Photo credit: Sagacious Gr via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
This is the final installment of a five-part series, so if you have not yet done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV before continuing.
Joseph cried out for his wife as he burst through the front door.
“In here,” she called from the family room where she and the boys were glued to the TV.
Joseph’s relief at seeing his family safe was tempered by the scene unfolding on the screen.
It was just like his dream.
Joseph silently took a seat next to his wife, not taking his eyes off the television. He took in the explosions, the billowing smoke, the screams, and finally, the screen turning to static.
They watched the static for a second, dumbfounded, until another picture popped back onto the screen. It was the news anchor at her desk, staring at the camera, mute and wide-eyed, until she literally shook herself out of it and started speaking.
“Reports are coming in from all over the country of similar bombings and, so far, there is no end in sight. Many are wondering if this is the end for America and even more are asking themselves: how were we surprised by this? How could it be that no one warned us this was going to happen? Speculators say-“
Ashley turned off the television as Joseph rolled his eyes. “That’s gratitude for you,” said Ashley. “You risked your life to stay and try to warn as many people as you could and now they’re wondering why no one warned them?”
“I told you no one would believe me.”
Ashley sighed heavily and hung her head, resting her elbows on her knees.
Then they heard a knock on the door.
They both looked up. They hadn’t had a chance to make a lot of friends here yet. Neither Joseph nor his wife could imagine who was at the door.
In unison, they both said, “Did you invite anyone?”
They stared at each other for a moment before Joseph recovered his senses, stood, and made for the door. “I suppose one of us had better find out who it is.”
When he opened the door he was greeted by a short, round woman with very dark skin. She had a baby boy who couldn’t be more than six months perched on one hip and the hand that wasn’t supporting him was holding the hand of a little girl who looked to be about five or six with skin just a shade lighter than the woman’s and her hair in pigtails.
“Are you Joseph Candid?”
“I am.”
“Oh, thank the lord,” said the woman. “May we come in? I’m sorry to impose, it’s just that we came all this way after we saw you on the television and now that we’re here, I don’t know what to do.”
“Of course,” he said. “Please come in.”
He opened the door wider and stepped back to let them all in as the woman thanked him.
He ushered them into the family room while Ashley excused herself into the kitchen to get some refreshments for their unexpected guests.
“Please sit down. Make yourselves comfortable,” said Joseph. “You mean you saw me on TV and you actually believed me?”
The woman nodded. Joseph could tell she was close to tears and he waited for her to collect herself. It had been a rough day for all of them. “I heard everything you said and, well I didn’t want to believe it, of course, but you looked so serious. And sane.” She laughed nervously and apologized.
Joseph brushed if off, assuring her many people had called him crazy over the past few days.
“But you didn’t seem crazy,” she said. “I’ve seen those men with their boxes on the street corners rambling about the end of days, but you didn’t sound anything like them. You looked … normal.”
Joseph lifted one corner of his mouth in a half smile. “Except for the dreams.”
“Except for the dreams. But that doesn’t make you crazy. It makes you blessed. And it makes me blessed that I heard what you said and I did as you said and I …” She held a hand to her mouth and Joseph waited patiently.
“Well, let’s just say I’m glad I took your advice,” she said finally. “I cleared out my savings and maxed out my credit card to get here. I asked around about you at the airport. Someone who had also seen you on TV had recognized you and she said you had rented this house so I came to … oh, I don’t know why I came here. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“Not at all.” Joseph reached out and laid a hand on hers, completely forgetting for a moment that he had only just met this woman. “We’re not entirely sure what we’re doing here either. I have a job for now, but there’s no telling how long that will be the case without one of the world’s super powers. But if you’d like I can ask at work if they have any available positions. What did you do back home?”
“I was a bank teller. I’m good with numbers and computers, but I’m a fast learner. I’ll take any job they can give me.”
Joseph smiled. “I’m sure we can find you something.”
“And your kids can stay here with us,” said Angela as she set a tray of tapas on the coffee table. “I’d be happy to look after them for you until you get settled.”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t do that to you.”
“Did you have another plan in mind?”
The woman stared into the distance as she tried to come up with something.
“Please,” Ashley said more gently. “I insist. I’ll be home with my boys anyway. They can all keep each other company.”
“I’d really appreciate it,” said the woman, her eyes filling with tears. “Annie can help clean up and I’ve started teaching her some cooking. She can carry her own so we’re not such a burden on you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Joseph. “I’m just glad the time I spent on those warnings actually paid off.”
The end.
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