His beautiful boy.
Mikey didn’t want to let him out of his sight but took a moment to walk out into the back yard, his words he let fly high, ‘I reckon you must have been an angel, Chen, an angel. That’s the only thing that makes any sense to me! I don’t have the words to tell you how I feel, or what this means’ – he looked skyward – ‘but you didn’t just give Aaron back his life, but mine and Gemma’s too. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, forever, thank you…’
‘You wanna watch the rest of the match, Dad?’Dad… Dad…oh to be called by that name! ‘I’ve paused it.’ Aaron called out.
‘Coming, son.’ Mikey took a deep breath and walked back into the house where his boy was waiting.
Epilogue - Chen
I hear them and feel them, you know, every word of thanks, every silent kiss, every quiet prayer of gratitude.
I remember Benjamin Stokes-Rattigan asking,so what’s in it for you?
Truthfully?
It’s these messages of thanks – that’s what’s in it for me.
To know I chose wisely, made a difference.
Thank you for journeying with me, for letting me give you a little insight, a glimpse into the world of time regifted. And yes, it’s sad, but also wonderful that those summoned never know that this is their extra time.
Fifteen minutes, give or take.
The impossible made possible!
I see how most people find life hard, sweating the small stuff, not realising thateverythingis the small stuff! Because sooner than you’d like to think, you’ll be forgotten, your possessions discarded, your home someone else’s, and all that will remain is the lingering essence of you for as long as someone dare speak your name. But even to them, the details of your face, the exact pitch of your voice, the shape of you, all of it will fade until it’s gone altogether.
And as for time – when you wake and look at the person laying with their head on the pillow next to you – ask yourself this, ‘How do you know where in time this falls? Is it now,right now,the present, or could it be in golden moments betweentime; their time or yours? A moment when the person you are looking at has called it back, chasing one final glimpse of you.
The answer is, you don’t know, how could you? But if I can offer you some wise counsel, I would say this: treat that moment as if it could be either, and you won’t go far wrong.
Don’t fear death.
Don’t be afraid.
It isn’t always the neat goodbye you think it is, because in the future at one hour to midnight, someone might choose you.
I expect you’re wondering what happened to the people you have read about. Well, it would go against every code of ethics and each agreed and heavily protected working practice for me to have taken a peep into the future and checked up on them.
I can’t help anyone to travel forward, no one can do that, but peep at what lies ahead? It’s possible.
Oh, what the hell, we’ve come this far, here’s what I saw:
Violet Katherine Drummond passed away aged ninety-nine, surrounded by her family. Her granddaughter, Natalie, swears her nan reached past her and said, ‘Here he is! Hello, my love!’ just before she died. She believes it was Harry come to take her home.
I think she might be right.
Lewis Mark Noble never remarried. But he did learn how to make a meal out of nothing, mastered laundry, and somehow managed to keep track of all the cards that needed sending to his family. He figured out how to make the house feel cosy and even grew plants. He remembered most of the names of their neighbours, and could get stains out of the rug, even duck shit. He made a fair attempt at making Christmas special, and he learned to live a good life. A life steeped in grief, but a good life, nevertheless.
He ate dinner with his mother-in-law every single Sunday until she passed away.
Sadly, he never mastered how to plump a cushion.
Ruby Jade Brown went on to do great, great things! She gained her doctorate and became a celebrated activist, advocating for young women who found themselves in need of guidance and support when pregnant.
She married Leyton and went on to have three daughters, seven grandchildren (four girls, three boys!) and two great-grandchildren (two girls!).
She lived a full life, a life that made a difference. She kept her promise and did it for her – and Sahara, who never got the chance.
