Reminder

Ray was driving his wheelchair down the ocean front sidewalk in Corpus Christi. All around him can you speak people were walking, laughing, and just enjoying the cool weather and the breeze coming off the ocean. Ray was a quadriplegic with what was called arthrogryposis which had made it difficult for him to travel and had never seen the ocean before today. He had come to Corpus Christi to try and clear his head after his stressful time, which included fighting depression as well as PTSD. As he passed the Selena statue he slowed down and just listen to the waves as they lapped against the concrete wall that held up the sidewalk. Water had always had a calming effect on him, he had always loved being in and around the water, being in the water was the only time that he could be out of his wheelchair and still be upright.

Today though, he would not be getting in the water. He came up to a street corner and stopped for a moment as he debated taking the street down further towards the ocean or continuing forward towards the USS Lexington at the other end of the walkway. After a moment Ray decided to drive straight and head towards the USS Lexington. He took a deep breath in let it out slowly alternating his gaze between what was in front of him and staring out over the vast expanse of the ocean. As he drove forward, he could not help but smile getting lost in the horizon where the dark blue water met the light blue Sky. He could smell the rain in the air mixing with the salt water is clouds formed overhead and the wind started to pick up slightly.

As he came towards the dock, he realized that he could not go any farther without going over the freeway that was behind him. He let out a soft say trying not to let his frustration get the better of him as he turned and just faced out over the open water. It seemed to be always like this, he had felt like he was always having to compromise what he wanted to do with what he was able to do and after 40 years it had become difficult, especially after a near death experience had taken away most of what he had been able to do on his own before and required him to relearn how to do just about everything. After a few moments he pushed away the thoughts that had come into his head, not of doing something like taking his own life, but thoughts of sailing off into the ocean alone for a while.

Taking a deep breath of the salt air he smiled to himself and turned towards the Lexington. While it was still in the distance it was still a sight to behold for him. He took out his phone and turned on the timer before hitting the picture button and using his forearm and stomach to support the phone to snap a few pictures of the aircraft carrier. He then turned to lookout over the water and went through the same process to snap a picture of the darkening Sky over the vast expanse of the water. After he did so he was putting his phone away when he heard somebody yelling behind him.

“Hey, hey you!” The deep male voice called.

Ray ignored it at first but then it started getting closer, “hey, hey you in the wheelchair, don't move I need to talk to you!”

Ray turned to look at the stranger. The man, who looked to be in his early 50s with graying hair, was walking at a fast pace towards Ray. Ray furrowed his brow as he looked at the well-dressed man and instinctively looked at cars and trees that were nearby that he could use for cover should something happen, the leftover instinct from his time as a security officer kicking in. As the man walked up, he reached under his jacket. Instinctively Ray turned slightly to the side, turning his wheelchair and body to a 45-degree angle from the man. Ray relaxed and turned back to face the man as he pulled out a black notebook, “yes, Sir?” Ray asked as he turned back to face the man.

The man came to a stop about 3 feet from Ray trying to catch his breath, “I've been trying to catch you for the last few minutes,“ the man said as he took a sharp inhale and let it out slowly, “I know what the look that you had is it, my son used to get that look as well.”

Ray tilted his head to the side slightly and after a brief pause glanced at the man's hand , “Sir?” He asked curiously.

“That look like you are lost in the world, like you're trying to figure out where to go and who you are,” the man replied and then held up the notebook, ”this was my sons and he wrote something in here before he passed away. His final wish was for me to pass it on to somebody that looked like they could use it.”

Ray’s curiosity piqued and he once again looked at the black notebook in the man's hand. normally Ray would not take anything, especially something that seemed that sentimental. However, as he looked up at the taller man's face he could tell this was important to the man. Andrew smiled and gave a brief nod, “OK,” he replied finally, “may I ask what it is?”

The man just smiled and held out the notebook questioningly, “you will just have to read for yourself,” he replied with a smile.

Ray held out his arm and motioned for the man to put it between his arm and his stomach so that he could hold on to it. The man did so gently amp added Ray on the shoulder before turning and walking off and disappearing into the crowd. Ray looked down at the little black book curiously and decided to head back to his hotel room where he could read the book. Within a few minutes he was back in his hotel room and looking at the book laying on the desk in front of him next to his phone. He took a deep breath before he opened the book, using his ring finger on his right hand to push the cover open and laying his left arm on the cover to keep it open.

Inside he found a name, Skylar Andrews. Ray took a moment before turning any pages, wanting to give a moment of reverence for Skylar. Is Ray finally flipped through the pages he found that most of them were blank. He let out a sigh as he thought maybe it had been some kind of cruel joke. Then he finally came across the page with writing on it.

Hi there. If you're reading this then that means I am no longer in this world and my father as fulfilled my last wish and giving you this book. I have had a difficult life, confined to a wheelchair unable to move anything but my head. However, I have learned something that I wanted to pass along. In my short 25 years of life, I have done many things the people thought I could not, I have also loved and lost and loved again. Re reading that I see how cliche that might be, but it is true. The one thing that holds you back no matter who you are, no matter your ability or disability, is you. Never let yourself become your own worst enemy, remember, there is always a way and there's always somebody who will be there for you, you are never alone.

Ray flipped the page after reading that, but the rest of the book was blank. He closed the book and set back for a moment looking out the window over the dock where restaurant had been set up and the to the ocean beyond. Ray looked back down at the book and set forward to re-read the entry. He could not help but smile, what was said was something he knew but had forgotten when he had let the darkness creeping on him. As if to punctuate the entry there was a knock on his door and his friend entered the room with their family, “Are you ready to go eat?” His friend asked.

Ray turned away from the table and nodded with a smile, “Yep, let's go,” he said happily.

With that the group headed out into the hallway and towards the elevator, Ray’s friends 7-year-old telling him about all the adventures they had had that day at the beach. As he listened and smiled enjoying the stories he stopped for a moment and set the book on a table near the elevators. He left it there in the hopes that the next person to find it would get the same inspiration that it had given him.

“What was that?” His friend asked.

“Just a reminder that I was looking for,” Ray replied simply with a smile as they disappeared into the elevator.