They sat huddled in the solitude of their home. What was their home they now considered to be their prison cell. Time was dragging by. A minute seemed like an hour, an hour seemed like a day and so on. The walls were closing in on them and they were getting on each other's nerves after being given several false hopes that the end was in sight.
Their medication for depression was long gone and their despondency that was slowly overtaking them was now accelerating to warp speed that could only lead to a full-blown disaster.
Unfortunately, they only saw one way out. They came up with a detailed plan that they would fulfill this very night. They would have one last dinner together. Their favorite music was playing in the background. They finished their meal which included steak and lobster cooked to perfection. Dessert would consist of an overabundance of sleeping pills that would be downed with a glass of wine they had been saving for a special occasion. They toasted each other but before they could pick up the pills there was a knock at the door. This interruption was not included in their plan.
Who could that be at this hour? He answered the door only to discover a young, thin woman standing there.
“How may I help you?” he asked.
“Forgive me for bothering you but I’m your neighbor from down the street,” she explained,” and I’m just checking on everybody to see if they’re okay. May I come in?”
He hesitated, thinking it is only prolonging the inevitable, but relented when he realized she was nice enough to voluntarily do this task.
“Come in and have a seat,” he stated.
They warmed themselves by the fire as she continued to talk. Her bubbly, effervescent personality shone through with every word she spoke .They overflowed with encouragement. This was not just hollow, sugar-coated wishes. She talked with confident authority. She spoke of how this would soon be over. She reminded them of all the good things they had to look forward to. How good life would be after getting through this . In fact, life would be even better having gone through it.
“Well, I must be going. I have others I need to visit,” the neighbor stated as she got up and walked to the front door.The couple also got up but went to the dining room table where they discreetly swept the pills into the trash can.
“Oh,” he responded to the departing visitor,” we never got your name.”
She turned before walking out the door and said, “ My friends call me “Hope”.”
Their medication for depression was long gone and their despondency that was slowly overtaking them was now accelerating to warp speed that could only lead to a full-blown disaster.
Unfortunately, they only saw one way out. They came up with a detailed plan that they would fulfill this very night. They would have one last dinner together. Their favorite music was playing in the background. They finished their meal which included steak and lobster cooked to perfection. Dessert would consist of an overabundance of sleeping pills that would be downed with a glass of wine they had been saving for a special occasion. They toasted each other but before they could pick up the pills there was a knock at the door. This interruption was not included in their plan.
Who could that be at this hour? He answered the door only to discover a young, thin woman standing there.
“How may I help you?” he asked.
“Forgive me for bothering you but I’m your neighbor from down the street,” she explained,” and I’m just checking on everybody to see if they’re okay. May I come in?”
He hesitated, thinking it is only prolonging the inevitable, but relented when he realized she was nice enough to voluntarily do this task.
“Come in and have a seat,” he stated.
They warmed themselves by the fire as she continued to talk. Her bubbly, effervescent personality shone through with every word she spoke .They overflowed with encouragement. This was not just hollow, sugar-coated wishes. She talked with confident authority. She spoke of how this would soon be over. She reminded them of all the good things they had to look forward to. How good life would be after getting through this . In fact, life would be even better having gone through it.
“Well, I must be going. I have others I need to visit,” the neighbor stated as she got up and walked to the front door.The couple also got up but went to the dining room table where they discreetly swept the pills into the trash can.
“Oh,” he responded to the departing visitor,” we never got your name.”
She turned before walking out the door and said, “ My friends call me “Hope”.”
