From: David Hibbs (midnite@iastate.edu)
 Subject: Story: "Brother Lucas" -- Part 2 
 Newsgroups: alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die
 Date: 1996/07/30 


Brother Lucas
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                                        Part II

        Lucas met Nancy during his junior year of High School.  They were 
both 17, young, and happy, and soon ended up dating.  Her curly brown hair 
and sparking blue eyes always had a smile for him, even when things weren't 
going so well for them.  Within a few short years, they were happily 
married, and known throughout town as Mr. and Mrs. Lucas--all the town kids 
loved them as they did their own parents and never bothered with their real 
last name--they were just Mr. Lucas and Mrs. Lucas.  Of course, who wouldn't 
love the people who ran the local toy store?  Mr. Jones had been nice enough 
to hire Lucas as a part-time employee while in High School (he had no 
children of his own to help him out as he grew steadily older) and had 
eventually retired, giving the store to Lucas to run in exchange for a 
modest share of the profits until such time as he passed away.  Such was the 
way things worked; nothing ever really changed around town except for the 
items inside the stores and the cars on the streets.
        When his son got old enough to learn how to ride a bicycle, he 
promptly got an old, dusty, dirty red bicycle to learn on.  Nothing fancy, 
just a good solid old-fashioned bicycle that could handle the abuse of being 
ridden on and fallen off of.  He rode it for almost 2 years though, to and 
from school and later on to deliver newspapers until he finally saved enough 
to buy a newer, fancier model.  The old red bicycle promptly got passed 
on to Lucas' daughter to ride.
        Such was life in small-town America; much stayed the same no 
matter how much time went by.  And so, when things did change, it was 
often sudden, unexpected, and brutal to those involved.  Such was the 
case for Lucas after his kids moved off to the big city to find jobs of 
their own, for very soon thereafter Nancy had been diagnosed with 
leukemia.  He was forced to sell his treasured store and move with his 
beloved wife to St. Louis so as to be nearer to the doctors and 
hospitals.
        About the same time as their move to the city, Lucas began having 
terrible nightmares.  He'd toss and turn, violently entangling himself in 
the sheets of his bed, soaking them thoroughly with sweat, and then 
suddenly stop, sit bolt upright, and wonder what he was dreaming about.  
Try as he may, he could never quite remember what it was he'd been 
dreaming.  His tossing and turning never disturbed Nancy, though, for 
most of the time she was exhausted from the course of the disease or too 
uncomfortable to sleep anyway.
        Nancy's death came as both a surprise and a relief to Lucas, for 
now her suffering was ended.  His sadness and grief washed over him like 
endless tides upon the beach, drowning him so far that he thought he 
could never recover.  Yet, somehow, he did manage to settle into a quiet 
little life of his own there in suburbia.  He'd watch the ballgames, play 
some pinochle with the other old folks in the area, often spend time 
simply alone and reading in his home, and always, always, find time to 
spend with his children when he could.  Every now and then he'd wander 
through one of the fancy toy stores, looking at the flashy new toys on 
the racks and reminiscing of his old days as a toy store owner himself.
        In fact, he missed it so much that he eventually came to the 
decision to get a new job in one of the gleaming toy stores, helping the 
nerve-wracked parents to find their children something to keep both 
parent and child sated.  He truly treasured each and every child's happy 
face as they wandered through the store, remembering his own such 
wanderings when he was their age.
        Interestingly, at the same time he got his new job, his 
nightmares ceased and he could once again get a full night's rest each 
night, awaking refreshed and invigorated once again.
        At long last, his own children bore him grandchildren, who 
inevitably became the pride and joy of his life.  He spent every bit of 
time with them that he could, eventually leading him to cut back on his 
hours at the toy store so as to spend more time with them.
        Life was happy and cheerful, almost utopian.  Yet, for some 
reason, the thought of his nightmares always managed to ruin it for him.  
He never knew when or if they would return.  Worse, in the event that 
they did he knew not what he feared or from what he ran.  This thought was
what ruined it for him.

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To Be Continued in Brother Lucas Part III
        
"Brother Lucas"
Copyright 1996
David R. Hibbs


-- 
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"In the end there will be only one OS, The Mind.. Ponder that for a while..."
        --unknown
"But if the mind is an OS, then there will be infinite OS's, and a vast
        majority of them will still suck."  --me
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