The long nights were always the worst for the young boy, and this evening surely was no exception. For this night brought forth shadows; black, impenetrable gloom veiling his room in utter darkness. Death was beckoning, drawing closer by the moment, surrounding his bed, seeking to sever his life from the world of the living.
Though covered with a feverish sweat, the boy shivered violently, thrashing his head side to side on his drenched pillow. The boy was a fighter. He'd fought off death before during other long nights, only to have his unrelenting illness rear forth and attack him again in a vicious cycle that seemed to have but one logical conclusion.
Tonight though, was different, worse than ever. He tried to call out to his nurse, but was too weak and couldn't lift his withered arms to click the call button. He felt his life being sucked out; the darkness pushing down in a suffocating, final embrace. He began to cry, but it was no louder than a whisper. He just wanted to see his parents again; to see their faces once more. Just once more. Please, please...please?
But the darkness tightened even more, and he felt the end was at hand. "It's all right, Joey."
Through the gloom, the boy saw that Artemis now stood beside his bed. Suddenly, he could breathe again. "Artemis...I'm dying!"
Artemis dipped a washcloth in a basin of cool water and swabbed the boy's head. "No, Joey. You're going to see your parents tomorrow. How about that?"
"I will?”
"Yes, you will."
As Joey studied the lambent outline of Artemis' gentle face, waves of calm coursed slowly through his ravaged body. Artemis was his friend and when he was around, there was always a feeling of tranquility. Especially at night, like now.
Artemis remained with Joey until his breathing slowed to normal, and the boy had finally fallen into a deep, restful sleep.
~
The following morning, in the corner of the hospital's consultation room, a young couple huddled together in desperation. They sat across the interview table from a grim looking man wearing a white lab coat. He looked to the couple, slowly shaking his head. "Steve...Kate. There’s nothing else we...can do for Joey. The metastasis has spread throughout his body." He hesitated a moment, allowing his words to sink in. "The final stages are quickly accelerating... you should take Joey home while he still possesses some quality of life..." At a loss for words, the doctor’s voice trailed off. "I'm sorry."
Despite knowing that this day was a long time coming, the couple still was devastated by the forlorn prognosis: Medical science had done all that was possible for their son.
Steve stared at the floor, holding his head in his hands. Though weary and numb after five long years of hopelessness, he managed to pull himself together to help his family through this darkest of times. Reaching out, he stroked his wife's hair and spoke softly. "Thank-you, Doctor. We'll find a nurse and get Joey ready." Kate nodded absently as her husband guided her from the room.
The doctor stood, glancing down at his trembling hands. No matter how many times in his career he’d told parents their child was dying, he’d never gotten used to it. He locked the door and then walked to the window. Staring out, he sighed deeply.
~
Holding hands, the young couple followed the quiet corridor towards Joey's room. Opened doors revealed sleeping children hooked up to monitors and breathing apparatus. An oppressive pall filled the pediatric facility.
Outside Joey's room, Artemis slowly pushed a food cart. He smiled as the couple approached, but saw the looks on their faces and lost the grin, nodding as they drew close. He couldn't help but notice the look in the woman's eyes as she dabbed with a tissue. When Joey's parents entered the room, he lowered his head, then pushed the cart into a closet and disappeared down the corridor.
An hour later, with Joey carefully bundled up and carried by his father, the family left the facility, driving off in their pickup truck. It was mid-morning and the sunshine was a brilliant, golden splendor.
Joey was awake, watching the road, the trees and the sky. He hadn't been outdoors in a long while and was enjoying the break from his routine. Glancing to his parents and their tight expressions, he knew something was wrong. But being seven years old, he didn't understand much of the grownup world. Pain had been his mentor. That, he understood too well.
Staring out the window, Kate noticed the elderly man who’d been outside Joey's room, walking slowly along the road. "There's Artemis...from the hospital. Think he needs a ride?"
Steve slowed the pickup over onto the road shoulder and stopped, then hopped out of the cab. "Howdy, Artemis."
The old man smiled. "Well, hello there.”
"Figured we could give you a lift.”
"That's very nice, but I usually walk home. I don't wish to impose."
"Not at all. Besides, I'm sure Joey would like to see you again." He gestured to the back of the truck. "With Joey lying down up front there’s not much room, but there's padding in the flat bed. How far's your house?"
"Couple miles up the road."
"It's settled then." Steve opened the tailgate, and was surprised at Artemis' deftness as he hopped aboard. Climbing back in the cab, Steve opened the rear window. "My name's Steve and this is my wife Kate. Of course, you already know Joey." Joey craned his neck to look out the window. "Hi, Artemis," he said.
"Hey there, buddy." Artemis smiled at the boy and then settled back for the ride.
Steve flicked on the radio, trying to force the real purpose of this trip out of his thoughts. He looked on as Kate stroked Joey's head, glancing to the rearview mirror to see Artemis with his head tilted skyward, eyes closed, smiling as the sun bathed his face. Steve involuntarily smiled back towards the mirror before looking ahead to the road as they approached the dunes bordering the water.
The salty smell of the ocean carried by sea breeze now permeated the air. Steve inhaled deeply, the aroma invoking memories of happier times long gone.
"My house is up the road just a bit. Maybe you'd like to stop by the cove. Joey can look out to the sea," Artemis offered through the window.
Steve and Kate exchanged glances. "We were planning on getting Joey home," Steve said, though he wondered what harm would be done if they stopped for a few minutes.
"I understand," Artemis nodded.
"Daddy, I'd like to see the ocean. Can't we stop?" Joey asked. Kate then nodded to Steve. "Sure, we can. Artemis, let me know when we're getting close."
After a few minutes, Artemis directed Steve to turn off the paved highway, upon a sandy path cutting through a vine-laden stand of sumac and pine. Steve followed the winding, jasmine- scented trail along until the scree of the gulls and breaking waves sounded from close by.
Suddenly, the path opened wide, and they were upon a small, narrow beach of a tiny inlet. Palm fronds had replaced pines, as tiny waves lapped the pinkish shoreline just a few feet beyond the shade of the trees. Simply, it was an idyllic spot. Steve, Kate and Joey just stared through the windshield.
"I sure do like it here," Artemis said. "Sometimes, I just come down and forget to leave." Chuckling, he climbed down from the truck bed and stood next to Steve's door. He'd already discarded his shoes and wiggled his toes in the sand.
"Can't say I'd blame you for that." Steve answered, as he and Kate exited the truck. Steve walked around and carried Joey out the passenger door.
"Can I put my feet in the water, Dad?"
"Well, sure!" Steve picked a shady spot on the soft sand and lowered Joey down. He slowly removed the layer of blankets, gazing at the emaciated body below. He knew Joey was watching him, so he consciously made the effort not to wince at the heartrending sight. The boy weighed as much as an average three-year old. Only a few wisps of his hair remained. His face was swollen from fluid buildup, but had the look all too common in the terminally ill: the bulging, jaundiced eyes, the tortured grimace, the rictus of death; arms and legs lesion covered sticks.
Steve removed his own shoes and rolled up his pants. Kate did the same. Together, they brought Joey to the water's edge, allowing the warm waves to lap their feet. The water was like a clear, liquid jade. Little fish swam in the shallows while a crab did an underwater sidestep routine.
Artemis joined them in the water. "If we're lucky, my friends will show up soon." "Your friends," Kate asked.
Artemis beamed. "My friends." He gestured to the open water towards the reef, where the waves churned white foam beyond the calm sanctity of the cove. He pointed to three dorsal fins breaking the surface in the shallows. "They're never far away."
Steve and Kate were alarmed, but relaxed when Joey said "Dolphins!"
Artemis waded out further, laughing aloud as the dolphins swam excitedly around him He patted their sleek skin, as the creatures clicked and whirred their greetings. "They just started showing up one day. I used to feed them sometimes. But they don't seem to really care much about food."
"They're wild dolphins?" Steve was astonished at the sight.
Artemis nodded. "Well, far as I can tell, yes. But as smart as they are, they seem tame."
"Can I pet one?" Joey whispered, wanting more than anything to touch his favorite animal in the world.
"I don't know." Kate's maternal instinct spoke up.
Steve looked at her. "It's okay, Hon. We'll be right next to him. Look how gentle they are."
They watched as the dolphins took turns raising their heads from the water, with Artemis whispering and gently petting them. Looking up, he beckoned the family over. "Bring Joey here. They want to meet him."
Steve carried Joey deeper, with Kate right next to them. Artemis spoke soothingly to the dolphins, which then turned quickly, swimming over to the family, allowing the strangers to pet them. Suddenly, their clicks and squeaks ceased, as they nuzzled Joey gently as they would one of their own newborns. The creatures seemed to be studying him, perplexed. One began to make a noise like it was crying. The others soon echoed the haunting lament.
Joey didn't seem to care, running his fingers over their smooth, warm skin. His smile stretched ear to ear, as this was about as happy as he'd ever been.
Artemis waded over, whispering in Steve's ear. "They know he's sick. It's upsetting them. That's why they're making those sounds."
"Should we take him out?"
Artemis shook his head. "No. Let him enjoy himself. They don't mind him being here. They just feel badly that he's sick."
Steve looked him in the eye. "How do you know this?"
Solemnly, Artemis looked down to the dolphins nuzzling the boy. "I just know."
The dolphins soon quieted down, though they remained close to Joey. Kate and Steve were enjoying themselves for the first time in years, more so because their son was happier than they'd ever seen him.
A half hour had passed when the dolphins began to circle wider and wider, until they disappeared into deeper water. Steve and Kate carried their beaming son to the soft sand, where they sat down as Artemis joined them.
"What did you think of that, Joey? Not many people get to see dolphins up close." Artemis beamed again.
"They're the best!"
"Yes, they are."
An hour had passed by before Steve and Kate decided it was time to leave. They looked at Joey snoozing peacefully on a blanket in the shade. "I hope this wasn't too much for him," Kate said.
"Are you kidding? Look how he's sleeping. No thrashing...no feverish, delirious fits. This was great for him." Steve looked to Artemis. "Thank-you for letting our son enjoy himself so much..." His voice trailed off and he lowered his head. Kate put a hand on her husband's shoulder, joining him in silence.
Artemis looked to the slumbering child, then out to sea. "Well, you know where this place is now. Stop by anytime you'd like. My house is up the path a stretch."
"If Joey's up to the drive, we'll be back soon," Steve said, envisioning his son's smiling face as he petted the dolphins. Kate embraced the man, with Steve following suite.
"If I'm not here when you come back, just tell my son that Poppy said it was all right." Artemis winked at the couple, and watched as they gathered up their son and left. Waving to them as they drove away, he looked out beyond the cove, to the white breakers hitting the reef. After a few moments, he turned and walked slowly up the path leading to his house.
Joey slept the entire ride home. He didn't awaken when the truck stopped, and Steve carried him into his room and lowered him onto the bed. Kate was there to wash him and change his pajamas. She opened the blanket. "Jesus...look at his arms!"
Steve spun towards the bed. The lesions on Joey's arms had drastically faded. Disbelieving what he saw, Steve snapped on the table lamp. His eyes were not playing tricks.
Kate and Steve exchanged looks of bewilderment. "How can this be?" Kate asked. Joey's eyes blinked open, and he yawned. "Where are we?"
"We're in your bedroom, son. How are you feeling?" Steve replied.
Joey looked around the room. Gradually, he recognized the stuffed animals and the airplane model suspended from the ceiling. "I remember now." He smiled suddenly. "Those dolphins were cool!"
Kate and Steve chuckled. There was life in their son's eyes now, vigor clear and bright. "Mommy, can I have a drink?"
"Of course, sweetheart." As Kate moved quickly to the kitchen, Steve eyed his son's face. It was difficult to pinpoint, but Joey appeared a hundred times better than he did that morning at the hospital. It wasn't just his eyes and the faded lesions, but also the firmer flesh with healthier coloration. Not once had he mentioned pain. Normally, he didn't say anything, but his parents could tell he was hurting. Yet certainly, that wasn't the case now.
Kate came back with ginger ale, which Joey downed quickly through a straw. Joey raised his arms, turning them side-to-side, studying them in the lamplight. "Mom?"
"Yes, Joey."
"Can I have a banana?"
The rest of Joey's first night home went infinitely better than Steve and Kate could possibly have hoped for. Joey had eaten more food than they'd ever seen him consume. He then resumed that deep, restful sleep.
That night, Steve and Kate stayed with their son in his room. They spoke at length of Joey's resurgence, whether it was simply the child's euphoria about leaving the hospital, or the joyous interaction with the dolphins. Whatever the reason, they were thankful.
"I think we should take Joey back to the cove." Steve blurted out. "He was much better after we left there. Let's go back. There's a motel just up the highway where we can stay."
"But Steve, remember the reason we brought him home."
"Well, the doctors wanted to give up, but I don't! Let's see how he feels in the morning. Besides, Kate." Gently, he held his wife in his arms. "Don't you remember how we felt today while we were there? We've never had that before...I want it again..."
Kate studied her husband's face, nodding with his words. She too, wanted to recapture those moments. She'd never seen her son smile so much. And now, they could have another day together as a family and perhaps, more than one day.
Joey awoke to the peep of the birds the next morning, to see his parents asleep on the loveseat near his bed, Kate's head resting on Steve's shoulder. He propped himself up on an elbow. "Mom?"
Kate opened her eyes and leaned forward. "How are you feeling?" She saw that he leaned on his elbow. "The doctors said you'd hurt your arms doing that." Even in the dimness, she could see the coloring in his cheeks. She kissed his head then looked closely at his arms. The discoloration had faded more, his skin vibrant with life beneath her fingers as she touched him.
"I'm hungry," he said without hesitation.
After breakfast, they packed a few bags and headed out in the truck. Propped up by a few pillows, Joey could sit upright in the seat, looking at sights he’d normally miss. He was really looking forward to the cove and hopefully, the dolphins.
They followed the path where Artemis had directed them the day before. Joey peered over the dashboard, his hopeful eyes scanning the shimmering water. Steve and Kate silently marveled at their son's appearance, wondering what this new day would bring.
Steve carried Joey to the water. They waded out, soaking in the warming caress of the sun and the ocean. Joey spoke. "Dad, I want to stand...myself."
Steve lowered the boy until his feet touched bottom. Leaning upon his father’s arm, Joey stood on his own, splashing water onto his face with his free hand, laughing aloud.
"Look out there!" Kate called out, pointing to the sea.
The dolphins were back. Three dorsal fins skimmed merrily through the water towards the family. Without the benefit of Artemis’ calming presence, Steve and Kate cringed a bit, uneasy with the large creatures swimming within reach. But Joey held out his hands as the sleek beings circled around, nuzzling him, seemingly recognizing him by the vibrant sound of their clicks and squeaks.
Though they stayed near Joey, the dolphins did not repeat their lament from the day before, as the boy smiled in the bliss of his commune with nature. After all those days of pain, it was the simplest pleasures that life had to offer that he now cherished most in the world.
Later that morning, Joey's parents checked into the nearby motel, and for the next week brought him back each day to the cove and the dolphins. As the days passed, he grew stronger. The lesions disappeared from his skin, and his scalp darkened as hair began to grow again. He could walk, laugh, even climb upon his father's back for a ride.
Though Steve and Kate knew not what the future might hold for their child, his metamorphosis had given them the hope, God willing, that the doctors had all been wrong with their final prognosis.
They had stopped at Artemis' house every day but he was never home, and his son wasn't there either. They wrote him a nice letter and slipped it under the front door. Steven debated going to the hospital to see Artemis there while he was working, but decided against bringing Joey back near the place. So, on the night before they were to check out of the motel and go home, they went back a final time, hoping to see their friend.
Steve drove up the driveway. As it had already grown dark, he noticed there were lights on in the bungalow. "Looks like someone's here." There was a pickup truck like theirs parked on the driveway. As he pulled behind it, a man looked out the window.
They approached the front steps. The door was opened by a younger, taller, unsmiling version of Artemis. "Yes?"
"We were hoping that Artemis was in?"
The man nodded. "Are you the folks that left the letter?"
"Yes, we are."
The man waved them in. "Why don't you come inside?"
As they entered the living room the man gestured for them to sit on the sofa. He introduced himself as Jeremy. Steve noticed the framed pictures of Artemis and Jeremy adorning the walls.
"Is Artemis here? Will he be home soon?"
Jeremy was distant, seemingly at a loss of words. "I'm not sure who you spoke with. But it couldn't have been my father."
Kate shook her head. "He's in the pictures here on the wall." "It couldn't have been my father."
A strange feeling came over Steve. "He told us to tell you that Poppy said it was okay if we swam at the cove."
Jeremy now seemed at a complete loss, shaking his head. "No one knows that I called him Poppy. No one."
Steve and Kate exchanged looks. Even Joey knew something was up.
Jeremy looked to the family before him. "Look...my father died two years ago." Steve felt icy fingers upon his neck, as did Kate.
"This isn't the first time someone's come here and told me they've seen him." Jeremy stood, facing the window, looking out at the dark trees. "He used to work at the hospital. Loved kids. They loved him back." He hesitated, and the silence was uncomfortable. "Since he died, there's always been someone with a kid from the hospital who's claimed to have seen him."
The three adults eyed one another. Finally, Kate spoke. "He was with us, Jeremy. I hugged him. We both did! The dolphins even swam with him."
Steve nodded. He repeated the entire story, of Joey's illness and healing, of Artemis' kindness, of their interaction with the dolphins. "He was with us at the cove...and suggested we return. When we left after our first visit, he was still there."
Jeremy finally smiled, though sadly. "He loved the cove. That was his favorite place on this earth."
Joey had absorbed all of this. Death was no stranger to him, close as he'd been to dying. "He's here with us right now." The grownups turned to him. "I know...what I felt inside when he was near me. I felt warmth and I feel that right now." He looked at Artemis' son, with his skeptical look. "Maybe you need to believe he's here to see him, Jeremy."
The man looked away from the boy, around the room. Many times, he thought he'd seen a shadow out of the corner of his eye, and when he'd turn his head, the image would vanish.
But he didn't believe in the afterlife; never shared his father's faith. There had been a few dreams of his where Artemis had appeared and would talk to him. But Jeremy would always awaken to his own dark room, and silence.
But these people were too honest, possessing privileged information no one else could possibly know. Maybe, this was his father's way of communicating with him.
Perhaps, if he did believe and loved life with a child's heart again, he’d be able to see more. Looking at the boy, he smiled. "He was a good man. No doubt he'd be a good soul."
"An angel's more like it," said Joey, as the three grownups exchanged glances, nodding with the wisdom of the child’s words.
The atmosphere of the room lightened considerably. The family stayed and chatted with Jeremy until Joey finally fell asleep against Kate's shoulder. As they were leaving, with Steve carrying his slumbering son, he and Kate told Jeremy that they wanted to stay in touch. Jeremy nodded, genuinely touched, finally beaming a smile that rivaled his father's. He waved to the family as they drove away down the dark driveway.
Back inside the house, Jeremy looked to the photos on the wall, a visual stroll through the memories of his life with Artemis, whose company he surely missed. Maybe, he had to say those words aloud. "Poppy, if you can hear me, then I want you to know that I do miss you...more than you can know."
The house remained quiet. After a while, Jeremy decided to walk down to the cove that Artemis had loved so much. Maybe he'd see dolphins swimming by moonlight, or a shadow out of the corner of his eye.
Down the path, he strolled barefoot through the cool sand, inhaling deeply of the sweet jasmine, the thrum of the languid night embracing him. Reaching down at the surf's edge, he scooped some water and splashed his face.
The moonlight reflected softly upon the water. He remembered, as a kid, coming down here with his father at night. Sometimes, they'd listen to the waves; other times, Artemis would speak of the past, or the hopes he had for Jeremy's future.
As he reminisced, Jeremy noticed the dolphins had entered the cove, their fins skimming towards him. He waded out farther and the creatures greeted him as a long-lost friend. Indeed, he was, as he hadn't done this in two years. Running his hands over their sleek skin, something made him look back to the water’s edge. Near the spot he’d just left was the shadow of a man. But this time, it didn't disappear.
Jeremy was unafraid as he took a few steps towards shore. “Poppy?"
A moment later, the smile beaming back through the night gave him his answer.
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