All four walls were covered from
floor to ceiling with pictures. Each
picture had one thing in common, David Wallace.
The pictures ranged from childhood to his last moments of consciousness. David Wallace had fallen into a comatose
state for an unknown reason. Doctors,
Specialists, and anyone with any medical know-how did all they could to
determine the cause of David’s coma, but there were no tests that would or
could give even the most notable and knowledgeable doctors a definite reason.
The
pictures were hung by David Wallace’s mother who had passed away shortly after
his comatose state began. She had no
idea why she hung the pictures. She had
never been the type of woman to clutter up the walls, or anything else for that
matter. She was a meticulous woman who
kept house better than any other. But
for some unknown reason, she found herself hanging picture after picture on all
four walls of the room where her youngest son lay silent.
David
Wallace, prior to his mother’s passing was moved home. It was believed that he wouldn’t live much
longer, but weeks, months, and then a year passed, and still, he remained in
his unbreakable coma. Sarah Wallace,
David’s sister took possession of her family’s home and kept her brother as
comfortable as possible. For Sarah, her
devotion to her brother had cost her, her marriage, but blood was blood, and
she would not and could not leave her brother in the care of a nursing facility
that may or may not give David everything he needed.
As
with any other day of the week, Sarah found herself sitting in the room with
David. Her eyes would trail over the
pictures on the walls. Sometimes she’d
hone in on one, and find herself lost in a memory. Today though, a new thought had come to her
mind, take the pictures down. She pondered that idea, stood from the chair
next to David’s bed and looked at her brother.
“I don’t know why. I don’t know
what keeps me from taking all these pictures down.” She brushed a few tears from her cheek. “Maybe it’s because mom hung them. And for her to do that, well, it’s just, it’s
just not like her.” Sarah glanced around
the room one last time and then walked out, closing the door behind her.
“She’s
going to do it.”
“She
can’t.”
“Do
you know how much I want this to end?”
“Maybe
you want it to end, but I love it.”
“I
have to be honest; I’m tired of living this moment over and over again.”
“You
just don’t understand what’s coming.”
“He
may not understand what’s coming, but I do.”
“You
should shut up. Stop acting like a bunch
of meanies.”
“Yeah,
just shut up.”
“When
I want to hear from you, I’ll ask your opinion.”
“He’s
right, children should be seen and not heard.”
“I
hate you.”
“Listen
kid, you don’t know what hate is yet.”
“Yeah,
you ought to be here right now.”
“The
kids are right. Our life hasn’t been
that bad.”
“Fuck
that!”
“You
said a bad word.”
“You’re
right, I did say a bad word, and it’s because I know things that you don’t.”
“And
I know things you don’t.”
“Can
we all just stop arguing for a minute?”
“A
decision has to be made.”
“I
can make it.”
“Oh
no; not you, we all know what you would decide.”
“Do
any of you realize just how happy I am right at this moment?”
“Do
any of us really care?”
“Stop
it, stop it, stop it. I’m gonna tell.”
“I
swear, if I have to listen to that again I’m going to rip my ears off.”
“Just
be happy the crying Santa hasn’t started up.”
“I’m
serious, look at me. I’m here at Lake
Tahoe. I love it here. I don’t want this to end.”
“Screw
that, you don’t know what it’s like to be bullied every day. I don’t want this to go on.”
“But
you have to understand that things get better.”
“He’s
right you know. Things do get better,
but then they all just go to hell.”
“Why
can’t all of you just remember this day?
We were happy. Not a care in the
world.”
“The
reason we can’t remember that day is because some of us came after it.”
“Where’s
mommy?”
“Should
I tell him or do you want to do it this time?”
“Mommy
is out grocery shopping, she’ll be back soon.”
“Such
a liar, and a good one at that. If I
didn’t know better, I’d even believe you.”
“Look,
I’m happy where I’m at. I don’t want
this to end.”
“Yeah,
well if you only knew what happened right after that, you might change your
mind.”
“Happy
Birthday to you…”
“Someone
shut him up. He does this all the
time. Hey kid, there ain’t no birthday.”
“Leave
him alone. For him it’s his fifth
birthday.”
“Can
I change the subject for a minute? This
Christmas tree has to be the ugliest tree we ever had. I mean look at it.”
“It
might be an ugly tree, but at least you’re with family. You don’t remember this tree, do you?”
“Holy
shit, here we go; the fucking tree arguments again.”
“You
said another bad word.”
“And
if you keep telling me that, I’m going to say a whole bunch of bad words
that’ll make your head spin.”
“I
think it’s a pretty tree.”
“Who
said that? And which tree are you
referring to?”
“The
one where I’m alone.”
“Yes,
it is a pretty tree, but it’s just so lonely here.”
“So
there’s another for our side. It’s time
to end this.”
“Oh,
so now we’re voting? Well I think we all
know where this will go.”
“Fifty-fifty,
there won’t be a definite decision.”
“It’s
been a year now, and we haven’t been able to make a final decision.”
“Because
there’s a bunch of you sentimental, bleeding hearts.”
“And
what’s wrong with be sentimental? If we
could all understand how some of us feel at our moment, we might not want to
end this.”
“There’s
too many of us. And we all know why
we’re here.”
“And
is that supposed to make me feel bad? I
just got out of the hospital after a car accident. I’m still in pain.”
“At
least we survived. You should be happy
for that.”
“I
know most of us know how we feel where I’m at.”
“It
was a difficult time, but we got past it.
We knew that suicide wasn’t the answer.”
“I
say wake me up. It’s time to end this.”
“No,
you’re wrong. We all know what that
would mean.”
“I
have to admit, I don’t like where I’m at right now, but the other option isn’t
very appealing.”
“It
is for me. I don’t want to go on.”
“But
you’re not thinking clearly. Our end is
the end for everyone.”
“Is
there something so wrong with that?”
“We
are what holds this world together. We
are the world. Without us…I don’t even
want to think about it.”
“I
want to go home. I’m tired.”
“You
are home.”
“Could
you be anymore snotty when you answer us?”
“Waaaahhhhh!”
“Oh
God, there goes the Santa kid.”
“There’s
really only one of us that has the right to make the final decision.”
“You’ve
been pushing this on me for a year. I
don’t want to make the choice. Someone
else do it.”
“You
are the last picture of us. You really
should be the one to decide.”
“It’s
more difficult than you think. I
remember all of you. I experienced
everything around me. And sure, there
were some horrible times, but there were just as many good times.”
“I
think you should be taking the pain we’ve felt and using that to make your
decision.”
“And
I, unlike him, think you should look at the good times.”
“If
I choose to wake, it’s the end. Mom hung
all these pictures of us for a reason.
She didn’t know why, but she did it.
If she knew that her actions meant saving the world, she would do
everything she could to keep it going.”
“Really,
was mom always so great? Remember when
she kicked us out of the house?”
“Decision
made. David, it’s time to wake up.”
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