The Button: conclusion
He awoke the next morning with the previous night’s events still fresh in his head. He did not sleep much at all, but the moments he did sleep allowed him to reconstruct the evening and the events leading him to this place. His dream state even filled in some of the gaps his memory seemed to have forgotten. It was a night of waking, thinking, reconstructing, sleeping, and repeating. It was safe to say it was the longest night of his life.
The finer details were still lost to him, but he remembered a window and a rapid decent very clearly. The cymbal crash of a shattered pane rang in his ears and he remembered the tunnel vision of the fall perfectly. He felt as if he were riding an invisible corkscrew down to the floor below. The fall was actually rather fun as he recalled, it was the landing that sucked, but why did he fall?
On the floor by the bed laid the remains of the mysterious button box the “doctor” left. He was pretty sure he did not mean to break it, but he was never quite sure what he intended to do. The button stood out from the broken box. It clung to the end of an uncoiled spring that danced gently in the air conditioner’s false breeze. It looked as if it was reeling in laughter at him, but he could not make out any sounds.
His bed was against one of the two yellow walls of the room. Directly in front of his bed was the gigantic floor to ceiling glass wall overlooking the fountain seven stories below. To his immediate left sat a fresh bouquet of flowers on the night stand. This means his wife came to visit again and he slept through it again. To his right was the other glass wall that separated his room from the darkened room. He never heard any sounds coming from the darkened room.
The flowers from his wife were not the same since the bees were no longer part of his daily reality. He enjoyed dodging them and pretending they were sent by someone for some sinister purpose. He often pretended he was some hero in a movie. It was not that he believed any of it, he just enjoyed the “mental masturbation” as he called it.
He missed the bricks as well. There were four hundred thirty five bricks outside his old window. Now he had one fountain. He did have one hundred and twenty ceiling tiles in his new room, but they were all the same. There were also two fire sprinklers; one in each corner of the room. He was not going to look up anymore in this room. It was rather boring.
He got up and decided the best course of action was to shower. He loved to shower. It was the best moment of his day and now that the bandages were off he could really get into one. Before he had to wrap parts of his body in plastic before entering and the sound of the water sprinkling on the plastic felt like nails on a chalkboard to him. Now he could steam up the room to the point of needing a lighthouse to find the toilet and just sit and rest.
While he bathed the nurse entered the room with his breakfast and a brand new button. She placed the new button on his pillow after she made the bed. The breakfast was left on the nightstand next to the flowers. She was tempted to peak in the shower, but her professionalism kept her honest.
The button was the first thing he noticed when he exited the bathroom. It was almost glowing on his pillow. It was a beacon in the fog. Like a zombie he walked mindlessly towards the new remote control. He did not even notice the breakfast. His stomach grumbled and roared trying to get him to, but he was fixated on the button. His ritual could continue.
This time he would not make the same mistake he decided. He would just push the damn thing and get it over with. He once again closed his eyes tightly and once again extended his middle finger as it soared down to meet its target. As the button depressed he felt an orgasm build inside before he even saw what it did. It was just the release that made him feel so satisfied.
As he opened his eyes, he felt an even more intense rush. The darkened room was no longer dark. He could see into it perfectly and he could not believe what he was seeing. It was his wife, his friends, his co-workers, his family all there cheering him. He saw a huge table covered in food and drink. He saw a humongous banner hanging behind them with the words “Welcome Back Harry!” He saw everyone he loved there to welcome him back.
He was moved to the new room on his wife’s request. This being his last day in the hospital after nine months she wanted to throw him a party. She had spent so long in fear of her never getting him back after his fall. The only real problem was she did not expect him to take so long in pressing the damn button. They almost charged into his room five times last night before he went to sleep. They decided to come back today and give him ten minutes before they just surprised him on their own.
Harry quit his job as a window washer after he was released from the hospital. A settlement with the company that made the platform guaranteed he would never have to work again.
The finer details were still lost to him, but he remembered a window and a rapid decent very clearly. The cymbal crash of a shattered pane rang in his ears and he remembered the tunnel vision of the fall perfectly. He felt as if he were riding an invisible corkscrew down to the floor below. The fall was actually rather fun as he recalled, it was the landing that sucked, but why did he fall?
On the floor by the bed laid the remains of the mysterious button box the “doctor” left. He was pretty sure he did not mean to break it, but he was never quite sure what he intended to do. The button stood out from the broken box. It clung to the end of an uncoiled spring that danced gently in the air conditioner’s false breeze. It looked as if it was reeling in laughter at him, but he could not make out any sounds.
His bed was against one of the two yellow walls of the room. Directly in front of his bed was the gigantic floor to ceiling glass wall overlooking the fountain seven stories below. To his immediate left sat a fresh bouquet of flowers on the night stand. This means his wife came to visit again and he slept through it again. To his right was the other glass wall that separated his room from the darkened room. He never heard any sounds coming from the darkened room.
The flowers from his wife were not the same since the bees were no longer part of his daily reality. He enjoyed dodging them and pretending they were sent by someone for some sinister purpose. He often pretended he was some hero in a movie. It was not that he believed any of it, he just enjoyed the “mental masturbation” as he called it.
He missed the bricks as well. There were four hundred thirty five bricks outside his old window. Now he had one fountain. He did have one hundred and twenty ceiling tiles in his new room, but they were all the same. There were also two fire sprinklers; one in each corner of the room. He was not going to look up anymore in this room. It was rather boring.
He got up and decided the best course of action was to shower. He loved to shower. It was the best moment of his day and now that the bandages were off he could really get into one. Before he had to wrap parts of his body in plastic before entering and the sound of the water sprinkling on the plastic felt like nails on a chalkboard to him. Now he could steam up the room to the point of needing a lighthouse to find the toilet and just sit and rest.
While he bathed the nurse entered the room with his breakfast and a brand new button. She placed the new button on his pillow after she made the bed. The breakfast was left on the nightstand next to the flowers. She was tempted to peak in the shower, but her professionalism kept her honest.
The button was the first thing he noticed when he exited the bathroom. It was almost glowing on his pillow. It was a beacon in the fog. Like a zombie he walked mindlessly towards the new remote control. He did not even notice the breakfast. His stomach grumbled and roared trying to get him to, but he was fixated on the button. His ritual could continue.
This time he would not make the same mistake he decided. He would just push the damn thing and get it over with. He once again closed his eyes tightly and once again extended his middle finger as it soared down to meet its target. As the button depressed he felt an orgasm build inside before he even saw what it did. It was just the release that made him feel so satisfied.
As he opened his eyes, he felt an even more intense rush. The darkened room was no longer dark. He could see into it perfectly and he could not believe what he was seeing. It was his wife, his friends, his co-workers, his family all there cheering him. He saw a huge table covered in food and drink. He saw a humongous banner hanging behind them with the words “Welcome Back Harry!” He saw everyone he loved there to welcome him back.
He was moved to the new room on his wife’s request. This being his last day in the hospital after nine months she wanted to throw him a party. She had spent so long in fear of her never getting him back after his fall. The only real problem was she did not expect him to take so long in pressing the damn button. They almost charged into his room five times last night before he went to sleep. They decided to come back today and give him ten minutes before they just surprised him on their own.
Harry quit his job as a window washer after he was released from the hospital. A settlement with the company that made the platform guaranteed he would never have to work again.
posted by Unknown at
8:12 PM
4 Comments:
I think I am going to alter the end. I do not like it to be honest. I like what the button does, but not how I wrote it.
I like what the button did, too. I mean, it could have brought on Armageddon or something. This is much more fun. All writers alter their work umpteen times; that's normal. Overall, it's a nice story with an optimistic message.
I like it....The ending fit, a guy in a coma wanting in his subconsious to awaken...All he had to do was push the button and POPF back to reality....Or is it?
OPERATION MINDCRIME
Rex...
I love that! The entire hospital was in his mind and the button was his escape from a coma! That is awesome!
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