Mark was surprised when Ethan had contacted him asking him for a small favor, yet was happy to hear from his friend. Ethan still carried a torch for a love that was lost, something that he had believed would stand the test of time, and this bugged him to no end. Mark knew Ethan was devastated, and tried everything he could think of at the time to console his friend; but Ethan only sank deeper into a depression. Mark knew from his own experience that sometimes it was just better to walk away, but in the end it was Ethan's fight or flight syndrome that offered what he felt had been his best choice. Ethan had called Mark after the split and told Mark there was nothing left for him in New York. He just had to get away. Look at something different, see another area of the country, and work at trying to forget.
Chapter 25: Sudden Shocks
After having contacted Mark several days ago and still not having heard from him, Ethan was tempted to pick up the phone and call him to see what his friend may have found out. Little did Ethan know that Mark already had the answer, and was working on a unique way of telling Ethan. With the passing of each hour, Ethan was growing more and more irritated that Mark had not yet made contact. Suddenly his train of thought had been interrupted by his doorbell ringing. It was approaching midnight in San Antonio, and Ethan hadn't expected anyone at this time of the night to be calling. It was probably James, bored out of his skull, just wanting to talk and kill some time, as the two had done so many times in the past.
Ethan looked out through the peephole in the door and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his friend, Mark, standing in the doorway! Just as he opened the door, Mark smiled, and before he could get a word out, Ethan had broken into joyful tears while hugging Mark in utter amazement and disbelief that Mark was even standing there. “Are you kidding me, Mark? I mean what, why, I mean how?”
Before Ethan could say another word Mark laughed and said, “Relax, Ethan, we'll have plenty of time for questions. How have you been doing? We haven't spoken in ages, so I assumed everything must have been going great.”
Mark noticed the expression on his friend’s face go from excitement to a more relaxed state, as he continued: “I've been getting by, doing this and that. How about you?”
Ethan's facial expression changed once again to one of loss, as he said, “I do miss the family; and the life style down here is a lot different from that back in New York.”
“Sounds like you've adapted pretty well, and maybe this is where you were meant to be,” Mark told Ethan.
Ethan thought about that for a moment, and Mark had the feeling that his friend was looking for change once again, but for different reasons. “Well, Mark, I'd really like to do something different with my life—I just don't know what. I know I'm capable of so much more, but we can talk about that later. Tell me, Mark, were you able to find anything out about you-know-who?”
“Do you really want to know, Ethan?”
“Yes, Mark, I do. I really want to know one way or the other.”
Mark and Ethan got comfortable and walked into a small living room so they could sit and relax. Mark looked Ethan in the eye and said, “Ethan, I'm not going to pull any punches. I owe you more than that as my friend.”
Ethan's body then became noticeably rigid as Mark continued. “Ethan, she's gone.”
“What do you mean, gone, Mark, like moved away or something?”
“No, Ethan, she was killed in an auto accident with some guy she had gone partying with. He was drunk and driving at some insane speed, according to the police report.”
Ethan at that moment paused and became visibly sick, as the blood just seemed to drain from his face. Mark asked Ethan if he was all right, but Ethan was speechless and nearly in a state of shock.
“Ethan, you know as well as I that nothing in this life is forever,” Mark continued, “and the things that happen to us in life—well it's a crap shoot at best. I know this isn't the news you wanted to hear, but we've always been honest with each other all these years and you did want to know, didn't you?”
Chapter 26: Hoping Against Hope
Ethan excused himself and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Mark grew concerned, knowing just how sensitive a soul his friend was. Through the door Mark could hear his friend crying, repeating the word why—why, why?
Mark knocked on the door and asked if his friend was all right. Ethan said he would be out shortly, just to give him a moment. Several minutes had passed before Ethan finally walked out.
Mark told his friend: “I'm very sorry, Ethan, that this turned out in a way that you may never have expected, but you wanted to know, and considering the information, and knowing you as I do, I felt it best to fly down to San Antonio and tell you in person.”
It took Ethan a minute to compose himself, while still having a look of total disbelief that the one person he had always felt was the one he would spend the rest of his life with was gone forever. He thanked Mark for all he had done, and said to Mark that this was the last thing that he had expected hear. “I was hoping perhaps against hope that she might have been longing to see or hear from me. That she was sorry for walking out and that she wanted to try to make things work. I just wasn't expecting this, Mark.”
Mark looked down in silence, thinking that he had done his best friend a disservice in having to be the one to break the news to him. Ethan then looked at Mark and told him there was something he wanted to share with him. “I want to show you something, Mark. This was my reason for asking you this favor.”
Ethan handed Mark the letter that John had written to him before his death. After reading what was a very personal letter to Ethan, Mark moved closer to him, placing his arm around him and holding him in a gentle embrace. “Ethan,” Mark said, “our lives can take us in many different directions. Some of the paths we take are nothing other than dead ends, but each dead end we may come across in our lives tends to teach us something if we're willing to listen to that voice inside of us; and then we move on, hopefully back onto the right path.”
Chapter 27: Life Is Forever Changing
As Ethan's spirit guide, I have to admit that Mark’s concept of life had been formed from his own hard knocks in his personal life journey, but he, too, was on the right path. In fact, Ethan had no idea just how far Mark had come in being a very successful head of his own advertising agency. It actually was Mark’s many successes that afforded him a life style that many would envy. But there was more to come in this relationship between these two friends. There were adventures ahead for both of them, but that, I'm afraid, is a story for another time.
After Ethan was a bit more composed, he began telling Mark about his job at the restaurant and the many wonderful people he had met since first arriving. Mark listened intently as Ethan weaved his stories about those souls that had entered his life, and some that had left. But there was one soul that Ethan would continue to wonder about—that of a love found and then lost, what might have been or maybe never was meant to be. Mark knew that his closest friend was learning that there had to be some grand plan to all of the joys and sadness that people experience in their lives. It was that very plan and path that both Mark and Ethan would soon embark on that would change both of their lives forever.
It was getting late and Mark had booked a hotel room not far away. Mark asked his friend if he would be all right? Considering the news he had brought, Mark was concerned about leaving Ethan by himself.
Ethan paused, and then looking at Mark, he said, “I'll be OK. It's just that this was the last thing I had expected to hear.”
Mark felt that his friend had suffered the initial shock of what he had said, and asked if Ethan would be available for getting together at the hotel the following morning for breakfast, as he had to catch a flight back to New York later that afternoon.
Ethan replied, “Yes, of course,” Ethan replied, “I'll meet you there for breakfast.” And the two friends parted.
After Ethan and Mark had met at the hotel the next m
orning, the two grabbed something to eat, and spoke briefly about what had transpired the evening before. Even though Ethan was still reeling from the news of Jennifer's death, he seemed to be more accepting of the news, and that his life would continue to move forward.
After breakfast, when Mark again asked Ethan if he would be okay, Ethan replied: “I just need a little time to let this sink in.”
Both Ethan and Mark said their goodbyes, and Mark wished Ethan well while telling him to stay in touch a little more often. As Mark was driving to the airport for his return to New York, he wondered about his friend when he remembered a line out of one of his favorite movies, The Wizard Of Oz. The Tin Man had asked for a heart and the Wizard replied, "My friend, you don't know how lucky you are not to have one, because the human heart will never be practical until it can be made unbreakable."
Chapter 28: The Story Ends, but the Journey Continues
As I've said before, spirit guides are given a bit of help from above in allowing us the luxury to whisper to you, to act as spirit guides in aiding you in the completion of those tasks that your soul chose to accomplish in this life you decided to live. For Ethan, Mark, and all who touch another life, I can say this much: having experienced a love lost, never to return, is a love you lose in ever smaller pieces over time, and then you come to the realization that what you thought you lost forever somehow always returns in other mysterious forms.
With the myriad of people that walk in and out of your lives, eventually you find what is real, as well as what was meant to be. Ethan was beginning to understand that there are few things in life as precious as the experiences that you live through, each one acting as a stepping-stone to another level of understanding. But the real joy, even if it means absorbing deep emotional pain, is having experienced it in your lifetime at all. As one door to Ethan's past was closing, another was nearly ready to open. But that will be a story for another time.
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy.
Not fighting the old, but on building the new.
Socrates
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
I hope you enjoyed reading A Life Awakening, Whispers From Within. We all have spirit guides, and in Ethan's case, his spirit guide, William, helped Ethan to navigate the emotional trauma Ethan had to deal with after the breakup with Jennifer
In Book Two of the series, William steps aside and lets Ethan's story unfold, as Ethan reflects on the past. You will learn how Ethan and Jennifer met, fell in love, and after two years together how they decided to go their separate ways. Then you will get a glimpse of what the future holds for Ethan. In our own lives we begin to understand that we don't always get what we want, but on balance, we do get what we need, in order to heal and move on.
Watch for Book Two of the Series, Moving On from Memories Past, coming out later this month.
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