Death's Day Off

Death sat in his office going through his inbox. It was very hard on him, all those people in the cue for his services. There was the man that was going to fall out of the window on the thirtieth floor of the Windsor Building. Then there is the guy having a heart attack while on his boat in the middle of Lake Michigan. He looked up and slammed down the pile of paperwork in front of him. He didn't notice the folder that had fallen to the floor.

"I've had it, Boss! I can't cope anymore. I have an inbox full of cases, and I haven't had any rest for practically as long as I can remember. It's time I had some time to myself. As of this moment, I am not taking any action for a day. I'll be back in twenty-four hours. I'm going out and have some fun. I'll do a makeup when I get back, if you need me to."

After he left, the cleaning crew came in and straightened up the office. The janitor found the trash on the floor and emptied it all including the folder that had fallen down.

Mindy had been in a coma for over a year. She was only thirty years old, and the auto accident had taken her mother and father's lives. She had been in the back seat and from all indications, she shouldn't have had any injuries. She had been wearing her seat belt and when the Semi hit the car across the hood and front driver's side door, the car had literally split in two. The rear half had simply skidded to a stop in the ditch. When the E.M.T.s arrived, Mindy was barely breathing. They administered CPR and got her stabilized, but she remained in a coma from that day on. She lay in the hospital for a year and never regained consciousness. Her two children, and husband were with her every day.

"Daddy, we have to give her a chance. Maybe she will come out of it. She is still alive."

"Bobby, Your mommy is suffering, and we can't keep letting her do that. She has not opened her eyes for over a year. There is no sign that she has any knowledge of anything. She is a vegetable."

Orson had made his decision and he had given the order to the doctors that in accordance with his wife's written statement and living will, that at precisely midnight, they were to remove the life support equipment from his wife. Orson knew that he and his children needed to go on with their lives and finally let go of the hope they had held onto for so very long to no avail.

As the time came closer, the two children, Bobby and Andy, begged their father one more time to wait just a little longer, but Orson had made up his mind and there was no changing it. At one second after Midnight, all the equipment was removed from Mindy. She lay there and her breathing became slow and then stopped. Then she gasped, coughed and opened her eyes. She scanned her surroundings and seemed to be puzzled for a minute. She saw the clock which read shortly after midnight.

"What happened, Where am I? Why are you all staring at me? Wait, The last thing I remember, Dad was driving me home from that eye appointment. What happened, Why am I in the hospital and how long have I been out of it?"

"Honey," Orson said, "You have been in a coma for over a year. You were in a car wreck. You need to take a deep breath and get relaxed, if you can. Your Dad's car was hit by a semi and both he and your mom were killed instantly."

We were afraid you were not ever going to come back to us, Mommy." Bobby sobbed.

"It's kinda weird; I was lying here looking at nothing, and I saw that circle of white light that they always say you see just before you pass on, but then the circle just got smaller and smaller and then I woke up. It was like my time came and went and I missed it. I don't know how to explain it but I felt like whoever was supposed to come get me didn't show up."

"Well, it seems to me that we are all better off that you missed your appointment, or he missed you, however, you want to look at it. We are glad we have you back." Orson reached out and held her hand.

The Doctors were simply flabbergasted when they examined Mindy and found that her vital signs were normal and she seemed to be completely recovered. As she went through all the various tests, it was found that her slight heart murmur, that she had had all her life was now completely gone. For all intents and purposes, she was as healthy as she could possibly be. It didn't take long for her Doctor to give her and her family the good news that she was ready to leave the hospital. They left the hospital and headed for their favorite restaurant to celebrate.

Comments appreciated at The Radio Rancher