Week 7 Storytelling: In Sickness and In Health

The Accident
It was in the middle of the night and the phone rang loudly in Melanie's hear. She was instantly started and her heart skipped a beat. Who could this be she thought? Where am I? Rubbing her tired eyes and wiping off her face, she answered the phone. "Hello", Melanie said sleepily. On the phone was a surgeon who was about to operate on her husband do to a horrendous motorcycle. Her husband
was named Michael. Michael was a kind hearted man, whom loved Melanie deeply. The way their eyes first caught a glance of each other when they first met sent them into a spiraling of emotion. Now he was lying on a hospital bed begging for life, and begging for one more moment on the Earth with his beloved. He decided he had to own a motorcycle and that he needed to immediately go for a late night ride. The time seemed to stop around her and around him as if slow motion was turned on. Everything went silent in her head as she closed her eyes and cupped her face. She took a deep breath, put on a coat and proceeded out the door. Soon after she arrived at the hospital and was told to wait while her husband was in surgery. Instantly she went into her mind of the night they met.

Motorcycle Accident

Summer of 1975
The air was warm and the day was bright and sunny. Melanie sat in her bedroom window overlooking the beautiful bed of flowers in front of her. It was the time when Elton John was considered top 3 out of 100 on the music hit list. The time when a Ford Mustang was around 4000 and gas was 44 cents. Times were different but the way everyone lived was wild and freed. Melanie had dreams of taking on the world and finding a prince charming to sweep her off her feet. She would sit down and watch Charlie Brown with him and carry on her family's tradition. Love was catching everyone in town and she wished to be infected.

The next day she met with one of her friends Melissa, whom spoke her about a party that was happening for the Freshman class. They were both a Freshman in college at Boston University. Melanie studying nursing, and Melissa studying microbiology. They became fast friends on the first day of class a couple weeks back and have been inseparable every since. Melanie was excited there was a freshman bash tonight at one of the fraternities house and was ready for a new start to the new year. Before the party they would do their hair and get dolled up and then head their way out into the night.


1970s Photo

The Party
They both arrived about an hour after the party started and the sun went down. The stars were shining bright and hanging in the sky. The moon shed bright light that lit the whole ground beneath them. Both the girls knocked harshly against the door and waited for a reply. The music inside was banging against the fraternity's boys walls. The door swung open immediately and a storm of noise hit their ears. Melanie followed Melissa into the house and pushed and shoved through the crowd of people. She immediately felt insecure and wondered if what she wore was enough. She was poor and could not afford most the clothes that were being worn by the young girls around her. She felt out of place and decided to head out the door to the backyard to get fresh air. Right before she stepped outside she looked back at her friend flirting with a tall dark haired blue eyed handsome young man.
Melanie stood by the bushes in the background and looked up into the starry night sky in silence. She wondered if she would ever meet the right man or ever feel like she could belong in this world. She always had a feeling she was a part of something bigger and better but yet here she was, lost and lonely more than ever. Then instantaneously a dark figured appeared in the distance. The closer he got the more she was able to see his features. He had broad shoulders and a chiseled jaw. His eyes were a light blue that sparkled in the moonlight. He approached her and began to speak but her heart could only focus on how handsome his features were and how tall he was. Her heart sank and her body felt different. She knew this must be it. He spoke to her gently and nothing in the world in this moment made more sense. She did not know why he chose to approach her but for her it was love at first sight and she never wanted to let go.


Party

Present Day
The doctor emerged two hours later from surgery with positive news. Her husband has emerged from surgery and was awake and that she could visit him. She reluctantly said OK and began to approach the room where he lay. As soon as she turned the corner of the hospital walking way she came to the front of the room. She turned the knob slightly and the door opened.
All around the room was a dark somber feeling. A part of it made her want to become queasy and she felt the happiness zap from her body. She ran over to her husband body who lay limp on the bed. He turned his head slightly to look at her in the eye and used all his strength to move his hand towards hers on the bed. She insisted he save his energy and placed his hand back where it was and kept her tight grasp on him. She told him no matter what she wouldn't leave his side and could not believe she was not there. She tried to blame herself and all he could express in words were, " My darling, you have no idea how high I can fly." In that moment she knew he would not give up so easily on her or on his life. Her body began to feel at peace with his words and in this moment everything was OK.


The Notebook


Author's Note:
My short story is based off of the reading, "Nine Ideal Indian Women." I chose to base my story off of Savitri and Damayanti's story of their lovers. I wanted my story be a twist on how their stories turned out. In the story about Savitri her husband was killed and she followed death around to make sure she could have her husband back in this life. On the other hand, Damayanti's story was different. In her story her husband lost all his belongings and she had to explain to him that it does not matter because she loves him. I wanted my story to be placed in a more modern setting and instead I wanted the woman to be the one who feels love at first sight. I think every relationship is different and who says the woman cant be the first one to notice the man? I wanted to still include that he did approach her, like in the original stories. The men noticed their princess and approached her in romantic ways. In my story Michael sees her from across the room and goes to her. Than later on instead of him dying or losing his belongings I wanted to show their love lasted. They met in the 70s but their love lasted and in this accident it showed they had what it takes to make their love last through sickness and in health.





References:
Narayan's Ramayana, Nine Ideal Indian Women