Chapter 2: Intervention

I placed the gun to my head ready to pull the trigger and bring down the final curtain on my life. It took me the better part of an hour to muster up the courage to do the final act. I put my finger on the trigger and gradually squeezed. I heard the mechanism of the gun working as the pressure on the hammer spring was released. I then heard the hammer come down striking the primer cap of the 38 caliber shell in the cylinder. I had my eyes closed, resigned to meeting my maker and just waiting for death to give me release from my torment. My torture was finally going to be over.

Then I heard a deafening sound as the gunpowder in the cartridge exploded. I could hear the lead slug being forced out of its brass casing. I then heard the scraping sound of the lead slug boring its way down the rifled grooves of the pistol's barrel. Round and round it spun on its way ready to leave the steel tube of the pistol and perform its intended task of rending flesh and bone into a mashed up soup. That day it was not to be. Just as the bullet made its final circle and was ready to exit the barrel, time froze and the bullet stopped cold at the muzzle of the barrel. Some force came in to intervene and forced the position of the gun to jump up to a position pointing above the top of my head. Time started back up and the bullet continued along its trajectory giving my hair a new crosswise part. The recoil of the gun caused it to jump from my hand landing on the rock I was sitting on with a resounding thud and cracking sound. I looked down and saw that the pistol had hit the rock so hard that it was cracked in two rendering it incapable of ever operating again as it was designed to do. Once again the thought crossed my mind that I had failed in another endeavor.

I got up from the stone and, carrying the symbols of my latest disappointment, made my way to my car. When I got there I noticed an old man standing by the driver's side door. I was still a bit befuddled so I was not too surprised to see him. He was a strange looking man with eyes that pierced into your very soul. He was dressed in what looked like an undertaker's garb of black suit, black shirt and black tie.

I asked him, "Who are you?"

"Greg, I am the intervener. You can call me Horatio."

"What do you want with me and how do you know my name?"

"I have come to keep you from making a tragic mistake. I have been watching you from the day you were born."

"Did you move my gun?"

"Yes I did. Your time in this world is far from complete."

"Haven't I been through enough torture yet?"

"You, my good man, have been through more than any man should have to endure but your time has not come to pass. That's why I prevented you from making a big mistake by ending your life. There are untold tasks that you must perform before you are allowed to leave this existence. Please get into the car. I have some things to show you."

Like some kind of a robot I got into the car as the stranger got into the driver's seat. He started up the car and we drove to my parent's house where I grew up until I was out on my own. We pulled up out front and he told me to get out and come into the house. We walked up the front walk and without opening the door we both entered the house. When we got inside I saw my mother sitting on the couch and she was wailing and crying very hard. She kept saying over and over, "First my daughter and now my son are gone."

I hollered, "Mom I'm not gone. I'm right here."

She did not hear me and just kept repeating, "First my daughter and now my son."

Again I hollered and she paid me no attention. I went over and tried to hug her but my arms passed right through her just like she was not even there. I turned to Horatio with a puzzled look on my face and asked, "What is going on?"

"What you see is what would be if you had completed what you set out to do in that field."

I looked over and saw my dad lying on the floor not moving. Again I gave the stranger a puzzled look.

"You father had a fatal heart attack when he heard of your untimely demise."

"How can this be? I did not succeed in ending my life."

"You did kill yourself in this existence. I intervened to show you that 'No man is an island'. We all have connections to others. Come we have more to see."

He took my hand and we rose up out of the house and entered what I had heard described as heaven. When we got there I was shocked to see my sister looking down on the earth and crying her eyes out saying, "why did Greg do it? He had so much to live for."

We went on a little farther and there was Jean huddled with the kids. She was trying to comfort them as they were both crying a river of tears and saying, "we want our new daddy back."

Then we descended back down to earth and entered a mental hospital where I saw Barb pacing the floor saying over and over, "It's my entire fault. If I didn't treat Greg like that he would still be alive. It's my entire fault"

We then got back to my house, where Horatio sat me down and we had a long talk. I just sat there as he spoke to me. He said, "Greg, I agree that you have been through a lot in your life. Even in the face of adversity you have managed to pick yourself up and continue on with your life. As I said before, you still have more to do in this world before you are done. I am going to make you an offer I'm sure you will not want to turn down. I am going to give you a second chance to live your life the way it should be. You will not have to suffer the disappointments and adversity you have been through. A power greater than me has sent me to you to help you achieve the tasks you have been destined to do. All the bad things which have happened to you will be erased from existence and you can choose when in your life you want to start over. You will be transported back in time and have the chance to live your life over again. Along the way you will be invested with some powers to help you complete your tasks as you grow up. You have only to decide when you want to start over."

"Can I choose any time I want?"

"Yes you can. I will be following you and can give you whatever assistance you need should the need arise."

I though it over for quite some time and I decided that my senior year in high school would be a good place to start so I told Horatio and suddenly I was standing in my bedroom while mom was calling me down to supper. On my way down the stairs I was almost knocked over as my sister Sandy raced to beat me to the kitchen. I gave her a swat on her rear end as she passed me and she let out a screech but continued to take two steps at a time. She did beat me and was sedately sitting at the table as I walked into the room. I sat down and dad said grace followed by a mad grab fest with Sandy and me wanting to get at the food first. Mom, ever the peacemaker, chided us and told us to slow down and wait our turn. The only thing we could do was to say, "Yes ma'am."