Mark will always be sixteen. Like a broken clock, time will always stand still. The door to his room had remained locked over the days, and May could not bring herself to wade through the odds and end that was the life of Mark, she could see his guitar through the half-opened door. He loved music. Mark loved chocolates. He loved life.
The knock
Three detectives approached the house; it had a white picket fence, a suburban home. The lawn, even in the dark, could be seen to be well manicured, the work of a patient gardener who took pride in the job. A slight drizzle disturbed the quiet, windless night. The neighbourhood was a good one. They checked the address in their book again to be sure they had the right address. Yes, they did. They were on the right property, and the address 1231 Starkford Avenue stared right back at them. The trio were battle-hardened cops; they had seen the worst of them - criminals, rapists, kidnappers, serial killers, plus other depraved acts by people who loved the dark side of life. However, they all felt uncomfortable for the reason they were on the property. They raised their hand to knock and saw the front light come on. A speaker above them blared, "Hello, please can I know who you are?" The pleasant robotic voice came on. Technology. Everyone had those, but it kept changing.
"Please press the little button by the door to reply." The voice continued.
The three detectives looked at each other, and Detective Tom Folley volunteered by reaching for the button on the door.
"We are detectives from the Ed Sharpton Precinct; we would like to know if we are on the residence of Mrs May Smith?"
The voice on the other end sounded a little panicky.
"Detectives? What could be the matter?"
Before the could reply, she continued. "A moment, I'm coming to the door."
Within moments, a tall lady, barefoot and in her pyjamas opened the door. She was looking from one face of the detectives to the other. One of the detectives was on the verge of tears, but thankfully the rain made it difficult to see. Detective Foley showed her his badge.
"Please forgive my manners, do come in." She opened the door and stepped aside to allow them to come in.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid we had some bad news." Detective Foley took the lead again
Well, she guessed it had to be something unpleasant. It was never good news to have three detectives show up at night at your doorstep. She braced herself.
"There is no good way of saying this." He continued.
"Your son, Mark Smith, was found unresponsive by the officer ..." The rest of the statement was a blur. The colour went out of the world and all May could see was darkness.
May
Time stopped for May. Anything further the detectives said that night was a blur. She tried hard to listen, but it was like listening to a scratched vinyl record. The words all appeared garbled. Today she had decided to make sense of it. However, the harder she tried, the tougher it became. She had read and seen on TV of such occurrences. However, she never dreamt of it ever happening to someone she knew. Not Mark. Not the sweet boy that loved music so much, that loved the outdoors more than anything.
It was difficult to process all of the events that led to the three detectives visit. Mark had his first heartbreak from Lucy two weeks ago. Lucy was not the problem; the parents finally won; they never liked Mark due to a long history of the family feud that predated the duo. A long time ago, Mark's grandfather won a major court settlement, and Lucy's grandparents had to pay which bankrupted them. Ever since the incident, there was no love lost between the families. When Mark met Lucy, he had no idea whose family she was from. However, that was to be revealed the first time he visited their home and mentioned he was the son of Orson Smith. The guests at the dinner table turned quiet, and there were hushed whisperings. The host managed to tolerate his presence until he was gone. Lucy was later told to chose between the parents and Mark. It was not much of choice, but she chose family. Mark received the news and locked himself in his room for three straight days that May feared the worst. On the third day, he emerged cheerfully and kissed her goodbye. He had a party to attend. He was not the partying kind, but May was grateful that he was at least trying to socialise.
He called her by 10 PM sounding very happy. The party was a success. He would be home soon. She stayed awake. Waiting. An hour crept by, then two, then four. She was worried. Then the knock. She was confused to hear an unfamiliar voice. She hurried to put on a coat on her pyjamas and ran to the door with her heart beating. She opened the door a crack and saw the three figures in uniform. Her heart sank. What could it be? Was there housebreaking? Did something go wrong somewhere? The thoughts came in quick succession, each bouncing off her like water off a duck's back.
"Hello Ma'am, please could you follow us down to the morgue to ID?" The voice broke into her chain of thoughts.
The morgue! Oh, not my son! This moment is not happening! This, right here, is a crazy nightmare. Wake up May! But the three figures in her front is as real as it gets.
"What happened?" her voice sounded strange to her ears.
"The deceased, em.. sorry your son, was involved in a motor accident. He was not driving. They were three in the car. He was seated at the back. At an intersection on 25th Street, a drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned the rear of the car. The driver and one passenger are at the hospital in critical condition. Your son was found unresponsive by the first responders. We are sorry for your loss Ma'am."
It did not make sense.
At the morgue, it was strangely cold and quiet. The sheet drew back, and May lost it. It was Mark. He appeared to be sleeping.
The burial occurred in one week. The whole town turned up, even Lucy's family attended. Everyone was sorry for her loss. Everyone said the same mechanical things people say at a funeral. Most wore black and tried to not laugh at something funny in order not to appear insensitive. Soon everyone will forget Mark.
There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is conveyed to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time.
Today, Mark died the second death, and May swore that she would make sure that he did not have to experience the third. She had no idea how to go about it, but she wanted the world to know that her son, Mark, once lived, and touched many lives while at it.
An August Visitor
Three weeks after the burial, a knock came to the door. May opened the door, and Mark stood smiling shyly at her.
It couldn't be!
She fainted.
"You are dead! What are you doing here?" was the first word she whispered when she came to.
The boy smile again, this time you could feel the uneasiness of it.
"I can explain. I'm human and not a ghost." He said and extended his hand. She could feel it. It was real. She was confused.
"I was confused too when I saw my face in the obituary section of the local newspaper. Imagine my shock. I showed it to my parents, and after much persuasion, they told me the truth. I am your son."
"I doubt that you are, you may look like my Mike. My Mike died, I just buried him," she said in an almost whisper.
"No, I am not Mike. I stalked your home and followed you to the hair salon. I stole your hair and carried out a DNA paternity testing, and it came out you are truly my mother. You had a twin, and one died at childbirth. Right?"
She was confused as she never told anyone this. She nodded.
"Well, I was the one that died, except that I didn't. The nurse on duty is the person who swapped me with a dead child. She wanted a baby but did not want to go through the normal legit route."
Like a Rubik's Cube, all the patterns fell into place; it all made sense now. The twin she'd mourned for sixteen years just waltzed into her home!
There were tears of joy. It appeared that Mike might not have to die the third time. This stranger a few seconds ago, who is also her long-lost son can continue his legacy.
The End.
Authored by: @greenrun
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First few sentences, while reading this story, makes me suspicious it’s a sad story.
Well... my suspicion has confirmed. That’s the news no mother wants to ever hear 😔. I can’t imagine how difficult it must for parents having to go identify and then afterall to burry their own child.
😊 Afterall happy ending. Even though it’s a twin brother, May will always feel some part of her son Mark has returned to her.
The happy ending makes all the difference.
It's an interesting story! Especially the first part when you play with the figure of the narrator. The way you narrate events is an interesting way to relate an event like death. I liked that! What didn't catch my eye was the end of it. I think he's very hair-triggered. It makes one think of a pink novel where the lost daughter appears at the end. I would have left the story until Mike died and was buried. Thank you for sharing
Thanks for the interesting review. I thought of leaving it at that too, but then we all love a story with a happy ending :)
@greenrun and @adsactly, Literally i want to say that it was great, emotional and surprising story, firstly it started with the detectives and while reading, it reflected as they are entering for an Investigation.
But then really an Emotional driven incident and that part is really painful because we cannot imagine that kind of pain. And in that kind of situations many face the Emotional breakdown and many people faint.
But, i want to say that ending phase was really surprising and took an dramatic path and Son met with her mother after years who was thought as dead after birth.
Keep writing and it reflects as you have great imagination and you also hold the writing skills which can push people from one state of phase to next.
Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂
Thanks a lot for the compliment. I will always strive to get better.
Thanks a lot for the
Compliment. I will always
Strive to get better.
- greenrun
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
Welcome and great to hear that. 🙂
Thanks god May get a hope in Mike to live her rest of life. Life is filled with so many surprises. The loss, the gain are part of it.
@greenrun what a fantastic story..each build up is perfectlly executed. I can imagine each sequence of event. May got suspicious on the doorbell, when she was expecting Mark 3 detectives comes by....
Lovely to know about 3 death a man gets....whole heartidly i loved the entire story.....👍 the best read of today.👌
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Thank you @steemflow. I'm happy to see that you find the story engaging.
NICE POST, nice story. You invite the reader to dissolve in the flow you make. From the arrival of the three detectives who brought the sad news then they will carry deep marks when the door is knocked and uniformed officers come. trauma to past events will make the reader remember the events in real life. the grating that makes us drift and enjoy it.
the most hopeful thing in life is a story that ends with a happy ending. Even though we know happily, we know the end of the story.
a very good story for me to enjoy ...
But if you may argue, I will choose the story ending with hanging so that it leaves behind a puzzle that can be passed on by the reader.
The story ends at the arrival of a man
Thank you @greenrun
Thank you @adsactly
Thank you Steemit
Warm regard from Indonesia
An ending that is left for the readers to decide? Ok, I'd consider that in one of my other stories. Thank you.
YES.. you will find that the readers have diferent ending or conclusion. You have strong plot in every story. I enjoy it..
@adsactly so good story of a ray sunshine. Thanks
Thank you for sharing so much important news in us that you can share really beautiful beautiful posts. Your new post is very nice and you can learn new things from this new post. Thank you very much for your support.i like it your great full post. thanks for sharing your beautiful life my best friend.
A good read, Thanks and Upvoted!
@adsactly
By reading your such a lovely sweet story, there is a passion for writing a story in my heart.
I like a good short story. More please 🙂
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STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
buenas,aqui mi visita desde margarita venezuela,a pesar de idiomas diferentes tenemos que hacer amistad,le he aportado mi humilde voto en varias ocasiones,espero sus visitas siempre,feliz noche y gracias por leerme