The Long Way Home

by Phillip Overton

  ****

  Rowena was trying to talk sense into Simon. She had just had Doug and half the hospital crammed into the room hanging on every breath that came out of the kid’s mouth. In her mind, he was obviously trying to deal with the news that his Grandma and Grandpa had died three weeks ago in a car accident. She didn’t have the heart to tell Simon that they were on their way back to Sydney from having just visited him in hospital. It was bad enough that he was trying to include them in some sort of spiritual dream, she just didn’t want to have people screw up his mind and make something out of it. It was just a dream, that’s all. She just had to convince Simon the same way she had managed to convince herself, and before her sister Gail arrived from Manly within the next hour.

  When she had phoned her sister to tell her the good news, Rowena had to sit through a blabbering, tearful ‘praise God’ ear bashing before her sister had hung up the phone with a simple ‘we’re on our way’. Gail still carried on about the Angel that saved Simon from drowning that night back in ‘81. It was going to be awful sitting through more of the same now that Simon had awoken from his coma. It wasn’t fair Rowena thought. If those sort of people give God all the credit for something good like this, then shouldn’t they give God the blame for putting Simon into the coma in the first place? All that Rowena knew is that she didn’t want Simon to mention his dream to her sister in case she tried to ring the Pope and have him ordained as a saint or something stupid. Saint Simon, yeah her sister would probably be stupid enough to try.

  “Simon, I don’t want you talking like that anymore.” Rowena demanded.

  “Why Mum? It’s what really happened.”

  The poor little kid had no memory of what happened she thought. He couldn’t remember getting in trouble for fighting at school and running away. He had no recollection of hiding in the railway yards until late at night while she roamed the town along with Doug and Barry looking for him. All the while the police were preparing to search the nearby bushland and waterways if he failed to show up within 24 hours. He couldn’t remember how he had climbed on top of a train in the railway yard and electrocuted himself on the overhead power lines. Instead, he firmly believed he must have ended up in the hospital after slipping on the rocks and banging his head after spending a day at the beach with Jesus and his dead Grandma.

  “No it isn’t,” she snapped. “It was a dream, do you understand? You were in a coma for five and a half weeks and your mind was playing tricks on you. Other people might have silly ideas in their heads but that doesn’t make it right for you to believe them either.”

  “Sorry.”

  “That’s alright sweetie, I just worry about you Simon. I only want you to grow up like every other normal, healthy little boy.” She leaned in to kiss him on the forehead and noticed the small crucifix pendant fall out of his pyjama top, dangling by the beautiful necklace around his neck it glimmered in the soft light of the room. “What’s this around your neck?” She asked pointing at it.

  “Grandma gave it to me.”

  “When?” She asked uneasily, feeling an unnatural chill down the back of her neck.

  “When I was on the rocks at the beach, I’ve already told you Mum.”

  Rowena went dead quiet. She sat paralysed with fear on the bed beside her son, staring intently at the silver crucifix. It looked just like her mother’s but the thought was impossible to comprehend. A moment or two passed and she suddenly snapped her thoughts back together.

  “Well I don’t want you wearing something like that, we’re not Christians.” She barked at him and leaned forward to undo the necklace. The moment her fingers came into contact with the chain she jolted back with shock. “Ahhh, damn!”

  Simon just sat and looked at his mother holding her fingertips in her hands. Her face was pale with fear from the small electric shock she had just received.

  “Grandma put it on me herself.” Simon spoke softly breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. “Are you okay Mum?”

  “Yes sweetie.” She lied. “I guess if it helps you remember Grandma, then there’s no harm in you keeping it.”

  The two sat there looking at each other uneasily for a full minute before Rowena stood to her feet.

  “Mummy’s going to go outside for a little bit, is that okay sweetie? I’ll be right back, I just need to go outside and get some fresh air.”

  “That’s alright Mum.”

  She leant over and gave him a kiss on his forehead before turning and hurrying out of the room, bumping into Doug in the doorway who had just returned with his father and Barry.

  “Oops, sorry.” She apologised.

  “That’s alright. Hey, why are you going already? Aren’t you going to stay with us for a while?” Doug asked her.

  “No, I need to get a coffee or something. I have to get out for a while, but it will give you three a chance to spend some time alone before everyone else arrives to visit.”

  “Okay, are you sure you’re fine though, I mean there’s nothing wrong is there?”

  “No Doug.” She answered before turning to the other two standing beside him. “William, Barry.” She simply said, turning away before they had a chance to respond to her rough greeting and stormed down the hallway.