Starting Over

Chapter 8 (Time Stood Still)

As I looked out the bus window, the reality of everything around me started to sink in. More passengers had come and gone, and now I was the last one left, ready to step into the world of Hawkins once again. The bus driver had reached his final stop, and he let me know that it was time for me to get off. Even though Hawkins looked the same as it did 18 months ago, the atmosphere felt strange. The address my father had written to me was only a few blocks away. The thought of seeing him in the state he was in was starting to settle in. A sense of familiarity filled the air as I walked down the pavement. Being back here made me feel like I wasn't alone and empty. When I saw my father's house, I slowly climbed the steps. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door, hoping someone would answer. After a few minutes, the door slowly creaked open, and an older lady appeared behind the screen door. She asked me who I was.

I noticed a woman wearing a uniform with a badge on the corner of her shirt that read "Carol." I explained that I was Frank's daughter. She opened the door wider and scrutinized my face as if she had known me for a long time. She said, "I'm glad you're here. He's been expecting you for some time now. He was worried his letters weren't getting delivered to you, but it looks like someone was watching out for him. He's frail now, but knowing you are here will make him very happy." As we walked down the hallway, Carol informed me that she was Frank's in-house nurse. Frank was bedridden and surrounded by machines with an oxygen mask covering his face in a secluded room at the far end of the house.

As Carol left the room, tears rolled down my face as I sat down beside my father's bed. I felt lost and helpless, not knowing what to do or say to comfort him. However, Carol's assurance that she was available if I needed her gave me some sense of comfort.

As I sat there, waiting for my father to wake up, I looked around the room. On his bedside table, I noticed a photograph of three people - a woman, a teenage girl, and my father. I looked at the girl closely and was almost sure it was Robin, his new family member.

Suddenly, I felt my father's hand on mine. I looked at him, and he pointed to his mask, signaling that he wanted me to remove it. I hesitated momentarily, but then I slowly removed it from his face. As I did, a huge smile appeared on his face, and I felt relief.

His voice sounded slow and raspy as he spoke, and it took him a while to form his words. I noticed a glass of water beside him and quickly grabbed it so he could take a drink before continuing. "Linda, you made it...I thought I would never see you again. As you can see, I'm not in the best shape since you last saw me. After you left, I wanted you to remember me always. Writing to you was peaceful, but when I didn't receive any letters back from you, I feared the worst. I constantly thought that I had failed you as a father, and leaving with your mother made me think that you hated me, too. I'm glad you're back, but it's not how I wanted it to be. Seeing you one last time will put me in a better place, knowing my daughter hasn't forgotten me."

As I saw my father in his vulnerable state, my heart broke in so many ways. It was painful to hear him say that I hated him, a thought that had never even entered my mind when we left behind our life here. However, coming from my mother, it was a different story. His breathing started to become rapid, so I removed the mask and placed it back on his face to help him normalize it. I held his hand and stayed beside him as he drifted back asleep. Before leaving the room, I kissed him on the forehead and headed out to find Carol. As I walked down the hallway, I saw her sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, looking out the window and noticing that it was slightly raining outside. I walked over to the table, took a seat across from her, and just buried my head in my hands, crying softly to myself. She took her chair and came around the table to wrap her arms around me while I cried into her chest.