Until I find You again by Fear359 (m, qs, grim) "Sam, where are you? I need you! Please, help me! Sam, please! Dear God! I'm sinking in quicksand! I need you now! Please, I ... I ..." "Ahh, no! Not again! Please, God! Make it stop!" Sam Wayne, a man who 25 years ago lost his wife while she was tring to get away from a dangerous rapist, fell into a pool of quicksand and sank to her death. Although Sam tried to reach her in time he was too late. The rapist, known as the swampman, was brought to trial, was found guilty and sentenced to death. Now, 25 years later, Sam still has that same dream. "God, please! Make that dream stop! I don't want to remember Joyce that way! Please! I'll do anything. Just make that dreams stop!" For 25 years Sam has lived with the guilt that he couldn't save his wife, and for 25 years he has lived alone, never to love again, never to put his heart out on the line, because he let someone down who needed him. And now that person was gone, and he, and he alone, is to blame. Sam thought that if he put some distance between him and the place where Joyce died it would help, but over the years it has gotten to the point where he has the same dream 4 or 5 times a week. "Oh well! Might as well go to work early today and see if I can at least go ahead. Maybe I can get the project done and these dreams will stop. God, I hate the pressure of having to come up with a new design for a store." As Sam gets in his truck he turns on the radio and hears a new song by Richard Marx, called "Until I find You again." After the the first three verses Sam has to pull off to the side of the road, and for the first time in years he cries like he has never cried before. He remembers the good times with Joyce and the love that they shared. And now that is gone because he couldn't save her; and the song goes off. He dries his eyes and starts for work again. "Joyce, if you can hear me, I am so sorry that I couldn't save you. I tried, I really, really tried! I just couldn't get there in time. Please forgive me!" As Sam goes into the office where he works, his boss looks at him and says, "My God, Sam! You look like hell! Didn't you get any sleep last night?" "Well, good morning to you, Phillip. And no, I didn't get much sleep last night. I had a nightmare that kept playing over and over again." "Sam, you really need to take care of yourself. Why don't you take a few weeks off and go somewhere and have some fun?" "Thanks Phillip, but I have nowhere to go, and I don't know what fun is anymore. I haven't had fun in over 25 years and-" "Sam, I'm your boss but I am also your friend. And as your friend I am telling you to take a few weeks off and do something. I know why you're hurting. You hurt like this everytime of year, and I know you miss her. So go, do what you have to do!" Sam and Phillip have been friends since grade school, and Phillip knows the pain Sam is going through. Phillip has been there for him all these years, and Sam knows that Phillip is right. "Phillip, thanks for being such a good friend." "Sam, don't mention it. Just go, do what you have to do and tell her, I said 'Hi'." Sam goes back to his car, and heads home to pack a suit case and head back to a place that he goes to every year. The place where his wife met her end. "Yes, hello! I need a ticket to Florida. Yes, round trip. How much would that be? 650.00? Yes, I'll take it. And do you have anything leaving in the next two or three hours? Great! Can you book me on the 1:00 pm flight to Miami? My name is Sam, Sam Wayne. Thank you, Miss, and you have a nice day also." Sam starts to pack, but it doesn't take him long, because he isn't going to do be there long. A few pairs of pants, shorts, shoes, and he is on his way to the airport. "Joyce, I am coming, honey. I couldn't save you, but I will always remember." As Sam checks in at the airport, gets his ticket and heads for his plane, his mind wanders back to 1960, just before Joyce meet her untimely death. They had been married for about a year and were getting ready to start a family, when everything that Sam loved was taken away from him in one quick blow. As Sam gets on the plane leaving L.A. bound for Miami, Sam could swear he could feel something beside him. But there was nothing there. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't shake the feeling. "Excuse me, Miss. Do you think that once we get airborne you could turn up the heat? I'm a little cold." "Sir, I see what I can do." "Thank you." As the plane leaves the ground Sam falls into a heavy and very deep sleep. And the dreams he has are good dreams for a change, dreams of himself and Joyce hand in hand, talking about the future and making all kinds of plans together ... when he feels something nug his arm ... "Excuse me, Sir! We have landed in Miami, and you are the last one on the plane." "What? We're here already? But I just went to sleep!" "No, Sir. You have been sleeping ever since we left the ground. We tried to wake you up to eat, but you were in such a deep sleep, no one could wake you. At first we thought you were dead, but a doctor on board said that you were alive but in a deep sleep. So we all just left you alone." "Thank you, Miss. I guess that I haven't been getting too much sleep lately. Lots of nightmares. But I feel great now. Thank you for the great flight, and I wish I could say that I remember it, but I don't. Have a nice day, Miss." "And you do the same. And I hope you find, what you are looking for." "What? What makes you think I am looking for something?" "Because I can see it in your eyes, Sam Wayne." Sam heads to the baggage claim area, grabs his bag and gets his rent-a-car. After checking into the hotel he decides that he will get this over with now and not wait until tomorrow. Upon changing clothes Sam heads out to the Glades National park, the place where Joyce died. Although he is a day early he just wants to get this over. 15 miles though the city haven't changed since the last time he was here, and 45 minutes later he is pulling into Glade National Park. After getting the standard lines from the park rangers about the dangers of the glades, Sam takes off walking on his own, and after about a mile a cool breeze blows around Sam. "Man, where in the hell did that come from? It's got to be at least 90 today, and the breeze is like ice." After another 15 minutes of walking Sam has come to his destination: the quicksand that took his wife. So many times he wanted to just throw himself in there and die, but he knew that suicide was wrong, and that if he killed himself he would never be with Joyce. "Joyce, can you hear me honey? It's me, Sam. I know, I'm a day early but I couldn't wait. Another year without you, and another year I have spent alone. I wish you were here. I miss you so much! It's my fault that you died. I really tired to get here in time but ... it was so dark that I couldn't find my way. And by the time I did get here you had already gone under, and ... and ..." "Excuse me, Sir! Is anything wrong?" "No, Mr. Ranger. I'm fine. ust thinking about someone I lost a long time ago." "Hey, I know who you are! You're that guy how comes here every year. You're name is Sam Wayne right?" "And just how do you know that?" "Charlie Simpson told me all about you, and how you feel that your wife sinking in that quicksand was your fault." "It was. I got here too late. If I only could have been here two minutes earlier I could have saved her." "Mr. Wayne. You really think that you could have saved her? Even if you did get here in time you would have had to deal with the rapist, and I'm sure he wasn't gonna just let you pull your wife out without a say in the matter." That one hit home, and for the first time Sam can see that maybe it wasn't his falut. Maybe, if he did get there in time, he would have had to still deal with that rapist. Who knows, maybe he could have saved her, but now he'll never know. "I don't know, Mr. Wayne. I think that you are putting yourself through hell when you don't need to. I think that as long as you keep the memory of your wife in your heart before she died, you wouldn't feel this sadness in your heart." "Now, is that a fact Mr. Ranger! Joyce was everything to me, the love of my life. And now she's gone. And now I'll never know if I could have saved her or not!" As Sam starts to feel his temper starting to rise, that cold and chilly wind comes down and wraps around him. "Man, there is that cold breeze again. Did you feel that, Mr. Ranger?" As Sam turns around the man, he was talking to, is gone. "Hey! What the heck ... Hey, Mr. Ranger! Where did you go? Hey! Do you hear me or what? Oh, well! I guess he had other places to be. Joyce I keep hearing this song on the radio, and I want you to hear it. And one day I will find you and be with you again." As Sam turns on his little tape recorder the song "Until I find you again" comes on, and during the whole song Sam is just standing there crying, because he can feel every word, every note in the song. And when it is done he turns off the tape recorder, pulls out a dozen red roses, and very carefully throws them all into the quicksand. As they are slowly sinking into the quicksand Sam says his goodbyes and tells her that he will be back next year. Sam makes his way back to the ranger station, gets in his car and heads back the the hotel. "Well, no use staying until Friday. I might as well go home early and get some work done around the house." Sam calls the airport, and changes his ticket for the last flight home tonight and takes a nap. When alarm goes off, it's 6:00 am in the morning. "What? 6:00 am? I slept the entire night! God, I missed my flight! Oh, what a great day this is gonna be!" Sam jumps up and takes a shower and gets ready to head for the airport and hopes that he can get a flight home. As he grabs his bag and opens the door, a cool breeze hits him in the face and chills him to the bone. "God, what is it with this breeze, and why am I the only one that can feel it? Ah, no matter. Better get to the airport and try and get home. I just hope that they aren't all booked up." Sam gets to the airport, and finds out that they do have a few seats left on the 8:00 am flight to L.A. And so Sam gets a seat and boards the plane for the long flight home. 7 hours later Sam is overlooking the skyline of L.A. and in a way is glad to be home. But in a way a part of him is still in Glade National Park. After leaving the airport and heading home he pulls out his cell phone and calls Phillip. "Hello Phillip? Yeah, it's me. I just wanted to let you know that I am back in town and I'll be at home doing some work if you need me." "Sam! You weren't even gone two days." "Yeah, I know. But I did what I had to do as soon as I got there, and I decided to come home. Is that alright with you? Phillip, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to snap at you like that." "Sam, that's alright. Hey, how about you coming over for dinner tommorow night? Jean would love to see you again, and I promise that I will tell her not to try and fix you up on a blind date." "Well, alright. Sounds good. I know Jean means well Phillip, but I don't want to ... to ..." "Sam, say no more. I know what you are going to say. How about 6:30 tomorrow night?" "Sounds good to me, Phillip. I'll see you then. Goodbye!" The rest of Sam's day goes by very fast, and after he goes through his mail, eats dinner and take a shower, it's almost 9:30 pm. "Man, where did the day go? Man, it's 9:30 already! Well, might as well go to bed." Sam heads to bed and goes to sleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. The dreams he has are the ones he had on the plane to Miami, sweet dreams of him and Joyce, and the life that they were planning. And then, out of nowhere, Sam can hear Joyce calling for him, screaming for him, and Sam knows that he can't be late this time. This time he has to save her, his life and hers depend on it. "Sam, please help me! I'm trapped in quicksand! Sam, please! I need you now! Sam, where are you? I need you, Sam!" As Sam comes around the corner he can see Joyce up to her neck in the quicksand and that rapist standing there, enjoying every minute of it. As Sam starts running for Joyce the rapist turns around and shoots Sam. As he falls to the ground he is still trying to reach Joyce, but he just can't reach her. Sam screams as Joyce's head goes under the quicksand. Sam, bleeding and badly hurt, passes out. The alarm clock goes off. Phillip gets a call from his wife around 1030, and she tells him to call Sam and tell him to bring a bottle of wine tonight for dinner. Phillip calls but there is no answer at Sam's house, and Sam never leaves his answering machine off. Sensing something is wrong, Phillip takes off for Sam's house, and with the key that Sam gave him, he lets himself in and starts calling for Sam. "Sam? Sam, are you here? Where are you old buddy?" And Phillip makes his way up the stairs to Sams bedroom. As he gets to the door he can see Sam just lying there, with a blue color to his face. Phillip runs over to his friend and feels him. "No, Sam! No, God, no!" Phillip calls 911, but it's too late. Sam has died in his sleep, a heart attack, and Phillip knows that Sam can now rest in peace. The will Sam had left was very clear. His body was to be cremated, and his ashes were to be spread over the very quicksand that Joyce had lost her life to, and Phillip was one to do this. So with the map that Sam had left Phillip took the long and lonely flight to Miami, to Glade National Park, and with the help of the map Phillip found the spot. And as he threw Sam's ashes over the quicksand, a cool breeze fell over him. And when he looked up he saw Sam and Joyce standing there together hand in hand. Not knowning what to do Phillip just stood there, and then Joyce spoke. "Phillip! Thank you for watching over my husband all these years. You were and are a great friend. I will never forget you." "Phillip, my friend! I want to say thank you for being there when I needed you, and for understanding. I go now with my wife, but before I go I leave you this." And with the wave of his hand Phillip could swear that he hears a song in the distance, and it's "Until I find You again". As the tears fall from his eyes Phillip looks up and sees his two best friends he grew up with walk away hand in hand. "Joyce, Sam, go in peace. You both deserve it." And with those words spoken Phillip turns and heads back to the ranger station.