A Musician’s Final Moments

As an elderly musician, James Torit, looked outside the window in the hospital room he was staying in, he began to ponder about the choices he made in life. He thought about the good and the bad, and about what he could’ve done differently. His thoughts had been about his family almost consistently, and about what he could’ve done differently.

It has been about seven months since he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The news had shattered him when he learned about it as knew that everything that he wanted to do, he could no longer do them, and that it wouldn’t be long before that he would be bed-ridden.

Before being admitted to the hospital, he went walking at a nearby park, because he thought that it would be a serene and peaceful place to spend his final moments outside of a hospital. As he walked, he could see groups of squirrels running around. The musician laughed as he saw that, seeing the adorable squirrels enjoying life and having fun. “It is nice that they are having fun,” he said to himself, “living things need to enjoy life while they can.”

As the musician continued walking, he began to smell the flowers. He particularly enjoyed the smell of lilac, which he found the fragrance to be calming and dream-like. He also knew that he would need to do it as often as he could, knowing that once he was in the hospital, he wouldn’t be able to leave his room to smell the flowers in the hospital garden.

As the musician continued to walk through the park, he also went to another garden that wasn’t covered in plants and put his hands in the dirt. He wanted to feel it as he knew that the feeling of it was something that he would miss. He hadn’t been able to tend his garden in months because of health problems, and wanted to be able to feel the dirt again, even if it was only for a few minutes.

As he did, he also saw a group of worms in the garden. Usually, he would be upset that there were many worms in the garden as they had been a problem for his tomato patch, oftentimes eating the fruits he had planted. Right now, he wasn’t upset and smiled when he saw them. “Hello neighbors,” he said to himself, “how are you doing in this lovely garden.” As he continued to feel the dirt, he could see that there were also other creatures in the garden, including ladybugs and ants.

“How nice is it,” he said to himself, “this garden is such a peaceful community where animals get along with each other.” After about another minute of digging through the dirt, the musician finally decided that it was time to go to the hospital. “It really isn’t that bad, in the end, I am going to a peaceful place. I won’t have to worry about anything there. I will have my needs taken care of.”

As the musician finally arrived at the hospital, before being sent to his room, he wanted to talk to his daughter first. The hospital staff agreed with the request as he was given an hour to talk to family members before having to go to his room. The elderly musician then took out his phone, and called his daughter, Sarah, who was at home and had just finished work.

“Hello Sarah,” said the musician, “how are you doing.” His daughter replied by saying that she had just finished work and needed to go to the meeting with other parents in about an hour. “That’s nice. You were always one of the most reasonable and knowledgeable parents at those meetings.” The musician didn’t want to tell his daughter right away that he had cancer, because she already had a lot to worry about then.

“Why are you calling dad,” asked his daughter, “I haven’t heard from you for about ten years now.” The musician then responded by saying that he missed her and his grandchildren and wanted to talk to them more. “We are busy dad. We tried to talk to you earlier, but you said that you were busy with something, so we stopped trying after you ignored us multiple times.”

“I know,” said the musician, “if I could, I would’ve talked to you and your family more.” “I was busy with stuff that I didn’t want to bother you and your family with.” His daughter then responded by asking why he was calling her now. The musician decided to respond by telling her about the health problems that he had before the cancer diagnosis. “I’ve been having health problems recently, and I wanted to spend more time with my family.”

“I am sorry to hear that dad,” said his daughter, “what do you have.” The musician then spoke to his daughter, in more detail, about the health problems he had earlier, including stomach probelms. “I am sorry to hear that you have stomach problems. Did you see a doctor for that?” The musician replied by saying that he did and had been taking medicine for that for weeks now.

“I was wondering that if things worse,” said the musician, “would you and your family visit me.” His daughter responded by saying that they would support him if his health problems worsened. “That means the world to me. Could you also bring pictures of our travels, including the ones we took when we went to Europe and South America?” His daughter agreed to bring the photos he requested if he became bedridden. “Thanks Sarah, that means a lot.” The musician then ended the call, and went to the hospital staff, saying that he was ready to go to his room.

It has now been several months since the musician admitted himself to the hospital, and he told his daughter about the cancer diagnosis about a month after he arrived at the hospital. He and his daughter then talked about everything, from family trips to about her family and what they were doing. James was happy that his daughter and her daughter were doing well and were happy.

As the musician looked out his hospital window at the room, he wondered how many more rainy days he would see. He was hoping that he would live to see at least three more. “Rainy days aren’t bad,” he said to himself, “they are nature’s way of healing the earth.” “Water from the atmosphere helps the plants grow, and the plants then feed the animals. As of right now, I need to rest.”