The Cornelius Saga Boxed Set

by Tanya R. Taylor

  “You ain’t answering no telephone.”

  “Then please let my granddaughter answer it. It could be the hospital calling about my daughter!”

  Gazing into her worried eyes, he said, “I don’t give a damn about your daughter. Y’all ain’t answering no telephone!”

  “Please!” Sara begged.

  He covered her mouth with his hand and newly formed tears slid down the back of it. She was thinking about Mira; terrified of who could be on the other line.

  “You have an answerin’ machine?” He asked.

  Sara nodded.

  “Then let it pick up!” He removed his hand away from her mouth and released his grip on her.

  The machine clicked in. It was Nurse Parkins asking for Sara to return a call to her.

  “Please, let me call them back,” Sara pleaded. “Do you have any children?”

  He was silent.

  “Do you have any children?!”

  “What’s it to you?” He turned away for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

  “Do you love your children?” She was staring intensely into his eyes.

  “What you think?”

  “Well, I love mine too. And I need to know why the hospital is calling. Would you please allow me to find out the condition of my daughter? She might not mean anything to you, but she means the world to me and to my granddaughter!”

  Terrified, Rosie looked on.

  “Please, Sir, let my Nana make the call.” The child’s eyes were brimming with tears. “I promise, she won’t get you in any trouble.”

  “You can watch me dial the number and I swear I won’t say anything out of the way,” Sara said.

  “Let me make one thing clear. I give the orders around here – not you and not you!” He pointed to each of them. “No one’s callin’ anyone. You make your call when I’m gone. And to make sure that happens...” he yanked the phone cord out of the wall, “...this stays with me and at the same time, I get my rope.”

  He shoved Sara hard. “Take me to the other phones. You come too!” He told Rosie, who quickly got up and followed.

  “Please don’t hurt her!” Rosie cried behind them. But her plea seemed to land on deaf ears as he yanked Sara’s hair while entering her bedroom.

  He thought he saw a shadow scurry past. “What’s that?” he asked, anxiously. “Who else is here?”

  “No one!” Sara said.

  The man glanced around. “You sure, lady? If you lyin’ to me...”

  “For goodness’ sake, I’m not lying!” Sara rebutted.

  He hastily collected the phone cords from each room, then used those cords to bind Sara and Rosie’s hands and feet. They were left lying on their backs on Sara’s bed while he went to take a shower in the master bathroom.

  “What’re we gonna do?” Rosie whispered.

  “I’ll think of something, honey. Don’t you worry.” Sara replied.

  “Suppose he kills us!”

  “Don’t think that way! He won’t do that.” She wanted to believe that herself.

  As she gazed outside through the sheer curtains as dusk settled in, Sara was silently petrified. Along with their current situation, she fretted about what Nurse Parkins wanted to relay to her concerning Mira.

  How dare he barge in here and upset our life any more than it already is! Who does he think he is! She angrily thought about the bold intruder. She didn’t know him, but already, she loathed him. Without the slightest conscience, he was standing between her and her daughter, and that was unforgivable, particularly at a time like this. No matter what happened though, she knew there was no way she was going to let him harm Rosie. She was sure of that.

  8

  _________________

  As if in the comfort and privacy of his own home, John Davis whistled a familiar tune as the warm water showered his entire body. For a while, all his cares would be placed on the back burner as he enjoyed those few minutes that people often took for granted. He knew in jail, he would not be so lucky and there’d be no reason for him to whistle any tunes. He’d be among other hardened criminals who wouldn’t give a rat’s behind what type of day he was having or if he lived or died. He’d prepared himself for it as the other option wasn’t so appealing despite everything – the one that gave him a way out of ever having to face jail time, but it was an option he couldn’t reverse. He didn’t know if fear of what was on the other side prevented his consideration of the latter, or if, perhaps, it was his narcissism. Sasha always told him how much of a narcissist he was and how she regretted ever being dumb enough to walk the aisle with him after he’d beaten her black and blue only the week before. Ten years later, she’d suffered countless beatings until that final one when he pulled out the biggest kitchen knife he could find and slashed her throat. It was on that very day John had made the fateful decision – one he instantly regretted, but could do nothing to reverse.

  Now, at the Cullen residence after deciding to hide from the law at least for a while to clear his head, as horrible as it was to kill for the first time, he was prepared to do it again if he had to.

  Suddenly, the whistling ceased as the single light in the ceiling began to flicker. He wiped the soap away from his eyes and peered up at the unruly bulb. Thinking nothing of it, except the possibility that the fuse was about to blow, he continued lathering and resumed his whistling. Moments later, he heard a bubbling sound – and looked down in the direction he was sure it was coming from. The suds sliding down the drain started to bubble up, then appeared to be transforming from a whitish hue, to light gray, then a darker gray and finally, to black – even the ones sliding down his body. John screamed, the sound of which was cut short due to the fact that he considered himself a “manly man”. There were two females out there and there’s no way he was about to let them hear him scream like a punk.

  He exited the shower as quickly as he could, almost slipping down in the process. Many thanks to the firmly attached silver towel rod nearby that saved him. He looked back at the tub, but everything appeared normal and suds were no longer bubbling up inside the drain. He scratched his head.

  “Must be losin’ my damn mind!” he muttered.

  John returned to the bedroom wearing nothing more than a bath towel around his waist. Rosie immediately turned her head and Sara did the same.

  “You need to get that drain checked in there, lady, and the light too,” he said, heading over to his stack of sweaty clothes. Then he had a second thought. “You have any men clothes here?”

  Sara resented that question. She had never boxed Michael’s clothing in their walk-in closet. Everything that was there when he died, remained there after all those years. “No, I don’t,” she lied.

  John threw on his own clothes, then headed to the kitchen. As he walked down the hallway, he saw a shadow quickly pass him and turn left into the kitchen. He couldn’t be sure; considering what had just happened in the bathroom. For the first time, he was seriously thinking that those decades of snorting cocaine had somehow messed with his brain.

  “Who goes there!” he shouted, as he was about to turn the bend into the kitchen.

  Standing there, he immediately saw countless crystals floating in the air in front of him. They soon joined together as if in collective agreement. As John stood there with feet pinned to the floor and fear pulsating in his neck, he watched the amazing crystals fully transform into the shape of a man – one slightly taller than he was. Soon, the man’s appearance came into full view and the look of rage inhabited his face. “Get out!” he snapped!

  John nearly pissed his pants. His legs couldn’t move fast enough. Then, as he ran for the front door, he saw another shadow glide in front of it. To his dismay, a dark woman dressed in a white, flowing gown with pearls embedded throughout the silky fabric stood quietly, glaring at him, until she opened her mouth widely and a violent gush of wind escaped her lungs and pummeled him back-on into the northern side of the wall. John heard every bone in his back crack and he cried out in e
xcruciating pain.

  “Please… please!” He raised his hands. “I… just wanna leave.”

  The man he had met in the kitchen moved in as if floating on air while the chandelier in the living room swayed angrily on its hinges. A black man appeared seated at John’s right side. He sighed deeply, and said: “My, oh my! What a tangled web we weave.” Suddenly, the cords which bound Sara and Mira untangled and loosed themselves, then casually drifted through the air all the way into the living room where John was sitting helplessly on the floor. As if human hands he could not see were tying up his hands and feet, John very soon found himself bound. The man sitting next to him stood up and the three who had accosted John moved in closer together.

  John was sweating profusely, more than he was when he had barged inside the house. He squeezed his eyelids several times before opening them, in hopes of erasing the illusion he thought he saw in front of him. Then it dawned on him that the cords had really been wrapped tightly around his wrists and ankles, and he could not have done it himself. This could not be attributed to hallucinations.

  “Help me!” He yelled. “Get me outta here!”

  Sara and Rosie emerged from the bedroom after being untied. They found him on the floor screaming and crying like an infant. Snot drained from his nostrils.

  Rosie immediately saw the three of them who were standing there looking lovingly at her and her grandmother. She went straight to her grandfather and hugged him. “Pops!” she cried.

  Michael lifted Rosie’s chin. “How’s my little pumpkin?”

  “I’m so glad you’re here, Pops!”

  Sara’s heart fluttered when she heard Rosie address her grandfather. Michael then approached his wife, standing so closely, the air was almost suffocated between them. How he longed to be with her again; to kiss her lips and to hold her. He, too, had missed her terribly.

  “Sara, my love,” he started, “there was not a day that I truly ever left you. I’ve always been with you and always will.”

  As he spoke, Rosie repeated his words for Sara as she knew she couldn’t see or hear him.

  “I was listening when you brought the flowers to the grave-site. I heard every word you said.” This made Sara break down in tears. It meant so much to her knowing he had actually heard her. “I want you to know that all is well and is as it’s meant to be,” he continued. “And as long as you’re here on this side of existence, you have nothing to worry about. All of you are always looked after.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips, wishing he could feel them in the flesh again. He would trade anything for that moment.

  “Pops kissed you, Nana,” Rosie told her.

  Sara was blushing like a teenager.

  Michael soon backed away and they all waved goodbye to Rosie. She tearfully waved back to them until they were no longer in plain sight.

  Sara knew she had felt Michael’s kiss, and for a moment stood in a trance before realizing she was standing next to the man shaking uncontrollably on the floor.

  “I don’t know you people,” John said, “and I don’t wanna know. Just get me the hell outta here! I’m sorry about what I did. I promise I won’t bother you ever again. I’ll even turn myself in to the cops. Call them! Tell them I’m here. John Davis is the name – the guy who killed his wife today.”

  Sara and Rosie were shocked.

  He cried even more. “I killed my sweet wife. I didn’t mean to do it!”

  Sara retrieved one of the unused phone cords from the bedroom and alerted the police. Her next call was to the hospital. She was transferred over to Dr. Lee.

  “Dr. Lee, this is Sara Cullen.”

  “Mrs. Cullen, I’m happy to report that we have good news! Mira’s awake and she’s doing really well. Visiting hours are over, I’m afraid, but you can come by first thing in the morning.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful news, Doctor!” Sara’s heart leapt for joy.

  “It’s like a miracle happened,” Lee went on. “Even her wounds seem to be healing at an unusually rapid pace. I can’t explain it.” He sounded happy.

  “I think I can.” She smiled.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Never mind. Thanks so much, Doctor. Rosie and I will be there first thing in the morning.”

  She hung up the phone.

  “Guess what!” Sara turned to Rosie.

  “It’s Mom. She’s okay?” Rosie was hopeful.

  Sara nodded cheerfully. “She’s awake and she’s recovering really well.”

  Rosie dashed into Sara’s arms and they hugged each other tightly.

  John Davis never stopped crying even after the police got there and arrested him.

  * * * *

  Sara phoned Wade right away to give him the good news about Mira, then she called Bobby and filled him in on the details. Bobby was shocked by what he had heard and also annoyed that Sara hadn’t contacted him sooner. There was nothing she could say to dissuade him from packing his things right then and there to return home the following morning. With only days left in his course, he knew that Mira was far more important than anything else. He held out hope that one day she’d feel the same way about him.

  “If I get the chance to come back later and finish up, I will,” he told Sara. “If not, who cares?”

  Sara always knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Bobby was the perfect man for her daughter. She’d just never been able to convince Mira of that and neither could he.

  9

  _________________

  Mira was all smiles when her family walked in the room. Rosie couldn’t get to her mother fast enough.

  “Easy, Pumpkin. Your Mom’s probably all sore right now,” Sara warned.

  “I’m okay,” Mira said, carefully reaching over to hug her child.

  “I missed you so much, Mom! I’m so glad you came back to us.”

  “I am too, honey.”

  “Yes, we surely missed you,” Sara held Mira’s hand. “You had me worried there. I must admit, I was a basket case!”

  “What’s a basket case?” Rosie asked.

  “Nothing, dear. Just a crazy term I use sometimes.” Sara smiled.

  “Doc said I would have to do physical therapy for my legs,” Mira said.

  “Yes, he did say that. In time, you’ll be right back to normal!” Sara replied. “By the way, it’s amazing how much the swelling went down in your face.”

  “That’s true, Mom! We couldn’t see one of your eyes before!” Rosie interjected.

  There was a short period of silence, then Mira asked Rosie, “Did you see Daddy?”

  “Uh huh.” Rosie nodded excitedly. “And Miss Karlen too and Mister Andy. They all came!”

  Rosie went on to tell Mira all about the terrible intruder, John Davis, and how they were rescued. Mira was stupefied and would have worried more about them if she didn’t know her father and Karlen would always protect them.

  Maggie and Dr. Barns soon arrived.

  “All right, you’ve been laid up in that bed long enough, young lady. I’m puttin’ an end to this laziness right now! Get up and get to work!” Barns blurted, as he strolled in. Everyone started laughing, including Mira.

  Maggie went over to her and kissed her cheek. “I’m so glad you’ve pulled through, Mira. I’ve been praying for you day and night.”

  “Thanks so much, Maggie.” Mira smiled.

  “Every time I came to see you, I wondered if you could hear me talking to you. Well, could you?”

  “That’s a tough one,” Mira replied. She thought to herself: If she only knew!

  * * * *

  Bobby arrived at the hospital around mid-morning. As soon as he saw Mira, his heart went out to her. Everything inside of him wanted to make it better. Sara and Rosie had left to give them some time alone.

  Mira giggled when she saw how sad Bobby was. He looked like a lost puppy. “You’re too much, Bobby. It’s really not that serious,” she said.

  “Not that serious? You were badly hurt, Mira, and could’ve been killed!
For God’s sake, you were in a frigging coma!” he replied.

  “I’m awake now though, so it’s cool.”

  Bobby shook his head, realizing that one of the reasons he loved her was because she always found the good in almost everything. She also didn’t sweat the small – neither some of the big stuff. With her permission, he went over and hugged her as gently as he could, and wished he could remain in her embrace forever.

  “Anything you need me to help you with, I’m here for you,” he said, looking into those brown eyes of hers. He still got butterflies in his stomach every time he looked at her.

  As Bobby sat down again, Mira said, “I think it’s time you and I had a good talk.”