Sometimes we just need our heads in the clouds. Clear the minds, clear the noise, and just be… this is what CW&FT at a Glance brings. A little time to clear everything, read some, and think forever. As a creative writer to be, I always am thinking of all the above. I have decided to share these thoughts here for all… not to convince, not to change, but just to open the minds to the little thoughts that may run through day to day. Enjoy!

The Choice has been my creation for over 10 years. I was at St. Joes College, when my English professor gave us an assignment to flesh out an in-depth story that one day I would to convert into a movie. Revision after revision, internal critique after internal critique… I finally took the advice of my fiancée and “just put it out there.” So here is one of the many stories I will be posting here. But this is the one that made me want to become a writer and share said stories. Chapter one of The Choice, enjoy!

“I will always love you…” the last words of Angelo Custode. His fiancée lies next to him on the fog filled pier. Tears everlasting and breath cannot be caught as she screams out “don’t leave me!”

On the pier where they first met, the place he knew he was going to ask her for her hand in eternity. Lilly, knowing the love of her life, knew this was the night Angelo would ask her. She did not know that this would be her last day with him. The real question… what was going through Angelo’s mind as this unfathomable fate would crush everything he thought was going to be? What happens to those that pass suddenly? Do they have an opportunity to make one last impression on those that they love? All these unanswered questions that those that are alive struggle with. To sum it all up, what happens after?

“What happened… where… Lilly! Lilly!?” Angelo awakens in a crowded city, resembling New York where he is from. No one sees him, ignoring him like he is not there. He is confused beyond his wildest imagination. Anxiety rises, mind racing, cold sweat forming… “what is going on?!”

An older gentleman is smiling as he walks towards Angelo… what seems like the only person among the hundreds focused on the fact that Angelo is here. With a bit of a limp, an old football injury from his high school days, five o’clock shadow, a light brown jacket with the jingle of change and matching pants, the older gentleman is making his way right to Angelo. “Hello Angelo, I am James… my friends call me Jimmy” the man said with a wink and a pat on Angelo’s back. “I am too old for games, time to rip the band aid off son… this is Purgatory. You are here because you did not get the true time you were supposed to have down there.”

Angelo’s emotions began to overflow as the realization of this nightmare is now his reality. “What about Lilly… what happened??”

“Listen Angelo… it has been some time since that night. Lilly struggled through your loss but her time there and your time here is completely different. She is fine now and will be for some time. As for you… the steps to understanding and how to proceed to where you need to be is why I am here. You see, we all are here to make a choice… we have to accomplish something to proceed. My choice is to help you through your process. If I succeed then I move up too. The real question for you is… can make the right choice?’

“Yes, anything I need to do… I want to make sure that Lilly is alright… I want to know what happened to her… I want to see her again!” Angelo is face to face with Jimmy as his emotions overpower him.

Jimmy pauses and smirks… “son, you better learn to control that. That is what will stop you from everything you desire. It is you that needs to make the right choice. I am just along for the ride… I am like your guide through it all.”

“So before you rush to anything you have to be given the background… there are rules here.” Angelo sits down beside Jimmy on the only bench within the bustling city. A white bench that Jimmy stretches his arms from one end to the other. Jimmy takes a deep breath as he stares up at the sky, while Angelo sits next to him leaning with his hands on his knees. “Alright, what do I need to know?” Jimmy smiles a smile he has been waiting a long time to do… “well, to start, I have been waiting for you for about twenty-one years here. To me it actually feels about a few days, but down there, time is much more calculated. I died saving my grandson… I was watching him one Sunday morning; he kicked the football into the street. Like any other three year old, he ran as fast as he can towards the rolling wobbly ball in the street. I thought football would be the death of me and ironically it was,” Jimmy said with a sarcastic smirk as he rubbed his weathered hands together.

“Damn… I am so sorry Jimmy, but what does that have to do with me?” Jimmy looked at Angelo with his patented smirk… “you are the reason I died Angelo. I am your grandfather and I have been waiting here to tell you that it is not your fault I am here.”

With emotions high, this is not what Angelo wanted on top of everything else. His face falls into his palms. “I don’t remember anything… why didn’t my parents tell me? They told me that you passed away when I was young but never told me how.” Angelo is shaking with emotions as another unbelievable action has taken place. Jimmy now resembles how he looked many years ago. He looks like the pictures that Angelo has of his grandfather. “I made sure that you didn’t remember it… this is why I am still here for all those years that have passed down there. My choice was to erase your memory and to make sure no one ever told you. My penance for this was that I would wait here to tell you what happened on the day you passed. The only way I would be allowed to proceed and move up was to wait here for you. Now I am going to walk you through your choice. You will either make an easy choice and wait here with the hopes of getting up there… or you will make a difficult choice for either yourself or someone down there.”

Chapter Two of The Choice coming soon!