had never been so nervous in his life. He stood in a tuxedo as he waited for Abigail to walk down the aisle. She was stunning. Elijah had never seen such a beautiful sight in his life. They held hands and recited their vows. Elijah promised to create a life with her that would as perfect and beautiful as the Garden of Eden.