F 5

"F5"

It was a stormy night in Kansas City in early September. Tornado watches covered the 4 counties and everyone was on high alert. There had been some severe weather warnings but no rotation as of yet.
Sitting in his one-bedroom house Steve had no clue what was going on. He was fighting depression. Something he had lived with since he was very young. He had taken a ton of pills the night before hoping to take his life to get rid of the demons that kept him so sad and lonely. Instead of dying and flying away to the heavens he longed for he awoke with tiredness and a very weak body that kept him in bed.
As he lay there he could hear the thunder and see the lightning flashes through his window. He was a lover of storms and chased them as a hobby. It was one thing that would make him feel as if he had a reason to be alive. He tried to force himself out of bed but his body was just so weak that he barely moved. He reached over to the night stand and grabbed a Marlboro and his lighter. He lit the smoke and inhaled deeply. He exhaled and blew out rings of smoke and watched in the darkness as they dissipated into thin air.
He lay there wondering why God had left him this way instead of taking him home to heaven. He was so tired of suffering. He cried all the time because of the loneliness he felt. He tried to find happiness outside of the home. He had gotten a decent job with great promise but for now it was low wages and tons of hours. He was in pain from the cement floors after 12 hours so when he got off work he just wanted to lay down and relax. He had thought maybe he had caught the eye of a woman 20 yrs younger then him. After a couple of dates, he knew it wasn't going any where so he broke it off. Love was just something you couldn't capture in a bottle.
So here he lay fighting back tears of still being alive when the sirens of a tornado approaching blared into his ears. He grabbed his phone and looked up the radar. Sure enough the path of the storm was coming directly over his house. He told him self you're alive for a reason and God must need you for something so you need to get up out of bed and head to the bathroom. He grabbed his legs with all his might and lifted his legs over the side of the bed. He tried to stand up but his legs were like jello. He grabbed the night stand and steadied himself upright. He slowly stepped forward and was able to rest his hands on the wall and held on as he made his way to the bathroom.
Outside the wind had picked up and the lightning was lighting up the sky. The tornado had touched down around North Oak and Vivion roads in the North land. It was moving slightly south east at around 20 miles per hour. The eyes on the ground reported damage to buildings and multiple trees down. Reporters for Fox 4 say the tornado to be at least a mile wide with wind speeds at least 170 miles per hour.
Inside Steve had made it to the hall way and was slowly making head way to the bathroom about 30 feet away. He felt everything was in slow motion and wasn't going anywhere. He thought if God wanted him dead it would have happened last night. There was no way God was going to let him die now. He pushed ahead towards the bathroom still 15 feet away.
The tornado had now reached Ne Antioch road and NE 49th St. The Sunfresh grocery store was no longer standing as it was obliterated into piles of rubble. The Quick Trip was no longer standing and cars were everywhere. Piled on top of each other. One report was of a Toyota Prius stuck in an old Oak tree. A lifeless man could be seen hanging from the window. There seemed to be no end to this massive deadly tornado now only 6 blocks from Steve's house.

Steve had finally reached the bathroom and climbed into the bathtub. Before he covered his head he sent out a massive text. The following was received by all:
" I need to apologize to everyone I've ever hurt. I never meant to hurt any one intentionally. I was born with this sickness and it just won't go away. Last night I tried to overdose on sleeping pills to end this pain. It didn't work and I am still alive. I just want to say I love all of you. No matter who broke who's heart I want to say I forgive you and I love you. May God take us all home some day to erase this earthly pain and may he always keep us safe in his arms." He ended with something he wrote in 1996. " May His angels be watching over you as you sleep, as you wake, and as you live every single second of every day of your lives. There's a star above you. Reach for it, grab it, bring it down to your heart. Make a wish, say a prayer, and may all these things come true. I love you! God loves you! May we all love each other! Good night! God bless you and sweet dreams." Just as he hit the send button a 2x4 came crashing through the bathroom window. He covered his head and his phone rang. He looked at the number and it was his friend in New York. He answered and all she heard was "I love you. I'm so sorry I ever hurt you. Please forgive me."Then with a loud boom she heard the house explode as the tornado ripped into his house. The roof no longer there. Where he had laid was nothing but an empty slab of concrete.
The reports the next morning was that over 200 people had died. The National Weather Service said the tornadoes wind speeds maxed out around 280 mph. An F5 on the Fugita scale. Over 500 homes destroyed. Over 150 business's gone. The hospitals were over-crowded and helicopters from all over the state and surrounding states were flying in to take the injured to hospitals as far away as Omaha, Nebraska for treatment. The devastation shocked the country as eyes were stuck to the national news stations for updates.
In New York Steve's friend made a plea to God to keep Steve alive until she arrived. She had heard no news about him surviving or not but she was making plans to go to Kansas City in just a few hours. Steve and her had been intimate over the phone. They had never met in person but the way they felt for each other was an undeniable bond. They spoke daily but Steve thought he was cursed so he never felt she loved him enough to actually keep her promise to be with him after she left school. He fought the demons that controlled his mind every day. Wishing and praying he could believe her words but not trusting in her to keep them.
He had tried to push her away but he couldn't go a second of his day without thinking about her. He wanted to marry her so he could have her next to his side forever. He never meant to fall in love and she never meant to give him reason to. It was just a friendship that started innocently and now he may be gone.
It Miami, Oklahoma Steve's son Zach heard from his sister in Kansas City that dad was alive. He was in critical condition and was not expected to make it. On his way to Kansas City he called everyone he knew. In the and a half hour drive he cried as he spoke to so many people. He made his final call to New York as he entered the south side of Kansas City. She answered the phone with the following words. "Please Zach tell me he's still alive! I'm coming to Kansas City in less than an hour." He replied, "Brandy he is still alive but it's not looking good. Let me know when your plane arrives and I'll come pick you up. " With that she cried into the phone. "Please tell him I love him and I am on my way." Not thinking he said ok and hung up the phone.
In the waiting room of North Kansas City Hospital, a crowd of people looking for answers gathered to fill the lobby. As Steve's family and friends arrived they were all shocked to see so many. Steve never thought he was loved by anyone not even his own children. He never felt like he had any friends. He spent most of his time alone because his excuse was he was always broke. Gas was so expensive that it was hard for him to go anywhere so he just said no every time he was asked to go visit.
Three hours later Zach got a call from Brandy. Her plane had landed and she had caught a cab and was on her way to the hospital. He told her where to meet and he would be waiting. When she arrived bags in hand he led her to his car where they put her bags in the trunk. They cried and hugged as they tried to comfort each other. All the while she kept trying to move towards the hospital for she wanted to see him. He finally let her go and she ran into the entrance and asked if she could see him. The doctor came out and spoke with the family and friends briefly. He asked who Brandy was and she replied, "Um I am." "He said please come with me".
She followed him through the ICU doors and he took her into a room and asked her to sit down. She did and he proceeded to tell her the only words he has said since he was brought in was he loves Brandy. Tears streamed out of her eyes. He didn't deserve this. She knew he loved her but nothing like this. She asked if she could see him and he said briefly for he needs his rest.
She walked into his room and he looked so much different from his pictures. Now his face was scarred with cuts and bruises. Under the sheet he had a total of 500 stitches closing up the wounds where the boards and glass had ripped into his chest and lower abdomen. She let out a cry of oh my God louder then she had expected. She was now in front of the man who loved her more then she could ever love any human being in her lifetime.
Steve in and out of sleep heard a lady's voice and the sounds of sobbing. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen standing before him with tears streaming down her face. His mouth dry he quietly said one word. "Yolo". Her tears mixed with laughter she ran to his side and held his hand. His blue eyes staring into her blue eyes, they just stared at each other. Finally, she broke the silence and said, " I am so sorry for all that I have done to you. I should have accepted the fact that you only live once and maybe only once in your life time will you find the love of a man that could fill every void in my heart. Please forgive me for here I am. I will never leave your side and shall always be here for your love as I give you my love."
He softly spoke and asked for his water for his mouth was to dry to speak. With tears running like oceans down his face he asked her to come closer so she could hear him. As she leaned her head down closer to his he warningly grabbed her face with gentle hands and brought her lips to his. He kissed her softly and said I love you Brandy. I don't know if I am your first kiss but I know you'll be my last.
Afraid to move she softly whispered may I lay with you. He replied yes and she crawled in beside him. Not wanting to remove any of the tubes stuck into his body she navigated her way to where she could snuggle up next to him with her head on his chest. He slowly ran his fingers through her hair and drifted off to sleep. With the sleepiness of jet lag and non-stop tears she finally felt at home and drifted off to sleep.
She slipped into a deep dream of happiness. In her dream they were both getting married and she was no longer shedding tears of sorrow but tears of happiness. After the wedding they both retreated from the ceremony back to their house where he laid her down and made the most passionate love to her. It was a dream come true for she now felt what love felt like and in her dream she knew she'd never be alone.
She awoke from her dream by the nurses tapping her shoulder. She looked down to see her hand still draped across his chest. But she didn't feel his heart beating any more. Why she was dreaming he had passed away happily and without pain. His lips stuck with a smile and his fingers at the bottom of her hair. She cried out and the nurses pulled her up and just held her tight. Steve had passed away with his love in his arms. God had one plan left for him and it was to hold his one true love in his arms as he passed off to heaven.

Comments