The Miracle Clinic

Several years back in the mid-late 90s, two high schoolers were laying atop the roof of Starlight High in the middle of the night. One of them is a teen with black skin, brown eyes, and is wearing a blue ‘97 Starlight High varsity jacket along with a striped shirt underneath it and khakis. The other is a girl with short frizzy black hair, black skin, and green eyes. She’s wearing a green ‘97 Seastar High varsity jacket over a black shirt, a red skirt, and black tennis shoes.

“So, why did you want me to come here?” The teenage girl asks.

“Well, I wanted to show you how beautiful the stars were, Sally,” The teenage boy replies before looking at the cloudy sky and adding, “But as usual, the weather is not on my side.”

“Then maybe we should head back down and come back another time, Reagan,” the young Sally replies.

“Maybe,” the young Reagan says before grabbing his nearby backpack and beginning to say, “Or maybe Miss Jones…”

The teenage Sally looks confused as the teenage Reagan pulls out a black Polaroid camera and says, “We could take a picture.”

“You’re serious?”

“Completely,” Reagan replies as he leans next to Sally as he takes a picture of the two of them together.

As the photo begins to be printed out of the Polaroid camera, Sally begins to ask, “Why would you need that? We didn’t even get to see any of the stars you wanted to see.”

“As if,” Reagan says as he points towards Sally, “How could I be upset when you're much more gorgeous than any star in the sky?”

Sally begins to blush as Reagan continues, “You are incredible Sally don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And I hope my photographs can let you see how I see you.”

The teenage Sally smiles as she grabs Reagan’s hand tightly as she responds, “Thanks Reagan, for just being here for me.”

“No problem,” The teenage Reagan replies as the two continue to look out into the cloudy dark sky.

___________________________________________

Now in the present, the now adult Sally Everst is standing in her house looking at her son, Ronnie Everst as he asks, “Mom, can we talk about Dad?”

“Sure, what do you want to know?” Sally replies nonchalantly.

However, her demeanor changes as she notices Ronnie’s eyes begin to spill tears as he answers, “I want to know who he was. Who he really was.”

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Misses Sally Everst asks.

“I barely know a thing about him! How good of a person was he really? Were you just saying all of that stuff about him to make me feel better?” Ronnie asks, “For all I know, he could’ve just run out on us-”

“Don’t you dare say that about your father,” Sally yells.

“I-I’m sorry Mom,” Ronnie says, “I’m just confused… it’s just you and Uncle Ryan got to know him so well, while I barely even remember him. I don’t really know Dad like you two.”

Sally walks over and hugs her son as she says, “There there honey, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

The two stand there for a moment until Sally pulls away from the hug and begins to walk towards her bedroom.

“Sit over there, I need to get something,” Sally instructs.

“Okay…”

Sally enters her bedroom and as she does so, Ronnie sits at the table and looks at all the photographs up on the wall. Most of them are either from before he was born or after his father passed. There are only three pictures on the wall where the two of them are together, but he was so young at the time that he doesn’t remember them. One thing he does notice is that in each of the pictures with him in them, Reagan Everst is smiling.

Sally Everst finally returns carrying a small toy wooden treasure chest with a note on it that reads ‘open 01/23/2014’.

“What’s this?” Ronnie asks.

“When you were a toddler, your father got you this hoping you would use it to store all your toys in,” Sally explains, “But you were so scared of it and kept crying that he had to hide it from you. So instead he turned it into a time capsule.”

“A time capsule?” Ronnie asks.

“He gathered a ton of stuff from back then he wanted to share with you only when you were old enough,” Sally remarks.

“Why now? What’s in it?”

“I don't… I don’t know Ronnie, all he told me about it was that you’d only understand once you were 16,” Sally says, “I know that wasn’t exactly the answer you wanted to hear but that’s the one I have. Whatever is in this box, I’m sure will help you learn more about your father.”

“It’s okay Mom,” Ronnie says as he hugs her, “I’m just glad you told me, I can wait two days.

His mom, Mrs. Sally Everst, hugs Ronnie back before letting go and saying, “Now finish your dinner before it gets too cold.”

“I will I will,” Ronnie remarks as he goes to sit back down at the table and finish eating.

___________________________________________

Eventually, day turns to night and Ronnie is sitting in his bedroom all by himself. As he lays in his bed, the moonlight washing his room in shades of blue, he can’t fall asleep as despite telling his mom he can wait two days until his birthday, he still wants to know more about his dad. As he lays there thinking about it he stretches his arm only to bump it on the nightstand next to it, causing something to fall from it.

Curious, Ronnie glances down to see that it’s one of the VHS tapes he got from storage about ‘self-defense’. Ronnie grabs it, and figuring what else is gonna put him to sleep, puts the tape into the VHS player in his room and turns on the box TV to watch it.

The TV begins to play the tape as on screen is a young adult with long black hair, white skin, gray eyes, and a big black coat over his jean jacket which is over a pink t-shirt as well as some jeans to complete the look.

“Is this thing rolling?” The man on the TV asks.

“Yep,” The person holding the camera replies.

“Okay good, hello there my name’s James, James Lewis, and I’m going to teach you one neat trick you can use for self-defense,” James Lewis, the man on TV says.

He then begins to punch the air as he explains, “If you ever get in a situation where a dude’s just wailing on ya’ there’s one pretty simple way to turn the tide on them.”

James Lewis stops punching and takes a step back, “If you allow them to rush towards you then you can use that momentum against them. You do this by bringing them closer to you and then down to the ground. Did you get all of that?”

“Uh yeah,” The person holding the camera replies.

“Okay, now should we get a demonstration?” James Lewis asks as he glances toward the cameraman.

“You better not be-”

“C’mon Reagan please, it’s for the tapes!”

“James,” Reagan, the man behind the camera, responds, “If you move closer to me I am ending this recording.”

James goes silent.

Reagan goes silent.

And then James Lewis makes a sudden dash toward Reagan, causing the tape to end.

Ronnie looks at the TV and turns it off as he looks at the tapes he managed to get from storage.

“Dad was the one who recorded these?” Ronnie thinks out loud to himself.

Curious to get to know a bit more about him, Ronnie puts in another tape and continues to watch well into the night.

___________________________________________

Sun shines into Ronnie’s bedroom as Ronnie begins to wake up. As he rubs the sleep out of his eyes he takes a look at the clock to see that it’s already 1 PM.

“....crap,” Ronnie says before he gets up and tries to quickly get ready for the day.

After changing and putting on the varsity jacket, he heads into the bathroom where he quickly brushes his teeth, pushes his hair up, and grabs his backpack. He then runs down the stairs and to the kitchen where he puts two pieces of bread into the toaster.

“Mom’s gonna kill me if she sees me,” Ronnie murmurs as he grabs the toast and is about to leave for school.

However as he reaches the front door, he hears his mom in the living room say. “Glad to see you up.”

Ronnie slowly walks over to the living room and begins to say, “Hey Mom, I was just going to-”

“It’s a snow day today,” Sally replies.

“Oh thank god,” Ronnie sighs in relief as he sits on the couch.

As he sits there he notices he has a missed call from Marcus’ landline phone and a text from Alex relaying a message from Marcus – since he doesn’t have a cell phone – asking if he’d like to hang out with everyone today. Ronnie responds with ‘Sorry not in the mood today, perhaps some other time?’. As he sits on the couch pondering things he hears a knock from the front door.

“I got it,” Mrs. Everst replies as she gets up to open the door.

As the front door opens Ronnie sees none other than his Uncle Ryan Everst, president of the MSA, enter the house.

“Ryan! I thought I told you not to come visit today, you know how dangerous the black ice is!” Sally scolds her brother-in-law.

“Hey! Hey! I just happened to be in the neighborhood,” Uncle Ryan lies, “Besides the roads just got plowed so I figured it would be somewhat safe.”

“If you say so,” Sally says as she begins to walk into the kitchen, “Can I get you anything?”

“Maybe just some coffee if you have any,” Uncle Ryan remarks before walking toward his nephew, “What’s good Ron’?”

Uncle Ryan goes for a dap which Ronnie reciprocates.

“H-hey Unc,” Ronnie replies, still unsure on how to see his Uncle after all he’s learned.

“You good Ronnie? Heard you weren’t feeling well today and slept in,” Uncle Ryan asks concerned.

“I-I’m fine.”

“But hey listen,” Uncle Ryan explains as he reaches into his pocket, “I know your birthday is tomorrow n’ all, but I figured I’d give you your gift now.”

Uncle Ryan slips Ronnie a check which Ronnie pockets, “Thanks Uncle Ryan, but how come you aren’t giving it to me tomorrow?”

“Ugh a bunch of the shareholders are still upset over the winter gala being canceled,” Uncle Ryan groans, “So now we’re having a bunch of meetings with them tomorrow so those greedy hags can calm down.”

“I don’t think you can call them that Uncle Ryan,” Ronnie laughs.

“Eh? A hag’s a hag Ronnie,” Uncle Ryan advises, “If there’s one thing life has taught me Ronnie it’s that the lead paint really messed up that generation.”

After his laughter stops, Ronnie decides to bite the bullet and ask, “Hey Uncle, what was my dad like at my age?”

Uncle Ryan chuckles, “Reagan? Man, back in the day we were inseparable. He had a tendency to end up making a friend wherever he went. Like all brothers he was a pain at times, but when it really mattered? He always made sure to get shit done, even if it was impossible he made it possible. He was the younger of us two yet he’s the one I got my strength from.”

“I see, thanks Uncle Ryan,” Ronnie replies.

“Don’t mention it kiddo, I could sit here all day telling random stories about us back then but work calls,” Uncle Ryan says as he stands up, “But hey, if you ever want to hear more about your dad & I, I’d be happy to share more stories. Just maybe when your mother isn’t around.”

“And why is that?” Sally inquires as she enters the room with a cup of coffee.

“Oh nothing,” Uncle Ryan lies as he takes the cup of coffee, “Thanks for the cup Sal’, and hope you like the gift kiddo.”

“Leaving so soon?” Sally asks.

“What can I say, I’m a busy man,” Uncle Ryan remarks as he reaches the front door.

“Okay just stay safe on those roads,” Sally states.

“Yeah, I will,” Uncle Ryan remarks somberly before he opens the door and exits.

With Uncle Ryan now gone, Ronnie sits in the living room waiting for tomorrow, the day when all of his questions would be answered.

___________________________________________

Finally, the day comes, Ronnie’s 16th birthday. Ronnie sits down at the table next to his mom as he looks at the treasure box.

“So, I guess it’s time to see what’s inside huh,” Ronnie says nervously.

“Go ahead,” Mrs. Everst murmurs.

Ronnie goes to grab the treasure box and with some hesitation, he opens it to see that the first thing in there is a VHS tape titled ‘To My Son’. Curious, Ronnie takes the VHS into the living room, puts it into the VHS player, and turns on the TV.

The tape begins to play as on screen is Reagan Everst. He’s wearing a white t-shirt with several paint stains, ripped blue jeans, and has a full beard. He’s sitting down in a newly painted bedroom in a chair as he looks at the camera.

“Okay hopefully the tripod doesn’t break again,” Reagan remarks as he clears his throat, “Hey son, it’s me, your old man. Now I know you’re probably wondering why I’m not just telling you this right now on your 16th birthday but instead doing it through this video. Truth be told, I would probably have forgotten why I made this time capsule by then.”

Reagan chuckles to himself as he continues, “When I look at you, I see this- this fire in you. This passion and curiosity for the world that burns so brightly- its incredible! Hopefully you’re still that way now, all those years later. Man what are you even gonna look like then? Are you gonna be taller than your mom? Taller than me?!”

Reagan clears his throat as he remarks, “Right, back to the reason why I did all this. When I was 16, a lot happened to me. And I’m sure so much is going to happen to you! You’re going to meet so many wonderful people, people that will be your friends for life. You’re going to find someone who will make you feel a way you have never felt before, someone who’ll make you smile in a way no other person can, someone you could see spending the rest of your life with. There’s so many new and exciting things that are going to happen to you son, and while not all of them are going to be good, a lot of them are. No matter what, I hope you know that you’re going to be someone special. You’re going to be you.”

On the tape, Reagan looks over the door as he hears Sally yell, “Reagan! Did you finish painting the bedroom!”

“Just a second honey!” Reagan yells back as he turns to the camera and says, “Well Ronnie, guess that’s all I can say for now. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you see this. Hopefully you don’t find this to be stupid or anything. Okay gotta go. Bye, love ya~”

The tape ends and the TV turns off. Ronnie is sitting on the couch next to his mom, both are silent before Sally begins to speak.

“Your father always had such a way with words. More than I ever have. He could take two mortal enemies and after a conversation make them the best of friends. If he was here right now, I’m sure he’d have some great words of wisdom to give you,” Sally begins to say, “But he’s not. He’s gone. And I’m still here. To be honest Ronnie, I’m not much without your dad. If he could see me now I- I wonder what he’d think. I wonder if he thought I did a good job raising you.”

Ronnie looks at his mom and realizes something. These past few days he’s been so worked up about his dad that he forgot about someone just as important. Someone who’s always been there for him. Someone who helped him become who he is today.

His mom.

Ronnie hugs his mom as he says, “Well, I thought you did an amazing job.”

Hearing those words, tears begin to seep out from Sally’s eyes as she hugs Ronnie back.

As the day goes on, the two continue looking into the treasure box seeing all the stuff that Reagan put in there for them. Ronnie pulls out a Tamagotchi causing Sally to laugh. Ronnie tries to use it but the batteries have long since died out.

The next thing in there is an old green Seastar High varsity jacket, Sally looks at it shocked while Ronnie nudges her to try it on. However, on closer inspection, the two realize that it's too tiny to fit both of them, probably due to some mishap that occurred during a laundry day long ago.

As Sally tells Ronnie about all the stories behind each and every moment, they finally get to the final two things in the box. One is a copy of a movie that Sally was a fan of back in the day and the other is a photo. As Ronnie goes to the tv to put the movie on, Sally looks down and smiles at the photograph.

The photograph is a picture of when a teenage Reagan & Sally were sitting on top of a roof together, on a dark cloudy night, yet despite that, the two were smiling and happy together.

And despite that moment now forever being in the past and with Reagan no longer by her side, she’s still able to look at that moment fondly.

As the movie begins to play, Sally gets an idea as she grabs her phone.

She leans over to Ronnie to give him a hug in one arm while the other holds her phone in place. The phone’s camera finally begins to have the two of them sitting together come into frame. And just as that happens…

Click!

See You Next Chapter!~