The Other Half
Page 5
off our feet.”
“Did she?”
“Did she what, son?”
“Did she ever meet her other half?”
“Oh, my dear, no. My sister wasn’t that pretty. I found my other half, though it took me another few years. I was in secretarial school, and I...”
“What about Helen? I mean, Helen’s granddaughter.”
“Well, I’m talking about my sister. Our grandmother was named Helen, just like my sister. As I was saying, Helen wasn’t all that pretty.” She took the picture from Benjamin and rand her fingers along the glass.
“Helen,” she said softly. “What have you done, now?”
Benjamin turned to Tommy. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“You’re just confusing her,” he said. “Her sister Helen has been dead for over fifty years. Now you come in here looking for someone named Helen who looks exactly like her.”
“You said her green eyes were the prettiest you’d ever seen. And that’s true. They were very striking. She had a few dance partners because she was such a great dancer but she never actually met anyone as special as she wanted. I felt her loss even more deeply because of that when she passed away.”
Benjamin was starting to become more nervous than he was impatient. “What did she die of?”
“Doctors told her a brain aneurysm had formed. It ruptured before they could do anything about it.”
“I’m sorry you lost her at such a young age. But how is it that she has a granddaughter if she never married?”
The old woman looked at Tommy, then back at Benjamin. “What did you say your name was?”
“Benjamin, ma’am.”
“Well, Benjamin. You are not the first that talks about her like this. I’ve been to The Throttle to see her many times, but she’s never there. There are many things that happened in that place, and they are many rumors of spirits wandering the building. If what you say is true then I strongly recommend you go back there and see her again. I believe she is still looking for her other half.”
“Spirits?”
“This person you’ve been speaking with is my sister Helen. She died when she was about your age. She’s been speaking to young men such as yourself since her death.”
A shiver ran down Benjamin’s spine. “Let me assure you Ma’am, the woman I’ve been dating is real. And I’m deeply in love with her.”
The old woman sighed. “You must find out for yourself.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” he said, though he didn’t really mean it.
“Hold on, young man!” she shouted.
She gave something to Tommy, who ran to catch up to Benjamin. Tommy handed him Helen’s picture.
As Benjamin walked towards Doug’s car, holding the picture, he heard the door close behind him. Doug’s full attention was on the radio while Benjamin opened the gate. It creaked, but he stopped in his tracks before it swung all the way open. At first his vision was blurry, it was as if he was seeing two Helens appearing. Then she reached out for him, and he could see it was just one Helen.
“You really are here, my love,” Benjamin whispered to her. “I’m sorry. I know you said we’d meet again tomorrow, but...”
She put a finger to her lips for him to be silent. Then she smiled, “Did you miss me?”
Benjamin felt her presence, he could see her and her glowing skin. he reached out for her, but she seemed to retreat. He looked down at the black and white picture, and then back up at Helen.
“You’re... It really is you. Oh, Helen... I can’t see myself alone without you anymore,” Benjamin said. “I don’t care who or what you are. I just want to be with you.”
“Do you still love me now that you know the truth?”
“I’ve never felt so happy in my life. I’d do anything for you.”
“I knew from the moment I saw you that you were the one, my other half.”
“Helen, will you marry me?” Benjamin asked nervously.
“Do not be sad, Ben. I must go. I finally found what I am looking for.”
“What?” Benjamin shouted, dumbfounded. “Where are you going?”
Doug heard Benjamin shout and got out of the car.
“I am not sure. But I can feel it’s a wonderful place.”
“Helen, I love you. Take me with you. Take me with you!” Benjamin held the palm of his hands up towards Helen.
Somehow he felt her hands inside his. He could feel the coldness over his skin.
“I love you too Benjamin,” she said. “I will be waiting for you.” Then she disappeared.
“Wait! Wait! Take me with you,” Benjamin shouted. Doug ran over to him just as he collapsed.
Benjamin was half-conscious and still breathing, clutching the picture of Helen. He mumbled to Doug about her death. Doug wasn’t sure he completely understood what Benjamin was trying to say but he was too concerned about his friend’s situation to worry about what he was saying. Doug thought about calling an ambulance, but he was convinced he could get Benjamin to the hospital much faster if he brought him in his car. Strapped in his seat belt, Benjamin was barely aware of how fast Doug was actually driving.
They dashed through the city, barely stopping at stop signs and sometimes darting through red lights. They would have made it in just a few minutes if Doug hadn’t lost his concentration for a fraction of a second. He didn’t see the dark-haired woman making her way across the street, he just saw her appear from nowhere. He was just a few feet away from hitting her when he jerked his steering wheel to the right. He lost control of the car, which skidded on the slick, icy street and slammed into a telephone pole.
The airbags gasped into life for both of them. A moment later, Doug was shaken from the impact, but not injured. He looked over at Benjamin and saw blood smeared on the side window. Doug looked around for help but that part of the city was deserted. There was no sign of the woman. Doug took the picture from his friend and noticed that the glass was shattered. He recognized the woman in the picture as the one he had almost hit. It had just been a fraction of a second, but he recognized her instantly. He slipped the picture out of the frame and held onto it.
He had no choice but to wait for the ambulance, but they were close enough so that it only took a few minutes. Benjamin had not regained consciousness. Doug’s body felt stiff but he had no serious injury.
Finally, at the hospital, the doctor ran a few tests on both of them. Doug was fine, but Benjamin needed some more tests.
“Is he OK, Doc?” Doug said, never more scared in his life.
“We won’t know until his results come back.”
Benjamin made some gurgling noises in his hospital bed, waking up.
“Ben! Ben!” Doug said. “You OK?”
“Do you know where you are?” the doctor said, shining a light in his eyes.
Benjamin winced. “I... The hospital, I think.”
“Now I have some questions for you. Listen very carefully. Did you have intense headaches before the accident?”
“There was an accident?”
“The car’s totaled,” Doug said. “But the airbags saved our lives.”
Benjamin pointed just over his left eye. “Headache, right here.”
“Have you had double vision?”
“Oh gosh, I think so. I saw two Annies, two Helens...”
The doctor looked briefly over at Doug, then back at Benjamin “Are you sensitive to light?”
Benjamin nodded.
“OK. Thank you for answering my questions. I’ll let you rest a little bit.”
The doctor left the room, but Doug chased after him.
“Doc! Please tell me what’s going on. What did the accident do to him?”
The doctor stopped and turned to face Doug. He looked over to Benjamin’s room and sighed.
“Don’t worry, sir. Your friend’s condition has nothing to do with the accident. He really has nothing serious from it except for a few scrapes and bruises. In fact, it’s lucky he’s here, because we mi
ght be able to save his life. ”
“What do you mean?”
“His symptoms... We won’t know until all the tests come back. He has all the indications of a brain aneurysm.”
“Is that serious?”
“It’s very serious. But we shouldn’t do anything until we know for sure.”
Doug was so shocked all he could say was, “That’s what he was mumbling. That’s how Helen died.”
The doctor disappeared down a hallway, and Doug went back to his friend.
“How are you feeling, buddy?” Doug said, shaken.
“Not too good.” Ben answered weakly. “What happened?”
“Later. I’ll tell you later. Just hang in there. The doctors here are on it.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be OK.”
“Of course you will, man. We’ll be back club hopping in no time.”
“That’s not for me anymore. I’ve met someone wonderful. All I wanted was someone I could love forever, and I’ve found her. My God, Doug, I’ve found her. I’m ready.”
“You’re ready?” Doug almost shouted. “What does that mean?”
Benjamin slipped into a coma before Doug got his answer. He pulled the wrinkled picture of the woman out of his pocket. “Helen,” he said aloud, incredulous.
Doug saw something out of the corner of his eye, it might have been a dark-haired woman in white, and it might have been an elderly patient walking through the halls. He looked back at Ben. “I hope you find her,” Doug said to his friend, who would never regain consciousness.
James Fink
Author of Robot Soul www.robotsoulthebook.com