Chapter Six: The Funeral

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The world seemed to spin around the boy's head. He felt like he was thrown out of his body and viewing the scene in a 360 degree angle. He saw himself, grasping desperately at Lindsey. He saw Lindsey, with her face full of tears, pumping her arms and running towards the door. He saw Tony and Richard staring at her, both getting ready to run her down. He saw Kayla with her hand over her mouth and wide open eyes looking at him. The world stood still for the boy, and in what can be considered real time it took but a blink of the eye for the various emotions to go through his mind. "She can't do this. She shouldn't die. I have to protect these people. -These- are the people who should continue living. -These- are the people who in the future will make an impact."

Lindsey had begun her sprint without even thinking of what was behind the door. Something took hold of her, and thrusted her forward. She had not stopped since she felt it. She closed her eyes as she ran past the boy, because she didn't want to see the pain in his eyes. She didn't want to see the shame she must have caused him. She heard footsteps, and knew that Richard and Tony were chasing after her, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to stop. She was two steps past the boy, and only one second from the door, when suddenly her center of gravity failed her. Her arm felt like it was going to be torn apart. She began to fall, when suddenly the boy grabbed hold of her. He had caught hold of her hand just in the nick of time, and held on as tight as he could. When her head finally stopped spinning she noticed where she was. For a minute she thought it was a dream, and she was back in the locker room on that fateful day. But she was here, in this unknown hallway of this unknown house, in the arms of the boy. He was holding her just like he had that day in the locker room.
"Why? You idiot...", she said, and then she started to cry. The boy simply held her close and kept his arms around her.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't let you", he said. The boy stood up, and walked to within one step from the door. He turned back to face his fellow hostages one last time.

"Richard, I want you to learn what it means to be strong. I want you to find within yourself the power to do things that you've only imagined until now. Find fulfillment through aiding others in a mutual cause. Let go of what makes you happy, and learn to enjoy things which make everyone happy.
Tony, despite your efforts to kill me, I want you to know I've forgiven you. I want you to go back to your family and learn what it means to be a part of one. If there is no center to hold it together - then become that center. Become the light which spills on to others, so they too can see what it means to shine.
Kayla, I wish you the best with your baby, and I hope that it grows up to become a wonderful person. Remember to always love them with the greatest power possible in your heart. You may not know all the answers in how to raise them, but if you look within your heart, there will be a force there to guide you."
The boy turned finally to Lindsey.
"Lindsey, I'm sorry." She began to cry again. "There is a reason this is the way things must be. God has told me this is the way things must be. I finally realized this in a dream. Well, it wasn't actually a dream, I suppose it was more like a premonition. I didn't know what it meant when I had it, but the other night it suddenly came rushing back to me. You will find out soon why this is the way things must be. You need only look inside - or in this case around - yourself. Your life is ahead of you Lindsey. You still have graduation parties and wedding ceremonies to attend for yourself and your friends. This is God's gift to you, Lindsey. The gift of life. Please find a way to use it happily."
The boy was talking to all of them now:
"There will come a time in the not too distant future where you all will understand this. I promise. Until that day, take some time to open your heart, and reach out to a power which has the ability to change your lives forever."
With those last words, the boy opened the door, which was pitch black inside, and stepped through. Lindsey was watching him with sorrowful eyes, and she noticed that he caught her eye just before going through. She hoped that her eyes would say to him, "Please don't, Please, Why? Don't, You don't have to do this...", but all he did was pat his back pocket with his hand.

It was not until much later did Lindsey notice that in her back pocket was the mini notepad and pencil, filled out in the boy's handwriting from front to back.

---

(Two Weeks Later)
Media outlets had been covering the hostage story for several weeks now. CNN, FOX News, ABC, and others all had their cameramen present the moment the SWAT teams tore down the barricades to the home. The twisted old man had stayed true to his word, and phoned in the rescue. He is now facing four hundred and eighty-seven years in prison. When the police forces captured him, cameramen eagerly shot the footage of the crazy man screaming, "I can't believe it! I can't believe it!" The remaining four hostages were reunited with their families a few short hours after they were rescued. A crime scene investigator was sent to search behind the mahogany door, where the others told him a fifth hostage had ventured. When the crime scene investigator returned, his colleagues asked him what the situation was. "Burn the house", he said. "And never speak of this place again."

Soon Lindsey, Kayla, Tony, and Richard had appeared on nearly every imaginable news channel in the United States. They all recalled the events, sparing some of the more gruesome details. Whenever they were asked about what happened to the boy, they all became silent. Soon some people in the boy's home town began to hear about the story and wondered if their encounters with their mysterious boy and if he could possibly be the same person. Soon the entire nation was inspired by the heroic acts of such a young man (which people now found it fitting to call him). A funeral procession was held, and people from all across the city came to attend.

While no body was retrieved, a coffin was placed above the ground and chairs were set up for the people attending. The girl from the alley was there, and so was Jennifer, who was crying perhaps the hardest of all. Sara sat in the third row, with a face clear of bruises for the first time in months. Lindsey, Richard, Tony, and Kayla all sat together in the front row. Jessica Parker was seated in the back, still with her baby intact, which was due in only one month. The regular proceedings took place, and then when it was time for family and friends to speak, everyone took their turn to tell everyone what the man taught them about life. The man had no family to speak of, so these people that he had saved were the only ones to carry on and pass down his memory. Finally, it was Lindsey's turn to speak. She was the last person to say anything at the funeral, before everyone began disbanding.

"After hearing all of these stories, I can't really say that mine will be much different. He didn't save my life, like he did for some of these people, but he did show me how -I- could save it. I guess in some weird sort of way he taught me what it means to enjoy living. Right before he left us, he gave me something, and wrote that he wanted me to share it with everyone on the day of his funeral. The girl began to read out loud:

"Dear Fellow Angels,
First off, I'd like to say 'Thank You' to everyone for being such wonderful and loving people. Everyone is a child of God inside, and I'm sure that many of the people here today can tell you that by opening your heart, you can find him too. I sincerely hope that this day is not one of mourning for the majority of you. I want everyone here to not lament that I am gone, but rejoice in what I have given some of you. Throughout the last few months I've seen a lot of news stories on some of the things I've done for people. People were calling me an angel, a 'Miracle Man', or something from heaven. I'm sorry if I disappoint any of you, but I am not any of those things. I am simply a child of God, like each and every one of you. I am no more of an angel than anyone else in the world who extends a caring, compassionate, and loving hand towards others. The evil and darkness that has begun to consume this world, comes from hearts which are currently misguided and astray. I urge each and every one of you to reach out and touch someone! Do not pray to God as a lesser entity than he, but pray to him with the knowledge that his power is the same power that surges through each and every one of you! I'm asking everyone here to become a part of this power, and help make this world the best that it can be! I'm calling all angels here today, and the thousands more across the globe, to join together, little by little, day by day. Helping one person creates a network of connections that extends far beyond the immediate response of giving another person aid. Look to the sky friends, where I am watching over you, and pray with and for each other. Become a living and loving part of this world - and you can truly become an angel!"

Everyone sat in prayer after Lindsey read what the man had written in the mini notepad. Lindsey realized earlier that while the man was holding her back from going through that door, he had slipped it in her pocket. He must've written it while in the Ankh Room by himself the night before that day. As the first person began to leave, rain began to slowly fall down on the coffin as it was lowered in to the ground. The man's body was not in the coffin, but his heart and spirit were most assuredly in the hearts and minds of thousands of people across the nation. Lindsey, Jennifer, Jessica, Sara, and everyone else who had been saved by the man were the last remaining, and they all looked deep in to the sky. They all imagined that some where up there, and also within their hearts, that God was looking over them, with the man at his side.

The end.

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