Forever In Christmas

Old man Carter lived all alone, quietly nestled in his quaint little home. Arthritis kept him crippled, writhing in excruciating pain, his wife long since departed, leaving him nothing more to gain. His children made arrangements, to place him in a nursing home. They lacked the compassion to inform him face to face, knowing he would surely die in this unfamiliar place. He lost his will to live, life had tragically passed him by, without his long lost Eleanor, his only hopes were to die. There he sat in his recliner, a rigid shell of an old man, quietly he uttered to the Lord,..."Father, forgive me", as he clasped a revolver in his frail, arthritic hand. Suddenly, an image appeared before him, it was clad in solid white. Old man Carter could hardly open his eyes, for the radiance was unbearably bright. Soon, the light diminished, the image's skin was fair. The old man's eyes began to focus as he observed a figure with long, coarse hair. The image's eyes were gentle, bearing scars above the brow. Open wounds the width of nails pierced both its delicate hands. Then, in a soft- spoken voice it said,..."No more shall ye suffer, old man". "Set aside thy weapon", the image went on to say,..."You're going home to Eleanor, upon this Christmas Day". The old man passed on to heaven, he was discovered the very next day. "Such a tormented soul was he!" That's what the neighbors would say. It was there on a table beside him, a scribbled poem which sadly read,... "Christmas is the day I wed, The true love of my life; Christmas is the day I've chosen, To join my beloved wife Jesus arrived to take me, The hour's a quarter past four; Suicide's never an option, I'm with Jesus and my sweet Eleanor"... Goodbye