Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Feel (emotions) (08/26/10)
-
TITLE: The Last Airport | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ivie Bozeman
08/30/10 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Mary Buford turned her head to the right as she awoke and opened her eyes.
Her surroundings were strange. Where was she? Her glance swept the room, coming to rest on the closed blinds shielding the light of the newborn day from her eyes. Beside the opposite wall was a familiar couch she recognized from her former home. A remote control to her television was on the couch,. There was her television from home near the window, opposite the couch. On the stand beside the bed, she saw a picture of her late husband.
Still disoriented, she sat up, placed one foot on the floor and with her hand lifted the stiff right knee and leg that would not cooperate on its own. There was a door just beyond the foot of her bed. As her mind begin to focus, she recognized it to be a bathroom door. That was where she needed to go.
Once inside, her unconscious mind--that deep part that was like a river below a river, took charge and led her through the morning rituals. Once she had finished, her conscious mind was flowing with clear thoughts helping her focus on reality. She was in the Splendor of Paradise Assisted Living Center. She had moved in yesterday.
Having found her focus of the present moment, she remembered breakfast was in the Magnolia Dining Hall at 8:30 a.m.
Dressed and ready to go, she glanced at her husband’s picture. “J.C.”, she said,
“Why did you go and leave me? If you had not died, we could still be living at our home and I wouldn’t be alone in this strange place.”
Her cane in hand, Mary walked into the hallway. Across the hall she recognized a familiar name on the door. Molly Blake had been a member of her church. Her room was empty. The next door down read: Bob Calhoun. He had been a friend of her husband in the Golden “K” Kiwanis Club.
As she walked down the hall, she read the names on each door. She knew most of the occupants. She had worked at City Hall during her productive years. She knew lots of people in Hobsonville.
When she entered the dining hall, everyone was already seated and drinking coffee, waiting for the food to be served. The tables were arranged in a horse-shoe shape. Mary could see almost everyone in the room. Two thirds of the people she knew, including a number from her own church.
She sipped her coffee and looked around at the familiar faces and studying the strange ones.
Why do I feel so sad. This place is first-class. A friendly staff member placed a cup of coffee in front of her and asked her preference of food.
As she savored the hot coffee, she felt a great sadness engulf her. This was a nice place, but it was the end of the road for her here on earth. Her next move would be to her heavenly home.
She knew she should be thankful to be here; yet, her emotions insisted on leading her backward. She thought of the mornings she and J.C. had sat in their little breakfast nook, drinking coffee, Tears filled her eyes. She looked down at the cup in her hand, hoping others would not see the tears.
A lady next to her reached over and patted her shoulder. “Its O.K. to cry”, she said. “We all know just how you feel. Tears bring healing. We all felt like you when we first arrived.”
“I feel so alone,” she sobbed through her tears.”
“We all did when we first arrived, but now we have become family. We support each other.” the lady replied.
Once the tears were under control, Mary replied, “I’m sorry about the tears, but my emotions are all stirred up.”
“Switch from your feelings and emotions to your imagination,” said the lady.
“Imagine we are all travelers in a large airport, but there’s only one plane that comes here. It takes one passenger at a time and we never know when our ticket will be honored. So we eat, drink, laugh and be merry, making the most of our time together before our ticket number is called. Our number may be called tomorrow or it may be years. In the meantime, we trust in the One who programmed the numbers and make the most of our time.”
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.