Solutions: The Dilemma of Patience by James Gerard (life books to read .TXT) 📕

“Emily,” again was whispered.

“Julia,” shouted Michael.

Julia came rushing towards him in a frantic pace.  “Hush,” she whispered.

“One of them is whispering ‘Emily.’”  Who is it?”

Julia pointed towards a specific bed.  “Oh.  That’s just Louis.  He’s harmless.”

Michael bolted over to the side of the bed and pulled the blanket off the face.   He stared intently on the face of the man.  “Oh my God!  It can’t be,” he whispered.

The years had aged the appearance of the man that had been taken captive by the state so many years ago, but in an instant the innocence from the man’s joyful gaze gave him away.  “I can’t believe it?” he whispered.  “Louis.”

“Do you know him?” asked Julia.

“Martha,” he shouted to a young nurse tending the needs of another friend.

“Yes.”

“I want you to go get Emily and bring her here.”

“But….”

“I know she’s to be left alone, but tell her…tell her that a dear old friend has returned.”

“Tell her what?” asked Martha as if confused by the request.

“Just tell her to get over here and talk with our lost friend.”

“What’s this about?” asked Julia.

“Louis Julia.  Louis!   Remember Louis?”

Michael watched as her face contorted into a look of confusion then as if a light had just burnt through some of the lingering cobwebs blocking certain memories, the memory came in shining bright.

“What’s going on?” asked Jacqueline as she joined them by the bed.

“Do you know who Louis is?” asked Michael.

“I don’t recognize the name.  Why?  Who is he?”

“Someone we suspected was killed by the order of your father, but we were never certain.”

Michael heard the heavy footsteps in the hallway that crept closer towards the door.  He looked at Louis with a smile and reasoned that whatever method of cruelty he had underwent, they were unable to break the Spirit that lived within.  

Emily came through the door staring at the concrete floor.  Under any other circumstances Michael dared not interrupt the constant prayers for forgiveness in the solitude of the dimly lit and stark room where she chose to bow before her God, but he knew she would be freed from the self-imposed punishment at the sight of Louis.

Martha led her by an arm up to the bed.

Michael bent down and stared into Louis’ eyes as Emily appeared reluctant to expose the shame she had brought on herself.

“Louis,” he whispered, “Emily is here.”

“Emily.”

All of sudden she gasped.   Her countenance became animated.  “Oh my Lord,” she cried as their eyes locked.  She fell into his arms.  Tears gushed forth.

Louis reached a hand to her face and wiped away the tears.  “It’s okay Emily.  It wasn’t your fault.”

“Wow,” whispered Julia.  “That’s the most I have ever heard him say in all those years.”

Michael winked at Julia and motioned to Jacqueline.  “Let’s give them some privacy.”

As they walked away Michael took one more peak as the two friends renewed a friendship that had been robbed so many years ago and smiled.

“What was that all about?” asked Jacqueline.

“Just two friends back together at last.”

“Louis is the son of Terrance, the man who brought down the men that had posed as gods long before you were born,” said Julia.

“How did they meet?”

“Louis was brought to Emily to keep safe,” answered Michael. “Unfortunately, Louis’ stubbornness...no, his unwavering desire to go out and preach one too many times led to his capture.  We never knew what happened to him.  We always assumed he was killed.”

“I had thought,” added Julia, “that Louis never realized that it was too dangerous to do what he did, but in retrospect, he knew but just didn’t worry about it.”

“Emily felt bad,” chimed in Michael, “felt she was responsible for his capture.  She became so depressed that she wanted to die.   We had to take her to a safe house and watch over her.  When we made the move here she was brought down, but she’s remained reclusive all these years in prayer.”

“My father had something to do with this?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m surprised he let him live.”

“Amazingly enough, as we see him here today, us too.”

Julia walked over to one of her friends as he began to moan.  Michael stared at Jacqueline who stood silently by him.  She held a fixed gaze on the two as if in disbelief that such a loving relationship was possible in the world she knew as cold and unforgiving.  At the same time, he was puzzled by her own ignorance of such a relationship she found with her sister Valerie and Julia.

Beyond that, Michael sensed from her a thought running around the mind.  Something was going on inside a heart that once waned cold but now seemed to be waxing with such warmth that she could not comprehend the source.

 The meeting between Michael, Philip, and Troy had ended.  As he walked out of the room the thoughts focused on Jacqueline.  Last seen she had been standing by the door just staring into the ward.

He returned to the spot expecting to find her once again assisting with the needs of the new found friends, but Julia was the only one stirring about.  He looked over at Emily and Louis in each other’s arms chatting and laughing, but she too was absent from that scene.

Michael walked along the long path of the hallway wondering if curiosity led her to each and every room to discover all the sanctuary had to offer, but as he peered into each and every room, asked if anyone had seen her, it appeared she had vanished.

A panic set in as Michael considered that Jacqueline had become overwhelmed with all that was experienced and witnessed.  That it had run entirely contrary to every belief she had of the world and simply fled the overpowering force and returned to a life in which a state of personal comfort was sought just by its cruel familiarity.

He sprinted to the stairs and ran up to the top.  The bus, the assault vehicles, the daunting black sedan which she used that day were still parked under the dim lights.  Michael ran over to the entrance door but a voice shouting in the utter darkness far into the distance was heard.  He stopped and turned.

“Jacqueline!” he screamed.

A lone voice responded with a scream as if in agony.

Her screaming voice guided Michael through the darkness.  With just enough light stretching out into the dark, expansive cavity, Michael spotted her lying on the cold, concrete floor.  “You’d be amazed just how far it goes if all the lights were on.”

“Like I care,” shouted Jacqueline.

“You sure you didn’t read about this place?  Maybe you just forgot.”

Jacqueline stood up and faced Michael.  “No.  I guess I was just too busy having people hunted down and killed.”

“That needs to be forgotten Jacqueline.  It is where do you go from here?”

Jacqueline took a few steps towards the wall of darkness but stopped.  Michael again wondered if she was reminiscing over the plan that had originally centered on rescuing Valerie, but somehow had been upset by what had been confronted in the bid to do so, but he could not tell.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

“Are you thinking about going back?”

“You mean to the life that my father carefully groomed and nourished for his nasty pleasure?  Sure I can.”

“Do you want to?”

“Actually,” said Jacqueline, “I would just long enough just to hurt him bad.”

Michael walked up to her from behind and whispered, “Do you really feel that way?”

“It’s quite funny actually,” she giggled.  “That day I found out I had a younger sister was the day I learned to hate.  And like the spawn of the Devil he is, he took such pleasure in harvesting it to turn me into the killer I am today.  And you know what the irony is Michael?”

“I could only guess.”

“The hatred he taught me for others was always a hatred for just him.  You know Michael, the bastard was so intent on rearing me up according to what he wanted that I figured out pretty quickly if I didn’t go along with his plans he’d have me killed too—just like my mother and my brothers.”

Jacqueline laughed hysterically.  “All of this is the fault of my mother really.  If she hadn’t actually demonstrated a sign of compassion by secretly telling me never to forget Valerie after the visit, oh you just don’t know how evil I would’ve been Michael.”

“It must’ve been like torture all these years.”

She released an agonizing scream.  “He was going to kill Valerie you know,” she wailed.  “He was going to kill his own daughter.  He was going to kill them all.”

Michael reached out and consoled Jacqueline as she wept.  “You changed all that didn’t you.  You reached out and did something rather remarkable didn’t you?”

Her body trembled violently.  She could not answer.

“Jacqueline,” whispered Michael, “tell me, who is your god now: God or the Council?”

“Please,” she laughed.  “Me believe in your God?  I did what I did to save my sister.  That was my only motivation.”

“Then I ask the question again: Why did you bother to save the others?”

“Because what else was I supposed to do with them?”

“Just let go of the doubts Jacqueline.  Just admit that you actually cared about them.”

“You know who I am.  You know the evil things I’ve done.  You of all people should know that your God would never reach out to me.”

“Ah,” whispered Michael, “you believe that the way you think, that the way any of us think is the way God thinks?  Your belief is based on your understanding, not his.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“Actually, we all have trouble with that.  But the fact remains that you are still here.  If it is really in your heart to go hurt your father, to continue with your former life, then no one is holding you against your will.  There’s your vehicle.  You can leave whenever you want.”

“Why is it so humid in here?” she shouted.  “I can hardly stand it.”

Michael walked over to the side of the massive bay door and motioned for Jacqueline to follow.  Sunlight came beaming through the opening of a small door.  A gentle breeze swept on by.

Jacqueline and Michael hiked up to the top of the hill hiding the sanctuary below.  Reaching the top, the horizon line to the west framed the crystal clear blue sky at the top with the deep blue hue of the ocean at the bottom.

“Wow.  One of the things I did look at in detail was photographs of what this area once looked like.  You know,” she said while waving a hand from one end of the horizon to the other, “it was crowded with houses and businesses and a wide highway.  Now look at it; it’s all been erased just like that.”

“So, what do you want to do?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about this.  Tell me what you think.  In his paranoia he had a huge security complex built not too far from here in