Holiday Tears: A Christmas Novella

Part Five: Elation

        Charlie did not expect to be brought back again. The Friend had already presented to her all those that had significant influence on her life; who else really cared either way about the comatose girl who killed her friends in a car accident? Surely most beings continuously cursed her name for her continued breath. The parents of her deceased friends, at least, were surely cursing her name. She had killed their children, and yet somehow, by some twisted fate, she lived on. Sure, she lived in a state of weakness, but she lived al the same. Surely it was widely acknowledged as being cruelly unfair. Even she knew that she shouldn't be alive.

        What did she have to live for, anyway? An abusive father? A cheating boyfriend? A friend who would surely act in no manner besides scorn as a result of the disregard toward her? Charlie was certain that the only thing she had to live for was her poor aunt. After all, Aunt Sam didn't deserve to have her heart broken in such an unceremonious manner.

        But the fact that Aunt Sam was only one person remained. Charlie had to face the facts; more persons benefited from her death than those who benefited from her life, herself included. She deserved to die, never to be heard from again. No other punishment would be adequate after all that had happened.She was not, by any stretch of the imagination, worthy of life. Thus, she would accept death with wide arms as soon as it reached out a clammy hand toward her rotten self. She would go with Death. She was prepared. She would die. It would be her first and final gift to the world.

        This thought granted Charlie an odd sense of peace as she felt herself being drawn into her hospital room. Without looking for the Friend, she reached out toward her old body, whispering the words that had succeeded in soothing her soul. "Don't worry. It will be over soon."

        "I hope, Child, that this does not mean that you are giving up?"

        Charlie sighed, turning to face the Friend with a tired look on her face. He was the last person she wanted to discuss her upcoming sacrifice with. "What other choice do I have? After all you've shown me, I know that I deserve nothing less."

        "That's what you think I've been trying to prove to you?" the Friend asked in a hushed tone. "Is that where you think I was going with all this?"

        Charlie hugged herself, staring at the floor.

        Sighing, the Friend touched her shoulder. "Well, My Dear, that is your decision to make. But before you make it, there's one more visitor who requires your attention."

        Charlie looked at him, shadows under her lifeless eyes. "And just who might that be? There's no one else with any influence in my life. Everyone has visited; shouldn't we be done with this now?"

        The Friend just gestured to the door. "See for yourself."

        At first, Charlie did not recognize the dashing young man who had entered her room, trails of tears flowing silently down his rosy cheeks. He looked only at her, his lower lip trembling in what could only be worry and fear. She had never seen him before in her life, and yet... She couldn't help but love him, even in that instant.

        "Who is he?" Charlie whispered, still staring at him.

        The Friend smiled and pulled her into the Nether.

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        Darkness. A bright flash of a gentle blue light. That was all Charlie registered of this final journey.

        She found herself once again in her old neighborhood, back in the days when she was subjected to the cruelty of her father. Before the fire, before Aunt Sam, before Lisette. Before her life got better, if only slightly so.