A Desire to Live
It was a Monday in San Francisco with cars racing, people going to work, and the waves on the beach coming in and out. In the town of Berkeley lay a house of Joe an 18 year old boy, Sara a 15 year old girl, and their mother. Two years ago the father of Joe and Sara passed away with little notice, and damaged, the family was never the same. The one person who never really got over it was Joe. For Joe was smart, had good friends, and was good looking but of course he wasn’t perfect but he was pretty close. After the death of their father Joe felt like everything he’d ever had or ever worked for was gone. He turned around completely he didn’t try in school, he made unhealthy friends, and started to wear dark clothes as if he went into a hole and was never to come out. As for Sara she pretty much stayed the same but of course she was not as happy. Sara was very athletic, kind but yet a sophisticated person, and she had good friends. Joe and Sara never really talked after the death of their father but if they did it would be stop, move, or shut up but deep in side they did love each other for they were brother and sister. They never thought that the first week of September starting on Monday they would need all the love and strength they had for each other, their parents, and everything around them to keep one of them alive.
It was a day that was no different than any other day. Joe and Sara got ready for school in the dark of the morning. In the kitchen their mom was making their lunches and after awhile they both came into the kitchen ready to go. By now the sun was slowing rising over the waves and the city. In the morning no one really talked for they were all in their own world but in the mist of quietness the voice of their mother broke into the room. “Joe don’t forget you have to take and pick Sara up form hip-hop today” she said while she was putting away the turkey meat. “ What? Sense when do I do that that”? Replied Joe. In a controlling tone. Their mom took a deep breath as if was wasn’t even going to fight with Joe. “Oh well I can’t I have a party to go to” Joe finally said. But then he felt something, something he’d had not felt for years. He felt sorry for his Mom so he took a deep breath and said he would but even then he acted like he didn’t care. Sara slowly packed up her things, hugged her mom, and went out the door. While Joe was just about to leave he heard a voice the voice of his mom say “I love you”. He heard his mom say that every morning she look at him as if she thought this morning was going to be different that he would say it back but like every other day he replied, “sure you do”. And there he left his mom with nothing more than a feeling of sadness as if her son was not even her son but a shadow of what her husband and Joe and Sara’s dad had left behind.
In the car ride to school everything was quite the only sound was the sound of the wind blowing against the windows of Joe’s car. Slowly they got to school but they both knew that it was just going to be another day, nothing really special. At school Sara had good friends, she got good grades, and she had fun. Joe on the other hand was smart, could have good friends, and could have fun but he just chooses not to. He was popular at school but he was popular on the wrong path a path that led to nothing but trouble for he hung out with not the best group of friends. On that Monday everything did go normal Sara and Joe went to class, hung out with friends, and in Joe’s case made fun of the football players. Now before their father’s death Joe loved football in fact his dad was the coach but after his death Joe couldn’t stand the game so him and his friends would make fun of the football players. After school got out Joe drove Sara to hip-hop and then drove to the beach and just sat in the warm sand thinking of what he was doing, where he was going, and how much he loved the waves of the ocean. Coming into the warm sand but then going back into the endless ocean but only to find itself just coming back to the beach, just coming back to land, a place that would lead it back to where it belonged. Joe didn’t understand this, the whole fact about waves but he thought about it simply just to think about something that he didn’t have to fight away. Before long he got up, went into his car, and drove to his party.
At the party he felt sadness almost like he was nothing. He kept thinking how much he just wanted to go into the ocean and be one of the waves, going where the wind leads you and never really knowing where you are to go next, he pushed this thought out of his mind and took all his anger on nothing more than a drink an object that lead to nothing but trouble. He was willing to have that drink, that substance of alcohol control everything he did that night which included picking up Sara. After a while and after many drinks he finally asked a friend what time it was and realized he was late to pick up Sara. Quickly he got into his car and drove away from the party to the hip-hop place which he found Sara and her teacher waiting out front of. Right when Joe pulled up Sara said some words of thanks to her teacher and got into the car. Slowly they drove away. The silence in the car said everything, Sara had never been so angry at her brother. Sara just looked out the window and thought of how much she hated her brother and how much he embarrassed her by being late. At this moment a light flashed into both Joe and Sara’s eyes leaving the sound of the quietness in the mist of the night.
Sara felt something, but the thing she felt was nothing she opened her eyes to find herself in a white room with one white desk. At the desk was a lady typing she looked up at Sara and then looked down to begin again. “Where? Where am I” Sara said looking everywhere and breathing hard. The lady Kept typing. “Am I? Died?” Sara slowly asked. “To the world yes but to us no”. Said the lady while she was typing. “What are talking about?” Asked Sara very confused. Right then a man puffed into the room. He was wearing all white clothes and had a smile on his face. “Hello there! You must be Sara and you must be very confused.” Said the Man. Speechless Sara nodded her head. “Well I’m Chris. Come this way”. Chris led Sara over to a white door on one of the walls and opened it. It was nothing like anything Sara had ever seen before! It was halls and halls of doors everywhere with people running and walking around. Chris led Sara over to a door and opened it and without anything said Sara could see that it was his office. It had a desk, a chair, and plant in the corner. “So what’s going on” said Sara looking around. “Well it’s very confusing but here it is, you died in a car crash that was not your fault. Which means someone else killed you. When that happens people come here. This is not Heaven, this is not earth, and this is not H E double toothpicks. This is a place where people come who die because of someone else. And what happens here is we decided where you guys go. We decided whether or not you guys just die or be given a chance to live again and you my friend have been given a chance to live again” explained Chris. “So I can go back to Earth” asked Sara. Well in order for you to go back to earth the person that killed you has to do something, Joe has to do something.” Said Chris. Right then it hit Sara: everything came back to her, the car crash, Joe being late for hip-hop, and the feeling of hate she had for her brother right before the car crash.
“Where’s Joe” asked Sara with a look of fright. “His alive but” Chris paused. “He has one leg you see he had to get his left leg amputated after the crash” said Chris waiting for Sara to say something. “So he has to do something with one leg in order for me to go back and live on earth again!” Asked Sara. “Yes. Yes he does. Your school has a football team and their first game is in 7 weeks. Joe has to be in that game and win the winning point. Now us angels will make sure the football team only has one more point to win the game now Joe has to win that point.” Sara didn’t know what to do but what she wanted to do was one thing and only thing only, get her life back. “So you and I have to go back to Joe and get him on the football team, make him win the winning point, with him having one leg”? Asked Sara. “Yes, you see we go back to earth as ghosts, only Joe can see, feel, and hear us” answered Chris. Sara knew right then that she was about to go on a voyage but this wasn’t going to be easy she thought to herself because this wasn’t a game, this was her life.
Softly Joe opened his eyes but all he could see was the white roof of the hospital. He looked to his left and saw his mom asleep on a chair but then Joe felt something but what worried him is that he felt nothing, nothing at all. He looked down and saw that his left leg was gone just gone. Joe was speechless and then he thought of Sara. His mom slowly opened her eyes but then she saw Joe was awake so she quickly got up and went by his side. It was a pause of silence in the room. Joe finally asked where Sara was and at that moment he knew, he knew that she was gone but the pain he felt was something he could not describe it was the pain of the silence he heard right before the car crash, the silence had a sound, the sound of Sara’s voice. Together Joe and his mom cried and cried holding each other with a heartbreaking feeling of emptiness.
After two weeks Joe got use to having one leg and after awhile he got a plastic one which helped him a lot but he never got use to Sara not being there. When he got back to school something happened. All of his friends looked at him as if he was a monster they didn’t ever talk to him or asked if he was OK. His girlfriend quickly broke up with him because she said she couldn’t be in a relationship with a one leg person. Which opened Joe’s eyes about everything, to see that he didn’t have real friends, all he had was nothing more than fake people that talked to him or use to talk to him. Over this time Sara and Chris were watching him very closely but then Chris finally said to Sara,”ok it’s time”.
It was dark outside, Joe was in his room doing his homework, and their mom was at work soon to come home. All of a sudden Sara and Chris popped into Joe’s room like ghosts they were but different because they weren’t there to scare anyone but man did they scare Joe. Joe slowly turned around thinking he’d heard a noise but saw Sara and a man standing in his room. With Sara smiling and waving and Chris just smiling Joe fell to the ground. In a moment later Joe opened his eyes to find himself on the ground, looking at his dead sister, and a man he had never seen before. Sara and Chris quickly explained everything to Joe that he’d have to get on the football team, play in their first game in 5 weeks because of the two weeks Sara and Chris had to watch Joe, and then he’d have to win the winning point of the game. So Sara could live on Earth again and not die. They also explained who Chris was and where Sara went when she died. After everything was said Joe was in shock. But somehow words came out of his mouth “I don’t really know what’s going on but Sara I’m going to win that game” he said with confidence that filled the room.
All night Joe lay awake thinking he was in a dream, for so long after Sara’s death he thought it was all over and he couldn’t do anything about it. Then the impossible happened, she came back. This right here was the thought that kept Joe awake the thought of Sara coming back but like everything else in Joe’s live he was not going to act like he didn’t care he was filled with confidence and he said to himself “The impossible is hard to find, and now that I’ve found it I will become it.” . Those were the last words Joe said to himself before he feel asleep in the night knowing he was going to do the impossible.
Sara, Chris, and Joe were standing in the park in the dusk of the morning for it would not be good for people to see a boy in the park getting thrown a football with no one there so they had to do it in the early morning with no one around. “So Joe you’re a kicker in football right” ask Chris. “Yes sir I’ve been a kicker all my life but when my dad died I stopped playing football”. Answered Joe. “Well come on you’re not going to get good just standing there”, yelled Sara. All morning Sara and Chris trained Joe hard but well. They made him run, jump, kick, and play football as hard as he could. Day after day Chris and Sara trained him every morning and night for three weeks. After those three weeks Joe was the best kicker with a plastic leg out there and of course he learned to kick with his right leg for his left leg was the plastic one. On the first day of the 2 week till the game Joe was ready to show the football coach what he could do.
Joe slowly opened the Football coach’s office and asked if he could come in. “Yes who is it” asked the coach. Joe opened the door all the way. “Hey coach its me Joe” said Joe slowly. He and the coach talked but after a while Joe got straight to the point. “I what to be on the team” said Joe. In shock the coach replied “well Joe you can’t now I mean we already picked the team”. There was a silence in the room. “Please coach just let me show you what I got” asked Joe in a pleading tone. The coach was about to say what he would usually say to someone asking to be on the team. He was going to say no but then he thought of how Joe lost his sister and his leg and he just couldn’t say no to Joe. “Ok how about this you came to practice for a week and I see how you do”. Replied the coach. “Thank you so much Coach I won’t let you down” answered Joe in a thankful tone. Joe got up shook his hand and stepped out of his office and then closed the door. Then he stopped out front of his door and took a deep breath, then walked away slowly smiling for that was the first step to a long journey.
When Sara and Chris heard the news they were filled with pride. Joe and Sara hugged and Chris just smiled. “Ok just one more thing to do. You need to get on that team” said Chris. “Don’t worry I will” answered Joe. The next day Joe practiced with the football team. It was nothing like Joe remembered! Everyday Joe got thrown on the ground, tickled hard, and a swelling leg from kicking so long. At the end of practice he felt like a bus had hit him. But finally at the end of the week the coach went up to Joe and said “Well you’ve impressed me and I want you on the team”. Joe couldn’t believe it and he finally said “Thank you so much and can I play in the first game?” The coach looked shocked. “Well Joe of course not! You just got on the team you’re not going to play for awhile.” Before the coach could walk away Joe said “What do I have to do”. The coach turned around. “To play in the first game” asked the coach. “I’ll do anything” Joe pleaded. “How about this, when you kick 1000 perfect field goals in one day I’ll let you play in the first game”, said the coach starting to laugh. “Come on go and get some rest” said the coach walking away. The whole team got packed up left and went home but Joe was standing on the stands ready to do the impossible.
After practice the coach sat in his office and after awhile it became dark. It also started to rain in the night with wind blowing and the clouds becoming dark. The coach packed up his things grabbed his coat and jacket and started to walk outside when he heard a sound. He turned around and asked the janitor what the sound was. “Oh it’s a boy out on the football field” answered the janitor. The coach very confused went outside and saw the lights on the football field were on and there was a boy on the field. He quickly walked onto the field. To his surprise Joe was kicking field goals. “What are you doing!” Yelled the coach. Joe turned around soaking wet. “I’m kicking 1000 field goals coach” answered Joe. Joe went down grabbed another football and kicked a field goal. “Joe! How long have you been out here!” Yelled the coach? “Until practice!” Answered Joe. “You can play the first game! There was silence on the field with only the sound of the rain hitting the ground. “Thank you coach” said Joe smiling. Joe knew he was tried, wet, and could barely breath but he could only think of Sara which was with Chris on the stands on the football field smiling, with the rain going right through them. The coach smiled at Joe and said “better practice our first game is in a week!” Joe looked at Sara and there at that moment Sara had no hate for her brother, only love.
After another week of training the big game was finally here. The whole school was there for the game with all of them wearing the schools colors, cheering, and having fun. Sara and Chris were on the side lines waiting for the football team to make their big entrance. The Team was in the locker rooms quiet as can be while the coach walked in and said “The other team out there, is on our field! We are not going to let them leave making it their field because there in our house! So let’s kick them out!” The whole team cheered and ran onto the field with everyone cheering. Before long the kick off was set and Sara, Chris, and Joe where watching very closely on the side lines. The other team scored a touchdown with getting the extra point which made the score seven to zero. Then Joe’s team scored a touchdown with getting the extra point as well. Seven to seven was the score in the fourth quarter but then it happened the other team scored a touchdown but missed the extra point. Leaving the score seven to thirteen with Joe’s team having a chance to win. All of a sudden clouds moved in and before long it began to rain. The pass was made and the receiver caught the ball! Joe’s team did it they made a touch down! The coach turned around, looked Joe straight in the eye and said” Joe you warmed up!” Joe smiled and said,”Yes sir”. “Then go get that point” yelled the coach. Joe ran onto the field with the crowd going crazy, the wind blowing as hard as it could, and rain falling harder than ever. The crowd stopped cheering because the wind was blowing so hard and the rain was coming down so fast. Everything was going everywhere. The coach knew it would be impossible to kick with the wind this way and the rain falling so hard. Joe looked over and saw Sara smiling but Joe knew she wasn’t happy, she was scared. Joe got set up and got ready to kick. His heart was beating hard as if it was as heavy as a rock. He started to get ready to kick but when he started to run towards the ball the wind stopped and the rain stopped. Joe kicked the ball as hard as he could and it was the best kick he’d ever kicked. When it was in the air the rain and wind started again pushing the ball into the goal. The crowd went crazy! Sara jumped up crying and ran over to Joe and they hugged. Chris smiled and clapped his hands once.
Sara opened her eyes to find herself in her bed in the dark of the morning. Joe opened his eyes to find he had a leg and he was in bed as well. They both jumped up and ran out of their rooms. When both of them got out of their rooms they saw each other and they hugged. As fast as they could they ran downstairs to find their mom in the kitchen making their lunches. “Now Joe don’t forget you have to take and pick up Sara from hip-hop today” said there mom putting away the lunch meat. Joe and Sara looked at each other and started to laugh. “What’s so funny” asked their mom very confused. Joe and Sara didn’t explain they just ran over and both hugged their mom. They both ran upstairs and got ready for school but this time Joe put on his old clothes not the dark stuff he use to wear and it was like Joe got out of the hole he was in for so long. Finally they both ran into the kitchen ready to go but right before Joe went out the door he turned around and said with a big smile on his face “Hey mom I love you”. Their mom smiled like she had never smiled before. And there he left his mom with a feeling of love and happiness.
When Joe and Sara got outside they saw Chris waiting by Joe’s car. They both ran over and hugged him. “thank you so much Chris” Sara said with a smile. Chris started to walk away but then he turned around and said “I proud of you son”. Joe and Sara were in shock and right then Chris clapped his hands and became their dad. “Wait Dad you were Chris all along” asked Joe. “Yes sir” answered their dad. “So you never really did leave us” said Sara with a smile and right then a tear came from her eye and a drop of rain came down. Joe and Sara started to cry and rain started to fall. Their Dad came over and said “you know when you cry God cries” and he wiped the tears from their eyes and said “I will always be right with you and always remember nothing happens in Gods world by mistake”. He walked away and disappeared. Sara and Joe looked at each other, hugged and then dropped their stuff and started to run around in the rain. Laughing and knowing they finished the journey.
When Joe went to school that day everyone was shocked to see he wasn’t in dark clothes because little did they know the old Joe was back. In the hall at school he walked right by his girlfriend and his friends and walked into class ready to do his best. He started to do well in school, made new friends, and be part of the football team. When all of this was happening with Joe his Dad was right there with a smile on his face. That night Joe and Sara surprised their mom with a homemade dinner, when she came home from work and at the end of dinner they all played a board game laughing and having a good time. When they were doing this their dad was in corner of the kitchen laughing but no one could see him but yet Joe and Sara could feel he was there.
THE END
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