Chapter 38 Epilogue to Healing Hearts

Eight years later the Sully family were flying towards the Denver International Airport returning State side from a visit to Japan. They had left Tokyo after staying in Fukushima City for a week.

Sully and Michaela were seated next to each other holding hands, both embracing a sleeping child. Sully held Katie who had had her seventh birthday in Japan while Michaela was nursing young Joseph who was soon to be five. They occupied the four middle seats in the aircraft. Sitting on the seats at the window on the right were their oldest children Brian who was already thirteen and still friendly with Sarah and nineteen year old Colleen was about to enter her first year in medical school. On her mind was the fact she would soon be back at university and seeing her friends Peter Lam and Andrew Cook. It was an exciting beginning. Mathew sat behind them with his wife. He had just completed Law School and was a budding lawyer. He would be twenty four in the middle of the year. His young wife Ingrid seated beside him was just beginning to show; she was pregnant and the whole family had been over the moon with the news.

...

The trip had been postponed on a number of occasions as either Michaela was pregnant or it was an important year academically for one of the children or some other obstacle had arisen to interrupt their plans. Both the adults had been away on short assignments Michaela with MSF to the Sudan dealing with famine and Sully with the Red Cross to Bangladesh during floods. He met Dr Bernard there who had remained in contact as well as Olive Davis who was on their Christmas card list along with other friends from Japan. Robert E and Grace were married now, so were Emily and Tim. The surprise was that Hank, who still flew for the air force in his Beast, and Marjory were living together. Hank was not ready for the final commitment just yet. Joe was married as well, and they had caught up with him while in Japan.

Cloud Dancing and Snowbird had visited and vice versa on many occasions over the years becoming a second family to the Sully's. Cloud Dancing was Katie and Joe's Cheyenne father.

Michaela still worked with out-patients at the hospital. While Sully kept his carpentry business employing another tradesman and apprentice, he and Daniel had mended their rocky relationship and Sully flew for him once a week keeping his flying skills up to date.

It was always understood the family would someday return to where their healing journey began. Japan had been the instrument that had been the force of nature that had crossed the paths of the entire family.

Many hours had been spent in those eight years contemplating that they were all in the same place at the same time and what an amazing thing that had been.

Michaela and Sully had come over separately with their different organisations, on a whim. They'd had met and instantly fallen in love with each other; love at first sight they called it. Then they were the ones who had been the rescuers of the children, afterwards subsequently becoming their guardians. Then they had adopted them after they married.

So each of them now had memories that had been evoked by this trip.

The icing on the cake was that they also met Joe, cementing their friendship with him and his young family. Little Joe Sully looked at his dad's Japanese friend and wondered how come his name was Joe as well. He'd have to ask later on he thought. "Gee, Japan was a different place."

...

Joseph actually liked it when he was called Joe. Mum would use his full name when she was cross like, "Joseph Byron Sully..."

He had only heard but didn't quite understood why he was going to another country, and saw, smelt and tasted different things in a land that was far away. But he was thrilled at being in a big plane, having his mum and dad with him and all his family, especially the bigger ones as they didn't always meet up. Matthew, Colleen and Brian had been sad but they were okay now.

...

Katie as she wanted to be called because her whole name was Katherine Elizabeth Sully, had been googling Japan and became excited at the prospect of going and seeing where her mum and dad had met. She had seen Mt Fujiyama when they had arrived in Tokyo. In her excitement she desperately wanted to learn how to use chop sticks much to everyone's amusement, even using children's ones the task had been difficult.

It had been fun but she was sad because she didn't see the cherry blossom trees and their pretty pink flowers as it wasn't the right season.

...

Brian had been the one who had had the hardest time. Although the past years had been a good healer and he had some family photos of his parents he had been very young when he lost them. Now at the moment he felt bad as he still missed them and hadn't wanted to tell Sully or Dr Mike (mum and dad) how he felt even though he knew they wouldn't mind.

He eventually confided his thoughts to Matthew who said his feelings were okay and that they all missed their natural parents and always would. They would always wonder what might have been had they lived. Then the big brother pointed out how extremely lucky they had been in having their other adoptive parents who loved them and what a bonus in life they had been given.

Matthew thought back to a sweat lodge he had participated in all those years before with their other Cheyenne family Snowbird and Cloud Dancing. On that occasion he had a vision of his now stunning wife Ingrid.

Having stood at the graves and seeing it again he had instantly been re-experiencing the trauma, as well as the months that had followed and the uncertainty of their future. Ingrid had sensed his sadness and she took his hand. When he shifted his gaze to hers he realized he'd have never met her and married her and they wouldn't be having the precious bundle she was now caring if they had stayed in Japan.

He'd moved behind her and mentally introduced his family to his mum and dad. He went through his emotions with Ingrid's help, holding her while his hands softly caressed the mound that was his child being cocooned in its safe environment as he'd witnessed Sully doing when Dr Mike was having Katie and Joe. He leant forward and kissed his wife's cheek.

Matthew had been astounded that the head bonze and other monks at the monastery had recognised the family when they had entered. They instantly showed Matthew to the plot where his parents were laid to rest and pointed out the bonsai juniper tree that had been re-potted. It had grown a thicker trunk with the past years but still looked graceful.

Colleen had just sat at the side of the grave and told her mum and dad how even though they were gone she and her brothers had been lucky.

They had been involved with a great family and she was now going to become a doctor like her adoptive mum. She assured her parents that they didn't have to worry about them as they had all turned out fine. She was sorry they couldn't come before but that it wasn't possible but they did think of them often.

The surrounds had been peaceful and serene, and they all felt the peace that the place afforded them.

Sully and Michaela had taken the younger children to a quiet section, explaining to them that their older brothers and sister needed some time alone with their mum and dad. Joe couldn't quite get the idea as his mum and dad were theirs as well but after he listened carefully he understood.

The monks took them on a tour of the monetary to distract the younger children for awhile. Sully and Michaela sat in an alcove just remembering the past. They had once again brought a large bag of rice for the monks.

...

On another day they had visited the remote township were the Cooper children had spent two years of their lives before the tragedy. The town and the school had been rebuilt and a number of people had recognised them from before. Colleen and Brian still had enough linguistic skills to converse with them telling them about what they were doing now in the States.

They had also explained what had occurred on that fateful day and why they hadn't returned. They visited the new school and met the English teachers there who were from Australia. They had taken some gifts and a memorial plaque to erect at the school in honour of Charlotte and Ethan Cooper who had been well loved in this small town in Japan.

...

When they had driven out to the isolated village they had passed the scene of the tragic accident twice. The first time they had not halted but when they returned they stopped and placed a wreath there. The obvious scar of the land slide was still visible to them and it evoked different memories for each one of them.

A short distance on Sully had stopped the car again. He'd hopped out and walked to the edge of the road. Looking down he shivered when he spotted a small bush still holding on precariously to the hill side. It evoked such an emotional wave over him he sunk to his knees. Watching her husband it suddenly dawned on Michaela were this was and she was instantly out of the car, demanding the children stay there and was at his side. "Sully!"

"This is where I nearly lost ya' after just finding ya'," he sobbed.

"Oh! Sully you didn't lose me. You saved me. We are so lucky; look at what we have! All the good things," she said cradling him to her. She was hushing him, and as she rocked him gently tears silently filling her eyes as well. "He remembers the whole incident," She thought. "Her fall, the cave in, the uncertainty and he's been there supporting the children but he remembers too, we all do."

"We are still upholding the debt we all owe on each other," he finally said with a shudder and a faint smile.

"I never dreamed I could be this happy," she whispered near his ear, leaning in and placed a kiss on his cheek. A deep contented peace settled between them that was always surrounding them like a cloak on a cold day.

...

Suddenly a ding-dong was heard throughout the aircraft and the captain saying, "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is your Captain. We will be descending into Denver International Airport and will land there in approximately an hour. The weather is fine. We hope you have enjoyed your flight." The seat belt sign illuminated when he finished.

Matthew looked around and said laughing, "Not like flying in a Hercules with Hank at the controls, hey!" They all burst out laughing, remembering their first flight together.

An hour later as they taxied into the holding bay Sully leaned over and gave his gorgeous wife a kiss on the lips saying softly, "We're home." She smiled at him and nodded in agreement."Yes home it is the only place I want to be." Her eyes shining into his sharing their love that commenced with a look all those years before.

The end

Ode to Volunteers.

"Many will be shocked to find

When the day of judgement nears

That there is a special place in Heaven

Set aside for volunteers

Furnished with recliners

Satin cushions and footstools

Where there is no committee chairman

No group leader or car pool

No eager team that needs a coach

No bazaar and no cake sale

Nothing to staple, nothing to fold

Nothing to put in the mail

Telephone lists will be outlawed

But a finger snap will bring

Cool drinks and gourmet dinners

And rare treats for a King

You ask, who will serve this privileged few?

Who will work for their worth?

Why, those that reap the benefits

And not once volunteered on Earth!"

Unknown Author.

There it is, I do hope you enjoyed my attempt at something different a long modern story. There will be no sequel.

Comments will always be gratefully received and I sincerely thank you for reading.