Helen's Resurrection
"We are going to revive her like Jesus revived Jairus' daughter!" you remind him.
"Oh, right! That is my favorite bible story," he says, excitement growing in his voice. "The one where the leader of the synagogue asks Jesus to heal his sick daughter. She dies before Jesus can heal her, so Jesus raises her from the dead!"
"I know, this was your idea, remember?
"Sure do!"
"Good, because you promised that you knew how he did it."
You wait while Lamar zips up his jacket in the frigid autumn air, hearing strange noises in the night, the shadows dancing in the corners of your vision, rubbing your shaky hands together to keep warm. Finally, he finishes and looks around. His breath is visible as if he were smoking a cigarette.
"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Lamar asks you. Rather than answer, you glare at him. "Fine, fine. We need to start digging then. Even if we revive her right this second, she will suffocate if we leave her buried there."
Unfortunately, he is right. Digging up the grave is difficult since the soil is semi-frozen; your prayers that the freshly-dug soil is still loose and easy to move go unanswered. After a half-hour of backbreaking work, it still isn't done.
Lamar tags in for another ten-minute shift, a tactic you decided to employ when you realized Lamar forgot his shovel. You Climb out of the pit nearly six-foot pit with shaky hands. Worse than the weight of the dirt, the guilt of what you have done—and what you are doing—rest on your shoulders, making them feel heavy.
Lamar digs for five more minutes before there is a satisfying thud that sounds when he drives the head of the spade into the ground. Both of you jump at the unexpected and harrowing sound.
Uncovering the rest of the casket doesn't take nearly as long, but you pause before opening the lid. Everything you are doing seems wrong; however, you can’t stop now. This is something you have to do for her.
"This is going to work, sis," you mutter to yourself, prying the coffin open with trepidation.
Helen lays before you as you stand over the box, her fair skin and hair paler than usual, her body still and lifeless, strangely lacking a smile on her face. It is more haunting than you feared. Tears form in the corners of your eyes as you remember her laugh; she was laughing when you got into the car accident that ended her life.
"It's okay, man," Lamar says, resting a hand on your back. "Do you know what you have to do?"
You shake him off and yell, "Lamar, I brought you because you said that you knew how to do this!"
"Calm down, Alexander! I know that you know this; what did Jesus do to heal Jairus' daughter?"
"Oh, right! That is my favorite bible story," he says, excitement growing in his voice. "The one where the leader of the synagogue asks Jesus to heal his sick daughter. She dies before Jesus can heal her, so Jesus raises her from the dead!"
"I know, this was your idea, remember?
"Sure do!"
"Good, because you promised that you knew how he did it."
You wait while Lamar zips up his jacket in the frigid autumn air, hearing strange noises in the night, the shadows dancing in the corners of your vision, rubbing your shaky hands together to keep warm. Finally, he finishes and looks around. His breath is visible as if he were smoking a cigarette.
"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Lamar asks you. Rather than answer, you glare at him. "Fine, fine. We need to start digging then. Even if we revive her right this second, she will suffocate if we leave her buried there."
Unfortunately, he is right. Digging up the grave is difficult since the soil is semi-frozen; your prayers that the freshly-dug soil is still loose and easy to move go unanswered. After a half-hour of backbreaking work, it still isn't done.
Lamar tags in for another ten-minute shift, a tactic you decided to employ when you realized Lamar forgot his shovel. You Climb out of the pit nearly six-foot pit with shaky hands. Worse than the weight of the dirt, the guilt of what you have done—and what you are doing—rest on your shoulders, making them feel heavy.
Lamar digs for five more minutes before there is a satisfying thud that sounds when he drives the head of the spade into the ground. Both of you jump at the unexpected and harrowing sound.
Uncovering the rest of the casket doesn't take nearly as long, but you pause before opening the lid. Everything you are doing seems wrong; however, you can’t stop now. This is something you have to do for her.
"This is going to work, sis," you mutter to yourself, prying the coffin open with trepidation.
Helen lays before you as you stand over the box, her fair skin and hair paler than usual, her body still and lifeless, strangely lacking a smile on her face. It is more haunting than you feared. Tears form in the corners of your eyes as you remember her laugh; she was laughing when you got into the car accident that ended her life.
"It's okay, man," Lamar says, resting a hand on your back. "Do you know what you have to do?"
You shake him off and yell, "Lamar, I brought you because you said that you knew how to do this!"
"Calm down, Alexander! I know that you know this; what did Jesus do to heal Jairus' daughter?"