Lover Come Back (Pt. 2)

Lover Come Back, Pt. 2 (Pt. 1 is at #1010614)

It turns out that Myra’s demanding ways were not a phase; not the growing pains of a new partner. They were part of her character; a reflection of her makeup. He didn’t know if he could live with a person like that for the rest of his life.
All of the memories of the pain of missing Ruth came flooding back. He missed her and wanted her back now more than ever. In time, he learned to make up excuses to not be home with Myra all the time when he didn’t have to. He lied when he said he was being made to stay late at work. He made it a point to make more friends, just so he could be with them more than her, such as having more nights out with the boys--although, he henceforth made sure to avoid his ‘curfew’ mistake.
On the rare occasion when he did make a mistake (which meant a mistake in Myraworld), he quickly and profusely apologized, for he did not want his own world to come crashing down, for one night anyway. He had to remember not to leave a single item of clothing lying carelessly about. “Worn and dirty clothing must be placed in the hamper at once. We don’t want germs crawling around in my house.”
My house. Rules Abound. And Shane knew what that spelt. Trouble.
In hindsight, Shane knew he should have learned all he could about this woman before committing to a life with her. Her demands when having her smaller house built should have been a clear clue. But Ruth’s request for Shane to find someone to be with, combined with his desire to get over her clouded the picture and he rushed into this union, in haste, unlike with Ruth.
He knew he should be the man in this thing, but in time, it seemed more and more like Myra was taking over the relationship, smothering him like a praying mantis, and setting him up for the end all. He probably has had his head bitten off more times than he can remember, only to have it spit back out and fitted on again for the next hunt. Before too long, it felt like he was walking on eggshells around her, afraid to utter a word or commit a deed. It might be the next big mistake. Eventually things got to a point where they were barely speaking. He called her hypercritical; she said he was too immature and sensitive.
Shane wondered some nights, lying awake in bed, if it were better to seek a divorce, chalk this one up to a lesson learned, and begin looking for that someone new Ruth mentioned all over again, this time with better forethought.

One Saturday, Myra asked Shane to go to a store to pick up a special bottle of wine, and packages of crackers and cheeses, for she was going to entertain some friends the next day. It was such a nice day out, that Shane decided not to return home right away, which amounted to a cardinal sin. But he didn’t care.
The place she sent him to was a bit out of the way, and on his drive home, he passed what appeared to be an amusement carnival or fair. An event he hadn’t partaken of since a young child, and he concluded that he deserved to enjoy an occasional diversion of joy in his life. The wine would stay safe in the car, and would be refrigerated at once upon returning home.
Shane passed by an exhibit manned by a gentleman in an outfit somewhat resembling a court jester’s costume, complete with striped parachute pants and a pointy top hat and cloak, adorned with images of stars.
He noticed a small crowd gathered around the booth, being amused with tricks performed by the clown. After the crowd thinned away, he walked up to the man and asked him if he was a real magician. The guy said that yes, he was.
“I am a sorcerer,” was the explanation he gave. “I know long-forgotten secrets of the masters, taught by my father, that were taught by his father, and so on. You are new to me, so you get one wish. You should make it worth your while, and tell me before sundown. What is your wish, my good man? Do you need some time to think it over?”
“Perhaps…” Shane’s mind raced for a moment, then he changed his stance. “No, wait, I do know what I want. I now know for sure.”
“Come this way, sir, while we chat in private,” he told Shane as he led him into a tent. The rest of the fair was going on its normal, merry way, without so much as an eyebrow raised. Shane did not want anyone see him going into the tent, lest they think that he was one more ruse of a charlatan.
Shane knew he had nothing to lose, for the worst that could happen was…nothing.
The man directed Shane to sit across from him at a small table, covered with a tablecloth that had the same stars as the man’s hat and cloak. There was a crystal ball in the middle of the table, placed on a pedestal, and Shane suddenly got the feeling he was about to get his fortune read…for a fortune.
The gentleman slid the ball off to the side as if he was passing it off as a worthless tool. Instead, he took hold of Shane‘s hands in his, and he looked into his eyes. “I can tell there is something deeply troubling you, my young man,” he said. “Something has gone very wrong in a close relationship, and you are very unhappy.”
“Yes!” exclaimed Shane. “How did you know that? How can you tell? We just met…”
“Don‘t worry,” the man said. “The old and the wise knows much. I can feel your life force. I can tell you have had someone new come into your life which you are not happy with. You know not how to deal with it, and it’s not easy to get rid of. I also know you have lost someone very close to you that you wish to have back. Do I speak the truth, thus far?”
“Exactly. Can you--”
“What is this wish you desire me to grant unto you? You said you knew what you wanted.”
“Can you make someone change their ways? Can you change someone to be a different person?” Shane asked.
“It may…just may be possible. But it is extremely difficult. One cannot simply go in and change a person. Especially without their knowledge or consent. What is it exactly you would have me do? Tell me why you are so unhappy.”

Shane started to pour his heart out to the old man, at one point even starting to cry, which he knew he should not do, being a man. But he did not care who knew; his soul was hurting. He spilled everything in detail, from the beginning, up to the point where he started finding excuses to not spend time with Myra in an effort to avoid her.
The marriage had turned into a union only in substance, and not in form. There was no love or passion anymore. They were staying together just to have a place for each of them to live. And the time was slowly but surely coming that each of them would have to admit that it was over, and each could go their separate ways and admit defeat.
“I am sorry,” the magician said, “but I cannot repair a broken union. It takes two persons to make, and it is difficult enough trying to change one person; two is like changing the universe.” One last tear ran down Shane’s cheek as he realized that this was the second marriage of his that would have to end. “Is there anything else I may do for you? Anything at all?”
“No…not really,” Shane said, as he started to get up and head for the door. “Not unless you can bring my first wife back from the dead. That would completely erase my unhappiness.”
“I am sorry,” the man said. “I may be able to do many things, but even I am not the Grand Creator. There are some things that are beyond even my abilities.” The gentleman began tidying up a bit around his tent as Shane started for the exit. The old man, in straightening up knick-knacks on a low table, caught sight of a small box which he had not had anything to do with in a very long time; indeed, he thought he had lost it. A broad smile crossed his heart inside, as he instantly recalled what it was. Inside was a tool which allowed entrance to the afterlife. He did not want Shane to get away.
“Young man, wait!” he called out. “Stop! Please come back.”
Shane stopped short in his tracks so abruptly he thought his heart would stop from the shock. He turned and saw the old man leaning forward, complete with his long, gray, scraggily beard, and motioning with him arm for Shane to return. Shane looked into the old man’s eyes and thought he saw himself as a young boy. It must be a trick, he mused.
“What is it, o wise one? Can you help me, after all?”
“Perhaps. Come in, my son, come in.”
Shane sauntered into the space, wary of coming away empty-handed again.
The old man held the box gently but firmly as he looked into Shane’s eyes. “I cannot change the ways that a person is. But maybe I can bring back a lost someone.”
“You can bring back my wife?! I would be forever grateful--”
“Shh! Shhhh…not so loud!” the man whispered. We don’t want word to get out. I am not supposed to tell this, and I don’t even know if it will work.”
“I’ll pay anything,” said Shane, jumping up and down inside like a child eager to open a Christmas present. “What’s in the box? What’cha got?”
The man set the box on the table and slowly opened it up to reveal a shiny, yellow crystal that Shane thought was going to blind him. “This is Heaven’s Tear. Be very, very careful with it, as it is very, very powerful.”
“What does it do? Where did you get it?”
“I cannot tell where it is from, but I will tell you what you do with it. This allows you to enter heaven--for just a few minutes, maybe fifteen or thirty minutes--find someone that you want to take away, and bring them back to Earth.”
“You mean I can take my wife back? You better not be joking with me, old man.”
“This is no joke. It works. I am not joking. You can do this. There is only one catch.”
“I knew it. I knew there was something to this.”
“The heavens know how many angels they have. You must find someone to put in her place.”
Shane immediately thought of his boss, then changed his mind in favor of Myra. He was disgusted with himself. Love her or not, she was still his wife, and should not wish her dead. But still, the love was hardly there in a marriage practically nonexistent. And oftentimes, Myra did not behave like an equal, loving partner in a blissful relationship. He decided to bring up the subject, merely out of curiosity.
“Suppose I find someone to put in another’s place in heaven. Then what? How am I to convince them to be a martyr and die for this cause, selfish as it may be?”
“You don’t have to do any convincing. I will teach you all you need to know.”
“How am I ever going to repay you? What do you want out of this?”
“I don’t want anything for this deed. But there is a secret I wish you to keep for me.”
“I am good at keeping secrets.”
“Do you know my name?”
Shane thought about this for a moment. “No…no, I don’t.”
“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”
========================================

Shane walked in the door about six o’clock. Myra was reading in the living room. She got up from her chair. “I was wondering when you’d decide to return. Did you get my wine?”
“I have it right here.” Not much of the chill had faded. “It can stay nice and cold in the fridge until tomorrow night.” Your majesty, he added, to himself.
“Well, thank you for the favor. I’m tired and thinking of going to bed early tonight. Your dinner is in the oven.”
Myra isn’t tired, Shane thought. She’s just irritated that I came home late, and is resorting to one of her moods to voice her displeasure. Shane put the bottle of wine upright on the top shelf of the refrigerator, in an attempt to convince Myra that he cared enough to take care of her prized possession and placed it prominently where she could easily see it. He then opened up the door to the oven and found a TV dinner, still wrapped in the foil. She couldn’t even place it on a glass plate; she has to treat me like a child.
Shane ate his dinner of cold meat loaf and mashed potatoes in silence. His thoughts kept drifting back to the old man at the fair and the crystal in his jacket pocket. After finishing his supper, and washing and drying his hands, he fingered it for a few moments--letting it roll around his hand--then took it out and studied it more closely. He expected to find an engraving which read Made in China on the underside. But it was perfectly clear, without so much as a nick or scratch. He wondered how this simple thing could bring someone back from the other side. It must have magical properties, or something, he thought.
Shane climbed into bed at eight, but couldn’t sleep a wink for hours. He was contemplating whether to try the trick that night, or if he should wait. If he waited too long, he feared the crystal would lose its luster; he thought there was a certain amount of magic inside that had to be used quickly. Also, there was a chance he could lose the thing if he held onto it for too long. And worst of all, Myra might find it, consider it one of his useless toys, and discard it.
At exactly midnight, Shane was still wide awake. Myra was fast asleep next to him. Shane sat up on his elbows and looked to his left to do a double-check. It’s now or never, he thought. Following the instructions explicitly from his sorcerer friend, he took the crystal from his pajama top’s shirt pocket and held it from the cord running through the hole in the top. He stood by the edge of the bed where Myra slept and dangled it over her head. It swayed gently in the breeze coming through the window.
Myra stirred gently, as if she was about to awaken, but Shane was told this was to be expected. Myra stayed asleep. Suddenly her eyes popped open. Myra was still fast asleep, but Shane didn’t know this. He wasn’t told about this part.
“Myra, are you awake? I…I’m sorry dear. I can explain.”
The crystal began to glow, slowly at first. Shane was sure everything was working just as it was supposed to. Before he knew it, the immediate environment around Shane and Myra was completely different. Everything was cloudy and surreal. Shane knew he had made it; he was in heaven with her. Now all he had to do was find Ruth and leave out of there before the crystal’s magic wore out.
“Shane…what’s going on? Where are we?”
“It’s all right. You’re dreaming.”
“This is all a dream?”
“Yes, honey. C’mon, let’s take a walk.”
“You wanna go for a walk?”
“Yes. We’ve been going through some tough times lately, and I don’t want this to be the end. The end of us.”
“Yes, I agree. We need to talk some things over.”
Myra saw the crystal in Shane’s hand. “What’s that?” she asked.
He looked down. “Oh, just a little trinket I had in my pocket.”
That was a little too close for comfort. Shane had to look for something--quick--to distract Myra, while he looked for Ruth. And there, right in front of him, he stumbled upon a garden.
“Hey, I know you like flowers,” he called to her as he trounced ahead. “You’re into roses, right?”
“Oh, you know me. Roses are so common. I’m more of a daisy kind of gal.”
Shane went right to work picking daisies which appeared before him, as if Myra’s wish made them materialize. He gathered about a dozen, which he brought to her. Myra admired and got to know each one, like she had a dozen children at her beck and call.
With Myra kept busy for the moment, Shane gazed into the crystal. “Come on, Ruth! Where are you?” he cried. The crystal appeared cloudy. He thought all hope was lost. Then the cloud began to disappear in
favor of a clearer image. It was a human form, but Shane couldn’t yet quite make out what it was.
Then he saw her, clear as day. It was Ruth. He knew she had to be somewhere nearby. He saw a shadowy form out of the corner of his eye. He looked up, and she was right there. She was by the roses. Maybe Shane mentioned roses earlier because he thought all women like them. Then again, he saw Ruth in everyone. Except for Myra.
“Ruth. Oh, Ruth…”
“Shane,” she said. “How did you…what are you doing here?”
“Shh,” he said. “I honestly thought I’d never see you again. You look just the same as I remembered.”
“Shane, you didn’t…die…did you?”
“No, nothing like that.” He made a show of twirling the crystal around his hands.
“What’s going on?”
“I summoned you here. I’ve come to take you back.”
“Take me back? What do you mean? How can you--?”
“Shh,” Shane said again. “Don’t ask questions. You’re going to have to trust me on this one. I think I can do it.”
“Shane?” called out Myra’s voice. “Who are you talking to?”
Shane felt the panic rise in his throat. “Myra…this is Ruth. You remember me telling you about her, right?” Myra’s eyes went icy cold for a moment.
“Hello,” Ruth greeted Myra. “And who might you be?”
“I’m his wife, honey.”
Myra pulled Shane off to the side for a moment. “What’s she doing in my dream?” she whispered loudly to him.
“I have no idea. Pretty wild, huh?”
“Can you get rid of her?”
“Okay, look, can I please just go and talk to my friend for a few minutes? Please? And I’ll come right back to you. I swear that nothing is going on with her and me--in make believe or in real life.”
Myra threw her hands up. “Oh, alright. Go have fun with your friend for awhile, then come right back. I’ll busy myself somehow.”
Shane went back again to where Ruth was standing by the roses. “Ruth…Ruth, dear,” he said. “I need you to listen to me. We don’t have much time.”
“Shane, I’m scared. I don’t like this. What are you doing?”
“Ruth, just trust me. Hold on to me. Put your arms around me.”
Ruth interlocked her arms tightly around Shane’s neck. With one arm around her waist, Shane dangled the crystal over Ruth’s head, just as he had done to Myra. And he dreamed of home. Before he knew it, he was back in his home. In his bedroom. Alive on Earth.

Ruth released her grip. “What happened? Where am I?” she asked. She then noticed something exhilaratingly different. She went to a mirror on a far wall. Ruth saw herself complete as ever. “Oh…oh, my…my God, I don’t believe this.” She felt her stomach; her thighs. “It’s me! I’m whole again! I’m alive!”
Ruth threw her arms around Shane in a tight bear hug. “Oh, you did it, baby! I don’t know how, but you did it. I’m alive on Earth again. Thank you, thank you! Now we can be together again.”
“Yes, we’re together again! I told you I’d do it!” Shane exclaimed joyfully. “Now we can live the rest of our lives as we were meant to be.”
Ruth smiled at her former long lost husband. She looked around. “Shane, where are we? Whose home is this? Is this…hers? Where is she, Shane?”
Shane was so lost in the ecstasy of having Ruth back that he completely forgot about Myra. He held up the crystal. She’s in here.”
“She’s WHAT? You killed someone else to have me back?”
“You have to understand, honey. It was the only way. I needed to have you back in my life. I told you
that in my dream. And you told me to look for someone else, remember? And I really tried. But life with her was very stressful. I missed you so much, and the magician who gave me the gift said this was the only way. You don’t regret it, do you?”
“No. No, not at all. I’m glad I’m back.” She hugged him once again. “But what will become of her? Will she linger in heaven for all eternity?”
“Not if I can help it. It’s only temporary. Sure, she was a handful to deal with at times, but she didn’t have to die forever for it. As soon as I find someone else who is more deserving, I will bring her back.”
“Does she know where she is?”
“I don’t think so. I told her she’s having a dream.”
“She must be told, Shane. You owe her the truth. Sooner or later she will find out the truth when she doesn’t awaken.”
“Oh, okay, I suppose you’re right. She needs to know.” Shane walked to the bedroom window and looked outside at the world. He realized it was unfair that he was viewing the world as part of the living, when Myra was caught in another world entirely.
He held up the crystal and called out to Myra. Myra was having fun in the garden playing “fetch the acorn” with a squirrel. But, of course, the acorn never came back. She expected to rejoin Shane on their walk any minute now, after he was finished talking with Ruth. She heard her name being called--as an echo, from all around. She looked up and realized something was terribly wrong. She called out to Shane.
“Shane? Shane? Where are you? Come back, please.”
“Myra, listen to me.” The voice boomed down from the heavens--literally. “Listen--you aren’t dreaming. You are in heaven. I put you there. I had to in order to take back Ruth. And you have to stay there for awhile.”
“Shane? Shane! Don’t do this to me! I don’t deserve this! I’m sorry. What did I do to you?”
“I’m sorry, too, Myra. I couldn’t take my life with you the way it was. And I missed Ruth so much. I just had to have her back.”
“NO, please! I’m sorry! I’ll change my ways. Things will be different.”
“I have to go, Myra. I will try to find someone to take your place. It won’t be long.”
“Shane, no! Take me back, please. Don’t leave me here to die. Take me back!”

Shane waltzed into his old job an hour late. This was the fourth time this month. Since getting Ruth back, he vowed to spend as much time with her as possible. Even if it meant jeopardizing his employment again. He sat down at his desk and looked over the mounds of paperwork he could never seem to finish working on, for Mr. Sachs kept piling it on each day.
“So nice of you to decide to finally join us today, Mr. Carver,” Mr. Sachs retorted sarcastically. “Have you been spending time again with your reincarnated wife? I’d love to meet her one of these days. Maybe she can charm us with one of her freaky ghost stories from heaven.” Lawrence Sachs chuckled to himself as he passed by Shane’s cubicle.
Shane was getting tired of these snide remarks from his superior. But ultimately, he knew he’d have to hold his tongue and practice tolerance, lest he needed to look for other work again. And that wasn’t so easy the first time around after Ruth had died. But one of these days, Shane thought to himself, the man is going to go too far, and I refuse to be responsible for my actions.
The very next week, at the office Christmas party, Mr. Sachs wasted no time in belittling Shane for all his small mistakes. Honest errors that could have been anyone’s; some no fault of his own. Missing a meeting with a client because of a misplaced request form. Being accused of payroll fraud when the mistake was later found to be with the payroll department itself.
“Why do you insist on making a fool of yourself like this in front of everyone?” Shane asked Lawrence in presence of the crowd.
“It’s just so easy…and fun,” he answered. “But if it’s not to your liking, you are always free to leave the job. Nothing is keeping you here.”
You’re right, Shane thought. Nothing is keeping me here…except the fact that I have to make a living. Just as you do…for a company studying life and death.
Shane appeared to be Lawrence’s favorite target, coming across as more like a bully than anything else. Perhaps Lawrence thought Shane had nothing to fight back with. But he would soon find out that he’d be wrong. Dead wrong.
Shane didn’t say a word in response to Mr. Sach’s rants. Didn’t have to. He knew exactly what he had to end his problem.
Shane eyed his boss up and down with a sinister smile on his face. In his pocket, he gently rolled a small, yellow object between his fingers.

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