Is This Love

I was visiting a church I used to attend as I sometimes did. After the sermon had been underway for a while I politely lifted the "church finger" and excused myself from the sanctuary.  I first encountered my sister in the vestibule, and as I looked over my right shoulder I saw the restroom was occupied. After waiting a few moments, my aunt emerged from the women's restroom and I quickly run in. I notice the door is slightly off of its hinge, and the light from the vestibule pierced through the left side of the room. I walked to wards the sink and the lights from outside went out. When I finished in that room I passed back through the vestibule to find that everyone except my sister and my aunt had left.

I wasn't sure how I had missed the entire sermon in that time period. But the greater concern was  the three of us would get home. I continued speaking with my sister in the pitch black vestibule as she stood in between the double doors that lead to the outside.  I did't want anyone to notice we were in the building alone. As I pulled her to one side, I noticed that there was a black sedan sitting just outside the church. The man seated inside wore a royal purple hoodie, dark shades, and he held a gun aimed at my sister. My sister moved back toward the open doors and she stood there as the man maintained his grip on the firearm. I was full of fear. Did she know the man? She appeared to be under the influence of some sort of delirium as she threw her head back and laughed.  

I pushed her out of the way and looked into the face of the gunman once more. I had to be missing something. He flashed a sinister and toothy smile just as he fired the pistol. I was hit in the middle of my chest. The round put a hole that was about 6 inches in diameter where my heart should be. My sister, still completely out of touch with reality, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But we both knew I needed help. 

My sister contemplated leaving, but instead, my aunt left to find help. She knew it would be dangerous as the gunman was still on the loose. She headed out through the field adjacent to the churches parking lot and was fortunate to have encountered an ambulance that she sent to our aid. When the ambulance arrived two paramedics got out and quickly unloaded the gurney from the back. They struggled to get it up the steps but each passing moment I lay, heartless, trying to muster up the strength to breathe. 

The paramedics finally mounted the top step and slid the gurney into the vestibule. I began to thank them in the sincerest way only to find that they were not there to help. They informed me the gurney carried another patient that they fully intended to leave with me there. I looked over at the gurney in disbelief only to find that I knew the patient. She was my mother whose legs had also been badly wounded. "You're beyond help", the paramedic said mockingly as she removed her cap and shook her ponytail. She left us, loaded the ambulance up, and drove off into the blackness. I laid there with my delirious sister to my right, my crippled mother to the left, and me in the middle without a heart. One tear slid down my cheek as the dream ended.