Fishman Epilogue
Also Includes a Note from Me
I spent my twenty-fifth birthday in the cemetery. Drenched from the rain and heavy from burdens. Mum, Dad and my sister were only in their thirties when they died. Why did they have to die so young? I was blessed to have a loving family, even if it pleased God to take them away.
“I promise I will stay strong for you all…”
Here lies Bailey Fishman
1957 - 1995
His wife Sapphire
1960 - 1995
And their daughter Kathleen
1980 – 2015
Lovely family forever missed
A promise I had forgotten all about. A promise that I was reminded off. I’m thirty-one now – Kathleen’s age when she died, and it still feels surreal being without my family.
My fears have been conquered: now it’s Todd’s turn. It’s a long walk to Kathleen’s grave, but the fact that Todd is able to keep his cool is courageous enough. He gives me the worn-out picture of Kathleen from his wallet and I pop it in a bouquet.
“How are you feeling?” I ask him.
“I’m getting there,” Todd tells me. “It’s taking time to get used to.”
I make a turn to the left. “I think it’s this way.” It’s easy to get lost in this grave and it’s doubled in since Kathleen’s burial.”
“Not surprised, she did die ten years ago.”
It feels like we’ve known each other for years. Hard to believe that he’s the one that rescued me. Now I’m helping him conquer his greatest fears. Every step feels like it’s taking an hour.
A cold wind blows on my face. Todd’s forcing his hat down with his hands. When I stop by on my family’s grave we say nothing. We don’t need words. Todd and I share the tension. It’s like we can read each other’s minds.
The flowers drop out of my hands and on Kathleen’s grave.
“If it makes you feel better, I think my sister would have liked you.”
Todd nods and he kneels by the tombstone. “I’ve been in love with a dead woman. Possibly a child abuser. I can only imagine what anguish I’ve caused you. Sorry, Bobby…”
We spend so much time together now that Grandpa Lucas asks us if we're a couple. I don't see us as the bromance of the century, but I see Todd as a soul mate. We're there for each other when we're sick. Even though we both have a long way to go, I’m glad he embraces the truth. It’s been overdue.
Todd accepts my plans to return to church. He hates it, but he tolerates it like I tolerate his wind at two in the morning. Father District's delighted. He comes up to us in the cemetery with a warm smile on his face. "I knew you'd come back!"
"And you've waited all this time."
Father District nods."God taught us to be patient."
"The good Lord taught you well."
"Congratulations Bobby, " Father District says. "I've never seen you so happy."
Am I smiling? He is right, I'm overwhelmed with joy. Despite everything that's happened, I hold Todd's hand and realise how lucky I am to be alive.
I'd like to give a warm thank you to all of you who have read and enjoyed my novella about Bobby Fishman. And a big thanks for Vocal for accepting and allowing this story to be shown on Vocal.
I also like to give a special thanks to everyone who has tipped me or has liked or shared my work with others. All of my readers are awesome.
You haven't seen the last of Bobby and Todd, they will be slaying robots in my upcoming novel Game of Mass Destruction.
About the Creator
Chloe Gilholy
Former healthcare worker and lab worker from Oxfordshire. Author of ten books including Drinking Poetry and Game of Mass Destruction. Travelled to over 20 countries.
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Fishman Chapter Fourteen
The lift is jolty. I don’t think it’s been serviced for a long time. I wish we took the stairs. I feel like the lift would drop and shatter within seconds. I should tell Todd that I hate lifts the next time I see an elevator. He knows lots about me, but not the fact that I hate lifts.
By Chloe Gilholy5 years ago in Humans
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By Kaylon Forsyth3 days ago in Humans
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In the tranquil town of Fields, Georgia, there carried on with a little fellow named Jimmy who had a voracious interest and endless energy. Since the beginning, he longed for having an effect on the planet, enlivened by the tales of extraordinary legends he read about in books. As Jimmy became older, his feeling of direction just escalated. Not entirely settled to make history, to go to bat for what was correct and battle for the people who couldn't battle for themselves. With a heart loaded with desire and a head brimming with dreams, Jimmy set out on an excursion that would lead him to become perhaps of the most cherished and powerful figure in American history. His name was Jimmy Carter. From his unassuming starting points in provincial Georgia to the consecrated corridors of the White House, Jimmy Carter's process was one of boldness, sympathy, and unflinching commitment to serving others. As a young fellow, Jimmy was attracted to the goals of equity and equity, propelled by the social liberties development that was clearing across the South. He chipped in for the Harmony Corps, venturing out to far off towns in Africa to assist with further developing admittance to medical services and schooling. Yet, it was his re-visitation of Georgia that would genuinely show Jimmy the way to significance. Energized by a longing to make positive change in his own local area, Jimmy hurled himself entirely into nearby governmental issues, ultimately ascending to turn into the legislative head of Georgia. His experience as lead representative was set apart by striking changes and moderate approaches, acquiring him public acknowledgment and making way for his possible campaign for the most elevated position in the land. In 1976, Jimmy Carter was chosen Leader of the US in a notable triumph that caught the creative mind of the country. His administration was characterized by a pledge to harmony, discretion, and common liberties, as he worked energetically to facilitate nonaggression treaties, advance natural protection, and champion the freedoms of ladies and minorities. In any case, maybe Jimmy Carter's most prominent inheritance lies not in that frame of mind of force, but rather in the endless lives he contacted through his generous work and philanthropic endeavors. Indeed, even subsequent to leaving office, Jimmy kept on devoting himself to causes more significant than himself, building homes for the destitute, upholding for worldwide wellbeing drives, and energetically attempting to advance harmony and a majority rules government all over the planet. Today, Jimmy Carter is recollected as an incredible pioneer, yet as a genuine American legend whose empathy, honesty, and unflinching devotion to support keep on moving ages of Americans to take a stab at a superior world. In the quiet town of Fields, Georgia, the sun rose over fields of cotton, giving occasion to feel qualms about a warm gleam the unobtrusive home where Jimmy Carter spent his childhood days. Since the beginning, Jimmy was imparted with the upsides of difficult work, lowliness, and empathy by his caring guardians, Lord and Lillian Carter. As a little fellow, Jimmy's creative mind took off as he ate up books about history, science, and the existences of extraordinary pioneers. He was especially attracted to the tales of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Martin Luther Lord Jr., whose fortitude and vision motivated him to accept that one individual could genuinely have an effect on the planet. Jimmy's hunger for information drove him to succeed in school, where he separated himself as a splendid and aggressive understudy. He fantasized going to the US Maritime Foundation and serving his country as a maritime official, a fantasy that would at last turn into a reality. In the wake of moving on from the Maritime Foundation in 1946, Jimmy left on a recognized military profession, serving on board submarines and ascending through the positions to turn into a regarded official. It was during this time that Jimmy's feeling of obligation and obligation to support developed, as he saw firsthand the penances made by his kindred servicemen and ladies. In any case, Jimmy's life would go off in a strange direction when his dad became sick and died, provoking him to leave the Naval force and get back to Georgia to assume control over the family nut ranch. It was here, in the midst of the fields of peanuts and cotton, that Jimmy would track down his actual reason for living. Driven by a craving to work on the existences of people around him, Jimmy hurled himself entirely into local area activism and nearby governmental issues, in the end ascending to turn into the legislative leader of Georgia in 1971. His residency as lead representative was set apart by a progression of moderate changes, including extending admittance to medical services, further developing schooling, and advancing racial fairness. In 1976, Jimmy Carter sent off his notable mission for the administration, running on a foundation of trustworthiness, uprightness, and sympathy. Despite everything, Jimmy arose triumphant, turning into the 39th Leader of the US and satisfying his life as a youngster fantasy about serving his country at the most elevated level. As president, Jimmy Carter's initiative was characterized by a pledge to discretion, common liberties, and civil rights. He handled noteworthy nonaggression treaties among Israel and Egypt, advocated the privileges of ladies and minorities, and worked enthusiastically to lighten destitution and craving both at home and abroad. Yet, maybe Jimmy Carter's most persevering through inheritance lies in his post-official years, where he has committed himself to compassionate causes and charity through the Carter Community. From killing illnesses like Guinea worm and stream visual deficiency to advancing majority rules government and compromise all over the planet, Jimmy Carter's enthusiastic endeavors have contacted the existences of millions and roused another age of pioneers to emulate his example. Today, Jimmy Carter's heritage lives on as a brilliant illustration of being a genuine American legend - a man of trustworthiness, empathy, and relentless commitment to serving others. From the cotton fields of Fields, Georgia, to the blessed lobbies of the White House and then some, Jimmy Carter's process reminds us generally that with fortitude, assurance, and an unflinching obligation to our qualities, the sky is the limit.
By Nameless writerabout 19 hours ago in Humans
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