Monday, September 5, 2011
Gone
¶ 12:45 AM 
HAHA! unlike my other essays, this isn't from a class work.
This is a story/oneshot written while listening to "Lux Aeterna" by Clint Mansell.
DISCLAIMER:
Any resemblance to any person dead or alive is purely unintentional, so please don't flame
Do not distribute without my permission.
THANKS
Andy Ng for beta-ing :D
Andy Ng for title
Enjoy. :D
I couldn't help but tear up as I saw her crouching over the small motionless body, weeping her heart out. I wiped my tears away and begin to take small steps towards her. Her small frame was shaking violently as she cowered and cried. I gently brought her away from the tiny body that lay cold and still.
"Josh..." I heard her sob as she turned and cried on my chest, wetting the soft fabric that covered me. Instinctively, I brought her closer towards me and hugged her. Her cries began to escalate, bawling inaudible words that was a pain to decipher. I could hear my name mixed in the jumble of mysterious tongues. Yet all these could not help numb the pain that my wife was feeling. It brought me great agony to see her emotionally frail, however, the greatest pain was that even though i was standing right by her side, i was just like a young child, helpless in every way.
"Josh... I miss him... I miss him..." I heard Celeste wail as she grabbed a fistful of my shirt. The tears that spilled out of her eyes invoked my very own. I choked back the salty tear in an attempt to defy the pulling force of gravity
"Hey... it's okay..." I whispered as though the sight of my crying wife has seized all the strength that was stored. I felt no better than a child as the sobbing lady in my arms continue to mourn and beg for her baby to return. Her eyes were bloodshot when I pulled her up to face me.
"He's gone! Celeste!" I begged as i tried to drag my struggling spouse away from the body. But my efforts were in vain as she sank her teeth into my flesh. In pain I let go and watched her in another kind of amazement as she crawled to the corpse.
"My baby... my baby..." Her wails resonated against the small mortuary; each syllable struck a chord in my heart making tears well up in the corners of my eyes.
"No, i got to be strong." I told myself. Determination surged pass its previous echelon and reached a whole new level, an apex that was even higher than before. I walked over to my wife. Her powerful sobs never failed to cease for a second. I mentally prepared myself, rehearsing my actions in my mind like how a producer would make his actors and actresses rehearse the script a thousand times before the big show. I Took a deep breath as i stopped behind my wife, her sobs were relatively softer , as though she knew that i was behind her and was waiting for me to speak. And so, i opened my mouth and started.
"Celeste, why don't we go home?"
"I don't want to..." Celeste whispered. Her voice hoarse from all the crying. She turned and looked at me with her puffy eyes. "Josh, you can go back first... I want to spend some time with Amos..." she whispered softly.
"Come on Celeste, you have been here for two hours already. Let’s go." I snapped assertively as I grabbed her wrist and yanked her to her feet.
"NO!" she shrieked as she pulled her hand away. Her tears slipping down her cheeks once again as she crumbled to the white ceramic tiled floor. Her sobs were uncontrollable and her breathing was erratic as she struggled to regain her composure.
"No..." She repeated again in a whisper; however this time softer as she used her hands to shield her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the word 'No" continually surfaced from her lips.
"Josh... i want Amos back... I want Amos back...” Celeste choked. I walked up to her and rested her head on my chest.
"Amos' gone..." I said slowly. Celeste wriggled a bit and i thought that i felt my shirt get a little damp where Celeste's eyes were.
"It's okay..." I assure her as i rubbed my hand against her back with a soothing rhythm. "We're still young... We can always have another one..." I mumbled.
"But..." she paused as she pulled away from me and looked at me with her swollen brown eyes.”But, it won't be the same." She moaned as the tears that were originally kept away began surfacing and trickle down her cheeks. As i saw the glistening tears that rolled down her cheeks, it was though as the pain she felt was shared with me.
Amos was our first and we were ecstatic for his arrival so much so that we began a shopping frenzy to welcome him into our world. His sudden death must have been a great blow to Celeste.
"He's in a better place..." I comforted her. As soon as i had completed my sentence, her uncontrollable crying returned. Like an infant who was rejected from his request, she started to bawl and wail.
"Come on... Let's go..." i finally said as i gently took her by her elbows and carefully lifted her up. Celeste put up little resistance as though the physical exhaustion was too great for her to hide. Like a meek lamb, she followed me as i led her away from the breathless body.
"Don't..." I whispered as i placed my hand around her shoulder and positioned her to face the front again as I felt Celeste begin to squirm like a cat who was just removed from her prey.
"Be strong Celeste... it will soon be over..." I whispered hoping to calm her down as we exited the small cold room that was filled with the stench of death. I earned a whimper as I forced Celeste to take a step after the two swinging doors of the mortuary swung close. It was like Celeste was bounded to the body that lay motionless on the white bed. Each step was filled with reluctance and would not fail to have an ounce of resistance.
As though the reality had finally sunk in as I was dragging her away from her baby, her actions became aggressive and she started to thrash her hands around and scratching whatever that her fingers could reach. Releasing a yell of pain, i reached over my head and began to pry open the tight grip my wife had on my hair.
"Celeste! Enough! It's enough already!" I finally broke down. Tears that i have held back for what seemed like an eternity began trickling down my once poker face which was currently full of emotions.
My tears seemed to have broken the train of unhappy thoughts that was feeding my wife as she finally halted all shedding of tears and looked at me.
"I'm sorry..." She whispered as she crouched beside me pressing her head on my shoulder, her voice shaking.
"We'll get through this... together..." I promised as i tried to control the sob that was travelling up my throat. I felt Celeste head nod as i hugged her. As the last tears from our tear duct trickled down our faces, I placed my hand over Celeste's shoulders and helped her to stand up. Celeste stood up with one hand clenched in the valley of her bosom and the other in mine. I whispered words or assurance in a low husky voice - the result of a twenty minute crying session - and watched as her grip relaxed. We began the long walk down the corridor that led us away from the morgue. With her leaning on me I could see the immense effort she was putting in to prevent herself from bursting into another crying fit. After every ten steps or so, I would feel her suddenly tense up, but she would continue to walk on. However, it would be in a rather awkward fashion. With her body tense, her breathing begins to speed up slightly but due to the close proximity, every movement is amplified. However, never will she stop the walk. Instead, she would just shut her eyes; bury her face deeper into the soft fabric of my cotton button down shirt.
Pride swelled in my heart as I watched how my partner in marriage battled her swirling emotions and stand strong. For every one metre we covered, Celeste would cringe about 20 times, but never once did she break the momentum that carried us across the length of the corridor.
Finally, we reached the main door. Pushing the door open, I heard somebody call out to me. I turned and saw a lady in a Persian blue over sized round collar shirt and loose pants run up to me. Turning to Celeste, I told her to wait for me in the car.
Fatigue must have caught up with her as Celeste just nodded ad left for the car while i turned to expect the lady who was apparently looking for me.
"Mr Yeo, this is Amos' collar. WE found it on the floor..." the lady said as she handed me a studded collar that had a silver plate that read 'Amos' somewhere in the middle of it. "We figured that Mrs Yeo might want to keep it for remembrance sake." the lady smiled weakly. I looked at the accessory that lay in my hand. Thanking the lady for her kind intentions, I clasped the collar and stuffed into my pocket before jogging to my red car where I found Celeste sound asleep in the seat beside the driver's. I grinned when I saw my wife finally having a peaceful moment after the fateful event occurred and entered the car.
Fishing into my pocket, I retrieved out the collar and stared at it. Then, i unhooked the collar and hung it on the rear view mirror.
"Remembrance huh?" I mumbled as I touched the collar that dangled from where it was hung. Sighing, i turned the ignition key and started to make my way out of the parking lot.
As I maneuvered out of the car park, the radiant sun rays fell upon the studded collar making it sparkle.
/END/
chloé
[EDITTED!]
HAHA! by the way, HAPPY bday AMOS! :B lolol.
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