Until That One (standard:other, 4876 words)
Author: Jeremy Jones	Added: Feb 07 2004	Views/Reads: 3247/2221	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
After 30 years of marriage and a wife in a coma, Jeff discovers a secret that will forever change his view of life.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


He had returned home after staying in the hospital for two weeks, but
the nights were restless and the days nightmares. After the third night 
of attempted sleep a phone call rang that would stick in his mind, the 
results of his wife's condition didn't hold any joyful news. Although 
they were always aware of her being highly allergic to a herb, the 
results indicated that his wife had somehow managed to encounter it, 
causing her to lapse into a deadly coma. The words stirred Jeff into a 
frenzy, searching through the house for the contaminating substance. It 
was upon her desk, inside an innocent looking letter address to his 
wife that held the answer. The letter appeared to have been hand 
delivered as there was no return address or postal stamp. Inside the 
envelope is a letter that speaks of his wife's involvement with a 
company and of a enquiring to take place regarding an incident several 
years ago. 

Holding the letter between his fingers, Jeff noticed that its texture
was different. He took the letter to his nose and breathed in its 
peculiar scent. It was a scent he was familiar with; he had to be for 
his wife's safety. Reading the letter only revealed more questions, the 
company was unfamiliar, and even the date was strange, as they had just 
moved days before that to the place they are now residing. Although 
Jeff never had anything against the authorities, he knew that this was 
something he had to uncover for himself; a company his wife had never 
worked for wanted to kill her for something they assumed she was 
involved in. Going to the local library, he started to search through 
volumes looking for the company and its location; the process didn't 
take long as the company went through a lot of bad press and financial 
difficulties. It was a robotics corporation, creating house hold robots 
ranging from carpet cleaners to cooks. His wife never liked robots, and 
out of respect for her they never owned one, not even own a computer. 
Coming to an even more interesting fact was that the corporation 
declared bankruptcy mere weeks after the incident spoke of in the 
letter. 

As his search through the volumes continued, he came across the most
stunning of information, printed on the screen in front of his eyes was 
his wife's name. “Head of top project quits” Jeff continued to read 
through the article, but all it seemed to do was pose more questions. 
According to the article, his wife had quit after the cancellation of 
the companies latest project. Further investigation of the project's 
contents would prove of no use as the documents are still under 
classification. Jeff's head starting spinning, he quickly left and 
ventured home trying to sort through the puzzle that was hovering above 
his head. 

He had been with his wife since they were very young, how could
something so big get past him. Although his memory doesn't serve him 
contently as it once did, something of this significance would be 
easily remembered. Jeff sorted through the maze of confusion in his 
mind, looking for the exit. He questioned the dates of his wife's 
employment found within the article, noticing that they coincided with 
his employment of a full time job. Could the possibility of his long 
hours provide enough space for his wife to lead a double life? A 
million thoughts were rushing through Jeff's mind. 

Though why would his wife hide a job from him, how could she work in a
robotics centre with such a high disregard to robots? It slowly started 
to come together for him, missing pieces of his memory came through, 
with him being in hospital for almost a year due to an accident on the 
freeway. Something happened at that job that gave his wife a high 
disregard for robots, and that something was also enough for the 
company to want to kill her. Awaiting his arrival at the library when 
he returned for his 4th day was the first letter from the mysterious 
man. “Walk away, for that which you seek is sure to break you.” 
Interrogating the clerk was of no use, as the messenger spoke only 
Jeff's name and nothing more. 

The note and its message stayed in the back of Jeff's mind as he
continued his work, looking for the incident that they spoke of. 
Searching through the volumes wasn't something that could easily bring 
attention to anybody, throughout the day Jeff kept both an eye on his 
screen and around the room looking for anyone that seemed out of place. 
The sun started to fade and with the day revealing nothing further, his 
path had disappeared into a dense fog of which nothing could penetrate. 


When closing down the volumes there came something to his attention, the
author of the mysterious letter was standing there, revealing himself 
only slightly to Jeff's awareness. “You seem persistent, but unaware of 
the happenings you could reveal. Warnings are a smart way to block the 
path, they are meant for a reason...” his voice was even more cryptic 
than the notes he wrote. “My wife is in a coma, I found out she was 
working for a company that is now trying to kill her, I have no idea 
why they want to kill her or even why she never told me about this. If 
you think speaking or writing in mysterious terms would frighten me 
from seeking the truth you are surely mistaken.” The man edged him to 
follow going from the library to the dusk filled streets. “What you 
will find will never be forgotten, for there is peace in both knowing 
and not knowing, although you elude an attitude that shows no sign of 
giving up. Search further into this, but look not at a fault but at a 
reason.” With that the man left, but what stayed behind were his words, 
words that caused confusion and kept Jeff awake all night. 

The morning sunset rose above the horizon as a young boy peddled
heavily, throwing papers towards each house. Coming up to number 9 the 
boy hesitates before throwing, during the two years of his paper route 
Jeff had never missed a day. He threw the paper towards the door, 
landing on a pile of newspapers, and peddled onwards. Inside, Jeff was 
still asleep, he couldn't see the point in getting up, as the library 
never opened until late morning. 

The door of the library unlocked, the first customer of the day was
always the same person. Jeff walked inside and sat himself down, his 
search would continue. His long sleep provided the answer to the 
riddle, he searched the articles for the reason his wife quit. It 
wasn't long before the answer came, but it was unexpected, hitting Jeff 
harder than any truck could have. Reading over the screen, Jeff's mind 
funnelled down a kaleidoscope that was spinning in all different 
directions. Written across the screen was his wife's reason for leaving 
the company, “Husband's death causes wife to leave head of research”. 
Thinking back all that time, how could he be dead, he can't be, but 
then how could his wife have had another husband. Everything started to 
fade fast, his life started to flash before his eyes, an attempted 
murder, a fatal accident, another husband... 

The sound of car horns brought Jeff back to reality, looking up at the
green lights he accelerated, pushing the pedal straight down to the 
floor. 

He was heading for the big city that was once the robotics capital of
the world. It wasn't that long ago that he found out about the deceit 
his wife had put him through. When searching through the records for 
the name of the mysteriously dead husband, he came across it. John 
Gordon, his birth place was of a totally different origin from his own. 
Along with a cryptic note that relieved his fear of being dead he felt 
no less at ease from the fact that his wife was with another. “Find the 
lying place, the towers that reach heaven will ease the pain. You have 
cleared some fog and walked beyond the forbidden boundaries, turning 
back now will suffer you only more”. Being with someone for too long 
only gets you into a relaxed state, where changes are noticed few and 
far between, Evidence was covered up in the volumes and the only way to 
uncover it was to resume the search at the height of its tragedy. 

Driving along the highway, Jeff's mind starts to drift back to the first
sight of his wife. He was only 15 when he laid eyes on her for the 
first time, neither were the most popular at school, but their 
attraction to each other was undeniable. It only took him an hour to 
build up enough courage to ask her out, they spent every afternoon 
together from that day. Her shyness was apparent from the start, but 
when Jeff would talk her smile was all the reassurance he needed. Their 
attraction for each other was seamless, and even after a year together 
Jeff was still unable to keep his eyes off her. They were 18 when they 
married, money saved from Jeff's part time job gave them a small white 
chapel. There were no family members, no flower girl, no walking down 
the aisle with her father. But the uneasy feelings of both parents 
never made them question their love for each other. They left the next 
day towards the big city, life was just starting for them. 

Being married for 30 years was a great achievement for Jeff, but how
could she have been with another man, how could she have been 
unfaithful to someone who loved her with all his heart, how long did 
this affair last, and the cause of John's death, never revealed to 
public records? The first piece of the puzzle would be found in the big 
city, at the resting place of John, a dishonoured marriage, a deceitful 
job, kicking up the past is never easy, but even when all the bones are 
uncovered, there's still the job of sorting them out. 

Driving along the streets, he looked outside and towards the towers that
soared beyond the clouds. Jeff always hated the big cities; you were 
always stuck in traffic, waiting endlessly for lights and pedestrians. 
Pulling into a dirt road, the cemetery gave him chills all the way down 
his back; its lush green fields hid the hundreds of bodies departed 
from this world. Walking through the endless rows of graves, it was 
nearly impossible to tell which one was that of the man he was 
searching for. Although there were many people paying their respects, 
there were two that stood out, leaning down to place flowers on the 
grave was a little girl with her mother. 

Jeff stood back as the girl turned around to look him in the face; a
smile came over the girl's face. Grabbing the hand of her mother the 
two walked off into the distance, all the while the girl never looked 
away. Jeff walked up to the grave, only to be bestowed upon the very 
one he was looking for. “Here lies John Gordon”. Although nothing else 
of importance was written, he continued to stare at the grave stone as 
his mind wandered back to the days of old. 

“Will you always be there for me baby, even if I am sick and dying” a
youthful Jeff was questioning his wife “I'll be there praying day and 
night by your side, if you shall pass before me I shall take your soul 
and lock it away with mine”. Taken back by emotion Jeff walked back to 
the car heading for the nearest motel, his search was over for today. 
His dreams of the night were of the little girl at the grave, staring 
at him with her piercing eyes. He awoke very early, searching through 
the phonebook until he came across the only Gordon listing. With the 
many questions still unanswered he took note of the address with 
intentions to survey from a distance. Driving passed the limits of the 
city, he started passing fields and lush homes that reminded him of his 
birth town, but the blissful memories were soon interrupted as he was 
quickly brought back to the present. 

A black Ute was hitting the back of his car, trying to run him off the
road. Not being an experienced driver, Jeff was quickly subdued to the 
side of the road. Two men quickly jumped out of the Ute running up to 
pull Jeff out from his car. “Please allow our apology for the rash 
driving but this is of the utmost importance, we are seeking your wife 
in connection with stolen property. We recommend you come with us for 
questioning” While their deepened voices and dark actions felt 
threatening enough, Jeff was alerted more with the slight revealing of 
their weapons. Not being of the fighting nature, the possibility of 
taking on the two seemed very slim, but with all of the recent 
occurrences his ability to trust anyone was long gone. On agreeing to 
accompany them, he tried to persuade them to allow him to follow in his 
own car, although they looked like your typical goons, beefed up with 
no intelligence, they requested Jeff to get in the back of their 
vehicle. Stepping up to them with an agreeing nod, he quickly sped his 
hand to the handle of the gun that was holstered on the belt of the 
nearest goon, with two quick shots the two men were lying on the 
ground, newly departed from the world. Jumping into their Ute and 
speeding off, Jeff's head started rushing with confusion and disbelief, 
never had he held a gun, let alone kill a person. 

His foot forced the petal to the floor, the acceleration of the car
pushed him back into the seat. He sped through the city heading back to 
ensure his wife's safety. The rush of a million thoughts ran through 
Jeff's head, but something brought his attention to the seat beside 
him. A white slim package laid there, its contents spilled onto the 
seat. Picking up the photos he saw the familiar faces of him and his 
wife, he scrambled through the contents and came upon documents 
labelling out involvements in a theft from a company, the main suspect 
was his wife. The details of the theft were cryptic, even in the 
documents, a highly secretive project classified only to the highest of 
clearance. Questions were asked of whether she was working for a 
government agency, asking where the latest known whereabouts of the 
item was. The documents only added to the confusion rushing through 
Jeff's head, only adding to the pieces of the puzzle. 

Driving along the road, Jeff searched through the pack for more
information, documents that would help make sense of it all. The one 
file that caught his eye was that of his own, his name in bold letters 
on the top of the page, and as expected, reading through revealed 
nothing that Jeff didn't already know. Although 2 words tacked on the 
end were the ones that interested him the most, “Stole Item.” Although 
his memory is never what it used to be, he was certain that he had 
nothing to do with the stealing of any technology. The hole just kept 
getting deeper only now it was starting to cave in on itself. 

But where was the file on John? Jeff was sure that he was the missing
link to this all, the final piece of the puzzle. So how could they not 
have a file on him, he was the reason she quit, the person she was 
having an affair with but it was never mentioned. The biggest piece of 
the puzzle was missing, and only one person could know where it was. 
After arriving back at his house, Jeff forgot all about his wife, 
instead he was stuck in the unravelling mystery of John and who he 
really was. Once daylight hit, Jeff headed straight for the library, 
staying there all day awaiting another meeting with the only man who 
seemed to have the answers. He never came and Jeff was soon asleep on 
the chair, his mind drifting back. 

Awaking from his sleep, an attendant informed him that the library was
closing; he started to rise from his chair when an envelope fell from 
his lap onto the floor. He didn't need to open it to know who it was 
from, walking outside he entered his car, his hands trembled as he 
slowly opened the letter. Inside were two pieces of paper, one was a 
note that stated a chilling warning, “This is all the information I 
know, but think carefully before reading, the details within can never 
be forgotten”. His eyes were wide open, more than they had ever been, a 
bitter truth came to him in the form of a letter. He sat in the car 
reading through, again and again, as if to hope that the words would 
change, that they would reveal a truth less shattering... 

Returning to work she slipped in a letter declaring her departure from
the corporation, walking down the halls she exited the building of the 
powerful robotics corporation that had just recently cut the funding of 
her sector... Going over to her car she opens the boot and smiles, 
closing it again and heading off to a small town to start anew. For 
days before that she had already spent a fair bit of her money paying 
off employees, from the peers of her research sector, to the garbage 
men who handled the waste. Upon arriving at her destination, she 
unpacked suitcases and a computer from the trunk of her car, spending 
day and night without any furniture and only takeaway foods to suppress 
the hunger. Spending all her time in front of a brightly lit screen 
typing away with her two hands... 

Jeff was standing outside the room of his wife; entering the room he
breathed a sigh of relief. Still lying there was his beloved wife, it 
didn't matter that she was still in a coma, all that mattered was that 
she was safe. “I've been distance from you these past few days, but I 
have worked out everything, and I still love you, the reasons have 
become clear and I hope that you can forgive me for leaving you so 
soon. I just wish I could have changed it, I never took the time to 
respect you back then, not like I should have, not after all you have 
done.” 

Tears had already started to streak down his face, but before he could
sit back down a loud buzz entered his ears, looking over at the 
monitors, the heartbeat sensor was flat lined. With doctors rushing in, 
the pain of it all took Jeff too far. Collapsing on the floor, he 
started to relive a memory, something that wasn't supposed to exist. 
“Will you be there for me baby; even when I am sick and dying” Jeff saw 
the eyes of his wife look down on him. “I'll be there praying day and 
night by your side, If you shall pass before me I shall take your soul 
and lock it away with mine” He saw himself there, lying on a stretch of 
road, with ambulance and police surrounding him, he was slowly crossing 
over to the other side.. A highway accident he was unlucky enough to be 
caught up in. Passing away with the last image of his wife looking over 
him, she kept her promise to him; she had encased his soul in her 
hands... Then the words of the letter stuck out at him, the beginning 
of his new life... 

Upon arriving at her destination, she unpacked suitcases and a computer
from the trunk of her car, spending day and night without any furniture 
and only takeaway foods to suppress the hunger. Spending all her time 
in front of a brightly lit screen typing away with her two hands... 
Beside her, a robot was lying down with protruding cables extending to 
a computer in front of her. Vigorously typing away day and night, she 
was transferring a soul, one that was captured from her own hands. 

The clear blue sky unsuccessfully tries to hide the sorrow of the day, a
small group of people dressed in black stand by a coffin as a preacher 
speaks the word of god. Tears are streaking down the faces; with the 
exception of a young girl who stands by the coffin, although her 
memories are of photos and home movies. She was only a baby when she 
last saw her auntie; it was during a brief stay when her husband had 
died. But the memories only exist in photos for her. As she looked up 
from the coffin her eyes locked on a familiar face, a man from family 
photos was hiding amongst the crowd, his hat tipped down over his face. 
Although from her height she was able to see his face, this was the 
third time she had seen this man, the first time was in a wedding 
photo. A smile graced across the man's face, he mimed the word “Jeff”, 
the little girl responded whispering “Susie” while the contagious smile 
wept across her face. She watched as the man slowly walked away, no one 
had noticed his presence. Jeff wished he was able to say something 
about his wife, but he knew that no good could come of him revealing 
himself. 

The little girl looked up at her mother, her eyes full of curiosity. Her
mother leant down to pick up her child, the two locked eyes and the 
young girl spoke “Will Auntie and Jeff be together now mummy”. The 
smile continued its journey travelling from the young girl to the 
mother, “Yes they will sweetie, now how did you know Uncle John's 
nickname”. The little girl looked towards Jeff as he walked away, “He 
told me”. 

Jeff headed away from the newly formed grave, taking one last glance at
the one right beside it, his own. As he walked away he began to whisper 
“We have only been separated by time, I was once a fool and thought 
even the strong power of love couldn't fix that, but you taught me 
something different. The past, present and future are all the same, and 
for that I shall always have you”. 

A week passes by. Outside of a home once filled with an immense love, a
man stands by the front door, taking steps back to have a last glimpse 
of the house. Locking the front door, he heads towards a campervan 
parked on the driveway, only to be greeted by a female jogger. “Jeff, 
it's been too long since we last talked, I just wish I could have said 
sorry to her. If only she left knowing that I still cared for both of 
you, and now with you leaving it seems too late to clear the dust. But 
I want you to leave knowing that if you ever need a helping hand, I'll 
be there always.” The sympathetic words of the female had landed on 
deaf ears, Jeff was too busy taking his last look around before leaving 
his blissful hometown. 

Travelling away, Jeff's mind once again begins to wander, but now going
down a more philosophical path. Life, what is its true meaning, where 
is the line between reality and fiction. Can only humans experience 
life and pain, does a robot every truly die? The thoughts slow down to 
a crawl as a voice beside him attracts his attention. “Have I been 
asleep all this time? Who was that person you were speaking to before?” 


Many philosophers theorized if a machine could ever truly love. To Jeff,
the answer was always known; it was right beside him all his life. 
“Just an old friend wishing us good luck with our new life... baby”. 


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