The Two Worlds of Billy Callahan

by Richard Friedman

  CHAPTER 7

  November 27, 2012

  Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic

  Boston, Massachusetts

  Brit, Jack’s second wife, now a grief-stricken widow, paced back and forth in the waiting room for over an hour hoping the doctor would arrive soon. Her patience rewarded when a short, boyish looking man approached her. She wondered why the hospital would dispatch a medical student to tell her the news.

  “Mrs. Callahan? I’m Doctor Bookman. I have the latest results.”

  “What did the tests show?” she asked.

  “As we expected, the tests are inconclusive. There’s no medical reason that we can ascertain for him not to speak, but he doesn’t. He’s still comatose. There is a slight deviation in his brain that is confounding us. We’ll continue to use different stimuli to snap him out of this state. Don’t be discouraged. Talk to him daily and hold his hand. I believe your constant support is invaluable to his recuperation.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can. Thank you, doctor.”

  “Go back to the hotel and rest. These last months have been hell for you. The morning will come soon and I’m sure you’ll be back here bright and early.”

  Brit wiped away a stray tear from her eye, “His friend Greg is flying into town tonight. He’ll be here first thing in the morning. Greg’s grandfather lives in Woburn and he insisted on visiting. I told him he would be disappointed, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  The doctor seemed pleased, “That’s wonderful. Any human associations that he had prior to the injury may help.”

  “Can I say goodnight to him?” asked Brit.

  “I’ll take you to him.”

  She sat beside Billy’s bed. The hospital’s physical therapy department spent hours each week working the various muscle groups in Billy’s body. He appeared to be holding up physically. His mental status was a mystery.

  Brit stroked the boy’s left hand.

  “I’m so sorry this happened. It’s my fault. I never should have let your father take you to Israel. I’m not your mother, but I’m the only family you have now, and we need each other. You’re my link to Jack. You’re all I have left. I see so much of him in you. I want to see the man you’ll become someday. Your father would be proud of you. He’s proud of the way you’re fighting to reach us. Don’t you give up, because I won’t lose faith in you either! Understand what I’m saying?”

  All Brit heard was the constant thrumming of the electrical equipment monitoring her stepson.

  CHAPTER 8

  November 28, 2012

  The following morning when Greg visited, he continuously fidgeted with his shirt buttons. He began that nervous habit in back in 5th grade and still hadn’t shaken it. He arrived at the hospital with his grandfather and together they met Brit in the snack bar.

  She spotted Greg from a distance. He stood five feet-five inches tall, passing Brit by two inches.

  “Hey, sweetie, it’s fantastic of you to come. I could swear you grew five inches since the last time I saw you. I can’t tell you how much it means to us, especially Billy.”

  The visitor lit up with anticipation. “Is he awake? Is he talking?”

  “No honey, I just meant he’d appreciate your visit.”

  Greg’s head lowered in the gravity of the moment. He remembered begging his mother to let him go with Billy to Israel. He swore it would be safe. Jack had taken Billy on many trips and he never returned home with as much as a Band-Aid on his knee.

  Jack didn’t want the added additional responsibility, so Greg stayed home and improved his video games scores. Jack traveled to Israel, caught a rock with his head, and died, and Billy was stuck in the hospital, healing, non-communicative to the world.

  Greg stood in front of Billy’s room. His confidence diminished by the minute. “Mrs. Callahan, I’m not sure what to say to him.”

  “Say whatever you want. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled when he hears your voice. I hope so anyway, they say sometimes coma patients can hear what people are saying.”

  When he entered the room and saw a tube connected to Billy’s stomach, he asked, “What’s that for?”

  Brit half-grinned and said, “That’s his feeding tube. A growing boy has to eat.”

  Greg’s confused expression confirmed he’d never seen that before.

  Convinced that Billy was not ready to die, Greg stepped closer to his pal.

  “Hey bud. It’s me…Greg. I flew in from Cleveland. Look what I brought.”

  Greg removed the small hadrosaur bone Billy had given to him last April. “I carry this fossil around for good luck. So, how’s it going? Geez, that’s a stupid question. I haven’t seen you in months and you’re connected to tubes and I ask how‘re you doing, sorry.” Greg fiddled with his buttons, and his right hand trembled slightly.

  Brit chirped in to ease his nerves. “Oh don’t worry, honey. Talk about life back home.”

  He nodded and spoke.

  “I made the football team. I’m the starting guard for the junior varsity. Not bad for a scrawny kid. The coach says I hustled my way onto the team. He says I’ll fill out if I keep lifting weights. I’m training daily. I gotta try harder because I’m undersized compared to the rest of the team. By the way, I’m totally killing you in ‘Vampire Hunter.’ When you left, I found a cheat code. You know that room you enter, the room with the Devil on level 5? You blast him in the left knee and he falls down and pretends he’s in pain like Peter Griffin, and starts grabbing his knee and going ‘ahhhh’ ‘ahhh,’ it’s freaking hilarious. I wish you had a game system in your room. That would help pass the time. Yea, that’d be cool.”

  Greg carried on for another ten minutes talking about the new “hot” teacher and the new food choices at lunchtime in the cafeteria. The one-sided conversation grew stale and he ran out of steam.

  Billy’s head filled with new images all the time. He picked up Brit’s voice each morning and the voices of others in the room too, but the words were muffled and inaudible to his brain.

  “Teacher, I can’t understand what they’re saying. Can’t you fix it?”

  “I can’t correct it. It will come and go during our time together. The transformation is too deep. This is how it will be until I’m gone. We must continue our journey.”

  Billy couldn’t pinpoint the date, but Hargudus was gone. His son was an adult and moved to a different part of the planet. Time moved at a different speed compared to the real world intervals that passed by at the hospital. The cities grew more populous. The seasons turned. The tall people spread throughout the land. They operated huge earthmoving machines, the size of which he couldn’t imagine in his own world, generating terrible, high-pitched screeching noises as they drilled thousands of feet below the surface. The workers stood in the vicinity of the equipment, paying no attention to the din. Hundreds of these machines worked day and night, without interruption, bringing minerals from deep within the planet and delivering them to huge factories, each the size of football stadiums.

  Billy watched parents take their children to schools and shopping malls. The tall people worked in the morning and they played on weekends. They played a game where they tossed oblong shaped spheres to each other. He could formulate the shapes of creatures that reminded him of his old dog Budweiser, a mutt that followed him from room to room.

  An hour passed and Greg put his coat on. “I’m afraid I didn’t help Mrs. Callahan.”

  “Oh nonsense, bless your heart for coming all this way and seeing Billy. I believe he knew you were here. If God is merciful, someday, Billy will tell you that himself.”

  “Thanks, I hope that day comes soon. I’ll see you.”

  Brit hugged the boy for a long time. “Bye, sweetie. I pray we’re coming home in the next few weeks. Tell Cleveland to get ready.”

  CHAPTER 9

  April 15, 2018 - Cleveland, Ohio

  Billy’s nurse finished shaving the fine hairs that grew on his chin and upper lip. Greg waited downstairs, a
nxious to talk to his old friend.

  Eugeena Mae Wannamaker was a kind African-American lady from Savannah, Georgia. She had been the family’s cleaning lady prior to the Israeli accident, and now her skills as a nurse came in handy. When he was ten years old, Billy called her “Willie Mays,” and the nickname stuck. She didn’t understand the word play. Eugeena Mae Wannamaker worked at her uncle’s pharmacy when she wasn’t helping out at the Callahan residence. She was too busy to fuss about the exploits of the greatest professional baseball player of her era.

  Eugeena Mae bundled the laundry, headed down the steps, and saw Greg sitting on the couch.

  “Oh for Heaven’s sake, look at you. You’ve become such a handsome young man in the last few years. How old are you?”

  “Nineteen, Ms. Wannamaker.”

  “Ms. Wannamaker? Who’s that? My momma? Give me a hug, Mr. Miller.” They shared a laugh and embraced.

  “How is he? Greg asked. That question instantly turned the moment somber.

  “He’s the same. I say that over and over. I can tell he’s in there. The doctors tell Mrs. Callahan not to expect him to snap out of it. I trust in Jesus, you wait and see. He’s gonna rise like Jesus. I can sense it in my bones. That child is in there.”

  “I hope you’re right. Last year I only visited one time. It’s awkward talking to him. It’s hard to believe we were boys playing video games and now I’m on spring break of my second year of college. Can I see him?”

  “You know the way,” said Eugeena, pointing towards the steps that led to the second floor of the house.

  Greg remained the solitary visitor Billy had on a regular basis. The first year, several of his classmates visited. That ended after the second visit. Billy’s lack of participation in the conversation grew tiresome, except to his oldest pal.

  Greg knew the drill. Say hello, and expect that blank expression in return. Today was no different.

  “What’s going on? Still staring into space I see?” He had no idea how true that statement was. He kicked off his shoes and plopped in the recliner by the side of the bed. Billy couldn’t regain control of his head to let Greg know he had another world of experiences to discuss with him.

  Inside Billy’s head, the teacher sent the boy back to the ship circling the earth. White puffy clouds shielded the view of the oceans. Billy witnessed the sunset working its way around the globe. “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I wish Greg could see this.”

  He gazed at the upper atmosphere and witnessed sprites rising above the thunderstorms. The blackness of space surrounded the small blue and white sphere. This sight would have made the boys laugh, had they been together. “So Greg, I was on this ship out in space and you were trying to wake me and you said I was staring out into space and you were right. I was staring out into space, can you believe that?”

  That conversation never materialized because Billy couldn’t shake the on-going movie that drowned out the calls of the living.

  Now Billy found himself inside a building. He couldn’t estimate the height of the structure, but it soared skyward. He glanced at the window and saw a mountain range in the distance. A fistfight broke up the tranquil moment. Objects were thrown, and there was shouting and screaming. Billy recoiled with shock; he’d never seen hostility before. A thousand years passed since the man in blue named Hargudus landed in that picturesque field. The people in this room frightened him. They returned to the ship and looked at the Earth spinning below. Thick, acrid black smoke rose from different spots on the giant land mass. Red lights flashed on the ship.

  “This is the first battle on Tenegraw. The fighting is raging across the planet. Negotiations between the two sides have stopped. This will not be pleasant. I’m ashamed of what you will see.”

  “What are they fighting about?”

  “Observe.”

  He remained on the ship, staring blindly while Greg talked.

  “Don’t get up and give me a hug, you big dope. You would love college. When you decide to move on with your life, come to my school. I’ve got a girl for you. Come to think of it, she doesn’t talk much either. You two would get along. Sorry, that was a cheap shot. No offense, right? I’m trying to work with what I got. You understand me. I shoot for the humor. I wish you’d punch me in the nose for that one, but you’re not going to do that.”

  Greg paused, and contemplated leaving. He sighed, and continued, “So this girl I was telling you about, the quiet one, I’m dating her roommate. We’ve been seeing each other since Christmas break. Her name is Tiffany. She’s way smarter than I am. You better not tell her I said that. She’s sweet, from Binghamton, New York. They have this cool little downtown. That’s where Rod Serling is from. You’d appreciate that. Remember when the lady says ‘Mr. Chambers, it’s a cookbook!’ That was classic.”

  Greg tugged at his shirt button, “I saw her folks last month. She has a cute sister. She’s too young for you. If you keep this silent act going you’ll be at college with her at the same time.”

  Greg’s patience failed, and he lost his composure, briefly raising his voice in frustration, “Come on man, do something! You can’t spend the rest of your life in bed! I miss hanging out with you. Eugeena turns you over twice a day and wipes your ass. Jesus. You call that a life?”

  Greg took a moment, regained his cool, and spent the rest of the visit relaying significant sporting events, including a perfect play-by-play rendition of the Super Bowl, which for the fifty-second year in a row did not feature the Cleveland Browns.

  When he was ready to leave, he turned to his buddy and said, “This isn’t easy for me…shit, what am I saying, like this is easy for you. I’m sorry, if there is any way you can hear me, sorry for what I said. My point is, I can’t keep coming here and talking to you without any response. Your step-mom says you can hear me. I doubt that. What the hell else is she going to say, right? I gotta go. Tiffany is waiting for me and we’re grabbing dinner at Geraci’s. You worshiped their pepperoni pizza. Do you remember that? Trust me; their pizza is way better than whatever the hell they stick in that tube. I wonder if anyone manufactures that tube food with flavor. Yeah, right… what would be the point? Maybe they could build an odor-generating machine that would match the food they’re giving you and at least you’d smell the food. Think about it. You invent that, and you’ll make a million bucks. We’ll go shopping for an Aston Martin One-77 with your first bonus check. That’s the coolest car in the world.”

  Greg’s enthusiasm faded as he changed the subject. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to visit this summer. I’m staying at college with Tiffany. She needs to take a few summer classes to make up for the ones she bombed out fall semester. Okay, I’m leaving, take it easy. I’ll see you around. Call me when you can.”

  CHAPTER 10

  The teacher showed Billy the tall aliens ravaging the planet with missiles and bombs. Huge explosions rocked cities as the two factions wrestled for control, finding new ways to kill each other.

  The supply ship left Earth’s orbit to return the materials to the home planet for processing. Tenegraw shipped raw minerals to other colonized planets as needed. The two orbs continued to record events as they transpired. “Teacher, who is in charge of these things?”

  “The orbs were put here to record our history. We send them to the planets we colonize. The orbs return to our planet for study. Unfortunately, as you know, one of these particular orbs failed to make it back to home.”

  “Why are the people fighting?”

  “The reasons are the same in your world as in mine…Power, land, control, money, ego, selfishness, the list is endless.”

  Billy said,“That doesn’t give me hope for our species. You guys have this unbelievable technology at your fingertips and you fight and kill each other over the same things that we do in the 21st century.”

  “This was long ago. We have progressed over the millions of years. It’s not my responsibility to give you hope. My duty is to show you what happened, and p
erhaps you can help change your future. Let’s see what unfolds.”

  The populace grew tired of war. There were conferences between the combatants to find a peaceful accord. Each session ended without resolution and the casualties rose. Temporary agreements to stop hostilities ended as quickly as they began when one side or the other launched new attacks.

  “This reminds me of the Israeli-Arab conflict in my time. Talks of peace get everyone excited, and nothing comes of it,” said Billy.

  “Your world and mine share more similarities than I care to admit. They are arguing on how to use the land in a responsible manner. You are familiar with this problem in your own world.”

  Billy and the teacher zoomed to the corner of the room where the representatives of the warring parties met. He had trouble hearing the details. He understood that the violence was a battle over land. The giant land mass wasn’t big enough to handle the egos of the two ideologies. Each side in the argument moved their population centers to the edges of the land mass and protected their borders with huge armies and ships that patrolled the oceans. Planes flew above Billy’s head at tremendous speed with weapons attached to their underbellies. The middle section of the land mass became the “killing zone.” Fatalities mounted as the two sides battled for control of the remaining pristine forests and mineral reserves.

  The people of Tenegraw separated into two distinct philosophical groups. The pious faction wanted to maintain the beauty of the land. Their ancestors had left their own planet to harvest the natural resources from the planet. Over the millennia, the inhabitants began to cherish their new land. A few erudite scholars on the planet appreciated the man in blue clothes named “Hargudus.” He was a footnote in history books. Citizens spent their time concerned with the economy, the shrinking global resources, and what would happen to them if they continued to deplete the minerals in the ground. Exports to the full-size ships circling the planet dropped 25% in the preceding three years. New technologies emerged to assist in the removal of those minerals. Those new advances allowed mining to new depths. Scientists fretted that continued drilling would have catastrophic consequences for the planet.