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Chapter 9 - Faith
Thomas Voss returned to the blinking light.
He again sat in the center of that treatment chamber, his thoughts drifting across the moments and places of his lifetime. Royal cheered for him as he crossed home plate at the end of another homerun trot. Thomas smiled for the cameraman, who photographed him as he stood next to his beautiful, young wife dressed in resplendent white. He sat at a table and laughed with his grown children. He helped his young girl Vicki place bandages upon a captured turtle’s shell. He heard the music of school dances. He felt the impact of so many tackles upon the football field, and he recalled his nervousness the first day he stood as the teacher at the front of a high school classroom. He heard himself shout at Vicki when she disturbed his efforts to nap away another Saturday hangover. He heard himself scream at Logan when he stepped upon another plastic block his boy left in the hall.
Thomas Voss remembered the good and the bad. He sat in the light, and he couldn’t hold on to the place where he needed to be.
* * * * *
“Does your team believe that the memories might return again? And does your team believe that those memories might eventually stick?”
Logan pressed the doctor with questions while his father sat in the center of the blinking lights. He only needed a little hope. He needed only a small promise to reassure himself that his sacrifices would in the end be worthwhile – that leaving his job, that relocating to the town of his mother and sister, that ignoring that marble-sized mass he felt in his chest were the choices he was required to make to help his father finally come back home. Logan would find a way to cover the cost of the medical expenses. He would struggle to find the means. But he needed that doctor to give him a narrow sliver of hope.
The doctor smiled at Logan. “Your father is still very strong. And we’re very confident concerning the health of your father’s heart thanks to the implanted pacemaker. There’s no reason to think the light will not have the time it needs to bring your father back.”
“And will he be just like he was the last time the light returned him?”
“Of course, Mr. Voss. The light doesn’t create fiction. The light only returns the truth.”
Logan believed entirely in the light. He gave so much to bring his father home, and he vowed to give so much more. His sister gave, and his mother gave. They would give all they knew for the chance that Thomas Voss would finally, and ultimately, walk out of the fog. Thanks to that weekend when the light made Thomas Voss whole, Logan had seen the father his childhood had always wanted. Thanks to that wonderful weekend before the memories slipped away, Logan saw the best man his father could be. He knew his father was strong, and Logan would find a way to provide all the treasures those doctors required until they brought Thomas Voss home.
The past was painful, the present uncertain. But the future would make everything worthwhile.
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About the Writer
Brian S. Wheeler resides in rural, Southern Illinois with his wife Erin and his young daughter Kate in a home shared with three German shepherds and a small cat named Izzy. Brian has worn many hats to earn a living. He has worked as a high school English teacher and community college composition instructor. For many years, Brian worked as a marketing manager and a graphic designer for a very successful auction company. Brian has also free-lanced as a designer and consultant, and he has just completed vocational training in the welding trade. Writing is Brian’s favorite activity, and he works to one day realize his dream of earning a living by crafting stories of fantasy and science fiction.
The rural Midwest inspires much of Brian's work, and he hopes any connections readers might make between his fiction and the places and people he has had the pleasure to know are positive. When not writing, Brian does his best to keep organized, to get a little exercise, or to try to train good German Shepherd dogs. He remains an avid reader. More information regarding Brian S. Wheeler, his novels, and his short stories can be found by visiting his website at https://www.flatlandfiction.com.
Visit Brian S. Wheeler Online
Find Brian S. Wheeler’s newest short stories and novels online by visiting his website at www.flatlandfiction.com. Brian always welcomes feedback and thoughts sent to his email at [email protected].
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