Come Before Winter – Chapter Fifteen – Welcome Home
December 15th, 2021
2 Timothy 4:21, “Do your utmost to come before winter.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – Welcome Home
Once Mercy made the decision within her soul to go, that she needed to, had to, go, see this through, there wasn’t much turning back. Foot in front of feet and move forward; that’s all there was to it.
It all came down to the final week. Mercy worked right up to the end; her bosses allowed her to, as long as she could remain present. She really struggled to do so. Michael and the boys moved the heavy stuff while Patsy sat nearby as Mercy sobbed, boxing her ‘precious moments’—and that’s all there were, a few…precious…moments. Most of it, a forgettable lifetime.
Michael insisted they pay for her one-way ticket to Denver International, DIA, an icon of an airport spoken about in both derogatory and favorable terms. One-way was a daunting word and it caused another collapse; Mercy didn’t know if she’d ever be strong enough again to stand on her own two feet. These people had been propping her up for months.
A second letter was not forth-coming, and while Mercy thought it was a sign and knew she should write CANCEL on everything Colorado and realize it wasn’t the first time, but it would be the last time, her father let her down, she still could not bring herself to do so. Who knew? Perhaps Patsy would bind her and send her in an overnight package if she gave up? Her friend’s belief in her, backing the blessing she gave Mercy to at least try to find her family—all of it, that’s what kept Mercy striding forward.
It all came down to this though, the last few hours, the final moments. Michael also insisted he see her safely inside the airport after the family loaded everyone in the Mason Mobile and delivered her to the Departures Entrance. He truly was maybe the only real dad she might ever know, the separation shredding her. She could barely hold herself together as he hugged her one last good-bye, her tiny hand returning the salute with which he sent her off. Mercy looked back on her life, surprised by the deluge of memories, and her reconciliation, ‘It’s been a good life.’ She laughed at herself as she waited in the line at SECURITY; it’s not like she was dying. But why did it feel like it as she morosely told the city which had become home good-bye.
She’d never flown in her life, at least not that she could recall, so her excitement and trepidation were equal partners. Her knuckles were white, wrapped around her armrest, as she peered out the tiny window and watched her previous life fade into a miniscule replica of what she remembered. Before she knew it, she was merely a speck on the ground, and at once, disappeared for good in the clouds. Her heart pounded in her ears and her stomach sat in her throat as they reached elevation, and the squeal she heard eek from her lips was even a surprise to herself. Was it fear or fascination, that was yet to be seen.
Fatigue ate a hole in her and the motion of the aircraft lulled Mercy into a deep sleep. It wouldn’t be long before she would find herself sitting on a marble bench outside the mansion she recalled from her recent dream. It was a pristine and frozen day, and the marble bench matched the day she saw surrounding her other self. Everything felt cold and awake and aware as she waited, for what, she did not know. The stone was frosty, icy, beneath her, but she wasn’t shivering as she knew she should be, The world was so white and crisp, and Mercy wasn’t surprised when the man she recognized from the majestic room, walked up beside herself, and then beckoned her to a wooden door. In his tired hand, he held a gigantic ring of keys that he began to try key after key in the lock, attempting to unlock the door before her. Eventually, he reached his last key, and just as he inserted it in the lock, Mercy was jarred awake by the wheels as they touched down on the tarmac. She had arrived.
Psalm 68:5-6a, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoner with singing.”
To Be Continued…