Short story written in 2024 by BW Derge, “An Excuse for Melancholy (In Three Parts)” – with part 1, The Incident in the Woods – Part 2, Let’s Discuss Over Some Tea – and Part 3, Reunification –
An Excuse for Melancholy
Part 1: The Incident in the Woods
What preoccupied the twelve-year-old’s mind at this moment probably involved comic books or some trivial things to occur in class earlier that day. Whatever it was, for sure it was soon forgotten as from the shrouded forest, a large person stepped in front of him and blocked his path. The boy’s heart fluttered. In a secluded stretch of trees between the kid’s school and his home, the afternoon sun hid behind an overcast sky.
The figure looked like a futuristic soldier from a video game. The face was covered by some sort of odd contraption that included big bubbly goggles. At first glance, it appeared as though the towering individual clutched a rifle of some type. The panicked kid’s pulse pounded even faster as his mind struggled to discern what the scary weapon actually was. The boy took a step back when four other dark soldiers made their presence known. There were two behind him, one to the right, one on the left. They wore identical black suits and had the same weapons and although it was no gun that the child could recognize, it definitely resembled a firearm and five of them were now pointed directly at him.
With nowhere to run, the team of soldiers closed in. The boy lost consciousness when one of the shadow men pulled a trigger. A high-pitched piercing noise scared a group of birds that were perched in branches above. All six people involved in the incident had vanished.
Part 2: Let's Discuss Over Some Tea
“First, I’d just like to say, I’m terribly sorry for your loss.” The woman was in her forties, wore a blue business suit, and sat across from a married couple in a dimly lit partially neglected kitchen.
“Thank you,” said the wife. The weeks of sadness endured was evident by her pale skin and exhausted expression. Steam rose from three mugs on the table.
“We know this is going to be a difficult conversation,” the husband said. “But we’d like to just get into it and get this part over with.”
“I completely understand.” The saleswoman dug into her briefcase and pulled out a tablet. “Just to triple-check I’ve got the right case here, we’re discussing the loss of your son, David, who passed a few weeks ago.” The bereaved couple nodded and the woman continued, “Okay. What a tragedy. This is the kind of senseless thing that I strive to rectify. And after a few sleepless nights, we found a near perfect match.”
The husband and wife held each other’s hands tightly while they listened. “It’s practically identical, although there are some minor details we’ll have to review with you two, but the one important difference is David decided to leave school a little later that day so the drunk driver missed him entirely. In fact, that asshole made it home safely, but that’s neither here nor there.”
She took a sip of her tea as her eyes sped across the words and images on the tablet’s screen. “So our team can extrapolate him from the woods behind your property on the exact same day as the accident. He’ll wake up and it would be like nothing ever happened. Except well…”
She scanned the dirty dishes and trash that littered the couple’s large kitchen. “We will need to get this place, and you two, appearing more as though everything is normal.”
David’s father interjected, “Now, I thought we’re telling him that he has been in a coma, as to explain the loss of time. Wouldn’t that also provide an excuse for our melancholy?”
“Hmm, yes,” the woman in blue answered. “But, not as melancholic. In a coma, there’s more hope to cling to than with death.”
“Well this is our last hope,” said the mother.
The saleswoman nodded. “Yes, ma’am. That’s right.”
“And what happens to our other selves in the parallel universe? Aren’t we just exchanging grief?” the husband asked.
“Our clean-up team is very thorough,” the woman answered. “Your alternate selves will most likely be annihilated from that iteration of the world. As long as you’re okay with that, we can get started as soon as you complete the third payment of your installment plan.”
The wife spoke again as the woman in blue finished her tea. “And as far as we know, nothing from another universe can impact this one?”
The woman smiled. “That’s why we’ve been called the blessed universe. We are the only version of Earth to figure out how to travel back and forth, in and out of, the infinite array of possible worlds. With our groundbreaking technology, we’ll have David back in a matter of days.”
Part 3: Reunification
David’s mother had never been so anxious and scared in her life. It felt as though she was walking on air when approaching the hospital’s entrance. The extrapolation process had demolished their retirement savings, but it was all worth it to have her son back.
In a matter of a few minutes, she was standing in front of plexiglass, looking at her boy.
Breathing, laying there in the hospital bed just as she saw him last. Except now he was breathing. And there was no blood or panic or trepidation. Hope had returned in her cold heart.
“That is him, correct?” the Doctor asked.
The parents were crying but provided an inaudible response that communicated, “Yes.”
“Thank God,” said a nearby nurse.
“Don’t want to have that happen again…”
Written by BW Derge, All Rights Reserved 2024
© USA
This was a short story composed in 2024 called "An Excuse for Melancholy - in Three Parts"
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