Chapter Two: The Gift of Life

Chapter Two: Gift of Life


It had been several days since he had received a new newsletter. During that time the boy questioned a lot of things, and in turn became a little bit depressed. The boy felt that he was serving God with the actions that he put forth, but he was still unable to shed the feelings of loneliness. He lived by himself, and had no friends to speak of. He had no pets, and no family to call. On the last day before a new newsletter would arrive he was even comparing himself to the kinds of people that he saved. "I'm really not all that different from them", he thought quietly to himself. Just when he felt he was going to emotionally break down, a newsletter arrived.

"Unborn Fetus Found In Garbage"
"An unborn fetus was found lying in a garbage bin on the corner of Sokawa and Tsubiki St. in the middle of yesterday evening. Officials predict the fetus was self-aborted and left in the bin at approximately 6 o clock PM last night. No details have surfaced as to the identity of the unborn child's parents."

"What the hell!?", the boy screamed out loud. "Is this some kind of joke?", he said seemingly to nothing but the air around him. "I can't help anyone with only this! I don't even know who it is! No names, no address, only an approximate time and a garbage bin! I can't just show up there at 6 and watch some lady throw her kid in the garbage, it'll be too late by then!" He frustratingly sat down on his couch and read the article again, hoping that he missed some sort of detail that might help him. In the end, however, there were no such clues. "Okay, look", the boy began to speak out loud again, "I don't know -who- you are, or -why- you're giving me this paper, but if you want me to keep on helping people, then -you- have to help -me- a little!" It took several minutes for his temper to die down, when suddenly he began to cry.

When he was only eight years old, his mother was pregnant with his small baby sister. He vowed the day that they told him she was pregnant that he would do everything in his power to always protect his little sister. He had fantasies of beating up kids who bullied her, and pulling pranks on her sleazy ex-boyfriends. His heart was filled to the brim, and he was ready to pour it out all over his little sister, as soon as she was born. The boy never got that chance, however. As one can probably guess, the mother aborted his little sister, and not early in the pregnancy either. The topic of abortion was always a very delicate one with the boy. He loathed people who would kill their unborn children, instead of just giving them up for someone else to raise. He could care less about having a child somewhere out there in the world on one's conscience. He just knew
that taking an innocent life was a wrong that it must never be committed.

With his resolution to attempt to stop this heinous act from occurring now freshly renewed, he began to systematically think of a plan. He couldn't work backwards from the garbage bin, since he had no leads. He couldn't sit around at the garbage bin, because that would only result in a dead child. He looked at the clock on his microwave, and it read 7:45AM. Given that the mother is likely to throw the child away quickly after it is aborted, that gave him roughly ten hours to find out who the parents are, and stop them. Even the boy was beginning to have his doubts, though. Abortion is usually a very final decision that people make. Would he really be able to change their minds, simply by talking to them? He didn't feel like he was anything special, or that he had any special abilities which made him capable for the task. Just after beginning to doubt himself, however, he began to pray. He prayed to God to lend him whatever strength or knowledge was required to help this poor helpless life, which was about to be thrown away forever.

---

The boy was always told that God works in mysterious ways. Obviously he does not converse directly with us, but rather shows us things in a unique fashion. Often times it is not so much God showing us the answers, as it is showing us how to find them within ourselves. Whatever the case may be, the boy was suddenly struck with a scheme that might work. If he didn't have the information he needed to find out who the culprits were, then he needed to -change the article-. He called up the county police and told them that at 6 o clock a very good friend of his was going to be committing illegal activities at the garbage dumptser on the corner of Sokawa and Tsubiki St. Hoping that the police would buy in to his tip, he ran back to the newsletter article, which now read:

"Mother of Dead Fetus Caught"
"Jessica Parker was caught late yesterday evening attempting to dispose of her unborn baby daughter at a dumpster on the corner of Sokawa and Tsubiki. One policeman was camping in his cruiser, going off of an anonymous tip, and saw the woman throw her baby away while it was still wrapped in a blanket. Ms. Parker was apprehended on site, and investigations are currently underway as to the cause of this travesty."

"Jessica Parker...", the boy said to himself, "Jessica Parker. Jessica Parker. Jessica Parker." He flew across the couch and tore through his Yellow Pages to the P's. Over one hundred listings for "Parker", and none of which had Jessica as the first name. He realized he could narrow down the number of calls he had to make to try and find a Jessica if he omitted any areas that were more than two hours or so from his city. He ended up with about twenty names, and called each of them asking for a Jessica. It took him about an hour to complete this arduous task, and by the time he was done it was already 4:00PM. Finally, on his last call, a woman answered.

"Hi, may I speak to Jessica please?", the boy asked.
"This is Jessica.", said she.
"This may sound like an odd question, Jessica, but are you by chance pregnant?", the boy interrogated.
"U-um, W-who is this again? I d-don't recall giving anyone my number recently", she said.
"Please, I need to talk to you somewhere", the boy began to plead. "Please, just for a lit--
"I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now", Jessica said.
"Please, I won't take much of your time, I just need to---
But she had already hung up the phone.

The boy tore the page furiously out of the yellow pages, circled her address with a sharpie, and darted out the door. 482 West Terrace Place. That was atleast an hour drive from where he lived, assuming he was speeding and didn't stop. When he arrived at the front door it was already 5:30PM, and his heart was racing so fast he could feel it thumping in his chest. He didn't even care if he was intruding or not, he swung back the screen door with all his might and ran in to the house, only to find the kitchen, den area, and foyer empty. He closed his eyes, and he heard moaning coming from upstairs, in what he could only imagine was the bathroom. Not even thinking twice about how he was in someone's else home without their permission, he flew up the steps and swung open the door the moaning was coming from. What he saw before him, he will never forget.

---

Jessica was lying in the tub, with her legs spread far apart. She was tilting her head back, with her eyes close shut, and was crying ferociously. To the boy, it wasn't even a cry. It was like some sort of battle-cry or screaming. In her hands she held a coat hanger, and she was going to insert it in to herself at any moment. The boy froze. What the hell could he do now? He had come all this way, and it was going to be too late. He was moments away from breaking down and crying with painful memories about his baby sister, when suddenly a voice spoke out to him. It came from within his heart, but he knew that it was not himself who was the source of it. The voice was telling him, that he must face that which haunts him the most, so that no more innocent lives will be lost like his sister's. It told him that he was the only person who could help Jessica at this moment in time, and that if he didn't, a living thing would die.

He snapped. "Jessica!!!", he screamed, "Wait...God...Oh God...Please...Just...Just...Please just put...put the coat hanger down", he managed to mumble out. Jessica could tell he was just as scared and nervous as she was. "Are you the person who called me?", she moaned out. To the boy it sounded like she was dying. Her voice seemed extremely desperate and tired. "Who are you? Did you call me? I -told you- it was -too late-!!!", she croaked. "No", the boy said, "It isn't too late. Please. I-it is never too late", he said. "It is for me!!! Who in the hell are you!? If you came to rob and kill me, you can go right ahead", Jessica said. "This is where the beginning of the end of my life begins!", she added. "Please, just tell me everything. Tell me your story, and in the end, if you still want to do this, I won't try to stop you. I can even drive you to the hospital if you want", the boy coaxed. He knew that he wouldn't drive her to the hospital. He also knew that if she didn't go through with it now, she probably wouldn't have the courage to try again by herself. He saw a small ray of light - the first of the day for him - and took advantage of it.

The boy was now fully aware that he was staring at a naked pregnant woman in her bathtub, in her home to which he was not invited, and became immediately flustered. He handed her a towel and clothes that were on the floor outside the bathroom. When she had come out, he noticed she had brushed her hair back. To his surprise, she was actually kind of pretty. He had no idea why someone like her would want to abort their child. Little did he know that such a thing happens all too commonly, and rarely is there a person to stop it.

Jessica began to tell her tale to the boy, but it wasn't all that enthralling of a story. "I'm just a typical loser", Jessica started out. "I got in to a really serious relationship way too early. I...I should still be in high school". The boy's eyes narrowed at the sound of this. This girl wasn't even twenty? "M-My boyfriend t-t-told me that h-he was using the necessary precautions, b-but one night, when he didn't have any condoms, and I said no, he wouldn't stop, a-and he k-kept going, and...and...", but continuing her story was just too much for Jessica. She started a fresh set of sobs, and the boy could only sit on this woman's couch and stare at her. This girl is as much of a victim as his little baby sister was. Neither of them asked for this kind of life. But there was one difference he could see. His little baby sister never had a choice, but this girl here, as depressing as it was to see her, is here because she had made the choice.

"I want you to know, that when I was eight years old, my mother aborted my baby sister", the boy said. This took the young woman off guard. He was sure that she had some rebuttal to spit his way, but continued before she could react. "In a lot of ways, my little sister was my hope that things would get better in my life. I had planned on growing up with her, and loving life with her. I fantasized about seeing her in a wedding dress on the happiest day of her life, with the most gorgeous smile on her face. But all of that was stripped from me when my mother ended her life. I can gather from what you've said that you don't want any of this. I suppose no one has gotten in your face about it, since they all assume it's a personal issue. Well let me just say this, abortion is a -very- personal issue, and if you allow yourself to carry through with this act, nothing but darkness and despair will consume you."

Fully expecting the woman to click in to some automatic defense mode, where she goes on about how it his her life and her choice, the boy was completely taken by surprise when she began to cry. She buried her face in to her hands and sobbed and sobbed. This briefly reminded the boy of that girl he had saved in the alley not too long ago. Realizing he needed to stay focused on the task at hand, he knelt down next to her, and pulled her arms down. Jessica stared in to the boy's eyes. Something about his eyes entranced her. By looking in to those eyes, somehow she could see a future. In some distant fantasy land, for a brief moment, she could picture herself living happily with her baby. With her current financial state and lack of a job or supportive father, however, she was quickly snapped back to reality, and began her crying anew. That is when the boy put one hand gently on her stomach, right over her navel.

"Jessica", he said. "I want you to listen very carefully. Underneath my hand here is a living person. And although you may not know it yet, this person loves you very much, because you take care of them and allow them to live. They rely on you for so many things, and although they cannot express their feelings of love or gratitude, rest assured that beneath this hand lies a source of future happiness that nothing else in this world can bring." His hand felt very warm against her stomach, and soon it began to tingle. Something about this man's hand comforting this part of her body made her feel - in the perfect word - alive. For once she finally looked at what may lay ahead of her, instead of what she has left behind. The boy looked at her with very sad eyes, which she knew meant that the road ahead of her was even more difficult than anything she had experienced thus far. "The choice is yours now, Jessica", the boy said shortly before departing. "If you don't mind, I'm going to check in on you later this week, okay? You should have my number from Caller I.D. Please make the right choice Jessica. I will look in to some centers that support single-mothers with babies, and see what I can help setup. If you need me to, I can even consider letting you borrow some money until you get back on your feet", he finished with a smile.

He left her house to the sound of her pleading with him to not send her any money. Partly because she knew she would be ashamed, and partly because she knew she wouldn't refuse it. The boy was at the door when he turned to her and said, "Jessica, there are many things we learn through life. The Lord knows that I still have the majority of them ahead of me. But
when a person extends their hand to help, do not refuse it, but take it and thank them." Jessica could only weep a little to this kind notion, and watched as the boy rode off in to the sunset.

---

Later that night Jessica wrote in her Diary about the day's events:

Dear Diary,
Today I came very close to taking the life of my unborn child. I know that you aren't shocked to hear it, since I've been writing to you about doing it for quite some time now, but today I came the closest than I ever have before. It turned out that being so lonely and having no support got the better of me, and I decided the baby would be better off dead than being raised by someone like me, or in some home where they don't know their real parents. I don't know what I was thinking. But Diary, the strangest thing in the world happened. A boy called my house asking about me, and I hung up on him. I suppose it is what I've been doing to the world all this time, Diary. I've shut them all out. But this boy refused to be shut out of my life for some reason. I was in the tub, Diary, naked and with a coat hanger clenched in my hands, when this boy showed up and stopped me. I wanted to do it right then and there, Diary, but I couldn't take my baby's life in front of another person. It was barely manageable for me to think about it when I was by myself.

But this boy, he sat me down, and talked to me about all kinds of things. It turns out his little sister was aborted, and for that I knew he hated me for what I was trying to do. When he touched my stomach, Diary, I think it was like he was forgiving me for what I had tried to do. It was like he understood all the pain that I had gone through, and was trying to take it all away from me, so I could be happy again. He even for a moment gave me a glimpse of a happy life that I might be able to have with my baby. I know I can never go to college now, and never get a degree, or a good job to support a real family. All of that still keeps me depressed during most of the day. But whenever I get those feelings, Diary, I just put my hands over my stomach, just like that boy did. He said this baby could bring me "a happiness in the world that nothing else can bring". I wonder if he's right, Diary? I still have a long way to go, but he said that he would try and help me. I really feel embarrassed to ask for his help, since he doesn't even know me, but we will see what happens. I really hope that I never try anything like that ever again. Praise be to God that I was saved today, by an unexpected stranger.



---

Back at his home about two hours later, the boy heaved the biggest sigh of his life, and crashed down on to his bed. The twilight of the night was dancing its way in to his room, and he watched his fan as it continued its perpetual motion around and around. He prayed for all those he had helped, and prayed for their futures as happy individuals. At the same time, he knew that he must keep in touch with some of these people, to ensure that nothing bad would creep up. Praying, to him, was to get the courage to do something. He knew that God doesn't do anything for us, or show us how to do anything. He simply gives us the capabilities within ourselves to seek that which our hearts desire. As his eyes were closing further and further, his final thought before falling asleep was: "What does my heart truly desire?"