Pictures Speak A Thousand Words A Short Story - By Michael Taylor

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.”

Bullied's Revenge A Short Story - By Michael Taylor

                Twenty five years later and he stood in a banquet room with those he went to high school with.  He came alone, the same way he felt when he was in school, alone.  He searched the faces of those around him, some easily recognizable, some, well the years hadn’t been so kind, but he still knew who they were.  His scan of the room ended when his eyes settled on a friend, the one friend he had while he was in high school. 

                As he made his way toward the man, it was as if he were parting the Red Sea.  No one said hello, no one stopped him to ask a question, he was ignored, nothing had changed, but at that moment he didn’t care.  He wanted to see his friend.  When he was close enough to the man he took notice that his friend was surrounded by people, former classmates, all chatting away.  He hesitated, glanced around nervously, and then stepped forward. 

                His friend, from so many years ago, looked up, spotted him and rushed up to give him a hug.  “Holy shit, I can’t believe it.  You came.  You said you weren’t coming to the reunion.”

                He released his hug and stepped back, “It’s time Dan.  It’s time to finally put all of this to rest.  I’m ending what these people did to me.  Tonight is my night.  Tonight they find out what I went through, what they put me through.”

                Dan nodded, “It still hurts, doesn’t it?”

                He returned the nod.  “I see you’re still well liked.”

                “It’s the group we used to hang around with.  You remember all of them.”  Dan tried to be sincere, to hold a warm feeling that might melt the frigid iciness of his friend’s heart.

                “They were always your friends.  They tolerated me because of you.”  The man looked up, caught the eyes of a few who stood nearby.  A few smiles were exchanged; a friendly glance here and there, but not one person approached him.  “You would think that after twenty five years, people would grow up, but nothing changes.”  He looked into Dan’s eyes, “For me, the worst part is knowing that they don’t even think about what they did to me.  They’ve forgotten about it.  To them, it’s like nothing happened, and they were all just wonderful fucking people.”

                “I know.  It is sad.”  Dan lowered his head, stared at his feet and shuffled nervously.  “So you’re really going to do this?”

                He heard a voice, from over his right shoulder, he peered back, his eyes narrowed.  “And I think I’ll start right now.”  He smiled at Dan who had caught sight of the woman. 

                Dan remembered her.  She was a bitch in high school, and even now, so many years later, she carried herself in the same manner.  She used the word “fag” like people use the word “the” in a sentence.  And whenever she used it, it was directed squarely at Dan’s friend.  Dan reached out and took his friend’s hand in his, “You know what you’re doing, right?”

                He nodded.  He pulled away and made a direct line for the woman, Holly.  He stopped, just a few feet from her and stared.  When she finally looked in his direction, she gave him a once over then turned away to continue her conversation with the people she was speaking with.  Holly’s actions only spurred him on.  He reached out, touched her shoulder, she looked at him.

                “Excuse me,” he said, to Holly and then looked to the women around her.  He knew all of them.  They were part of Holly’s cruelty.  They acted like his friend, but they laughed when Holly humiliated him.  “Do you remember me?”

                Holly looked at him.  It was more than obvious that she feigned trying to remember him.  “Aren’t you…”  As she began, the entire group of women stared at him.

                He smiled, “That’s right, you got it, I know you remember who I am,” he interrupted.  “Come on.  You have to remember me.  You spoke to me every day.”  He took note that one of the women grimaced.  He honed in on her.  “Yeah, that’s right, you remember.”

                “Look,” Holly began, “We weren’t even friends.  I never liked you.”  Her words caused two more of the women to wince.  “So why bother even trying to talk to me?”

                He shrugged, “I just wanted to clear the air.”  He took another step closer to Holly.  “Fag.  That’s what you called me.  You called me fag on a daily basis.”  His words appeared to cause Holly pain.  “And you know what, you were right.  I am a fag.  But one thing I never needed was a person like you to tell me day in and day out, in order to humiliate me.”

                “Why don’t you just walk away,” Holly hissed.  “It’s been twenty five years.  You should be over it by now.”

                He nodded, “True, that’s very true, I should be over it by now, but I’m not.  And tonight, this night, our twenty fifth reunion, I finally will be over it.”  He smiled at the other women, “Watch closely ladies.  I think you’re going to enjoy this.”  His words chilled the group of women.  The chill wasn’t simply from his words, it was more, the coldness was all around them. 

                The women, including Holly, began to see their breath.  It was literally growing more and more frigid.  He turned to Holly.  He read the horror, the pain in her eyes.  “Yes, this is how this ends for you.  And for all of you,” he added as he looked at the other ladies.  He turned back to Holly, “They get to see what will happen, you,” he smiled, his eyes brightened, “You are finding out right now.”

                Holly’s voice was weak, “What are you doing?”

                “From your mouth, you said some of the most hurtful things.  You were cold and cruel.  You did everything you could to make me suffer.  So I’m just returning that cold feeling.  And everyone that laughed will face the same punishment.”  He looked at the group of women, one was shivering, “Yes, you were one of the nastier in the group.  It will take you faster than others, but not near as quickly as it will take Holly.” 

                He gave Holly the up and down glance.  He locked on her eyes.  “Tonight I finally put all of this behind me and all I had to do was speak to you.”  He watched as Holly tried to move, but she couldn’t, and he knew why.  “Stuck to the floor?  Hmm, that’s not good.” 

                “What have you done?” one of the ladies asked.

                “Oh, it’s not what I’ve done, it’s what you’ve done, and none of you ever said you were sorry.”  He saw one of the women’s mouths open.  “Too late now, you should have thought to do that a long time ago.”  He turned back to Holly, “Getting a little harder to breathe?  Are you feeling how cold a person you really are?”

                Holly’s jaw had frozen up, seized in place.  Her eyes pleaded with the women she had been speaking with.  It was clear, if she had a voice, she would beg for help.

                “Ladies, now I don’t want to ruin this whole night for all of you.  But I do suggest leaving now.  Some of you only have a few hours left.  You might want to spend that time with your family.  You might want to let them know that being a bully, being cruel, will come back and,” he laughed, “frost-bite you in the ass.”

                His attention turned back to Holly.  Her body, clothing and all, was solidifying before his eyes.  “Sorry it has to end this way.”  Again, he smiled a menacing grin, “But this isn’t the end of your pain.  You see, you’ll suffer twice.  Just like I suffered twice; I suffered in school and most of my adult life.  Once this process comes to its end, you will simply melt away.  And with every drop of water that falls you will feel the same excruciating pain you caused me.”

                “Isn’t there anything I can do to stop this?” the last of the women asked.  “I was just a kid.  I didn’t mean to ruin your life.  I didn’t know any better.  I was stupid.”

                “Nichelle, you can change your outcome.  You have the power inside to change what’s happening, but I’m not going to tell you what you have to do.  Why would I help you when you never helped me?”  He saw a single tear begin to fall from her eye, and in a few seconds it was ice.  “You better hurry.”

                “Well Holly,” he looked back into her brown eyes that were frosted over, “I guess this is where it will end for you.  All eyes on you.”  He reached out and ran his finger over her arm; it was solid, frozen in place.  “You will melt away and so will all of my pain.”  He leaned close to her iced over ear, “And I won’t have a bit of regret.  I’ll be able to thank you.  Thank you for letting me get rid of one of the things that caused me the greatest pain.”  He backed up, winked, turned and moved off into the room.  He had one more person to talk with. 

                Dan approached the man cautiously.  His eyes were wide, a bit of fear ruled his every movement.  “You did it.  You really did it.”

                “Yes I did.  And now, it’s time to take care of part two.  In two shots I’ll take away all the pain that was dealt to me.”  He continued to move across the room.  Dan grabbed his arm and he shot a nasty look at him.  “Something wrong?”

                “You know that what you’re doing is affecting a lot of people?”

                “I wish I could feel sorry for them.  I can’t.”  He pulled from Dan’s grip and made a beeline toward Mark.  When he stood directly behind the man, he uttered the words that stuck with him for the last thirty years.  “Hey fruit fly.”

                Mark spun around, a half smile, and then a realization of who had said it.  He stared in silence.

                “Remember those words?  I know you do.”  He looked around the room.  “I wonder how many of the people here know what you and I did when we were in tenth grade.  Maybe I should let them all know.  I mean, I understand that you’ve kept your sexuality hidden, that’s why you moved away.”

                “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mark sniped.

                “We were best friends almost our whole growing up, and then one day, you turned on me.  You became nasty and spiteful.  You did everything you could to make me look bad.  And now, you know what, I wear each of the scars inside.  You scarred me more than you could ever know.”

                “Why don’t you just walk the fuck away,” Mark spat.

                He pointed across the room at the people who were gathering around the iced over body of Holly.  “You see that?  I did that.  I punished her and all the girls who did and said things to me that hurt me.  Oh, some of the girls will survive.  They’ll know what they need to do.  Holly unfortunately, well, she won’t be so lucky.”  He turned back to Mark, “And neither will you.”

                “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you bitch at me about something I did back in high school.  You need to grow up.  Let it go.  We were kids.”

                “You’re right Mark, we were kids, but those words you said, those nasty phone calls to my house, even when my parents answered.  Your constant name calling, just to be mean, well, all of that left scars.  You can’t see them, but you will.”

                Mark reached down, a sharp pain across his right arm, and then blood, a rushing of blood through his shirt.  He pressed on the wound. 

                “Yep, you’ll know each scar I carry.  So will all of the men in the room who were like you.  Of course, some of them might,” he stopped suddenly and motioned across his cheek, “You’re bleeding up here.”  He glanced down, a small puddle of red draining over Mark’s shoe.  “Wow, that really looks bad.”  He smiled at Mark.  “The difference in the scars are that my wounds are inside, no actual cut, not actual damage.  Your scars,” he shook his head, “sorry to say, will continue to bleed.”

                Mark reached for his stomach and moaned.  “What are you doing?”

                “Getting rid of all the pain that was ever caused by you and everyone like you.”  He turned again, caught sight of the disaster that was happening throughout the room.  “So many people; it’s a shame you couldn’t have just been nice.”

                “Please stop this,” Mark cried.

                “I can’t.  You brought this on.  I just returned it.”  He felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked back, it was Dan.  “It’s over.  All the pain has been given back.” 

                Dan hugged him.  “Do you feel better?  Did this help?”

                “Yes.  I can honestly say this has been the best thing I could have ever done.”  He heard Mark drop to his knees.  He turned around; his once-best friend was nothing but open wounds that flowed with the darkest red blood.  He looked back at Dan, “I can see that there were more than who I thought.  I can’t believe how many people were so mean to me.  And the strangest part, this is far reaching.  This will affect everyone, male and female who hurt me.  You know these people would have never believed that what they did as a kid would come back to get them, but it did.”

                Dan wiped tears from his eyes.  “I’m glad you feel better.  You needed this.  You deserved this.”

                “Thanks Dan,” he took his friend’s hand, “I will be forever thankful you were my friend.”  He looked over Dan’s shoulder, “Well, looks like the place is clearing out.”

                “Yep, looks that way,” Dan answered looking back into the room.  He broke the hand hold and started toward the doorway to leave.  “Will this end?”

                He looked at Dan, wiped his own tears away, “It will, but not before all of them have suffered.”

                “What about Holly and Mark?” Dan questioned.

                “They’ll experience a painful death.  Something they both deserve.  But, they’ll come back, and when they do, they’ll be very different people.  They’ll understand.  They’ll learn and they’ll tell the world to end bullying once and for all.  Everyone in this room who was affected will be my army.  They’ll teach everyone why what they did was wrong and why no one should ever do it.”

                “And what happens if the world doesn’t listen?  What happens if they can’t stop it?” Dan asked.

                He smiled, “My gift has been passed on.  I’ve given all those kids who have been bullied the same power I have.  I didn’t just become a teacher to teach academics, I became a teacher to teach right from wrong.”

                Dan’s head lowered, “Normally I would have thought that this type of revenge was wrong, but honestly, I hope it works.  I hope the world learns.  No one deserves to be tortured each day of their teenage life, and even then into adulthood.”

                “It won’t happen overnight.  It’s not a magical cure-all, but in time, it will have the desired effect.”  He brushed more tears aside.  “I wanted them all to die, but I just couldn’t do it.  They’ll understand the pain they caused, and now they’ll do something to change the world.  Besides, death was the easy way out; at least it would have been for me so many years ago.”