Infinite Testament (17 page)

And one notable disciple watched as Nick’s life helplessly
slipped away:

Bruce Dennett.

It was only a week after Bruce and Kristen ran into Stephen
and Lisa at the fair. And Bruce intended on keeping his promise. He
was going to deliver the ELPIS box to Stephen. He had neglected
him. He had been a bad friend. But he was just so busy.

With Sara Ixley.

He had gone through his entire senior year living with
Kristen. He couldn’t screw that up. But secretly, he had been
seeing Sara Ixley. Was it wrong? Maybe. But they loved each
other. Bruce played the caring boyfriend for Kristen just long enough.
Now that the year, and his college career, was almost over, he was prepared to
do what he had to do to be with Sara Ixley.

He was going to break up with Kristen.

Sara dumped Nick a while back, freeing herself for
Bruce. But in an unplanned development during their complicated
relationship, Sara fell into another relationship with some other guy. It
made things even more convoluted than they already were. And honestly,
Bruce felt bad about the whole thing. As much as he loved Sara, there was
a place in his heart for Kristen too.

It was time. Bruce walked into the bedroom.
Kristen was sitting at the edge of the bed facing the window. Her back
was to him, but he could see her hands covering her eyes.

“Kristen?”

Bruce approached her and tenderly put his hand on her
shoulder. “I need to talk to you about something.” His mind
raced. It wasn’t easy. And it was about to get harder.

But as he peered at Kristen’s face, he saw she was already
crying. Not only that, she had been crying for a while. Profusely.
What was wrong? Did she know already?

“Kristen… Are you okay?”

Sara looked at herself in the mirror of the bathroom
and
stared into her eyes.
Her dilated green eyes
judged her. She looked at her dress. Her ‘boyfriend’, the guy other
than Bruce that she had inadvertently connected with after dumping Nick,
showered her with compliments. Said she looked great. But she was
sick of the lies.

She rolled up the long sleeves shielding her wrists.
Her scars became exposed. For years, she had covered them. Not
anymore. This was who she was. Beautiful on the outside, a disaster
on the inside.

Sara hung her head as water ran from the sink beneath
her. The echo of the running water filled the walls of the
bathroom. It was deafening. But it wasn’t loud enough. Her
thoughts banged against her head. It was simply too much. She began
to bawl with tears.

A magnified noise that rang out like a gunshot filled the
bathroom. It startled her. The door had opened.

Sara promptly attempted to gain her composure to avoid
embarrassment from the incoming stranger. The girl who walked in was a
brunette in a black dress. She had the look of despair in her eyes.
How strange. The bathroom was becoming a cellar for it.

The girl walked in and shot a beeline straight for the sink
next to Sara. She turned on the water as the echo in the room erupted
with density. The brunette scooped some water with her hands and splashed
it onto her face. She grabbed a towel and dried herself.

She did almost all of this without even noticing
Sara. Suddenly, it occurred to her she was there. She jumped with
surprise at the realization. Noting Sara’s torment, the brunette asked,
“You’re having a rough night too?”

Sara turned off her sink and forced a smile. “Kind
of. My boyfriend proposed to me.”

The brunette’s face lit up. “Well that’s great!
Congratulations!”

“Except that I’m in love with someone else. I was
going to break up with my boyfriend to be with him.”

The brunette’s face relaxed. “Oh. I see.”

“I just don’t know what to do,” Sara said. “What’s
going on with you?”

The girl turned off her sink. The bathroom felt like
a chapel with its cold quiet stirring the air. “I’m here to celebrate my
one year anniversary with my boyfriend. And I just told him my plans to
move to Los Angeles after graduation. He had no idea. I broke his
heart.” The girl’s eyes flushed as she avoided the tears that were
attempting to see the light of the day.

Sara held out her hand. An introduction was in
order. “I’m Sara Ixley.”

The girl replied, “Lisa Binsby.”

They smiled at each other. Instead of shaking Sara’s
hand, Lisa gave her a hug. In a trying time, a special bond was
formed.

Lisa declared, “I think you should do what’s best for you.”

“But what if this proposal is a sign?”

“A sign?” Lisa asked.

“…A sign that I’m not supposed to leave my boyfriend.”

The idea seemed absurd to Lisa. How could something
be a
sign
? She’d heard of serendipity before, but to make a major
life decision on it? It was hard for her to empathize with that kind of
thinking. Lisa stared into Sara’s worried eyes and offered an
alternative, advice she had received before. “‘All paths lead
nowhere. Follow the path with heart.’ If you do that, you’ll know
what to do.”

Sara smiled. “You’re right.”

The decision Sara was about to make wasn’t much of a
decision at all. She was going to break it off with her faux boyfriend
and live happily ever after with Bruce. It was what they always deserved.

Bruce lowered to his knees to get at eye level with
Kristen.
“What’s wrong?” He feared the worst. He
prayed she didn’t know about his secret relationship with Sara.

Kristen asked, “Do you remember my friend Sara Ixley?”

Bruce’s eyes widened. She knew. She had
to. This was bad. He put his hand on her knee. “Yes. I
remember.” He hesitated to ask but did anyway, “What about her?”

“She killed herself.”

Bruce froze. He stared through Kristen. It
wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true.

“What?”

Kristen sobbed as Bruce turned to stone. He swallowed
heavily and his eyes shot around the room. No. She wouldn’t do
that. He saw her
yesterday
. They were about to start their
life together. She was excited. It wasn’t true.

Bruce rose to his feet and walked out of the room. He
shut the door behind him, leaving Kristen to lament on her own. His mind
raced around as he paced. He needed to find answers.

It simply wasn’t possible.

Bruce trudged around the family room and grabbed his car keys
off the table. He was going to Sara’s place.

“Bruce,” a voice said.

Bruce looked around the room. Nothing. He was
hearing things. He stepped to dart out of the apartment.

“Bruce!”

He knew exactly who it was. He just didn’t want to
believe it. It wasn’t the first time a dead person came to see him.
He turned around and there she was:

Sara Ixley.

“No,” Bruce pleaded. “You’re not dead. Please
tell me you’re not dead.”

Sara’s face dropped. “I’m sorry, Bruce.”

Bruce dropped his keys. It was too much. He
lost control of his emotions. Tears overwhelmed him as he attempted to
keep them away. “Why would you kill yourself?”

Sara tilted her head quizzically, surprised to hear him ask
that. “I didn’t. I was murdered.”

“What? By who? Why?”

“A man whose name I don’t know. And I don’t know
why.”

Bruce stared at her. She was beautiful beyond his
wildest dreams. He loved her so much.
So much
.

“What about us?” Bruce’s mind searched for a
solution. Only one thing made sense. “I’ll kill myself right now
and join you.”

Bruce sprinted into the kitchen, drifting past the sprawled
out furniture. He flung open a drawer and fumbled through the
silverware. He found a large knife. Perfect. It would do the
trick. He placed the blade on his wrist, not thinking twice about ending
his life.

“Bruce, stop,” Sara demanded, appearing directly in front
of him.

Bruce looked with desperation in Sara’s eyes. The
knife rested on his wrist, waiting to pierce his skin. All he had to do
was pull with one swipe. His hand froze, not sure whether or not to
follow through.

She smiled gracefully at him. Her wrists turned
toward him so he could see her scars. “You can’t make the same mistake I
did.”

Bruce struggled to see her through a curtain of
tears. “Don’t leave me.”

“You’ve made me the happiest I’ve ever been. I will
always be with you.”

Sara leaned forward and kissed him. Bruce closed his
eyes as his hand dropped the knife to the floor. He grabbed her face and
passionately kissed her back. It was his last chance. He wouldn’t
let it slip away. The feel of her moist lips energized his soul and tore
it apart. Sara put her hands on Bruce’s face, trying her best to not let
him go.

But she had to.

Sara pulled away. “I will always love you.”

Bruce tried to smile. But he couldn’t.

“Just remember, I chose you. You are the only one for
me, Bruce.”

Bruce’s despair morphed into anger. “I’ll find who
did this. And I’ll kill him.”

“No. Don’t concern yourself with vengeance. It
will only destroy you.” Sara rubbed his cheek. Lisa’s advice in her
direst moment came to her. “’All paths lead nowhere. Follow the
path with heart.’ I’ll be waiting for you, Bruce.”

Sara stepped back. It was time for her to go.

Bruce shook his head. “No. Don’t go,” he
pleaded.

Sara smiled at him. It was never easy to say
goodbye. But suddenly, Sara’s face lit up. She had almost
forgotten. “One more thing. I was wrong. You need to listen
to Elpis.”

Bruce was flabbergasted. Huh? How did all these
dead people know about his ELPIS box? Was that what allowed him to see
dead people? Bruce digressed. It didn’t matter. The love of
his life was leaving.

Bruce boldly proclaimed, “I will see you again, Sara.
I love you.”

Sara smiled and nodded at him. She held her hand out
to him. He reached for it. But by the time his hand reached hers,
she was gone.

Sara Ixley was gone.

Bruce didn’t go to Sara’s wake. He wouldn’t go to her
funeral.

He just couldn’t do it.

There was no way for Bruce to know what would happen.
He might’ve grown angry and sworn revenge. He might’ve become despondent
about the love he wasn’t allowed to have. It was best for him to try and
forget about Sara Ixley. Again.

But forgetting a girl like Sara Ixley wasn’t an easy task.

Bruce panted as he ran down the street. Running had
become a medicinal exercise for him; it was an easy way to relieve
stress. And ever since Sara died, his stress levels had risen
exponentially. Moving on with the rest of his life wasn’t easy, but
running was a good way to clear his head.

Today being the day of Sara’s funeral, he ran extra
hard. And extra far.

Until he came upon a small lake. The area around the
water was grassy and sporadically full of people. There was a man playing
Frisbee with his dog. A couple was fishing. Children laughed as
they ran around and chased each other. This was a happy place, full of
life. Just where Bruce needed to be.

Bruce sat under a tree, shading himself from the summer sun
bearing down on the cheerful people around him. Thoughts streamed into
his mind as he relaxed and slowed his racing heartbeat. He stared at the
water rippling in front of him. Funny thing about water: so quick to give
life, so quick to take it away. Thousands have craved water, thousands
have feared it. There wasn’t a force quite like it on Earth.

In his side vision, Bruce noticed someone approach him and
sit next to him. He turned his head to see a familiar face.
“Pocahontas?”

The wolf-girl from the forest. Although it had been
at least five years since he’d seen her, she looked exactly the same.
Like she hadn’t aged a day. She had the same blonde curly hair.
Still charmingly attractive. And looking at her now, he noticed that she
looked strangely identical to Sara.

Despite that, Bruce was unfazed and continued to observe
the rippling water.

Pocahontas pointed out, “You don’t seem surprised to see
me.”

“I talk to dead people. Nothing surprises me
anymore,” Bruce quipped.

Pocahontas empathized with Bruce. Without the
details, she knew about Sara’s death. Pocahontas scooted close to
Bruce. Her arm wrapped around him as she attempted to provide him with
some comfort.

“You haven’t aged,” Bruce mumbled. “You look exactly
the same.” He stared into her otherworldly blue eyes. “You said you
would need my help. I’m guessing that’s why you’re here…”

“I don’t need your help. Not yet.”

Bruce’s eyebrows rose with skepticism. “I know you’re
not here to say hello.”

“No. I’m here to tell you to keep in touch with
Stephen. He’s going to need you now.”

“Why does he need
me
? I just saw him recently
at the fair.”

“Let me put it to you this way. If you don’t… then
everyone you know will die.”

Bruce chuckled in disbelief. Pocahontas’s charm had
worn out. “What do you want from me?”

“I just told you, Bruce.”

Bruce grew frustrated. “No. I don’t think you
did. You haven’t aged a minute. You know what I think? I
think you’re dead. A ghost.”

Pocahontas was amused. “I’m not a ghost.”

Bruce stood up and walked away. He wasn’t in the mood
to deal with her. He headed for the border of the lake.

“Bruce!” Pocahontas yelled after him.

Bruce stood and gazed out across the water. His
eyelids slid down and covered his eyes. Blackness. He imagined Sara
Ixley standing next to him. Maybe if he focused hard enough, he could
summon her back. He imagined her flowing blonde hair blowing in the wind
as she looked out at the lake with him. He imagined her warm, innocent
smile as they held hands, embracing the life they had waited so long for.
All he had to do was focus.

“Bruce.”

He opened his eyes, hoping to see Sara Ixley.
Instead, he again saw Pocahontas. Bruce scowled at her. She grabbed
his hand. “I’m sorry for what happened. We can make sure she didn’t
die for nothing.”

Bruce looked down at their joined hands. Oddly, her
hand felt soothing. He looked at her pure smile. She had a face
that was hard to distrust, especially since she looked so similar to
Sara. Her eyes glowed; she was overwhelmingly inviting.

Bruce asked, “Why does Stephen need me?”

Pocahontas replied, “There is a bad man influencing him.”

Bruce shook his head. A
bad man
. A
little vague, wasn’t it? There was no way to know what to believe.
He lowered his head and confessed, “Last year, Sara Ixley told me not to trust
the girl who gave me the ring.”

Pocahontas’s eyes grew wide. This wasn’t good.

Bruce continued, “Sara died last week. I’m sorry,
Pocahontas. I want to trust you. But I can’t. And if that
means I have to stay away from Stephen Pandora, that’s what I’ll do.”

Bruce let go of Pocahontas’s gentle hand and walked
away. She wouldn’t follow him this time. She was left alone to
stare at the peaceful body of water in front of her. There would be no
persuading Bruce to her side. Not yet anyway.