Childhood Memories Part III
Luke got out of his car, walked up to the front door, and unlocked it. The movers started to lift the boxes.
“Put ’em in the guest bedroom upstairs,” Luke told the movers.
One of the movers crashed into another and a framed photo fell out of the box. The glass in the frame cracked and shards fell to the pavement.
“Hey, that was a photo of my brother and me!”
“Sorry, sir. We’ll pay for that,” one of the movers said.
“No, it’s fine.”
Luke remembered the last time he saw his brother.
Luke was driving his brother, Lewis back home from the airport. It was a few days before Christmas. It started to snow. The snow got heavy on the road and it got harder to drive on it.
“Let me drive. You never could drive in the snow,” Louis said.
“No, I got it, Lou.”
Suddenly, a 16-wheeler drove into their lane. Luke tried to drive out of the way, but he drove them into a tree. Luke smashed his head into the steering wheel and passed out. The airbag popped out and knocked Louis out.
Luke woke up a few minutes later. “Lou? Are you alright? Lou!”
Lou didn’t wake up.
Luke called 9–1–1 and the ambulance arrived as fast as it could in the snow.
The paramedics drove the unconscious Louis and Luke to the hospital.
Luke’s girlfriend at the time, Bailey visited him and Louis at the hospital after she got a call from their parents.
“Luke? Are you okay?” Bailey said as she rushed into his hospital room.
“I’m fine. I just have a slight concussion.”
“How’s your brother?”
“He’s in a coma.”
“Did they say when he’d got out of it?”
“They’re not sure. It could be a few weeks or a few months.”
“Oh, so how did all of this happen? Your parents told me, but I need the full story.”
“Well, I was driving Lou home from the airport when it started to snow. The snow was getting heavier and heavier when suddenly, a truck trailer severed into our lane, and I had to swerve out of the way. I hit a tree on the side of the road.”
“Wow, that’s quite the story.”
“I know, I just wish Lou would wake up.”
“Me too, Luke.”
Months turned into years and Louis didn’t come out of the coma. Luke and his parents had a decision to make. To pull the plug and end Louis’ suffering or keep him going on the machines. Luke couldn’t bear to let his brother go. His parents decided to pull the plug, but Luke needed some time to think.
Louis woke up from the coma days later, but only for a few hours, which was long enough for Luke to talk to his brother about what to do next. Louis told him to let him go if he fell back into a coma, which he did.
A nurse walked into the hospital room, “Have you made your decision?”
“Yes, do it,” Luke said as he looked down so he wouldn’t have to look when it happened.
The nurse unplugged the machines and the heart monitor changed from constant beeping to one continuous beep.
Adult Luke looked away from the photograph.
“Come on, Luke. We need to get these boxes inside,” Brenda said.
“Coming, Brenda,” Luke replied. I can’t believe it’s been five years since Louis died. If only he could see me now.
