Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As he drove himself down to the morgue to identify his wife and daughter, he thought about who he could call for some kind of help. Dr. Paul came immediately to mind, but he was of course gone, having taught John all of the lessons he had to give before finally succumbing to his cancer. After Dr. Paul it had been his wife and daughter. Those were the people in his life.

As he approached St. Joseph’s hospital on Lake Shore Drive, he pulled into a quiet wooded area, and took a long look in the mirror, knowing he had nowhere near the strength it required to do this thing he needed to do. He reached into the glove compartment and took out a bottle of whiskey he had picked up at a 7-11 on the way down. Opening it up, he took a long hard swig out of the bottle, and felt a pang of terrible searing regret. He knew he was going down a very dark road, perhaps even one without a way to get back. Still, he needed to feel something different. Anything, and for now, the devil he knew was better than all the other alternatives.

John finished half of the bottle he had purchased before working up the courage to go and see his wife and daughter, but was still feeling very numb, and unaware of his surroundings. The attending doctor informed him it had been a car accident on the drive, and how they had both sustained head trauma, and were likely killed almost instantly. John listened to the words like he was hearing a story about someone else’s life, but managed to nod and ask questions at the right times, strictly out of some kind of reflex. He recognized the sings of trauma he was experiencing, but was unable to take any meaningful steps to take himself out of the daze.

When the doctor pulled the sheet away from his daughter, he was stunned to see how pristine she looked. There were no obvious signs of the trauma, and all that remained was some kind of ghostly angelic-looking creature completely intact except for the life force that had been growing strong inside her.

In an instant their journey together flashed through his eyes. First their time together as doctor and patient, and then, after much resistance and struggle, as father and daughter. She was the only child he had ever ben able to call his own, and now she was gone. He had given her everything he knew how to give, but still, it hadn’t been enough, and he couldn’t help but think that without his involvement in her life, she would at the very least still be alive.