tearjerker director

Chapter 1523. That’s how he walked.

After hearing Jenny's version of his father's story, Will was heartbroken!

He drove home, but no one was at home, including his father, who was supposed to be lying there.

The sheets fell to the floor, messy and tangled, obviously they had left in a hurry.

Will grabbed the keys on the table and rushed out. The right "message" light flashes on the transponder.

Will came outside the hospital and heard his wife Josephine calling him!

Will turned around and saw his wife at the public phone booth. She hung up the phone.

Will asked, "What happened?"

Josephine told him: "Your father has had a sudden stroke. He is upstairs, and your mother and Dr. Bennett are also there."

Will asked anxiously and hopefully, "Will he get better?"

Sandra held one of Edward's hands tightly. Dr. Bennett had just given him his third comprehensive examination.

Josephine stroked her swollen belly and her face was filled with inexplicable happiness: "I like it."

The two women walked forward, not in a hurry.

Dr. Bennett did not answer but asked: "Then how would you describe your son?"

Will suddenly asked: "How long have you known my father?"

Josephine interrupted: "No, it won't. I'm sorry."

Will was curious: "How would you describe him as a person?"

Josephine said: "I'm sorry. It seems like every hour I have to"

Will continued: "I mean, will he ever be the same as he was before?"

Sandra murmured, almost in a whisper, "I really miss that feeling."

Dr. Bennett checks Edward's blood pressure chart.

Sandra said: "Someone needs to be here just in case he wakes up."

Dr. Bennett shook his head and said, "It's not that, it's the real story. Has he told it to you?"

They stood together in the corridor, just standing there.

Will sat on the edge of the bed, working on the crossword puzzle. Dr. Bennett knocked on the door and came in with his coat and bag, and Will prepared to spend the night here.

Sandra said to Dr. Bennett, "Is that okay?"

She smoothed his hair, held his hand, kissed his fingers, and stroked his chin with his hand—the way Edward always stroked hers.

Edward fell asleep quietly, with an oxygen tube in his nose. There were no beeping monitors or flashing lights around, everything was so quiet.

Afterwards, Sandra waited at the bathroom door. She was nervous but trying to stay calm. Knowing that things are inevitable, but unwilling to give in.

"My dad and I have an understanding, we never talk," Will said.

Sandra felt a sudden surge in her heart and tried her best to control herself.

Will nodded: "Told it a thousand times. He said he caught a fish he couldn't catch."

Will didn't know how to answer, so Dr. Bennett hung the blood pressure monitor on the bedside.

Dr. Bennett nodded: "Okay."

Will felt dizzy.

Sandra glanced at Edward: "Okay, thank you."

Night, in the ward.

Will suddenly became interested: "No."

Sandra smiled: "I love it too. It sounds weird, but I really love every second of being pregnant. Edward travels a lot, and when he leaves, I can feel that he is still with me. His soul is Part of it is inside me, I can feel it. It's alive and it kicks you."

Sandra said to Will: "Call if you have anything to do."

At the same time, in the ward.

Dr. Bennett and Josephine left, and Will came to the door. Sandra was alone in the room with her husband.

Sandra said, "I understand. It was like this when I was pregnant with Will, like clockwork."

Sandra asked her, "Do you like being pregnant?"

Will said, "I will. Mom, do you still want to stay with Dad for a while?"

Dr. Bennett: "I'm glad to see that you didn't talk to the patient about your innermost feelings. This is the most annoying thing for us as doctors. The family members keep talking next to them, and the patient can't hear it."

Josephine came out of the bathroom.

Dr. Bennett asked, "Did your father ever tell you about the circumstances of your birth?"

Dr. Bennett said with some nostalgia: "Thirty years, maybe even longer."

Josephine didn't know how to answer!

Will smiled bitterly, knowing that his question was idiotic and that his father would certainly not get better.

Will said, "I'll stay. You and Josephine go home and I'll stay here tonight."

Dr. Bennett thought for a while and said: "Your mother came to the hospital at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. A neighbor drove her here because your father was doing business in Wichita at the time. You were born a week early, but the birth went smoothly. It's a pity that your father didn't see you being born. But according to the convention at that time, men were not allowed to stay in the delivery room. So I think it makes no difference whether he is there or not. This is the real situation when you were born."

There was a long silence, and the only sound was the hospital radio calling for a certain doctor.

Dr. Bennett added: "It's not that exciting, is it? If I had to choose between the real situation and the fictional story, I would rather choose the well-conceived story, the story with the fish and the wedding ring. However, It's just my choice."

Will smiled unnaturally, Dr. Bennett patted his shoulder and left. Will stayed with his father. After a long time, Will took a pen and wrote a list.

Will turned to a new page and the list grew longer. He smiled as if he remembered something. When he reached the fourth page, he looked up at his father, who was still motionless.

The first blue light of the morning shines through the blinds. Will was sitting in a chair, having just woken up, with his notebook still on his lap and a pen still clutched in his hand. He moved his neck.

Will yelled, "Dad?"

His father was already awake, gasping for air. His eyes opened, frightened and confused.

Will asked: "Dad! Do you need to call a nurse?"

Edward shook his head. Will had his hand on the orange button but didn't press it.

Will added, "What can I do? Can I help? Get you something? Do you want water?"

Edward nodded. Will poured a glass of water and brought it to his father's mouth, but Edward didn't drink it and pushed the glass away. Apparently he wanted something else.

Edward whispered: "The river."

Will was puzzled: "That river?"

It took all of Edward's strength to piece each thought together, as if he was desperately trying to hold on to the world.

Edward said inexplicably: "Tell me how it happened."

Will was even more confused. He couldn't understand his father's words at all: "What happened?"

Edward said again: "How did I leave?"

Will finally understood: "You mean what you saw in the glass eyeball?"

Edward nodded. Yes, that's what he wanted to say.

after awhile. Will continued, "I don't know that story, Dad. You never told me."

Will held his father's hand, not knowing what else to do.

Edward looked around, confused and increasingly horrified. He knew the end was coming, but he didn't know what it would be like. Without a story, he was lost. Will tried not to panic!

"I can try, Dad, you have to help start it."

Edward: "Just like this."

Will said quickly: "Okay, okay." Will looked around the room, increasingly desperate. He looked at the orange button to call the nurse and really wanted to press it.

Edward waited for Will to start.

Will paused and began to speak: "In the morning, you and I were in the hospital. I fell asleep lying on the chair, and I saw you when I woke up."

What follows is Will's version of the story as told to Edward.

Will woke up: "Dad?"

The first golden rays of dawn shine through the blinds.

Will continued to shout, louder and more concerned: "Dad?"

Edward, who was already seriously ill, became extremely agile at this moment, sitting on the bed and combing his hair.

"Let's get out of here," Edward said.

Will quickly said: "Dad, you can't go yet."

But Edward lifted the quilt at once.

Edward added: "There is a foldable wheelchair in the bathroom. Give me a blanket. There is an open space after going down this floor."

Will went to the bathroom, and sure enough there was a wheelchair there.

Edward urged: "Hurry up! We don't have much time."

In the hospital, Edward was wrapped in a blanket, like a ghost, giving directions to his son.

"Hurry up!"

They passed a stocky nurse who turned to look at them.

Rounding the corner, they almost bumped into Dr. Bennett.

Dr. Bennett shouted, "Will! What are you doing?"

Before Will could answer, he saw Edward turning his wheelchair on his own and he hurried after him.

The stocky nurse leaned out of Edward's room.

The nurse shouted: "Security! Stop them!"

At the elevator at the end of the corridor, Sandra and Josephine came out of the elevator and saw Will and Edward running straight towards them.

Edward yelled, "No time to explain! Follow us!"

Seeing the security guards chasing them, Sandra had an idea and pushed a cart next to them towards them, knocking down the security guards.

Will pushed the wheelchair into the elevator. Due to the speed, his legs slipped and the wheelchair almost hit the back wall of the elevator.

They came to the parking lot.

Will and Edward finally reached their Chevy and he lifted his father out of his wheelchair.

Will's voiceover narrates: "I picked you up and you weighed almost nothing. I don't know why."

Will put him in the passenger seat of the car.

"Water. I want water."

Will found a bottle of water in the back seat and handed it to his father. Edward opened the bottle cap and didn't drink it, but poured the water on himself, soaking the blanket.

Will wanted to fold up the wheelchair and put it in the trunk.

"Leave it alone! We don't need it anymore."

The car whined and drove away.

Returning to reality, the camera showed a close-up of Will's face. He was trying his best to hold back tears as he told the story.

"To avoid the Sunday traffic, we have to take Glenville Avenue. Those who go to church drive too slowly."

Edward on the other hand was completely immersed in Will's story, and he seemed happy to hear him tell this detail.

Will continued to hold back tears as he told the story: "I asked, where are we going? You tell me."

"That river!"

Will brakes hard, there's traffic ahead. He honked his horn and tried to go around the car in front of him, but it was no use.

Later, the cars in front began to move, and they were pushed aside hard by a pair of large hands. At this time, the giant Carl was using brute force to clear the way for Edward.

Edward waved to him, and Carl waved back.

The Ashton River is still so wide, and more than a hundred people are waiting by the river.

Will's narrating voice continued: "As we approached the river, we saw that everyone was already there, everyone."

Amos Calloway is here, along with other members of the circus including Mr. Thorgibotton. There are also Edward's mother and father, the mayor, and many people Edward met along the way, and their appearance has not changed at all.

Amos said, "Here he comes!"

The crowd cheered and the Ashton Pipe Band played music. Jenny Hill laughed, and so did the old woman.

The camera zooms in on the old woman's glass eyes

Reflected in the glass eyeball, this was what he saw at that time.

In the car, Will was so surprised that he turned to his father and said, "This is unbelievable!"

Edward: "The story of my life."

Will gets out of the car and is surrounded by a crowd. Behind him, Sandra, Josephine and Dr. Bennett's car stopped, and then Carl arrived.

Will walked to the guest seat and picked up his father. Oddly, he became lighter and Will held him easily.

Edward took off his shoes, tied the laces together, and gave them to Josephine. She threw them over the wire and the crowd clapped and cheered.

The crowd parted, making a way for Will and Edward to walk to the river. Edward shook hands, patted someone on the cheek, or poked someone in the ribs as he passed.

Will continued the story: "The weird thing is, everyone was smiling. Everyone was happy to see you and happy to see you off."

Will walked into the river and the water was up to his knees. He turned so that his father was facing everyone, and Edward waved to the crowd.

Edward smiled: "Goodbye everyone! Goodbye! Take care!"

Various voices came from the crowd: "Goodbye Edward! Goodbye! We will miss you!"

But there was one face missing from the crowd – Sandra. Will turned around to find her already standing in the river, next to them.

The sunlight reflected by the river gave Sandra an unearthly glow, making her more peaceful and beautiful.

Edward shouted, "My girl from the river."

Sandra kissed Edward, who pinched her chin. Only Will could see this intimate movement between them.

Edward tried to take off his wedding ring, but it got stuck on his finger. Finally, Edward took the ring in his mouth and tore it off with his teeth. Edward's golden light flashed as he smiled at Will, and Will took the ring out of his mouth.

Edward suddenly broke free from Will's arm and fell into the water, causing a splash. Now, he is no longer a person, but a fat catfish.

The catfish swam in a circle for a while, then swam toward deeper water and disappeared from sight.

Will and his mother stood in knee-deep water, watching Edward Bloom swim farther and farther into the sunlight. Josephine returned to the shore and stood with the others.

The music reached its climax, and then, a huge fish suddenly jumped out of the water, drawing a beautiful arc under the sunset, and then fell into the water, causing a wave of waves.

Back to reality, in the ward, Will's eyes were filled with tears.

"You turned into what you always were, a very big fish."

Suddenly he smiled: "That's what happened."

Edward whispered: "Yes, exactly."

Edward smiled, proud of them both. His eyes were wide open and dark. In every atom of his body, in every thought, Edward Bloom was happy.

That's how he went.

(End of this chapter)