Post by Bill Burke on May 5, 2007 20:47:11 GMT -5
REVERSALS OF FATE
Scenario created by
Mad Tom
*****
"Leslie!"
Even over the distance from the far side of the creek, she could recognize her father's voice. Hearing it out here in Terabithia was odd enough, but she also picked up a sense of urgency that she seldom heard.
"Jess!"
That was Mr. Aarons' voice. Both fathers were out here calling for them. Something was wrong.
"Coming, Daddy!" she shouted back.
She scooped up Prince Terrian and tucked him inside her raincoat, worked her way down the tree trunk, then let him free to run ahead of her. They trotted through the light rain and made it back to the rope in short order, where Leslie saw her father and Jesse's standing on the opposite bank. She noticed Mr. Aarons anxiously scanning the woods behind her.
"Leslie," he finally asked, "is Jess with you?"
"No, Mr. Aarons," she replied, then saw him turning pale with his heart sinking. "I haven't seen him since last night. I came by your house earlier this morning to get him, and May Belle said the last time she saw him, he was on the phone with some lady whose voice sounded like Miss Edmonds, our music teacher."
"Oh, God!" Mr. Aarons closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
She turned to her father. "Daddy, what's wrong?"
"Leslie, honey," he breathed, "you'd better come home with us."
"Okay, she nodded, then gave Prince Terrian a shove into the creek. "Go on, PT!"
She waited until her dog had paddled across and was shaking himself dry, then she grasped the rope and lifted her feet up to the lower knot and let herself swing.
She had almost completed the arc to the far side when she heard a resounding THWUP! above her head and suddenly felt herself falling through space and plunging into the chilly waters of the creek. As she heard the muffled, distorted voices of her father and Mr. Aarons through the water, screaming her name, Leslie felt her forehead hit something hard, and then was in blackness and void....
*****
She regained consciousness in stages, first hearing the voices of both of her parents and unfamiliar others, hushed and unintelligible, and then felt a terrible headache. She remembered falling into the creek, and was aware that she was now, thankfully, warm and dry, lying on her back in a bed somewhere. She moved her arms and legs, moaning and trying to get more comfortable, then slowly opened her eyes. She was in a softly lit room with pastel-toned walls that somehow made her think of Jesse's paintings; definitely not her bedroom or any place in her home, but her eyes focused to see both her parents leaning anxiously over her.
"Mom? Dad?" she asked weakly.
"Leslie, sweetheart!" her mother tearfully hugged her and then kissed her on the cheek, then moved aside to let her father do the same.
"What happened? Where are we?"
"Lourdes Hospital," her father replied, as she noticed that he was wearing what appeared to be hospital scrubs. "The rope you were swinging on broke. Do you remember that?"
"Yeah, I think so," she murmured.
"You hit your head on something and almost drowned," her mother sniffled. "Daddy had to jump in the creek and pull you out, then give you mouth-to-mouth. Thank God he and Mr. Aarons were there. If you'd been alone, we would have lost you t--"
Leslie briefly thought there was something odd about the way Mom had cut short her last sentence, but was too woozy and her head hurt too much for her to give it much thought. She vaguely remembered that Mr. Aarons was out there at the creek with Dad, looking for Jesse. "Did Mr. Aarons ever find Jess?"
"Yes," Mom nodded.
"Can he come see me tonight?"
Her parents glanced at each other. "Jess can't come tonight, Sweetheart," Dad said, stroking her hand. "Visiting hours are almost over, and we're hoping to bring you home tomorrow. The doctors want to keep you under observation tonight, and you need to rest and get better. But Mom will stay here with you overnight, maybe I'll be back later tonight too. But I've gotta go home and bring all of our wet clothes, get changed and bring you a change of clothing. Let me tell the nurse you're awake. Be right back."
He kissed her and then stepped out, and returned a few seconds later with a woman in scrubs who vaguely struck Leslie as a slightly younger version of Mrs. Myers. "Hello, Leslie," she smiled. "I'm Ms. Crandall. Glad to have you back among us!"
She took Leslie's temperature and blood pressure. "Vital signs are all good," she reported with a smile. "Dr. Molano should be here in a few minutes. You think you can stay awake 'til then?"
"I'll try," Leslie murmured.
"You hungry?" Nurse Crandall asked. "It's way past normal dinnertime and your folks didn't think you had lunch."
"I don't have much appetite, but my stomach's growling."
"How's a bowl of Jell-O sound?"
"Sounds just about right," Leslie managed a smile.
Her parents sat quietly as she managed to down a large bowl of Cherry Jell-O and a small carton of milk. She was hungrier than she'd thought she was, and her parents seemed happy just to see her doing something as normal as eating. Shortly after she finished, a young, lean, dark-haired doctor entered.
"Hi, Leslie, I'm Dr. Molano. Glad to see you awake."
"Hi," she smiled back.
"I need to check you over. You think you can sit up for me?"
He helped her up, and to her surprise her headache didn't get any worse. He used a stethoscope to check her heartbeat and breathing, checked her retinas with a penlight instrument and her ability to follow the light with her eyes, and checked her ability to feel with and move her fingers and toes.
"You are one lucky young lady, Miss Burke," he smiled, then turned to her parents. "CAT Scan shows a very mild concussion. No sign of permanent brain injury from either the bump on her head or the fact that she stopped breathing for a couple of minutes. We'll check her again in the morning, and barring unforeseen circumstances, you should be able to take her home then."
*****
She readily went back to sleep with her mother stretched out on a lounge chair beside her after her father left. She slept fitfully after her father came back sometime late at night, wearing regular clothes, and stretched out in another lounge chair.
By the time Nurse Crandall returned with a breakfast tray, Leslie's headache was pretty much gone, but she was filled with angst and dread that had nothing to do with her hitting her head and nearly drowning. The bowl of Jell-O and carton of milk that had been her "dinner" had done little to tide over her hunger, but she barely touched the tray.
"Leslie, honey," her mother said, "I know we'll probably be going home soon, but you've got to eat more than that!"
"I'm not hungry," she shook her head, and then looked into the eyes of both her parents. "Mom, Dad, something's happened to Jess, hasn't it?"
"Finish your breakfast, Sweetheart," her father said gently.
"No, Daddy. I can't eat, knowing that something's happened. I can feel it. And I remember now what happened just before I fell in the creek. Mr. Aarons was really anxious when he found out Jess wasn't with me, and he got really upset when I told him May Belle said he'd been on the phone with Miss Edmonds."
Her parents looked at each other and nodded with resignation. They rolled the food table aside, then her mother sat on the bed with her and put an arm around her while her father held her hand. Leslie's angst heightened.
"Leslie, honey," her father said, "there's been a terrible accident. Miss Edmonds was driving along on I-95 heading toward DC. There was a bank robbery in Lorton and the robbers were being chased in an SUV by the police, going the other way, and the robbers jumped the median strip and hit her head-on. There was a boy about your age in the car with Miss Edmonds, who didn't have any ID."
Leslie gasped and turned white.
"The police talked to Miss Edmonds' family and figured it wasn't a relative, but one of the students at Lark Creek. From his description, Principal Turner and the teachers narrowed it down to a couple of kids. We were hoping that it wasn't Jess, that he was out in the woods with you...."
Leslie started to shake. "Daddy, what's happened to Jess???"
Her mother cradled her in her arms as her father swallowed hard before continuing, "I'm sorry, Leslie, honey. Jess is hurt really badly. He's in a coma and they don't think he's going to make it. Same with Miss Edmonds. They're in another hospital near Lorton, in intensive care."
Scenario created by
Mad Tom
*****
"Leslie!"
Even over the distance from the far side of the creek, she could recognize her father's voice. Hearing it out here in Terabithia was odd enough, but she also picked up a sense of urgency that she seldom heard.
"Jess!"
That was Mr. Aarons' voice. Both fathers were out here calling for them. Something was wrong.
"Coming, Daddy!" she shouted back.
She scooped up Prince Terrian and tucked him inside her raincoat, worked her way down the tree trunk, then let him free to run ahead of her. They trotted through the light rain and made it back to the rope in short order, where Leslie saw her father and Jesse's standing on the opposite bank. She noticed Mr. Aarons anxiously scanning the woods behind her.
"Leslie," he finally asked, "is Jess with you?"
"No, Mr. Aarons," she replied, then saw him turning pale with his heart sinking. "I haven't seen him since last night. I came by your house earlier this morning to get him, and May Belle said the last time she saw him, he was on the phone with some lady whose voice sounded like Miss Edmonds, our music teacher."
"Oh, God!" Mr. Aarons closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
She turned to her father. "Daddy, what's wrong?"
"Leslie, honey," he breathed, "you'd better come home with us."
"Okay, she nodded, then gave Prince Terrian a shove into the creek. "Go on, PT!"
She waited until her dog had paddled across and was shaking himself dry, then she grasped the rope and lifted her feet up to the lower knot and let herself swing.
She had almost completed the arc to the far side when she heard a resounding THWUP! above her head and suddenly felt herself falling through space and plunging into the chilly waters of the creek. As she heard the muffled, distorted voices of her father and Mr. Aarons through the water, screaming her name, Leslie felt her forehead hit something hard, and then was in blackness and void....
*****
She regained consciousness in stages, first hearing the voices of both of her parents and unfamiliar others, hushed and unintelligible, and then felt a terrible headache. She remembered falling into the creek, and was aware that she was now, thankfully, warm and dry, lying on her back in a bed somewhere. She moved her arms and legs, moaning and trying to get more comfortable, then slowly opened her eyes. She was in a softly lit room with pastel-toned walls that somehow made her think of Jesse's paintings; definitely not her bedroom or any place in her home, but her eyes focused to see both her parents leaning anxiously over her.
"Mom? Dad?" she asked weakly.
"Leslie, sweetheart!" her mother tearfully hugged her and then kissed her on the cheek, then moved aside to let her father do the same.
"What happened? Where are we?"
"Lourdes Hospital," her father replied, as she noticed that he was wearing what appeared to be hospital scrubs. "The rope you were swinging on broke. Do you remember that?"
"Yeah, I think so," she murmured.
"You hit your head on something and almost drowned," her mother sniffled. "Daddy had to jump in the creek and pull you out, then give you mouth-to-mouth. Thank God he and Mr. Aarons were there. If you'd been alone, we would have lost you t--"
Leslie briefly thought there was something odd about the way Mom had cut short her last sentence, but was too woozy and her head hurt too much for her to give it much thought. She vaguely remembered that Mr. Aarons was out there at the creek with Dad, looking for Jesse. "Did Mr. Aarons ever find Jess?"
"Yes," Mom nodded.
"Can he come see me tonight?"
Her parents glanced at each other. "Jess can't come tonight, Sweetheart," Dad said, stroking her hand. "Visiting hours are almost over, and we're hoping to bring you home tomorrow. The doctors want to keep you under observation tonight, and you need to rest and get better. But Mom will stay here with you overnight, maybe I'll be back later tonight too. But I've gotta go home and bring all of our wet clothes, get changed and bring you a change of clothing. Let me tell the nurse you're awake. Be right back."
He kissed her and then stepped out, and returned a few seconds later with a woman in scrubs who vaguely struck Leslie as a slightly younger version of Mrs. Myers. "Hello, Leslie," she smiled. "I'm Ms. Crandall. Glad to have you back among us!"
She took Leslie's temperature and blood pressure. "Vital signs are all good," she reported with a smile. "Dr. Molano should be here in a few minutes. You think you can stay awake 'til then?"
"I'll try," Leslie murmured.
"You hungry?" Nurse Crandall asked. "It's way past normal dinnertime and your folks didn't think you had lunch."
"I don't have much appetite, but my stomach's growling."
"How's a bowl of Jell-O sound?"
"Sounds just about right," Leslie managed a smile.
Her parents sat quietly as she managed to down a large bowl of Cherry Jell-O and a small carton of milk. She was hungrier than she'd thought she was, and her parents seemed happy just to see her doing something as normal as eating. Shortly after she finished, a young, lean, dark-haired doctor entered.
"Hi, Leslie, I'm Dr. Molano. Glad to see you awake."
"Hi," she smiled back.
"I need to check you over. You think you can sit up for me?"
He helped her up, and to her surprise her headache didn't get any worse. He used a stethoscope to check her heartbeat and breathing, checked her retinas with a penlight instrument and her ability to follow the light with her eyes, and checked her ability to feel with and move her fingers and toes.
"You are one lucky young lady, Miss Burke," he smiled, then turned to her parents. "CAT Scan shows a very mild concussion. No sign of permanent brain injury from either the bump on her head or the fact that she stopped breathing for a couple of minutes. We'll check her again in the morning, and barring unforeseen circumstances, you should be able to take her home then."
*****
She readily went back to sleep with her mother stretched out on a lounge chair beside her after her father left. She slept fitfully after her father came back sometime late at night, wearing regular clothes, and stretched out in another lounge chair.
By the time Nurse Crandall returned with a breakfast tray, Leslie's headache was pretty much gone, but she was filled with angst and dread that had nothing to do with her hitting her head and nearly drowning. The bowl of Jell-O and carton of milk that had been her "dinner" had done little to tide over her hunger, but she barely touched the tray.
"Leslie, honey," her mother said, "I know we'll probably be going home soon, but you've got to eat more than that!"
"I'm not hungry," she shook her head, and then looked into the eyes of both her parents. "Mom, Dad, something's happened to Jess, hasn't it?"
"Finish your breakfast, Sweetheart," her father said gently.
"No, Daddy. I can't eat, knowing that something's happened. I can feel it. And I remember now what happened just before I fell in the creek. Mr. Aarons was really anxious when he found out Jess wasn't with me, and he got really upset when I told him May Belle said he'd been on the phone with Miss Edmonds."
Her parents looked at each other and nodded with resignation. They rolled the food table aside, then her mother sat on the bed with her and put an arm around her while her father held her hand. Leslie's angst heightened.
"Leslie, honey," her father said, "there's been a terrible accident. Miss Edmonds was driving along on I-95 heading toward DC. There was a bank robbery in Lorton and the robbers were being chased in an SUV by the police, going the other way, and the robbers jumped the median strip and hit her head-on. There was a boy about your age in the car with Miss Edmonds, who didn't have any ID."
Leslie gasped and turned white.
"The police talked to Miss Edmonds' family and figured it wasn't a relative, but one of the students at Lark Creek. From his description, Principal Turner and the teachers narrowed it down to a couple of kids. We were hoping that it wasn't Jess, that he was out in the woods with you...."
Leslie started to shake. "Daddy, what's happened to Jess???"
Her mother cradled her in her arms as her father swallowed hard before continuing, "I'm sorry, Leslie, honey. Jess is hurt really badly. He's in a coma and they don't think he's going to make it. Same with Miss Edmonds. They're in another hospital near Lorton, in intensive care."