The Toyota Celica sped down the old country road pushing ninety.
Jake Barnes was drunk. He'd let himself have a little too much fun. Marcie, his wife, probably wouldn't speak to him for days. He'd made an ass of himself at Noah's graduation party.
"What the hell!" he screamed.
He figured he was allowed. Your only son didn't graduate from college everyday! Noah had worked long and hard for this day, working his way through. Jake hadn't been able to afford to pay all of Noah's tuition and he hated himself for it. But Noah had done him proud. It had taken him eight years to finish, taking a class here and there when he could afford it, and working his tail off the rest of the time.
"That's my boy!" Jake screamed with pride for his twenty-six-year old son. The night air felt good on his face as he pushed the pedal to the floor.
Now, Noah was engaged. And he'd landed a good job. He was going to work for one of those fancy newspapers in downtown Manchester. His journalism career was taking off. And now Jake could watch and see his son attain those things he'd never had when he was young. He'd see his son make something of himself other than a lousy factory worker.
"No thanks to me," Jake mumbled. The pain of not being able to give his son those things gnawed at his mind and he took another sip of beer to wash it away.
As he threw the can out the window, Jake noticed a young man with long hair standing on the side of the road staring at him. He was a peculiar fellow. He seemed to have a certain glow about him. His look was solemn and his eyes never left the Celica. Jake turned his attention back to the road.
He heard a horn blare and then the sound of metal twisting. He thought he'd seen sparks fly and then he felt a horrible pain in his head. Someone was screaming off to his right and a baby was crying. He forced his eyes to open.
It was dark. The smell of burning oil and gasoline filled the air. Had he been in an accident? Was everyone okay? He suddenly realized he couldn't feel his legs.
He turned his head slightly to the right and his eyes met the gaze of the young man from the side of the road.
"Hey! Can you help me?" Jake said.
The young man kneeled down beside him and smiled. "Jake, my name is Andrew. I'm here to take you home."
Noah Barnes awoke with a shriek.
His body and bed were soaked with perspiration.
He sat up in the darkness and hugged his knees to his chest, his body shaking violently. The haunting screams continued as the door flew open. The lights came on as Marcie Barnes rushed into the bedroom.
"Noah," she screamed, running to his side. "My Noah."
She jumped onto the bed and grabbed hold of her son. His body was dripping with sweat and his screams were killing her ears, but she held him anyway. It had been a month since Jake's death and Noah had awoken every night like this.
"Please, God," she pleaded. "Oh, please, Lord."
She patted his head and held him close as the screaming continued. His body was rocking back and forth; tears were rushing down his cheeks. Marcie closed her eyes and moved with Noah. It was like he was her baby again.
Her mind wandered back to the night he was born.
It had been raining that night. A horrible, driving rain that pelted the windshield of their Chevy station wagon. Jake was driving blind - the wipers weren't doing any good, even at high speed. Marcie sat shivering in the passenger's seat, wrapped in a blanket. Her breathing was getting heavier and heavier. She concentrated on that instead of her husband's erratic driving. She wanted to make it to actually give birth but said nothing to Jake because she knew he was doing his best.
Several more near misses with on-coming traffic and fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the hospital. And in another two hours, Noah had been born. They'd named him that as a reminder of their trip to the hospital, jokingly saying that it'd taken forty days and nights to get there.
And now, twenty-six years later, it was still storming. Noah had been diagnosed with clinical depression six months before the accident. They'd tried several medications before finally hitting the right one. Things had been going smoothly for about six weeks, if you didn't count the mood swings caused by the medication. He would still get down but at least he was laughing again.
Marcie felt guilty about the whole thing, herself a depression victim. The doctor had told her that depression was a genetic condition that tended to travel through the mother's bloodline. Jake had tried to tell her that it wasn't her fault but she took responsibility. Deep down inside, she couldn't forgive herself for causing her son so much pain. She hated that he had to take a pill or go through counseling. It was all just too much for her to handle, especially now that it was Christmas time.
Marcie snapped out of her memory when her daughter, Jennifer, ran into the room.
"Sorry, Mom," she said. "I was sound asleep."
Marcie nodded in response. Somehow Jennifer, six years younger than Noah, had been blessed with the ability to sleep through anything. Of course, at times like this it proved to be rather annoying. Marcie couldn't handle Noah by herself.
Jennifer turned on the CD player and hit the play button. She sat down on Noah's other side and wrapped her arms around him. She closed her eyes as the familiar tune filled her ears.
Sometimes when all your dreams may have seen better days
And you don't know how or why, but you've lost your way
Have no fear when your tears are falling
I will hear your spirit calling
And I swear that I'll be there come what may
Just like always, Noah began to slowly calm down and stop shrieking as the song played. It was the most amazing thing. There was something about the Hanson CD that seemed to work a miracle for Noah and his screaming. It was something she'd discovered quite by accident.
Hanson had been Noah's favorite group, although he endured much ridicule from his friends for liking them. He admired their talent and their determination to make a name for themselves. But the miracle happened the day he wandered into Jennifer's room two weeks ago while she was listening to their CD. The song MMMBop had been playing and for just a few moments, Noah smiled. He hadn't done that in a month, not since their dad's funeral. Hell, he hadn't even talked the whole time. All he did was mope around the house and not say a word to anyone.
The same night, when Noah woke up screaming, Jennifer tried playing the CD and it had worked. It calmed him right down. They'd used that ever since to quiet him. She only wished it would do something about his talking. Noah had always been such a happy person. He was funny and could charm the socks off of anyone. She missed her brother.
Noah's whole life had shifted into neutral after their father died. The people at the Herald, Noah's new job, had been supportive at first, thinking that he would just snap out of it. But after the third week ended and he hadn't shown up for work, they'd fired him. Jennifer and her mother had been hit hard by the sudden loss, but the two of them were trying to move on. Noah couldn't let go of it.
His fiancée didn't even come over anymore, she couldn't stand to. Seeing the man she loved in that much pain caused Sarah to lose control. She had stopped by everyday the first two weeks, but after he wouldn't talk to her, she gave up. She'd run out in tears and hadn't called or been back since. Word had it that she'd gone to stay with her grandmother out of state.
Noah was quiet now. Marcie gently laid him down and covered him up, kissing his forehead. Her and Jennifer quietly left the room, turning the lights out as they went.
Monica, an angel, had been watching the entire scene. She was intrigued by the love shown towards the young man - it touched her. She smiled as he slowly drifted off back to sleep to the music that was playing.
"His name is Noah Barnes," a voice said.
Monica turned to see Tess, her supervisor and also an angel, appear.
"Hello, Tess."
"Hey, Angel Girl."
"So, what are we doing here? Is Noah my assignment?"
Tess nodded and smiled. "Yes, baby, he is. Noah's father died last month and he's lost in a lonely, dark place. You're here to help him find his way out."
Monica turned to look at Noah again. "He sleeps so peaceful."
Tess shook her head. "Sometimes, yes, but mostly he lives a nightmare. The death of a loved one can effect people in different ways. Some get over it sooner and some get over it later." She pointed to Noah. "And some never get over it at all."
"But it's only been a month, Tess. Nobody gets over someone's death in a month."
"Grief that deep, baby, can last forever. And it will, if we don't help him."
Monica cocked her head to one side and looked at him again. "What music is that?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Right now, we've got work to do."
Chapter Two
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