Between the Lanterns(63)

He crossed his fingers for luck and said, “Woodrow. My old friend. Power on.”

A car horn suddenly blared, scaring the bejesus out of August. Flashbacks of being hit by an AutoCar 30 years ago flickered through his mind. The resulting injuries twinged in his arm and ribcage as he braced himself for the impact.

But the impact never came. He spun around to see a teenager leaning out of the window of a very new and expensive AutoCar.

“Get out of the road, you crazy old bastard! I’m late!” the young hooligan yelled at the top of his lungs.

August laughed nervously, nodded his head, and replied, “Sorry about that, youngin’. Please just go around me.”

Gesturing to the side, August heard a sound like a load of freshly chopped wood being dropped by the fireplace.

“GO A ROUND,” Woodrow added, gesturing to the side.

August whirled around as fast as his old bones would permit. There, standing upright and looking like no time had passed at all, was the wooden automaton he and his beautiful wife had built a lifetime ago.

Fresh tears fell from August’s eyes as he ignored the loud teenager asking ignorant questions about what the hell that mahogany thing was. August had only one thing on his mind, and no one would distract him from this long-awaited reunion.

Reaching into his pocket, August pulled out the SameSoul. The little box that had changed the world, that had changed his life, and most importantly… that held the essence and consciousness of his long-dead love. He looked at the little box and the port on Woodrow where it belonged. And August hesitated.

This was wrong. There was a reason he had never done it. Samantha hated the idea of being inside a machine;, even Woodrow. She wouldn’t want him to do this even now, after years of being away from him and being in… Heaven?

All of a sudden August felt something familiar inside of him. It was the same humming, electrical feeling in his chest as when he cooked… the radiance that he knew to be Samantha communicating with him from… somewhere.

And he knew right then, that it was ok. The feeling… or Samantha… was telling August that it was ok to put the SameSoul into Woodrow. And so he did. August slid it into place until it clicked.

The light in Woodrow’s eyes went out for a split second and then came back on as a slightly different color.

“Hey, sweets,” a familiar, long-gone voice said to August. “You got old.”

It was her voice. It was Samantha’s voice. A sound he had not heard in what seemed like forever. August fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands as he wept.

“Hey, now, sweets,” the voice said. “Get up. It’s ok. Don’t worry. I’m here, I’ve got you.”

Smooth, wooden hands reached out and gently pulled August to his feet. They were surprisingly strong but incredibly delicate. He raised his eyes and looked into the lights emanating from the wooden automatons’ sockets, and knew that his wife was inside… looking out at him. That realization brought a happy smile to his face. One so big it almost hurt.

August embraced the wooden vessel, squeezing as hard as he could, and said, “I’ve missed you so much, Sam. I’ve hurt so much… and felt your loss for so long. I never even got to say goodbye…” he admitted, which made his voice grow tight with sadness. “It’s haunted me for 30 years, babe.”

The wooden hands rubbed on his back, exactly the way Samantha had done when she was alive. It felt different, but still warmed August’s heart beyond what he thought possible anymore.

“I’m so sorry, sweets,” she cooed. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I never wanted that. I was scared that maybe I was wrong about God… and Heaven. I wanted our last hours together to be happy ones. I never could have predicted that you’d get hit by a damn car, just like John.”

August pulled back and feigned surprise, tears still falling down his cheeks, and said, “You doubted the Divine? Ooooh, I’m tellin’, girl.”

Samantha laughed. It was her exact same laugh;, a sound August had missed as much as a fish misses water on dry land. And hearing it made everything instantly better.

And then August collapsed onto the road.

There was no pain, only the loss of muscle control. He could still see, he could still talk, but August couldn’t move.

“Ouch,” he moaned.

“Sweets!” Samantha’s voice said from within the wooden automaton. “What in Heaven’s name is happening?”

August looked at his beautiful wife. Her long, black hair fell to her shoulders, and that cute spread of freckles on her cheeks stood out in the Alabama dusk light.

But, that wasn’t right. It was Woodrow looking down at him. He was so confused.

“I think it’s my time, babe,” August said, as quiet as a mouse. “My Countdown ends today.”

Those gentle, wooden hands caressed August’s face and chest, and her voice whispered, “Oh sweets. Why did you wait so long?”

His breathing grew uneven, and August saw the navy blue dress with white dots all over it that clung sexily to her beautiful figure underneath. She hadn’t aged a single day since her death. How was that possible?

But wait… that wasn’t right…

“I wanted to respect your wishes, Sam,” August tried to explain quickly, as he knew time was growing shorter with every beat of his failing heart. “I know you gave me a choice and all, but I wasn’t gonna do anythin’ you didn’t really want.”