The Road - Part 2

The Road, Part 2

Before I could respond, the college room was gone and I found myself standing in a white marble hallway. Sam was older now and was dressed in a blue suit, with white pin stripes. His hair was clean and combed. He was standing in the hall, leaning on a food cart for balance and shaking rather violently. After a few moments, once he had regained some composure, he began to move down the hallway. His body refused to acknowledge his wishes of movement, and his feet shuffled rather than walked. His shoulders slumped so terribly that they threatened to pull him over, and his arms hung helplessly at his sides. After what seemed like an eternity, he stopped outside room 203. He checked the name on the door plate before entering, Maria Sanchez.
“His wife of ten years” the messenger informed.
I looked at the messenger and then at Sam and wondered with what anguish this man was tormented. He slowly placed his hand on the doorknob and entered the room. The sound of heart monitors, respirators, and life support machines filled my ears. As I stepped into the room, darkness enveloped me. The only light present, filtered out of the bathroom and from the slits between the blades on the blinds covering the window. As I glanced at the hospital bed, I was horrified when I saw what remained of his wife. Lying on that hospital bed before me was a woman who endured the test. Her skin was as pale as snow. Her eyes were sunk into her skull, and her skin sagged on her bones. She was indeed a sickly sight.
“She has a rare form of cancer. She was diagnosed only two months ago. Now, she is only alive in her mind.”
“She's in a coma?” I inquired.
“Yes, she has been in a come for two weeks now. Doctors have declared that she won't make it. She is totally dependent on life support machines for life.”
At about that time, as if on cue, the doctor himself came in and quietly rested his hand on Sam's shoulder.
“Sam, it is time” He spoke so softly that at first I thought it was just the rustle of the shades across the room.
“No, no, I won't allow it! He screamed. I don't care what my wife wanted! I won't allow it! I won't allow her to be taken from me! Not again!” The anger and anguish was almost unbearable and I almost broke into tears. The decision that had been made was clear to me now, and I too felt sorrow and pity.
“You cannot fight it, Sam. She signed the paper before she fell into the coma. She did not want to be left in a coma. It is what she wanted.” Sam slumped, tears streaming down his face. Quietly, the doctor, with his hand still resting on Sam's shoulder, led Sam from the room. Before Sam was entirely out of the room, I heard him say, “I hate you! I hate you.” The doctor returned a few moments later. Silently and slowly he moved to the bedside and looked down at the shell that had once housed a life. “I'm so sorry Maria. I was so sure the treatment would work.” His voice cracked in a flood of emotion and tears welled up in his eyes. Quietly he whispered, “Goodbye.” Then with a steady hand, he reached over and silenced the room.
“Sam will find out two days from now, after the routine autopsy is performed, that the treatment had been working and her life might have been saved.”
I felt as if someone had shoved a knife in my stomach and was violently twisting it. I dropped to my knees as I was overcome with the anguish this man must feel. I began to weep with tears of grief. When my tears finally failed to soak the floor, I was completely drained of all strength.
The messenger reached down and gently assisted me to my feet and I felt strength surge into my body. The hospital room faded away and the family room of his home came into focus. There stood Sam and a teenager girl. They were standing in the center of the room, voices raised, yelling at each other.
“I am your father and you will do as I say!”
“You don't know what it means to be a father! Mom would never have accused me of lying with out first getting all the facts!”
“Well, your mother isn't here in case you hadn't noticed! Your teacher is the one who told me that she saw you smoking! I GOT the facts young lady! Don't you dare stand there and lie to me!”
“Did you bother to ask if she actually saw me smoking it? No! You couldn't have, because if you had, she would have told you no. I admit, I was holding the cigarettes, I did have them, but I was not smoking them.”
“Then what were you doing Juliana?”
“I was turning them over to the principle. I found them in the girls bathroom, and I was taking them to the principle when Mrs. Whatsherface comes along and accuses me of smoking.”
“Then why did you not explain this to her?”
“I tried, but she refused to listen. Just like you are.”
“Well, I will take her word over yours any day! What reason would she have for lying? You are grounded young lady!”
“Huh, I don't think so! I am not going to be grounded for a crime that I did not commit. I'm leaving.”
Juliana then took deliberate steps in front of her father and shoved him on her way past. She reached the door and began to open it but halted at her fathers next words.
“You step out that door, don't you dare come back.”
She paused for only a moment and promptly replied, “Fine, I won't”
With that, she stepped out the door, never to be heard from again.
“So filled with anger and hatred, he could not see the truth. He had forgotten what it means to love. Sam immediately knew he was wrong but his pride would not allow him to take action. He kicks himself to this day for the way in which he acted that day. It took six months for him to let go of his price long enough to try and make things right. However, it was too late. He spend two years of his life searching for his daughter. He was devastated when he found her; in the Cliff Side Cemetery in California. She'd overdosed on drugs and alcohol. The thing is, she had never smoked or drank before that day. She figured since she had been accused of it, she might as well be guilty of it too.”