John hadn’t felt this good in a long, long time. He shut his eyes and drank it all in for a moment before getting up and heading for the door. He glanced back at the blinking monitors and his family gathered around the bed. They seemed to be completely lost in their time, so with a smile they’d never see he turned and walked away. The smooth hospital floor gave way in the darkness to a hillside and John walked up the slopes with a practiced ease. The air had never felt so fresh, and with each effortless step John’s spirits soared.
“Kia ora, Hoani. It’s been a long time, eh?”
“There’s a familiar voice”, thought John, “My old army mate Tama.” John felt elated, and a little confused. “What are you doing here? Where are you?”
“Over here, mate, come on, you’re going the right way.”
John followed the path, climbing gently in the setting sun. There was Tama, his brother Rangi – with a small child, Arthur, Ron, and Bill. Smiling, so happy to see him. Handshakes and love all around.
“What are you boys doing here, and who is this child?” asked John.
“We have been waiting for you”, Rangi said, “Remember? We made a pact before the shooting started that because we were brothers-in-arms we would never be separated, and so we waited. For you. You are the last. And this, this is my mokopuna.”
“Your grandchild? But you were never married.”
Rangi smiled his crooked smile. “You don’t have to be married to make a baby. Queenie and I had a big farewell on the beach, the last night in Gisborne. I never knew, but it turns out we made a daughter, Marama, in memory of the moon that night, and she had this boy here. One day things went a bit wrong – I went to meet him and brought him back with me so he wasn’t alone. It’s good now.” The boy smiled shyly.
“Are we – are we really – I can’t say it!” asked John, frowning at the thought.
“Yes, mate, it’s ok”, said Ron, “We stayed here waiting for you. When peace was declared you went home and carried on with life. Now you’re done with it, we can carry on like we started out – together, brothers in our real family.”
“You waited all this time – for me?”
“Well, time here is different, and besides, we didn’t have anything else to do. We watched you and watched over you the whole way, the good times and the bad. You were never really alone. And now we’re back together. We can get on the road now, if you want to.” Ron looked around to John and the others. They nodded, and followed into the sea breeze.
Manifesto
01. Every day is a fresh new day.
24. Every day is a journey. Not a destination.
50. Every day has an ending.
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6 Comments
Great choice Lynsey, I love it. The source please? I love the photo as well…another good choice.
The source for both is Lynsey! The words are all his – it is his own creation. He also took the photo last night. Fantastic isn’t it?
This is a book! A beautiful, powerful, wonderful book. I want more!!!!!!
A book? Hmmm, now that might be an idea. I might have to book some lessons in the Trevor Romain book writing class.
Seriously Linny – I think you’ve already done the hardest part. The opening. Just let the rest flow right out of you a few lines per day and see where it goes. This is too good to waste.
Thanks for that – I’ll give it a try. There’s a couple of novels that keep wanting to me to write them too