Post by Henry Spearman on Jun 19, 2016 14:49:04 GMT -5
Henry grabbed his backpack and left the classroom. Walking across campus to his car he looked up and squinted into the sun. It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly and there was just enough cloud cover to give the occasional shelter from the heat. A cool breeze kept the temperature to a comfortable level and the smell of summer hung in the air.
Henry was finally feeling like maybe things weren’t so bad. High school was behind him and college was filled with people who ranged in age from young high school graduates to older people who were returning to school. It didn’t feel like school anymore and most people just let him be. For the first time in a long time Henry felt happy.
He walked across the parking lot and tossed his bag into the back of his car. He was driving a Jeep Wrangler now. It was an older model but it was his and he was proud of it. He had been working long shifts at the warehouse after classes all year and had saved up enough money to buy it in cash.
He turned the key and the engine cranked to life. A country music tune blasted from the radio as he backed out of his spot and hit the road.
Henry couldn’t believe how much things had turned around for him since he finished high school. He still wasn’t making many friends but the days of wishing for friends were long behind him. These days Henry was happy to just be left alone until he could get home, have a bite to eat with his mother and play some video games. Generally speaking things were going pretty well for him. Lately he had found himself laughing at the days past. Days when he would lay in bed crying at night wishing he just wouldn’t wake up the next morning. Those days were long gone and Henry wasn’t looking back.
Henry slowly turned the wheel and pulled the car into the driveway. He noticed his mothers car already parked there.
“Hmm, that’s odd. What’s she doing home so early?”
Henry put the Jeep in park and turned the key. He left his bag in the back and hopped out. Walking up to the front door he grabbed the mail out of the box and turned the knob. The door was already unlocked
“Mom?! You home?” Henry shouted as he walked into the foyer
“I’m in here hun” his mother responded
Something was off. Henrys spidey senses kicked in and the hair on the back of his neck prickled.
“What are you doing home so early?” He yelled as he headed towards the dining room
Entering the dining room he found his mother waiting for him. She was as pretty as she had ever been but her face was streaked with tears
“Ma, whats wrong?” Henry asked as he sat down at the table across from her
Henrys mother took a deep breathe and let out a long sigh.
“I was feeling sick at work today so I left and went to the urgent care. While I was there I fainted in the waiting room. They took me in and I came to pretty quickly. The doctor was worried though so he ordered an MRI.”
Henry could feel his heart rate rising. His mother’s eyes were beginning to well up again and he knew bad news was coming.
“They found a tumor Henry. On the cerebral cortex” She said quietly as she looked down at her feet
Henry felt a lump in his throat. He felt as if the room was spinning and the walls were closing in on him. How could something like this happen? How could a woman as strong as his mother have a brain tumor?
“They don’t know if its malignant or not but the doctor said that based on the size and location I shouldn’t get my hopes up."
Her words stung him like a thousand knives. Henry could not fathom the news he was being told. Why now? When everything was finally turning around for him. Why would this happen now?
Henry didn’t know what to say so he slowly stood and walked over to his mothers side of the table. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall. She got up out of her seat and sat next to him. Henry put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder. She had begun to cry. Henry did not cry. He was too shocked to feel any emotion at all. He simply rubbed his mothers head and looked straight ahead at the wall on the other side of the room.
“Henry, I want you to know how proud of you I am. I know that things haven’t always been the easiest for you. I know that you have gone your entire life just trying to fit in and yet for whatever reason it was tough for you.”
She took his cheeks in her hand and turned his head to her. She looked him in the eyes and smiled a weak smile
“But you never gave up. You never quit. You held your head up high and you refused to let other people define you Henry.”
“I don’t know how these test results are going to come back Henry but if they're not good I want you to know that you were always my miracle. You were always my inspiration. I watched you grow up and go through so much in your life and I marveled at how well you handled it every step of the way. Lesser men would have crumbled but not you. You stayed strong and you stayed true to yourself. You never stopped trucking along. You are truly an inspiration. If I can fight this with half the strength you have fought with your entire life, I will make it. We will make it.”
Henry held back tears and looked at her smiling at him. A tear ran down his cheek and she wiped it away with her finger.
“I love you Mom. We’re gonna get through this”
She smiled and laid her head on her sons chest and he held her tightly.
________________________________
The scene opens into total darkness. Suddenly a clap of thunder and the screen quickly flashes the face of Neforian before returning back into blackness again. Another clap of thunder and again a quick glimpse of Neforian.
“I love a good thunderstorm”
Neforians voice can be heard but the screen remains black. Rain falls steady on the rooftop.
“The funny thing about a storm like this one is that while it brings destruction and danger in its wake, there is a certain beauty behind it. Something about the way the rain falls steadily on the rooftop is soothing. The occasional clap of thunder exhilarating and the sudden burst of light as bolts of electricity streak across the dark sky bewildering. The storm is natures great contradiction. Something so dangerous and destructive and yet….so beautiful.”
“There is a storm in the WCF right now. This storm rolled in five weeks ago and has left a path of destruction in its wake. The clouds of this storm still swirl above the sky of the WCF. This storm has become the most dangerous thing in the WCF right now and yet, in its own way, Beautiful.”
“I am that Storm. I am that destructive force. I am the WCF Television Champion. And this Sunday at Slam. Tomahawk will find out just like the 5 men before him that this storm will not….cannot…be stopped”
Another clap of thunder and bolt of lightning and the video feed cuts out.
Henry was finally feeling like maybe things weren’t so bad. High school was behind him and college was filled with people who ranged in age from young high school graduates to older people who were returning to school. It didn’t feel like school anymore and most people just let him be. For the first time in a long time Henry felt happy.
He walked across the parking lot and tossed his bag into the back of his car. He was driving a Jeep Wrangler now. It was an older model but it was his and he was proud of it. He had been working long shifts at the warehouse after classes all year and had saved up enough money to buy it in cash.
He turned the key and the engine cranked to life. A country music tune blasted from the radio as he backed out of his spot and hit the road.
Henry couldn’t believe how much things had turned around for him since he finished high school. He still wasn’t making many friends but the days of wishing for friends were long behind him. These days Henry was happy to just be left alone until he could get home, have a bite to eat with his mother and play some video games. Generally speaking things were going pretty well for him. Lately he had found himself laughing at the days past. Days when he would lay in bed crying at night wishing he just wouldn’t wake up the next morning. Those days were long gone and Henry wasn’t looking back.
Henry slowly turned the wheel and pulled the car into the driveway. He noticed his mothers car already parked there.
“Hmm, that’s odd. What’s she doing home so early?”
Henry put the Jeep in park and turned the key. He left his bag in the back and hopped out. Walking up to the front door he grabbed the mail out of the box and turned the knob. The door was already unlocked
“Mom?! You home?” Henry shouted as he walked into the foyer
“I’m in here hun” his mother responded
Something was off. Henrys spidey senses kicked in and the hair on the back of his neck prickled.
“What are you doing home so early?” He yelled as he headed towards the dining room
Entering the dining room he found his mother waiting for him. She was as pretty as she had ever been but her face was streaked with tears
“Ma, whats wrong?” Henry asked as he sat down at the table across from her
Henrys mother took a deep breathe and let out a long sigh.
“I was feeling sick at work today so I left and went to the urgent care. While I was there I fainted in the waiting room. They took me in and I came to pretty quickly. The doctor was worried though so he ordered an MRI.”
Henry could feel his heart rate rising. His mother’s eyes were beginning to well up again and he knew bad news was coming.
“They found a tumor Henry. On the cerebral cortex” She said quietly as she looked down at her feet
Henry felt a lump in his throat. He felt as if the room was spinning and the walls were closing in on him. How could something like this happen? How could a woman as strong as his mother have a brain tumor?
“They don’t know if its malignant or not but the doctor said that based on the size and location I shouldn’t get my hopes up."
Her words stung him like a thousand knives. Henry could not fathom the news he was being told. Why now? When everything was finally turning around for him. Why would this happen now?
Henry didn’t know what to say so he slowly stood and walked over to his mothers side of the table. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall. She got up out of her seat and sat next to him. Henry put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder. She had begun to cry. Henry did not cry. He was too shocked to feel any emotion at all. He simply rubbed his mothers head and looked straight ahead at the wall on the other side of the room.
“Henry, I want you to know how proud of you I am. I know that things haven’t always been the easiest for you. I know that you have gone your entire life just trying to fit in and yet for whatever reason it was tough for you.”
She took his cheeks in her hand and turned his head to her. She looked him in the eyes and smiled a weak smile
“But you never gave up. You never quit. You held your head up high and you refused to let other people define you Henry.”
“I don’t know how these test results are going to come back Henry but if they're not good I want you to know that you were always my miracle. You were always my inspiration. I watched you grow up and go through so much in your life and I marveled at how well you handled it every step of the way. Lesser men would have crumbled but not you. You stayed strong and you stayed true to yourself. You never stopped trucking along. You are truly an inspiration. If I can fight this with half the strength you have fought with your entire life, I will make it. We will make it.”
Henry held back tears and looked at her smiling at him. A tear ran down his cheek and she wiped it away with her finger.
“I love you Mom. We’re gonna get through this”
She smiled and laid her head on her sons chest and he held her tightly.
________________________________
The scene opens into total darkness. Suddenly a clap of thunder and the screen quickly flashes the face of Neforian before returning back into blackness again. Another clap of thunder and again a quick glimpse of Neforian.
“I love a good thunderstorm”
Neforians voice can be heard but the screen remains black. Rain falls steady on the rooftop.
“The funny thing about a storm like this one is that while it brings destruction and danger in its wake, there is a certain beauty behind it. Something about the way the rain falls steadily on the rooftop is soothing. The occasional clap of thunder exhilarating and the sudden burst of light as bolts of electricity streak across the dark sky bewildering. The storm is natures great contradiction. Something so dangerous and destructive and yet….so beautiful.”
“There is a storm in the WCF right now. This storm rolled in five weeks ago and has left a path of destruction in its wake. The clouds of this storm still swirl above the sky of the WCF. This storm has become the most dangerous thing in the WCF right now and yet, in its own way, Beautiful.”
“I am that Storm. I am that destructive force. I am the WCF Television Champion. And this Sunday at Slam. Tomahawk will find out just like the 5 men before him that this storm will not….cannot…be stopped”
Another clap of thunder and bolt of lightning and the video feed cuts out.
