Adam awoke and found himself in a familiar place—the reception room. He
looked around and saw new people, who looked just as confused as the people
he recalled from the first time around. Adam gave each of them a
reassuring smile as if to say—hey, it's not going to be that bad. Adam
glanced on his watch. The same immaculately dressed receptionist stepped
into the room just as the time changed from 2:02 to 2:03. He had to laugh
to himself about their unforgiving punctuality.
The woman looked up and smiled at Adam. "Hey, you're back. She's in there waiting for you."
Adam managed to smile back and stepped into the room. He was nervous because while Adam had been there before, he still did not know what to expect this time around.
The pale woman with white-blond hair, piercing blue eyes and dazzling red lips was busy with paperwork when Adam walked in. She motioned for him to sit and she made the finishing touches on her stack of papers with a flourish. "Sorry about that—busy day today because of a huge train wreck in London."
The woman tapped her fingers on the desk and stared at Adam. It made him slightly nervous. "So, Adam, glad to see you again, although that might be a silly thing to say considering the circumstances." She continued to watch Adam with an expression like the woman was not sure she should say what she intended to. The woman smiled with a hint of joyful resignation, as if her own curiosity had won out. "I don't want to sound like a childish and gossiping teenage girl, but I want to know EVERYTHING. This file I get about you just gives me all the dry details like your emotional line graph, and to be honest—it is so BORING. Start from the beginning."
It was strange, but this woman—whose name Adam still did not know—had become a friend of his. So he did tell her everything that happened to him in the past week—the argument with his father, his conversations with Portman, Thomasin, Coach Orion and Charlie, the last goodbye to his Duck teammates—everything. The woman listened with an intent ear and an enraptured expression. Adam did not notice it himself, but as he spoke his face glowed with something indescribable. The woman knew she was not doing the expression justice by calling it 'happiness,' but nonetheless, she had to smile.
When Adam finished, the two of them sat in silence. Finally, the woman tapped the wood of her desk once as if she had determined something in the complicated recesses of her thoughts. "So I suppose you were glad to have the extra time?"
Adam nodded in affirmative. "You were right. When I had died the first time, I was spoiled, detached and generally unpleasant. I was ready to walk away from my life without a second glance. After this week, I realized what an idiot I was being. I had forgotten about the little things that made everything worth living—my girlfriend's smile, the feel of the ice beneath my skates, a dollar-store ninja sword, even accomplishing a hard math assignment. " In front of this dazzling and elegant woman, Adam thought he sounded simple and graceless. However, he could only speak what he felt. "So, I just wanted...to thank you."
The woman gazed at him blankly, and to Adam's surprise a single tear fell down her perfectly formed cheek and onto her paperwork.
"You know, Adam... I just decided that I don't want you around here anymore. See what you've done to me?" She smiled at him and wiped the tear from her eye. "It's safe to say that that has never happened before. I don't even know how to cry."
Adam had an idea of what the woman was saying but was in a state of shock. "Wait...what?"
The woman chuckled. "Oh, jeez, I forgot that you always have to explain things to humans." She gave him a kind smile. "I'm sending you back, Adam Henry Travers Banks. I want for you to live a long and happy life...so that when you come back you will have lots of beautiful stories to tell me. I have enjoyed our time together, but I do not want to see you again for a long, long time."
And for the second time, Adam blacked out to the image of the woman's beautiful, ethereal face.
Adam awoke Friday morning with Thomasin asleep in his lap, breathing steadily. As he shook off the last remnants of sleep, Adam was shocked to see daylight. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was six in the morning. Adam's thoughts returned to the strange pale woman. At this point, he still was not quite sure what was real. All he knew was that he was alive and Adam had everything to be thankful for. He would try and make amends with his father. Adam knew that it would be difficult, but the least anyone could do was try. He would forge a future with Thomasin because in perspective, 1, 949.06 miles really WASN'T that much of a distance. Adam would visit Jesse in Minneapolis and finally tell him how much he respected him. And also, Adam decided that Charlie deserved to learn the truth—for it took a real friend to accept the vague details that Adam had earlier provided and in some way, understand.
Adam's thoughts returned to the present as Thomasin stirred in his lap and awoke.
"Hey, you," Adam said with a smile. "We have to get going...Class starts in an hour." Adam never thought he would see the day that he would be glad to be in school.
Thomasin yawned and returned Adam's smile with a sleepy, contented grin. Life would not be easier than it normally would after today. Adam would experience periods of hardship, pain and disappointment, but he knew that he would also have moments of joy, pride and contentment—and somehow, those moments seemed to outweigh everything else.
THE END
The woman looked up and smiled at Adam. "Hey, you're back. She's in there waiting for you."
Adam managed to smile back and stepped into the room. He was nervous because while Adam had been there before, he still did not know what to expect this time around.
The pale woman with white-blond hair, piercing blue eyes and dazzling red lips was busy with paperwork when Adam walked in. She motioned for him to sit and she made the finishing touches on her stack of papers with a flourish. "Sorry about that—busy day today because of a huge train wreck in London."
The woman tapped her fingers on the desk and stared at Adam. It made him slightly nervous. "So, Adam, glad to see you again, although that might be a silly thing to say considering the circumstances." She continued to watch Adam with an expression like the woman was not sure she should say what she intended to. The woman smiled with a hint of joyful resignation, as if her own curiosity had won out. "I don't want to sound like a childish and gossiping teenage girl, but I want to know EVERYTHING. This file I get about you just gives me all the dry details like your emotional line graph, and to be honest—it is so BORING. Start from the beginning."
It was strange, but this woman—whose name Adam still did not know—had become a friend of his. So he did tell her everything that happened to him in the past week—the argument with his father, his conversations with Portman, Thomasin, Coach Orion and Charlie, the last goodbye to his Duck teammates—everything. The woman listened with an intent ear and an enraptured expression. Adam did not notice it himself, but as he spoke his face glowed with something indescribable. The woman knew she was not doing the expression justice by calling it 'happiness,' but nonetheless, she had to smile.
When Adam finished, the two of them sat in silence. Finally, the woman tapped the wood of her desk once as if she had determined something in the complicated recesses of her thoughts. "So I suppose you were glad to have the extra time?"
Adam nodded in affirmative. "You were right. When I had died the first time, I was spoiled, detached and generally unpleasant. I was ready to walk away from my life without a second glance. After this week, I realized what an idiot I was being. I had forgotten about the little things that made everything worth living—my girlfriend's smile, the feel of the ice beneath my skates, a dollar-store ninja sword, even accomplishing a hard math assignment. " In front of this dazzling and elegant woman, Adam thought he sounded simple and graceless. However, he could only speak what he felt. "So, I just wanted...to thank you."
The woman gazed at him blankly, and to Adam's surprise a single tear fell down her perfectly formed cheek and onto her paperwork.
"You know, Adam... I just decided that I don't want you around here anymore. See what you've done to me?" She smiled at him and wiped the tear from her eye. "It's safe to say that that has never happened before. I don't even know how to cry."
Adam had an idea of what the woman was saying but was in a state of shock. "Wait...what?"
The woman chuckled. "Oh, jeez, I forgot that you always have to explain things to humans." She gave him a kind smile. "I'm sending you back, Adam Henry Travers Banks. I want for you to live a long and happy life...so that when you come back you will have lots of beautiful stories to tell me. I have enjoyed our time together, but I do not want to see you again for a long, long time."
And for the second time, Adam blacked out to the image of the woman's beautiful, ethereal face.
Adam awoke Friday morning with Thomasin asleep in his lap, breathing steadily. As he shook off the last remnants of sleep, Adam was shocked to see daylight. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was six in the morning. Adam's thoughts returned to the strange pale woman. At this point, he still was not quite sure what was real. All he knew was that he was alive and Adam had everything to be thankful for. He would try and make amends with his father. Adam knew that it would be difficult, but the least anyone could do was try. He would forge a future with Thomasin because in perspective, 1, 949.06 miles really WASN'T that much of a distance. Adam would visit Jesse in Minneapolis and finally tell him how much he respected him. And also, Adam decided that Charlie deserved to learn the truth—for it took a real friend to accept the vague details that Adam had earlier provided and in some way, understand.
Adam's thoughts returned to the present as Thomasin stirred in his lap and awoke.
"Hey, you," Adam said with a smile. "We have to get going...Class starts in an hour." Adam never thought he would see the day that he would be glad to be in school.
Thomasin yawned and returned Adam's smile with a sleepy, contented grin. Life would not be easier than it normally would after today. Adam would experience periods of hardship, pain and disappointment, but he knew that he would also have moments of joy, pride and contentment—and somehow, those moments seemed to outweigh everything else.
THE END