Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2020 18:50:26 +0000
From: Jonah
Subject: Howard   Chapter 5

This is a work of fiction. It is a sequel to the other stories, beginning
with "A Letter from America" that have appeared in adult/youth, young pals,
and no sex.  Not one single character is , or is based on, a real person.
I have borrowed the names of places, and even of some buildings and
institutions in those places, but their personnel remain fictitious. They
do not represent real people. Not all characters were created by me.  There
are some that were created by another author -- Jacob Lion.  I am grateful
to Jacob for permission to use his characters.  I hope you enjoy this
story.  I'm grateful to Nifty for publishing it.  Nifty makes no charge,
neither for me to publish, nor for you to read these stories, but it does
cost money to publish them.  If you enjoy the stories, please consider
making a donation to Nifty at  http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html  so that
he can continue to bring these stories to you.


Howard     Chapter 5

Only one person (besides me of course) slept in his own bed that night.
Simon had Ben sharing with him.  Everybody else shared my bed, and I hadn't
the heart to complain.

The dog's blanket went at the foot of the bed, and the dog slept there
without complaint.

I was up early enough to telephone both schools to tell them what had
happened.  In both cases I was told to tell the boys that they would be in
their prayers and to take as long as they needed.

That being done, I set about preparing breakfast, but was interrupted by
the telephone.

"The Cummings residence," I told it.

"Hi Jonah, how's things" said Phil Manley quietly.

"Oh, hi Phil.  About how you'd expect under the circumstances."

"I guess, since he's not in his flat, Rob's still with you?"

I told him that it was so.

"Tell him to stay there.  I've got a locum covering his surgery for the
rest of this week, and for as long as he thinks it's necessary.  Ben needs
him more than I do."

"Thanks Phil. I'll tell him that.  I didn't ask how you are."

"A bit shocked, to tell you the truth.  I think a lot of people are."

"Yes, I reckon they are.  Thanks again Phil."  I hung up the phone.

I took great delight in taking two mugs of tea into the boy's room.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" said Simon quietly, so as not to wake Ben (yes,
I know - but he'd only just woken up himself.  Now tell me that you'd have
been sharp enough to think of that under those circumstances).

"Just checking that you're OK," I replied, "after all, you're not getting
any younger".

"Touche'" he muttered, before taking a sip of his tea.

I got back downstairs just in time for the phone to ring again.

"61578."

"Hallo Jonah, It's only me," said Dave Webber.

"Oh hi Dave.  How's things?"

"Hard to say," he replied.  "Look Jonah, is it OK if I pop round in a bit.
I need to see Ben urgently, but I think I need to talk to Luke first."

"Well, yes, of course," I said, in some confusion.  "Neither of them are up
yet, but you know you're always welcome."

"I'll see you in a bit then," he said.

Well that was mystifying.

"Is it breakfast time?"

"Your breakfast is on the counter Luke.  There's scrambled egg in that
basin, and I've just made some toast.  I was just about to bring it up for
you.  Do you mind nipping back up and getting dressed first?"

"Why?"

"Dave's coming round.  He wants a word with you."

The boy looked uneasy.

"With me?  Do I have to see him?"

"Don't you want to?"

he shook his head violently."

"Well you don't have to, but I think you should."

He turned and ran back up the stairs. I followed with Peter's breakfast.
No need to get Peter up early today.

Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door.  I let Dave in.

"Hello Mr. Webber," said Luke, coming down the stairs.

"He wasn't very keen to talk to you," I said to Dave.

"Why was that Luke?" Dave inquired.  "Was it because you were afraid I
wanted to talk about those visions you'd rather forget about?"

Luke nodded.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" I asked.

"No need for that Jonah," he replied.  "Luke might prefer you to stay."

I put an arm around the boy's shoulder and he immediately clung to my
waist.

"Luke, " Dave began.  "You're right, I do need to know more about those
visions.  Especially the second one.  I need you to tell me exactly what
you saw."

Luke said nothing for a few seconds.  It was clearly difficult for him and
he needed to steel himself to the task.  When he did speak it was with
perfect clarity and confidence.

"Well in the vision I was Ben.  I was crossing the road with Monica, just
on the corner of Church Avenue.  Then Monica pushed me so I couldn't see
much for a few seconds.  There was a screech of brakes, and Monica
screamed.  When I looked round she was......"

He broke down in tears.  I was dumbfounded, but I had to comfort my boy.

"Jonah, I need to see Ben right away."

"Yes' you do," I agreed.  "Upstairs and first on the left."

He disappeared up the stairs.  I knelt in front of Luke.

"Luke," I told him, "you're a good boy, and you've just been amazing."

He couldn't stop crying.  I think even he had just realised what he had
just said.

I sat and hugged Luke.  I had to do this and Dave and Simon would just have
to deal with Ben.

"'S going on?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you Rob.  Want a cuppa?"

"I would do murder for a cuppa."

"Best not.  Just sit here and comfort Luke.  He's had a bit of a shock."

"What another one?"

"Oh, believe me, Shocks'R'Us around here.  Yours is still to come."

Suddenly a door slammed upstairs, followed by a terrified scream.  I raced
for the stairs.

"Stay with Luke, Rob," I ordered.

"But I need to...."

"STAY! Luke needs you right now."

As if to prove the truth of my words Luke held firmly to him and burst into
fresh tears.  I couldn't tell whether this was fear or shock - or whether
he had indeed taken his cue from me to keep Rob with him.  He was certainly
smart enough to do that.

I opened the door and slid into the boys' room.  Simon and Dave were both
holding and hugging a distraught Ben, who, after his initial scream, had
subsided into convulsive sobs.

"No, no, make it go away," he kept sobbing.

I slid between Dave and Simon so that I was in front of him.

"But you don't want it to go away," I said quietly, so as not to frighten
him.  "The rest of us have had those sounds for years. You'll soon get used
to them and then you'll be glad you've got them."

"I don't want them," he sobbed.  "I want Monica."

"And Monica wanted you to have life." I told him.  "She wants you to have a
GOOD life."

"I'm not worth it."

"Well that's kind of up to you," I told him.  "The rest of us never get to
know what we're worth, but you at least know what you cost.  Monica paid
with her life.  It's up to you whether she gets value for money."

He wiped his nose on his sleeve.  I took that for a good sign.

"Ben," I said, still keeping my voice down, "Rob's downstairs.  i think he
needs to see you.  He doesn't know."

He nodded and moved to the door.

"I think you need to shower and get dressed first," I told him.

"I'll shower with him," said Simon.  "It'll be less frightening for him.
Come on Ben."

"What happened there?" I asked Dave when we were alone.

"Part of Ben's brain that should have been activated when he was born got
activated yesterday instead," he replied.  "Don't ask me what activated
it. Could have been Monica pushing him, or the impact with the road, the
trauma of seeing Monica alive and pushing one moment, and dead the next, or
something in his own thoughts that was triggered by the incident.  Anyway,
it's happened and that's all we need to know."

"So, what do we need to do now?"

"Pray, Jonah, pray.  He's going to need a lot of help.  Ordinarily
recovering from a disability would be cause for great rejoicing, even
though the new world of sound is unfamiliar and frightening but look at it
from his point of view.  How can he rejoice?  How can he celebrate?  He's
only a youngster, but already it has come too late in life to share his new
abilities with his parents, or with his sister and, if we're not careful,
every sound he hears, he will associate with the death of a friend.  It's a
miracle alright, but he's going to need another miracle to be able to come
to terms with it.  Pray for another miracle mate."

"I get that we've got a lot of work to do with him, but I meant right now."

"Right now, I've got a meeting with June at ten forty-five to discuss the
funeral.  She's coming out to see you later, she says, but I'd better be on
my way."

"OK Dave.  Thanks for everything."

I heard the shower stop in the bathroom.  They'd be out to get dressed in a
few minutes.  I wanted to catch them before they went downstairs, but I'd
got time to send the e mail.



Harrow 8 September 2020

Hallo Jake

It isn't good news I'm afraid.  There's no easy way to say this.  Monica
Hardy was killed yesterday afternoon in a road accident.  She was escorting
Ben home and she managed to save his life, but not her own.

Naturally everybody here is upset.  Ben is inconsolable, though the
bittersweet effect of the accident is that it has cured him of his
deafness.  He finds his new hearing frightening and says he would rather
have Monica.  Luke went through a trauma too, but he has been amazing.

I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news.

Jonah



There was a gentle knock on the bedroom door.  Peter slid into the room.
It was not the usual lively, fun-loving Peter, but I didn't expect that.

"What can I do for you Champ?"

"Jonah......... I need....... I need to talk to Ben....."

"He's a bit upset at the moment mate....."

"I know..... I need to talk to him.... but I need you to be there... in
case..."

A sudden, horrific thought struck me.

"Peter, this isn't............?

"Isn't what...........?"

"Doesn't matter."

It mattered alright, but supposing I was wrong.  I couldn't do that to him.

I heard the sound of the latch on the boys' room door, so I stepped past
Peter onto the landing as the two teenagers emerged.

"Ben, can I have a word?  You go down Simon - we won't be long."

I stepped back into my room and Ben followed.  He still didn't look happy.

"You can have a word," he mumbled.  "I'll be able to hear it.  I wish I
couldn't."

Ben was giving me the same sulky-teenager treatment that Simon used to give
a year or so back.  I was about to snap back an irritable answer when the
clear voice of a child interrupted from behind me.

"Ben, sometimes somebody has to die so that somebody else can live."

I saw Ben bite his tongue then.  He had been about to give another petulant
reply, but something in Peter's tone prevented him.  Quickly I put an arm
round his shoulder and sat him on the edge of my bed so that Peter wasn't
speaking up at him. The arm stayed round his shoulder as I sat next to him.

"I didn't know my Mummy because she died having me."

"How long have you known that Peter?" I had to know.

"Couple of years.  Someone said something at school, and I worked it out.
Daddy didn't tell me, and Simon didn't, but I worked it out.  It's horrible
knowing you cost someone their life.  I didn't want to go on living after
that."

"Peter....." his look silenced me.

"I wanted my Mummy, and I never even knew her.  But then I did."

Nobody was going to interrupt him now.

"I read about ways of doing it.  When I was on the way back from school one
day I ran away from Simon and ran into the woods by Yeading Brook.  I
climbed this tree and was going to tie one end of my tie to it but, before
I could get it off, this voice said, "Peter, what are you doing?"  I
thought someone had crept up behind me, so I said.  "Go away, I don't want
to be alive," but when I turned around there was nobody there.  Then the
voice said, "You are alive Peter.  Your time to be born was my time to die.
My time to live is past, and your time to live is now.  Live Peter and grow
up to be all that I know you can be, and always know that I love you."
That was it because Simon caught up with me.  He couldn't see me because I
was up the tree, so I dropped down beside him and pretended I had been
playing a trick on him."

"Does Simon know?"

"I don't know.  We never talk about it.  I told Daddy that I knew.  He
never said anything much and the next day he died too."

I fought valiantly to prevent the pain that I felt as I heard this from
showing in my face, but Peter had turned to Ben.

"Ben, you've got to live.  Monica can't anymore, because her time is past
so you've got to do it."

From the doorway Simon said,

"Is it not common, all that lives must die; passing though nature to
eternity?"

I looked him straight in the face.

"Simon," I said, "I hope you were just showing off your knowledge of
Shakespeare, because you can't just write off somebody's life with a line
like that.  Shakespeare gave that line to a bad character.  Even he didn't
believe it. "

"But it's true."

"It's a statistic.  100% of people die.  Take it from an old advertising
man - statistics are only half the truth."

"What about the true ones?"

"I'll give you a true statistic Simon.  You are a human being. You are 50%
Dihydrogen Monoxide, 23% Carbon, and most of the rest made up from various
trace elements.  That is a true statistic, so if I mixed a sack of soot
with a gallon of water, then added the contents of a kid's chemistry set
and sent it to school instead of you, nobody would be able to tell the
difference."

"I'm going to put the kettle on."



TO BE CONTINUED