The Visitor

[Sean Bracken]

The Visitor
by Sean Bracken


Danny Chambers reached over in the bed for his wife Ann, still only half awake he realised that her side of the bed was empty. He guessed that she had gone down for a glass of water or something and lay back on his pillow. It was then that the awful truth came back to him. Ann was gone. He was on his own except for the kids, Danny Junior, Heather and little Harry. The never ending grief and horror washed all over him again and he cried out in his despair “Why? Why Ann, Why?”. The tears now streaming down his face, he pulled himself up from the bed and made his way downstairs and into the kitchen.

He reached into the fridge and pulled out his bottle of “Black Bush” and stumbled out into the living room. He poured a generous measure into a glass still perched on the side table since last night. A Pall Mall in one hand and drink in the other his tears subsided and he switched on the TV. Three in the morning. “God, would he ever know peace again?” Diagnoses Murder flickering on the screen kept him distracted and the Whiskey started to take effect. Danny knew that without his drink and smokes nothing would prevent him from joining Ann in oblivion. Lord Jesus, how he missed her. Images of her dead body on the bed with one leg on the floor, the empty Prozac bottle beside her, the Para-Medic's working frantically to revive her, the God awful funeral with the children clutching into him and the condolences from people that were probably sincere but did nothing to help.

He loved the kids with all his heart, but for the past year he had only been pretending to be alive. He woke them up in the mornings, fed them their meals, helped with homework and so on. It took all he had just to wash and shave in the morning. Then onto autopilot for the day until bedtime for the children and time for him to take his only friend from the fridge and wallow in self-pity.

He barely ate anything at all and lived on coffee, sixty smokes a day and a bottle of Irish every night. Once a healthy twelve stone and full of life, he was now just a fraction over six stone and looked like a survivor from a Nazi concentration camp. His friends, family and neighbours had all tried to help him, but he preferred the isolation. All he wanted was his bottle and the numbness it brought.

Dr. Sloan was in the process of exposing the murderer when Danny's door bell chimed and roused him from his memories. He noted that it was a little after three thirty and wondered who on Earth could be calling at this hour. It could only be more bad news. He considered ignoring the caller and pretend to be asleep but decided to get up anyway.

A total stranger stood in the porch, doing his best to shelter from the winter rain. “Mr. Chambers? Can I come in please?” asked the man as he shook drops of water from his dark hair. Danny looked the man up and down. He seemed to be quite calm and other than his rather pale skin appeared to be unremarkable. “Who are you? What do you want?” Danny asked. “I'm so sorry” replied the stranger. “I realise how late it is but I need to talk with you urgently. It's about Ann and it can't wait”

“Come in then. If you must.” Mumbled Danny, feeling unsteady from the alcohol. He led the man into the living room and after they were both seated across from each other he asked what was so urgent that it couldn't wait 'til morning.

“Ann sent me to talk with you, to help you, to guide you.” replied the stranger. Danny was incensed and shouted at the man to get out of the house. “Leave me alone you bastard! That's impossible. My wife's been dead for a year! Get out, Get out, Get out.” roared Danny as he struggled to his feet.

“She said you might react like this,” said the stranger quietly.”She told me to show you this. She said it would help to convince you” he said, holding out a necklace that Danny recognised. He had given it to Ann on the birth of Danny Junior and it had been buried in her coffin with her. Danny sank back into his chair and crestfallen he looked up at the stranger. “How can this be?” he gasped.

The stranger replied that Danny would soon understand and started to talk to him about his life. How hard he had worked. How devoted a father he had been. He also explained that Ann was so sorry for taking her life and for the pain it had caused him. As the stranger continued with his soothing words Danny began to calm down and he realised how selfish he had been for the past year. He felt deep shame for the way he had behaved, for withdrawing himself from his friends and family and for treating the kids as if they were a burden. As he opened his deepest feelings to the stranger he resolved to mend his ways and seek help to recover from his loss.

He asked the stranger to tell Ann that he would always miss her, but that he was ready to be a decent father to their kid's and to start a fresh new life.

The strange pale man smiled gently and put his arms tenderly around the grieving husband. “I'm sorry Danny. You still don't understand. It's too late for that now. I'm here to guide you back to Ann. You see, you passed away in the armchair half an hour ago and I am Death.”

And with that Danny took the man's hand and walked with him towards the bright light that he could now see shining in the distance.

The End

[DATo]

A nice little dip into the supernatural reminiscent of the old TV show The Twilight Zone.

It was a fun read! [:- )

[Sean Bracken]

Hi DATo,

Glad you enjoyed the story. I wrote it yesterday and I'm not sure if the true emotion shows. I raised three daughters as a lone parent and I'm also a recovering alcoholic. I used to drink alone and to this day I often wake up thinking that my ex is beside me in bed. Thank God it was after my girls had grown up and left home that I started drinking, so at least they grew up in a happy home. Sadly my ex passed away last Christmas from cancer. She was only 49 years old and it broke my heart.

Sean

[ZandraLynn]

My mother had severe alcohol issues for a long time. It sounds crazy, but my brother and I always ended up with a migrane wherever we were after she'd drink. After trying to commit suicide she finally reached out for help and she has been clean for 4 years now. This story made me think of her and her struggles to survive the poison that almost took her from us. Thanks for the story

[Sean Bracken]

Thanks ZandraLyn,

I'm glad your mother is doing well. It's an awful disease that robs people of their emotions, dignity and self respect.

I'm unsure about my feelings for the character in the story. On one hand he's come to his senses even though it's too late. He has found peace and returns to the woman he loves. On the other hand he has left his children alone with no parents. I can't decide whether to feel pity for him, be glad that he has found peace or despise him for his selfishness. Also was he part of the reason for his wife's suicide?

Sean