“Hey, there he is! Hey, Terry!”
The tall, dark haired young man turned to see the three freshmen running towards him.
“Could you please explain to us how you beat the professor’s trick question?”
He smiled. “It was just lucky. I was trying to analyze the situation, so I tried looking at it from the shipper’s point of view, and I couldn’t make any sense of it. That told me that I had misunderstood the real question. When I looked at it again, I could see that the professor was really asking an entirely
different question.”
“He was surprised when you brought it up in class! ‘Mister Prince, well done, sir!’ You really made an impression on him!”
“Yeah, almost as cool as that impression you made on Jimmy Davis when you scored that goal on him at the soccer game!”
“That was so cool! I was sure he was going to block the shot, and you made it look so easy!”
“Maybe it looked like that, but Jim Davis is a great goaltender. I thought he might have blocked it, too.”
Everyone was startled when a Campus Security officer drove up in his golf cart, calling Terry’s name.
“Terry Prince? Would you please come with us? I’m sorry, but there has been an incident, and the city police need to talk to you.”
Terry got in with the Officer, who was quiet on the short ride to the Campus Security Office.
When they got there Terry was surprised to see his fiancée’s Great Aunt Ruby in the office. She was quite old, but wore her years fairly well, although Terry could see that she seemed much more tired than he had ever seen her, and her eyes seemed very bloodshot. His heart began to pound wildly. Where was Jenny? He was very afraid.
“Miss Ruby? What’s going on?”
“Be strong, boy, 'cause this is gonna hurt. That little Coffee Shop was robbed today, and the thief, he took Jenny as a hostage. She’s been raped, and he beat her up, really bad. She’s in the hospital, but Terry, they don’t think she will make it through the night!” She broke into tears, but Terry just held her and patted her back, quietly.
His entire world had fallen apart. He and Jenny had been friends since they had met at the grief counselor’s office after the death of their parents in a catastrophic flood, three years ago. They had supported each other through all the funerals and the counseling.
She loved his deep amber eyes that seemed to gleam with a little mischief. He could sit with her forever, stroking her chocolate brown hair and talking about everything that came to mind. His favorite thing was her smile. She always put her whole heart into her smile, and no matter how depressed he felt, her smile fixed almost everything.
When they got to the hospital, Terry couldn’t go into her room. The Doctor had told them of the list of injuries she had received. He told them that he didn’t know how she could have survived as long as she had, but Terry knew.
She was waiting to say goodbye to him.
Ruby sat with him and held his hand. She knew that Terry lived for her grand-niece, and she feared for him. Something told her that without her, he would soon be gone as well. Her heart ached for the two of them.
A pretty young nurse with a name tag that read “Leslie” came out of intensive care, and told them that there might be very little time left. Her eyes were red, as she knew how hard it was going to be on the gentle young man. Leslie hated this job sometimes, as the emotions often overwhelmed her.
She knew the young couple from school, and she couldn’t believe that God could be so cruel as to destroy two such happy lives.
Ruby had an idea, remembering something her Granny had told her long ago. It was not going to be an easy thing to arrange. Still, it just barely might be possible, if He was willing, that is, and if it suited His purposes. She knew what had to be done on her part, but all she could do was pray, for now.
Gently , she put her hand on Terry’s shoulder, and then slowly but firmly led him into the room.
He knew that he had to do this. He had to let Jenny go, but saying goodbye was almost more than he could bear. As they went to her bedside, Terry took a last look at Jenny and broke down, falling to his knees and praying silently with all of his heart for God to take him, too.
Ruby gathered her strength, took Jenny’s hand in her ancient left hand and Terry’s hand with her right, and said three quiet words. Suddenly, the room exploded with a light that nearly blinded Nurse Leslie. Shielding her eyes with her hands, she tried to make out what was happening. A fifth being stood in the room with them, and she caught a quick glimpse of the most loving face she could have ever imagined. Leslie knew that she would never in her life see anything so beautiful. It was more than she could stand, and she lost consciousness.
She awoke to the concerned face of another Nurse. There was no light but the muted morning sunlight coming through the window. All of the electricity seemed to be out, even the emergency backups, and it was very quiet. On the bed were two bodies, but they were nearly unrecognizable as such. They weren’t burnt, but they seemed to fall apart, as if they were nothing but powder. The Doctors believed that they were the bodies of Jenny and Ruby, but what had happened to Terry?
When Leslie told her story, she left out the vision of the fifth person, but she knew that her life had changed irrevocably. She decided right there that she would become a hospice nurse, in the hope of someday getting another glimpse of that face that she had seen just before she had passed out.
As the Hospital staff began the process of investigating the event, and cleaning up the ICU, a beautiful young brunette woman with dark amber eyes, hair like melted chocolate and a smile that made everyone feel better walked out of the Hospital. She wore a coral sweater over a cream blouse with a beige skirt that almost came to her knees, sheer hose and low beige heels. She stopped to help an elderly man get his wife out of her wheelchair and into her car.
“Hello, my name is Terri, you seem to be having some problems, and I would like to help, if I can?”
Something about this lovely girl made them trust her. Her eyes seemed to glow with Intelligence , friendliness, and perhaps just a little mischief.
This was going to be different, she thought.
From deep inside of her mind, another voice inside of her giggled. "And you don’t even know the half of it, yet!"
Terri smiled, and everything was all right, again.
Terri saw a bench by the corner, so she made her way over to it and sat down. There were many questions in her mind. Where do I go from here? How do I explain what happened? How do I get some identification?
"Trust Him," Jenny said, in a voice that made Terri relax. "Everything will be fine. Maybe you should check your purse?"
Her purse? How had she not noticed it? She lifted the small beige bag that hung from her shoulder. It had some weight, so there had to be things inside. She opened it, and found a wallet, a cell phone she had never seen before, some tissues, a compact and some lipstick, a jingling change purse and a key ring with some keys that she didn’t recognize.
She opened her wallet. In a clear pocket was her driver’s license, with her picture! The address was the one for Ruby’s house, and the name said Terri Jackson. Further examination found a social security card with Terri Jackson’s name and an unfamiliar number, a few pictures of Terry, Jenny and Ruby, and an ATM card for a local bank. She also found some money, almost a hundred dollars in mixed bills.
"Well, isn’t this interesting, Miss Jackson?"
Indeed it is, Miss Jackson, she thought. The best thing to do would be to go to Ruby’s house, apparently. It wasn’t that far away, but Terri was not prepared to walk there. She could see a City Bus coming so she raised her hand and when it stopped, she got on, paid the fare from her change purse and sat down. Since neither Terry nor Jenny had owned a car, they were very familiar with the Bus system. She rode to the Bus Station, transferred to the correct Bus and got off near Ruby’s house.
One of her keys fit into the lock, so she opened the door and went in. She half expected to hear Ruby’s voice, asking who it was, but all was silent. As she walked through the house, she saw pictures on one wall. She reached up and stroked Ruby’s picture, and tears coursed down her cheeks.
"I know she is happy where she is, but still…I will miss her so much."
I hope she gives us a good reference,Terri thought, and heard Jenny giggle. As she looked at the other pictures on the wall, she noticed some changes. Along with the photographs of Jenny and Ruby, there were pictures of Terri! They showed her at different points in her life, and there was even one with all three of them!
"We...are my sister!"
As she wandered around the house, there were more traces of Terri. On a bulletin board by the kitchen phone, there several phone numbers listed, including one that read “Terri’s Cell”.
"Let’s go upstairs."
Terri knew what she was thinking, of course. She made her way up the stairs and went to the Storage room. When she opened the door, she discovered that instead of a room full of boxes, there was a comfortable maroon painted bedroom. It was large and almost completely square. The left side wall was white with several maroon stripes running vertically down the wall, and there were several white wooden boxes stacked together, some with books, and some that were set-up like shadow boxes with things and pictures from events that made up Terri’s “life”. It was amazing. In one was Terri’s high school diploma, with her mortar board and tassel, and a picture of her in her cap and gown. The polished wooden floor had a multi-colored square rug that was partially covered by a full size bed that sat in the right front corner with a white head board and a white comforter on it. A white door on the wall led to a walk in closet with several clothes and a dresser inside.
There was a white armoire in the left rear corner, next to a red office chair and the window. Inside she found Terry’s computer and DVDs. This was a real surprise, as she knew she could never go back to Terry’s dorm room and she had been worried about these things. She knew she would never need the clothes and other supplies that were there.
Finding she was hungry, Terri walked down to the kitchen. She made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and took inventory of the pantry and the refrigerator. There were enough groceries for a while, but she knew she was going to need some money soon, and that meant a job.
"You could always go to the Coffee House for a while. We know the job well, and the people are nice. That would keep us afloat while we look for something better."
Terri liked the idea. She decided to go to the Coffee House in the morning. She grabbed a soda and headed out to the living room. She wondered if the kidnapping had been in the news, and if they had caught the man who had assaulted Jenny.
She had to wait for a few minutes before the news began, and the lead story was that they were searching for Terry! It turned out that they were afraid he would commit suicide, and there was a massive search for him. Well, she thought, they will never find him!
Just then, there was a knock at the door. When Terri got up to check, there were two Police Officers standing outside. How had they found her? Terri began to panic.
"Calm down, sweetheart, they don’t know you are Terry-kind of. Just see what they want, okay?"
Terri smacked her forehead. Of course, she was right, how stupid!
There was another knock, and Terri answered the door.
“Yes, can I help you, officers?”
The officers had their hats in their hands. Neither one of them felt comfortable making these calls.
“Ma’am, are you related to Ruby and Jenny Jackson?”
“Yes, Ruby is my great-aunt, and Jenny is my sister. My name is Terri Jackson, is there something wrong?”
The officer cleared his throat, and the other officer looked as if she could cry.
“Yes ma’am. I'm afraid that there was an incident yesterday, and both Jenny and your Aunt have passed away. We have been trying to notify someone, and when another officer noticed someone in the house, we were dispatched immediately. I’m sorry for the delay.”
Teri acted as though she were in shock. She staggered back to her chair, and the Officers came in to make sure she would be all right.
“Ma’am, is there anyone you can call?” The female officer asked, with a sympathetic look. “I hate to leave you alone after this kind of news.”
“I’m afraid not, please, I…” She turned away. She thought about Ruby, and the tears came easily.
“My parents were killed in the flood, and I have no other living relatives. My friends are on vacation, and there is no way to reach them at this time. What happened to them?”
“Your sister was kidnapped and assaulted yesterday morning. Your aunt went to see her, and they both passed away in the hospital. We are currently searching for your sister’s fiancée, Terry Brandfoth, but no one has seen him since last night.”
“Terry would never…”
“Oh, no Ma’am, he isn’t a suspect.” The male officer, whose name tag read “Andersen”, said. “We are merely concerned with his mental state, as he was quite distressed. If he comes to see you, would you please call us, or have him call us. Several people have expressed a concern for his safety.”
“Oh, of course!” She said. “Oh, I hope he is okay!”
“Yes Ma’am, we do too.”
"If you find him, would you have him call me? I am quite worried, now."
“Yes, Ma'am. Are you sure you will be okay here?” The other officer, whose tag said “Jones”, asked
“Yes, I’ll be all right. I want to be here if Terry shows up. He was very much in love with my sister. Um, Ah, What do I need to do about …about my Aunt and my sister (sniff!)?”
“The bodies are at the Coroner’s office, Ma’am.” Officer Andersen told her. “You’ll need to bring some identification, and they will try to help you to the best of their ability. If you need assistance tonight, even just someone to talk to, we have counselors available 24/7. Here is a card with their number. Please feel free to contact them at any time. They will be happy to help you.”
“All right, Officer. Thank you for your time and consideration.”
“You are very welcome, Ma’am. I’m sorry we had to bring you such news.”
“I know it is your job, officers. I don’t believe I could do it, myself. You have my thanks.”
Sobbing, she closed the door and sat down. She didn’t need to pretend, as she was thinking about going to the Coroner’s. It was real. Jenny and Ruby were dead, and she was alone. She couldn’t even call Terry’s family. He was gone, too, in a way. It was very depressing.
"You will never be alone, my love. I will always be here with you, remember that. We will get through this. Remember, there is a purpose for our existence, or He would not have allowed this. We have something important to do."
Terri was still crying, but she knew Jenny was right. Of all the people on Earth, she could never be alone, and she took comfort in that. She realized she was tired, so she turned off the TV and went to bed, hoping she could sleep.