A Second Chance

“Otto?”

A voice rings out from the silence.

“Otto?!”

The voice calls again with more concern. As if trying to stir the dead.

“Otto please wake up!”

The unknown voice calling a final time in an excited chorus of fear and dread. Ringing again like a snoozed alarm that echoes into nothing.

A paralyzing silence.

Interrupted only by the soft thump of a heartbeat. The smooth rhythmic beat almost lulling the silence away. Getting louder with every pulse filling the vast silence. The slow percussive thump growing louder and louder. Until another voice cuts through the drumbeat with its smooth relaxing tone.

“Sir.”

Calls out with the gentle tone akin to that of a British gentleman. The gentleman calls again.

“Sir”

As if the sun were just suddenly flipped on. The calls of the mysterious voice were accompanied by a blast of midday sunlight. Otto begins to stir. The light rustling of disturbed leaves joins a euphony of summer noise.

“Ungh. Who’s there? Who’s been calling me?”

Otto calls out as he wakes from a stupor. He pulls himself from the tree he has been leaning against and takes in his surroundings. He looks around to find the owner of the gentle voice, but there was no one around. Only a vast forest of birch trees that he has been deposited into. The forest floor covered with the droppings of the end of a season.

After taking in a few moments of the autumn views Otto decides he should find the stranger so that he might find where he is. He begins to walk for a moment through fallen leaves trying to avoid a few fallen trees in front of him. He continues for a short while longer until he comes across a small, stoned path. As he looks around it appears to be the only real path around him. He looks down both directions of the path and notices a figure in the distance. He steps onto the path and heads towards the figure. As he gets closer, he can begin to distinguish a few features. The figure turns out to be a man on a bench. As he approaches, he can make out more of this individual. As Otto walks up to the bench the gentleman notices him.

“Oh! I see that you have finally stirred. I was beginning to worry.” The man says as gets up to meet Otto.

“I saw you a little earlier and I tried to wake you, but it was a bit difficult. You seemed to be a bit out of it. Please, take a seat!” He says as he stands and presents the other side of the bench to his new acquaintance.

“Sure.” Otto says as he goes around to take the seat. As he goes around, he takes note of a few of the gentleman’s features. His voice apparently being the one from earlier. But what stood out was his physical appearance. Otto is taken aback as he looks inti the face of what could his father. Standing at eye level with his hazel eyes, and his short curly black hair with little bits of gray peppered in. Otto takes the seat and looks t his new friend for a moment in awe at the resemblance and asks.

“Have you been out here for long? Ugh…”

“Gabe. You can call me Gabe.” He answers trying to catch the hesitant probe and continues.

“I hadn’t been out here for that long. I tend to just sit here and enjoy the quiet, but it is nice when I do get company every once and awhile. Oh…Y-your head.” He stops as he takes notice of something on his friend’s head. Otto reaches up and touches his head. He pulls his hand back and sees that there’s a little bit of blood on his hand.

“Oh my! It’s alright I’m sure I have something in here.” Gabe reaches down to retrieve a small case at their feet. He opens it and first pulls out a black hand bound leather notebook and then reaches back in and retrieves a napkin.

“Here you are mate. I wonder where that has come from all of a sudden. Didn’t notice it before.” Otto takes the napkin and presses down on the small wound for a while.

“It’s alright. I think I’m fine, doesn’t really seem to hurt. So….um where are we? I’m not really sure how I got here, but I guess knowing where might help me out with the how part. My name is Otto by the way.” Gabe extents his hand out for a handshake.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Otto. To be honest with you I’m not exactly sure where here is either. I tend to just wonder and often end up on really finding myself. I know that doesn’t really help much.” Gabe chuckles.

“Yeah, well that’s okay. I guess Its good to lose yourself in a place like this. I like your notebook by the way. I enjoy rustic handcrafted items like that. What do you write? If you don’t mind me asking.” Gabe picks up the notebook and flips it open.

“Oh this? Well, I’m something of a people watcher, and this is where I catalog some of my experiences. Good or bad.” Gabe begins to read off a few of these experiences to Otto. They sat for a while and laughed at the antics of the unwitting participants of Gabe’s observations. Gabe gets to the end of another stories and sends Otto into a frenzy of hysterical laughter. So much so that Otto bends over in an attempt to compose himself. As he comes up from his episode, he notices a post on the other side of the path just across from them. His eyes follow it up to the peak to find two signs pointed in opposite directions down the path.

The first of the signs pointing to the right of the bench and read: “To go forward” The second of the two pointed to the left of the men and read: “To go backward” Otto tilts his head in confusion and calls out.

“Gabe. Do you see that? I don’t remember this being there before. I wonder what those signs refer to.” Gabe turn away from Otto and looks at the signs. Gabe seems to become more intrigued with the post.

“Well, I’m not sure there’s a reason it’s sudden existence isn’t it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that. What are you thinking of?” Gabe breaks his sight with the signpost to see Otto still locked in with an incredibly determined gaze on the signpost.

“I’m not sure, but I feel like it’s here for a reason and that it’s driving me to make a move. What do you think Gabe?” Otto Shudders over his words as he faces Gabe looking for some confirmation. Gabe slowly draws a smile to his face and says.

“I think that you should follow your heart Otto. It’s who you are, and its wont steer you wrong.” Otto looks back at the sign and gets up from the bench.

“You’re right. Would you like to join me on a short walk Gabe?” He says as he presents a hand to the gentleman. Gabe thinks for a moment. He looks up at Otto and smiles again.

“You know. I guess it might be about that time for me to get to moving again anyway. Let’s go!” Gabe takes Otto’s hand and is helped to his feet. He puts on his coat and hat then closes his bag collecting it and the small notebook. He turns to Otto and says.

“So, Otto. Which way are we going? I get the feeling you already know.” Otto nods and looks at the signpost once more.

“I’m still not sure what the signs mean, but I’m just getting this urge to go backwards.” Otto looks at Gabe and then Gabe waves his arm towards the path.

“Please. Lead the way Otto.” The two take off going backwards. They walk for a short while and Otto asks Gabe.

“So, Gabe. Am I going to be in your notebook?” Gabe looked at Otto with a smile and said.

“It would be lacking without you. I will tell you this though. After this. Don’t stop moving forward.”

“What do you me-“ Otto turns to look for Gabe and he was gone.

“Gabe?” Otto calls out for his friend.

“Gabe?!” He calls out again franticly looking for his friend, but he is nowhere to be found. Otto takes a moment and thinks. And with much confidence turns back down the path and continues walking. In someway he feels like he would want him to continue. And walk on he does. Down the path until eventually it just…Ends.

Otto begins coming to again and awakes to a completely different scene. The summer sunshine was replaced with pale halogen lights. The calm sweet forest sounds. Replaced with the sharp ping of an EKG machine. And the picturesque forest scene was replaced by a cold gray hospital room. Otto wakes not leaned against a tree, but in a hospital bed with his right arm and leg both in casts. He looks down to see a woman asleep in a chair leaning on the bed holding Otto’s hand. He tries to pull it free, and as he does the woman wakes from her sleep.

“Otto? Otto! Oh my God! Doctor! He’s awake!” She almost screams as if she hadn’t seen you for years. The doctor rushes in.

“Otto. Hey there. I’m Dr. Stokely. Look here for me.” The doctor takes his penlight and begins checking over Otto’s condition. After a few checks the doctor finally asks Otto what he remembers before he got here. Otto tries to think back and find the memory, but it’s just not there.

“No. I can’t remember. I presume it was pretty bad.”

“Yes. You were in a pretty bad car accident, and you’ve been in a coma for about a week. Shae here has been with you since you’ve come in. You seem to be doing okay for the moment. I’ll give you a few minutes. We’re going to run a few more tests, and hopefully you should be out of here and home in a few days.” Dr. Stokely leaves and Shae leans over and kisses Otto.

“Do you hear that? We get to go home soon. You had me so worried. They thought you might not wake up. I hope you felt me here by your side.” Otto takes his good hand and combs through her hair and pulls her closer to him.

“Absolutely babe. I felt you right next to me. You pulled me back. I’m so happy you stayed here with me.” Otto continues to hold Shae close.

Enjoying these moments of embrace that he’s been with out for a week. Over the next few days Shae is in and out of the hospital as the doctors finish up their tests and ready Otto for his discharge. On the day Otto is set to leave Shae is there helping with papers and packing. She gets his bag, and a nurse helps him into a wheelchair, and they roll out to the car. Otto is pretty much in the car as Dr. Stokely comes up.

“Hey. I’m glad I caught you. You forgot this in the room.” He reaches out to hand them this small black handbound leather notebook. Otto’s eyes widen and he stares intently at the notebook.

“I didn’t notice that before we left. It must belong to someone else.” Shae says having not seen this notebook before. Then Otto still fixated on the notebook slowly reaches out of the car and past Shae and retrieves it from the doctor.

“Yes. I actually do remember this. It must’ve slipped my mind when we were packing.” Shae shrugs and dismisses it as Otto sits in the car with the book clenched against his chest.

“Do you want me to put it in the bag?” Shae asks Otto who, still entranced by the book simply shakes his head.

“Okay well thank you for all your help doctor.” Shae closes the door and the doctor waves the two off.

Over the next few days Otto starts to get used to being to begin back home in his state. He and Shae speak more in the accident and they even take a day to go and see the car, but nothing seems to be helping Otto remember the events.

“Maybe it’s for the best. Someway for you to suppress the trauma.” Shae says as they sit at the table. Otto nods and looks out a nearby window with the notebook under his left arm, and an envelope with a few bills from the hospital sitting in the center of the table.

“Its going to be okay babe. I’m going to get some food and I’ll be back in a little bit.” Shae gets up from the table and goes for food. The bills from the hospital finally came and were weighing heavy on their minds, but not as heavy as the notebook was on Otto’s mind. Otto had told Shae about the book and what he remembered about the interaction with it but hadn’t opened it since leaving the hospital. He pulls the leather tie releasing the cover and opens it to the first page where there is only a single entry.

“Young man. Late Twenties. Compassionate person who is an excellent listener. A little clumsy at times. Full of knowledge and perseverance. Going to make an excellent family man one day. Would like to meet again. Definitely deserves a second chance.

--Gabriel A.—

Otto holds his mouth in astonishment as he tries to wrap his head around this coincidence if that’s what one might call it. He takes his right arm and slides the notebook over and accidentally drops it off the table. He quickly leans over to pick it up and notices another piece of paper sticking out. He picks the book up and pulls the paper out and unfolds it. Otto leans back in the chair and begins to weep tears of joy as he stares at a check for $20,000. Signed by Gabriel A. With a note in the memo line that simply says:

Otto’s Second Chance.

End