An innocent victim of a drive-by shooting, he’d been in a coma for six months. Attached to intravenous drips, a ventilator, a catheter, with various electrodes attached to monitor his life functions, the twenty-year-old Rafael, to all eyes, professional and personal, looked like inert material that needed to be cared for in the coma unit of a large hospital.
What nobody understood is that Rafael, though confined by his body because of the trauma, walked freely in the city. Through divine intervention or via his mind transcending the physical, Rafael was a free man.
Rafael visited his parents, other family members, and his friends, but his most frequent place to go was the boardwalk out along the bay. He knew that’s where he would find her, the love of his life, Gemella. Gemella took early morning walks there, then came back and had her lunch there. She strolled along, looking at the city with a distant look on her face. As she ate her salad or munched her sandwich her expression grew happy, then sad, and often there were tears.
You see, the boardwalk was where Rafael and Gemella first met, when they shared a bench at lunch time one sunny afternoon. Gemella came here as often as she could. Visiting Rafael’s inert body at the hospital brought her only grief and depression. Here her beloved came alive again, which sustained her hope. If only Rafael could let Gemella know he was still very much alive in spirit. He walked beside her, sat beside her, and tried to touch her face.
One day, she appeared to feel his caress, as her hand flew to her face then lovingly rubbed her own cheek. What she didn’t know was at that moment the machines at the hospital began to beep and the squiggles on the screen began to jump.
Rafael could feel himself being pulled back to the hospital, which happened in an instant. He heard a loud pop at the same time as his eyes opened. He was back. The nurses, alerted to the beeps, quickly removed the ventilator.
“Gemella,” he croaked out, then died.
Sadje is the host of What do you see?
Tao Talk 
I was hoping for a happy ending. You’re story just pulled me in.
Thanks Li for being a part of the challenge.
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Sadje, I had a happy ending written and changed it for some reason. Not in a hopeful frame of mind right now. I need to see my family. Tired of this lockdown 😦
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That’s okay Li. Not all stories end happily. Thanks for joining in
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Aww Li! Just as I was expecting a happy ending…
Very compellingly written. Take care. ❤️
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Thanks, Punam. The last couple of days have been a struggle.
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I hope things get better and you are able to meet your family.
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I’m in the ‘aww’ camp too! But I know exactly what happened. It happened to me too.
All the best 🙂
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Thanks, Chris.
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Hopes dashed. Perhaps his spirit will still walk beside her.
I do wonder where people “are” when they seem to be unresponsive. I wondered that all the time when my mother was caught inside Alzheimers. (K)
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I hope so, K. I hope they are enjoying themselves, wherever they are. Maybe they are just experiencing the world in a new way.
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It sounds like he went out with a smile on his face.
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Yes he did 🙂
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I hope his soul can still visit her…even dead.
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It would be so nice to be able to travel outside our bodies on the astral plane. I fantasize about this all the time.
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You do, Len? That’s interesting. I’ve heard it can be done; but I’ve also heard of the risks that are linked to it. If you could travel on the astral plane, what would you do/where would you go?
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Wow, this would make a great movie!
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They did: “Ghost.” 🙂 Very loosely based…
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Oh, how I wish it was another ending. But, true to the reality of life it doesn’t always end happy.
I enjoyed the read. I’m glad you added this ending. Well done …
Isadora 😎
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Thank you very much, Isadora.
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I don’t personally believe in the astral plan but I love the concept of being able to travel outside your body. I often visualize, through my mind, that I can travel outside the confines of this earthly planet and travel with the earth around the sun, and with the sun around the universe.
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Now that sounds like a wonderful time. A real dancing with the stars 🙂
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I too (though I like to be alone sometimes…) am tired of the lock-down. Some of our counties are defying our governor and are attempting some openings. When and if will things return to the way that they were… who knows. I think though it will be a long road and disappointments will be apart of that reality.
Not every story has to have a happy ending. We learn though from everything – at least I’d like to think so…
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Thank you for your very thoughtful comment, Jules.
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