The Waiting Room

Chatper 17- End of the Beginning, Beginning of the End

My heart stopped. The person in my dream was, in fact, James. He really had the discussion with Death. He thought I didn’t care about him. I felt my heart lurch in my chest as I looked down again at the broken James. He wasn't the person I had known before. He looked gone, his usual light brown eyes were hallow and dark, and his mouth was turned down into a frown. Dark purple bruises scattered around his face. I clenched my teeth at the sight. What had they done to my best friend? He looked depressed, and it seemed as if he didn't realize I was here. Then, he started talking,

“Phaedra, I belong here.”

Those were the first words he uttered. This angered me. I let my eyebrows dip into a frown. What had Death done that I hadn’t seen? I was afraid to know the answer, though.

 His expression didn’t change even after these words.  Though, his eyes were glazed over as if he was thinking or remembering something. I felt my mouth turning dry,

"James..." I trailed sadly, trying to think of what to say. I walked over to him, and sat on he round. I clasped his shoulders with my hands, and furiously shook him.

“Can’t you see? Even if I came out of here, I’d only live a few years, before I died. Once I step out of this ‘age-preserving’ bubble, I would be old- so old in fact that I would need help. I can’t live like that! I don’t even know how I’m living now! I’ve wasted all my years in waiting for something to happen, and now I’m too old to even do anything,” he spat at the floor angrily. I hesitated in trying to put my palm on his shoulder. I sighed after reviewing his point,

            “Look here James, I see where you are coming from- heck, I really do. Thinking of it this way: you are not dead. You see James, when Death magically made me disapear, he only really put me in his prison. I lived a day in the world I wished I could see again, but I can’t,” I whispered, I let the tears fall from my eyes freely. A sob racked my body and I let it escape, “James, I’m dead. I’ll never be able to see anyone again. You and I, are not so different. We both are either dead or lost. I don’t know when I died, but I did. We both have lost the people we hold dearest to us. Please, James, stop pitying yourself, and-”

            “I am not pitying myself!” he yelled angrily. He stood up, and walked away from me. He arrived at the farthest wall, and placed a hand on it, “My mother died here aswell. My father is gone, and in reality so am I. I hate this situation, and I wish I could have realized sooner in the tests that there was no reason that I should ever try to win them, because there is no reward of a life. You only die in the end. What was the point of ever trying to fight for our lives if they are already gone?” he muttered dejectedly.

            “James!” I yelled angrily, and I paced over to him, “What we needed most wasn’t our lives! It is the hope to have our lives! That hope itself makes us more alive than any winning could! Where would we be if we hadn’t thought that we could have gotten out of the tests? Well, James?” I shot at him, but I didn’t leave time for him to answer, “Nowhere, James! We would be rotting in a hole burried somewhere in the tests with no honor or moral! We really would be useless and dead. Think of us now, James. We succeeded. May it not be with our lives, but we won over Death. We will never get a reward, but peacefully go a heavenly place where we should nestle for the rest of eternity,” I proudly said with confidence. I let out a sigh of content after finising my small monologue. I glanced up at James. This time, I wasn’t looking at the skin and ghost of James, I was looking as he was in the Waiting Room. I was looking at the James who had his moral and happiness. I was looking at his present self. Gone were the hallow eyes, and sunken cheeks. There was no inch of sadness and pity that I could see anymore.

            “You are right, Phaedra. We have won,” he murmured to himself happily. I smiled softly at him, and tried to listen to my own guidance and advice before the thought of my death killed me.

            “Well, I suppose everything is all well and swell now isn’t it? You think you have won? Even though you are dead? Fools you are! How can you win if you are not alive to see it?” a voice seethed from behind us. I whipped around to see the full cloaked man from my nightmares, both real and imaginary.

            “Why need you be alive to win?” James piped up beside me. I nodded to myself at his words. He was right, my own words were right.

            “Ah, such wise and provocative words from a mere adolecent, how can you say you have seen the world and kown its meaning?” Death said in a mocking and disbelieving voice.

            “We have seen enough to know that it matters not what the end may hold, but what happens during the time to reach the end is the most important part. What need have we of winning and of death?” I spoke up at my turn now.  

            Before Death could rebuke, a white light shone from the heavens and beamed down onto us. I looked up, all I could see was the pure white color, and the silhouettes in the distance as they beckoned us to come hither. I smiled as I knew what awaits, it wasn’t the evil of Death, or the sad cruelty of the truth both James and I knew. It was the glimmer of hope of a better place.

            “Yes, Death. We have triumphed over you. We have not beaten you over whether or not we keep our lives which would remain impossible, but rather of succeeding at finding hope, courage, and happiness. For that we can safely say that we do indeed know the meaning of the world,” James said softly. I could feel his gaze upon the unknown world that in front of us.

            “Where one loses, the other wins. That may not mean much from us, Death. It is enough though,” I mumured to him. Before he could snatch us back, I grabbed James’ hand tightly so as it would not slip, and we walked hand in hand and side to side across the white colored floor. The sounds of Death screaming at us to come back, and of our earlier pity and sadness washed away as we entered the last piece of our time. We may not have known it then, but the Waiting Room as well as Death had given us a new life as well as a new meaning. Our mortal lives were lost, but the immortal one birthed from the Waiting Room remained. I didn’t cast as single glance behind me, as we walked towards the silhouettes who eagerly waited for our arrival.

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A/N: THE WAITING ROOM IS FINISHED :) PLEASE VOMMENT