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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: See part 1
07/26/03
-
The Last Notebook
By Phenyx
-
Miss Parker stepped slowly out of her car. With a reluctant sigh, she made her way through the dark maze of headstones toward a new grave at the top of a gentle rise. A week had passed since she had last been to this place. It had been seven days since Jarod's small funeral service was held here.
Parker was casually dressed. Dark denim and a simple hooded sweatshirt served her best for this exercise. Her white canvas shoes dampened quickly with dew from the grass. It was not yet daylight. The stars were only just beginning to fade, the sky barely losing its blackness.
This wasn't the Centre's cemetery. It was a very elite memorial park situated at the top of a jagged and rocky bluff that overlooked the ocean. There were no trees here, only a broad expanse of sky visible overhead. The pale purple blanket stretched all the way to the horizon where it touched the dark waves in the distance.
Parker reached her destination and knelt beside a brand new stone. She had paid a small fortune to have the pink granite carved so quickly. It was a simple marker with only three lines engraved on its face. The first line was a full name, his real name. Second were two dates, a date of birth and a date of death. Lastly was a simple epitaph, one he had chosen himself, though he hadn't realized it at the time.
"Jarod lived. Jarod died. Between he did make a difference."
Parker sighed again, brushing imaginary dust from the stone before her. She closed her swollen eyes and tried not to give in to the heaviness in her chest. She had never dreamed that anything could be so hard.
In the days since she had been called to Blue Cove Memorial hospital, Parker had managed to stay busy enough to avoid her grief. But she was running out of duties to perform. At first, there had been the dilemma regarding Jarod's organ donation.
Parker was forced to be very specific about what could be harvested. She had let the doctors take the kidneys, but not the liver. She had permitted the heart and lungs, but not the stomach. His eyes would continue to see for another, but his skin would not be used in a burn unit.
There had been a very specific methodology to her decisions. The organs left to others were not made of tissue that replicated well. Parker feared the possibility of The Centre uncovering the identities of the organ recipients. Raines would not hesitate to murder a transplant patient just to gain possession of viable pretender DNA.
Then, there had been the rush to deal with Jarod's remains. The arrangements had been carried out with lightning speed and sharp efficiency. By the time Raines and Lyle had learned of Jarod's death, the body had been safely cremated. All that had been left was to organize a service and order the tombstone.
The funeral had been quietly somber. Lyle and Raines had been in attendance, a fact which had caused the bile to rise in Parker's throat. As a result, the ceremony had been rushed and empty of true feeling. No one had wanted to express their true thoughts with the evil audience that had been present. No one had truly been given the chance to say goodbye.
That was why Parker was here now. Alone, with no one to look over her or disapprove of her actions, Miss Parker had come to say goodbye.
As light began to filter from the east, Parker could see a small number of items placed at the foot of the granite stone. Others had been here before her. She found a box of Cracker Jacks and a Pez dispenser, a handmade fishing lure and a snow globe with a tiny Empire State building inside.
From the deep pockets of her jacket, Parker pulled her meager offering. The copper colored paperweight had kept vigil on her own desk since her father had died and she'd taken it from his office. Jarod alone could have understood the significance of the small figure. He would have appreciated the preciousness of this gift.
After positioning the rabbit securely beside the fishing lure, Parker sat cross-legged in the grass, leaning nonchalantly against the side of the stone.
Turning toward the ocean, Parker watched in silence as the sun rose from the waves in a breathtaking display. She nodded in satisfaction, knowing that Jarod would have approved of this place.
Turning toward the grave Parker caressed the script etched in the surface with her fingertips.
"You were always there for me, Jarod," she whispered. "At the lowest points in my life, like magic, you would appear. I am so glad that I could be there for you just this once. You didn't die alone." Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I wish you would have told me, shared those last days with me. Let me ease your fears."
"I know now, I would have cried."
-
The End
07/26/03
-
The Last Notebook
By Phenyx
-
Miss Parker stepped slowly out of her car. With a reluctant sigh, she made her way through the dark maze of headstones toward a new grave at the top of a gentle rise. A week had passed since she had last been to this place. It had been seven days since Jarod's small funeral service was held here.
Parker was casually dressed. Dark denim and a simple hooded sweatshirt served her best for this exercise. Her white canvas shoes dampened quickly with dew from the grass. It was not yet daylight. The stars were only just beginning to fade, the sky barely losing its blackness.
This wasn't the Centre's cemetery. It was a very elite memorial park situated at the top of a jagged and rocky bluff that overlooked the ocean. There were no trees here, only a broad expanse of sky visible overhead. The pale purple blanket stretched all the way to the horizon where it touched the dark waves in the distance.
Parker reached her destination and knelt beside a brand new stone. She had paid a small fortune to have the pink granite carved so quickly. It was a simple marker with only three lines engraved on its face. The first line was a full name, his real name. Second were two dates, a date of birth and a date of death. Lastly was a simple epitaph, one he had chosen himself, though he hadn't realized it at the time.
"Jarod lived. Jarod died. Between he did make a difference."
Parker sighed again, brushing imaginary dust from the stone before her. She closed her swollen eyes and tried not to give in to the heaviness in her chest. She had never dreamed that anything could be so hard.
In the days since she had been called to Blue Cove Memorial hospital, Parker had managed to stay busy enough to avoid her grief. But she was running out of duties to perform. At first, there had been the dilemma regarding Jarod's organ donation.
Parker was forced to be very specific about what could be harvested. She had let the doctors take the kidneys, but not the liver. She had permitted the heart and lungs, but not the stomach. His eyes would continue to see for another, but his skin would not be used in a burn unit.
There had been a very specific methodology to her decisions. The organs left to others were not made of tissue that replicated well. Parker feared the possibility of The Centre uncovering the identities of the organ recipients. Raines would not hesitate to murder a transplant patient just to gain possession of viable pretender DNA.
Then, there had been the rush to deal with Jarod's remains. The arrangements had been carried out with lightning speed and sharp efficiency. By the time Raines and Lyle had learned of Jarod's death, the body had been safely cremated. All that had been left was to organize a service and order the tombstone.
The funeral had been quietly somber. Lyle and Raines had been in attendance, a fact which had caused the bile to rise in Parker's throat. As a result, the ceremony had been rushed and empty of true feeling. No one had wanted to express their true thoughts with the evil audience that had been present. No one had truly been given the chance to say goodbye.
That was why Parker was here now. Alone, with no one to look over her or disapprove of her actions, Miss Parker had come to say goodbye.
As light began to filter from the east, Parker could see a small number of items placed at the foot of the granite stone. Others had been here before her. She found a box of Cracker Jacks and a Pez dispenser, a handmade fishing lure and a snow globe with a tiny Empire State building inside.
From the deep pockets of her jacket, Parker pulled her meager offering. The copper colored paperweight had kept vigil on her own desk since her father had died and she'd taken it from his office. Jarod alone could have understood the significance of the small figure. He would have appreciated the preciousness of this gift.
After positioning the rabbit securely beside the fishing lure, Parker sat cross-legged in the grass, leaning nonchalantly against the side of the stone.
Turning toward the ocean, Parker watched in silence as the sun rose from the waves in a breathtaking display. She nodded in satisfaction, knowing that Jarod would have approved of this place.
Turning toward the grave Parker caressed the script etched in the surface with her fingertips.
"You were always there for me, Jarod," she whispered. "At the lowest points in my life, like magic, you would appear. I am so glad that I could be there for you just this once. You didn't die alone." Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I wish you would have told me, shared those last days with me. Let me ease your fears."
"I know now, I would have cried."
-
The End
