He sits on the porch of his cabin, watching nature pass him by . The night sky with full moon shines down illuminating everything, but the thoughts jumbling around his soul. He checks his phone: no voice mail, no missed calls, and no texts. Is anyone out there still he thinks… He spots a brick in the yard and smiles, remembering the days they shared and breathes she took from him. Ah the days that they never wanted to end, but they did… How long ago was it… months? Days? Years? Decades?
How many times had he tried to call and no answer? The radio kicks on and starts to play a song, one he knows all too well… Their wedding song… The tears start to run down his face as he wonders where she is tonight. His phone rings with a number he doesn’t recognize. Picking it up before he can say a word a voice says “You’re not alone and I know you’re scared as hell…” The man shakes his head not believing he heard as he mumbles: “What? Who is this?” The voice calmly says: “The best is yet to come…” and the call ends… He dials it back and the operator tells him it’s a disconnected number…
His heart starts to race and his mind starts to feel like it did many years ago the night he met her… Grabbing his jacket, he realizes his gun and holster are still next to it, he grabs them and heads out the door. He jumps in his truck and looks back at the house and speeds away… to where he isn’t sure.
After driving what seems like days his truck starts to lose power and stop… he’s out of gas. He pulls over and gets out seeing where he is. He recognizes it instantly the theater they nicknamed ‘the rock’. The last few years have been hard on it as he enters through a broken window, and starts to explore this once proud stage area. He makes his way to the cat walk and sits down watching the stage below, like he used to do every week and how he spotted her the first time she walked on stage. He remembers the look of fear in her eyes the 1st night she walked out and how she frooze, until she looked up at him and he smiled… that instant changed everything for them.
Something falling in the distance catches his attention, as he listens closer… movement. A child of about 9 walks out on stage and starts to sing a song from one of the many plays and stage shows that used to play here. He enjoys her voice, but wonders why she’s here alone? Another voice joins her from off stage, one he remember till the day he dies… She appears and starts dancing, while singing with the little girl. He almost jumps off the catwalk with a loud metal creak as he stares. The woman grabs her child and quickly disappears behind the curtain. The man thinks I know this building still and uses a short cut to where they heading… barely getting their first their eyes meet…. He swallows hard as her jaw drops… the little girl asks “mommy do you know him?’
He watches her try to form the words as tears slowly come to her eyes and she says “it’s been awhile, hasn’t Jay?” He smiles and says “ten years… and you still look beautiful” She smiles and blushes like he remembers, as they walk to what used to be the props room now converted to a living area. She locks the door behind them and says “What brings you here?”
He looks down and then into her eyes and says “I’m sure you’d think i’m crazy if I told you….” She shakes her head and hugs him giving him a kiss saying “it doesn’t matter, your here now… today… god i’ve missed you…” She walks away and tells her daughter bedtime, to which the little one mumbles something as he interjects “why don’t you two come to the cabin…”
She looks at him and says “tomorrow”, as her little one jumps into bed. She starts to sing a lullaby, from the play where they first met. The man thinks is this real? I must be dreaming? He pinches himself and realizes he is awake. Second chances… he thanks God she is here now…. she sneaks away from her sleeping daughter and motions him to sit near by. He asks “why are you here?” She smiles and says “you’d think I was crazy if I told you…”
The daughter wakes up and asks “mommy will the radio turn on and play the song that makes you sad again tonight?” They both look at each other and smile and start to sing the lullaby….
THE END