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Click here"What about showing me all the memories and everything? That doesn't count as helping?"
"That was already planned. You needed to see that even at a young age, even as bad things were happening, you took control of your life. That was one of the lessons here."
"Yeah it all started to make sense. All the images, all the riddles, and the last door, all lead up to me seeing if I was worthy of a second chance, if I could have a change of heart."
"That was your final obstacle. You had to do things you never thought you'd do, like completely lose your temper, stoop so low that you never thought you'd get out..."
"Completely give up on life?" I added.
"That wasn't supposed to happen, but you overcame it and forgave Ashley, thus redeeming yourself, Forgive and Redeem, the last obstacle, something you never thought possible."
"I made it look easy huh?" I joked. "Just wish I didn't take so long on the Ashley door."
"That one was definitely the trickiest. You've never experienced real anger until Ashley came into the picture. By not knowing how to deal with it, it grew until it was no longer in your control, and it forced you to make bad choices. While it took some unusual circumstances and a huge amount of character on your part, you were able to let go of that anger. You were willing to forgive the cause of all your problems for the one you love, to get your life back, which was the lesson you needed to learn. Anger can get you killed, don't let it get the better of you, take control of your life and never relinquish it."
"So literally every choice I made was crucial in some way. No second chances, this was the fight to see if I got a second chance, so to screw up here would've been the nail in the coffin."
"Exactly."
"So if I missed something and chose the path of memories instead, what would've happened?"
"You would have died. If you hadn't beaten your anger earlier you would have been stuck in that dark room, and if you'd have walked the path of memories, you would have been stuck in an endless loop of the best times of your life, while time passed in the real world with you not getting better, until your family decided to pull the plug. You breaking the locks showed you didn't run away from your problems, you faced them and beat them, and your mind recognized that and opened the door. Your life quite literally depended on what you did in this room."
"So in a nutshell, I was fighting with my mind to wake myself up."
"Yes. Your actual body is still in the hospital bed. This has been a sort of out of body experience, like in the movies, but this one took place in your mind. Now that your mind is healed you'll be able to wake up, once you walk through the door."
I looked at the door, lock free and waiting for me to walk through it. this nightmare had finally come to an end, but before it would, I had a few more questions for myself. "Before I leave, I have a few more questions to ask you."
"I've answered so many, but hey, you've earned it, what's a few more."
"Ok. You're my conscience right?"
"Yes I am, your conscience and your conscience alone."
"And being my conscience, you've been with me my entire life through every single moment, including when the entire thing started with Rita?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you try to stop me from kissing her?"
"Because that kiss was meant to happen, just like you were meant to get a second chance."
"Wait so you knew what was gonna happen all along?"
"No, but I had a feeling you would make the right choice. That was more than three questions, don't you have somewhere you should be right about now?"
"Will I see you again?"
"Most likely not, but after this would you want to?"
"Under better circumstances I wouldn't be opposed to it."
"We'll cross that bridge if we ever get to it again, which hopefully isn't for a long, long time. Enough questions, get out of here and back to Rita, she's waiting for you to wake up."
I stepped right up to the door and took one last look around my mind, all the color and architecture made it look so functional compared to the dark pit it was before. I watched as my conscience smiled at me one last time, and the light that made him up began to break off and spread itself around the room, dropping light fragments on everything it touched.
"I'll be watching." He voice said as the light dissipated from view, giving me reassurance.
The path to the memories evaporated into nothing, and the A door began to glow around the outside, signaling I only had one move left to make. I wasn't ready to die yet, I still had a lot to live for, I found that out the hard way, but at least I found it out. I grabbed the doorknob and took a deep breath, "Rita here I come" I thought to myself as I exhaled and turned the knob and opened the door. Just like in all the TV shows and movies, when I opened the door I couldn't see anything but a bright light looking back at me. I gathered myself and walked through, engulfing myself in the light, eager to get back to the real world, eager to get back to Rita.
- COMMENTS
anubeloreover 2 years agoSeriously. Distain isn't even a freaking word! How do you misspell disdain, and not notice? Also, this chapter, and the three or four before it, we're among the more agonizingly awkward things I've read in years. Not the worst, not at all. That's the problem. They were just good enough that all the goofs, the bizarre, inconsistent behavior of the characters, and the mishmash of good and excruciatingly not-quite-right grammar...it actually hurt, a little bit. But I'm powering through, because damn it, I'm no quitter.
I Know you didn't finish the second part of the finale, but I'm guessing the last "official" chapter will suffice. (I checked the comments of the final chapter first)
ccb9951over 9 years agoI love this story and hope it continues on for as long as you wright
Anonymousover 9 years agoI owe an apology to Frank Kapra. I'm sorry Mr. Kapra, I was not aware that it could get any more cheesy than you. I had no clue that it was possible to take such a beloved series grounded in reality and completely ruin it with guardian angels, limbo and talks of destiny. But most of all, I had no clue that a previously talented writer could huff enough bottles of formaldehyde to think that after showing nothing resembling human emotion, it would be possible for any thinking person to "forgive" Ashley. Ashley is the only person in this story that isn't a character, she is a plot device, nothing more. There is absolutely no understanding as to why she behaves the way she does. "I hate men,"......Ok, she clearly dealt with some hard issues, but if you don't show those issues then her statement has zero validation or emotional connection. "It was the right thing to do.." No it wasn't, it was the wrong thing to do. Seeing her die would be sooooooooo karmic. I leave you asking in all honesty: Why DID Randy save her?
Anonymousover 9 years agoI love this series. In fact every week i check to see if the new addition. But this isnt like your usual writing. While it is great to change your style and evolve your writing tallents, you should keep a constant theme throughout a story line. I hope in your next issue you revert back to the original theme. Never be pressured by the demand of your audience to put out a new issue, because if the issue isnt to the quality of the rest of your stories. Please go back to the story line of rita and randy's dangerous love life, while staying away from the theological view of your protagonist.
