Gone From Darkness by BWCTwriter

[Agincourt]

This will probably be my last posting in the current series, unless there appears to be more interest. Perhaps a new schedule should be established for the fall.

 

It is impossible to write about this story without spoilers. If you have not read the story you might prefer not to read any further here.

 

Two boys mysteriously awaken in a pleasant but unfamiliar bit of countryside. Their memories are mostly missing, but they're pretty sure they should know each other. Bits and pieces of memory trickle into their heads, and the first-person narrator realizes that the other boy has the New Testament name of Luke, while they other boy tells the narrator that his name is Matthew (also a New Testament name).

 

Matt has a vision of a cabin, and the boys set out to find it. It is a pleasant place, equipped with everything they might need (including lots of food), and backs up to a lake. They spend several days there getting to know each other. Matt feels affection for Luke; Luke is somewhat bashful around Matt, not wanting to display his nakedness when they go swimming in the lake.

 

Eventually they decide to set out and try to find what else there is on this world. Following the river connected to the lake, they eventually reach a city. They are immediately greeted by someone who takes them to "guest quarters" for visitors to the city. Another city resident named Eric shows them around, and informs them that they have an appointment to see the Father (apparently the pastor of the church) later on.

 

Throughout these events, memories start coming back to Matt, and apparently also to Luke. It turns out that Matt and Luke were lovers when young and in high school, but they tried to keep it secret. Matt's mother found them in flagrante delicto one day, however, and accused Luke of corrupting her son Matt. Matt behaves very badly in the aftermath of this, pretending that he wasn't attracted to Luke. He also puts up a false front of straight behavior. Luke is shunned by everyone at the school, including Matt. The culmination of Matt's bad actions comes when he leads a group of his "posse" to beat up on Luke for being a fag, injuring him seriously enough to be hospitalized. Luke drops out of school as a junior, and eventually hitchhikes to New York where he falls into a bad life of drugs and hustling. Matt, in the meantime, marries a trophy wife and has children who in turn get married and have children of their own. On the surface he is successful and "normal" in every way.

 

Luke, meanwhile, somehow manages to reclaim his life, sobering up, finishing his education, and eventually returning to the same school that had rejected him earlier to act as a counselor to kids who needed help.

 

The memories then turn to the deaths of Matt and Luke. Matt by this time is becoming overwhelmed by remorse at what he has done, how he has hurt Luke.

 

In the course of meeting with the Father, who is also referred to as their Maker (i.e., God), it becomes obvious that Matt and Luke both recently died and are now in heaven (referred to as "paradise" in the story). The Father is obviously pissed off with both of them. He is unhappy with Matt for what he did to Luke, and for living a lie. He is unhappy with Luke for wasting so many years as a drug addict and hustler. "I should throw you both out of paradise," he says.

 

Matt immediately insists, "Throw me out, but let Luke stay." Luke, amazingly, does the same thing in favor of Matt.

 

Somehow, the Father decides that maybe the two have learned their lesson, and he lets them stay in paradise. As the story closes they have returned to their cabin and what promises to be the life together that was denied them during their earthly existence.

 

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It is a short story in the classic sense -- kind of like an episode of the original Twilight Zone. Unlike many Twilight Zone episodes, however, this one essentially has a happy ending.

 

The story's structure worked, in that I didn't realize where they were and what the real context was until quite late in the story, during their meeting with the Father. The unfolding memories created an interesting kind of narrative, showing not only the shamefulness of Matt's hiding of his true self (while hurting Luke badly) but also the shamefulness of the social attitudes that led him to act as he did. Luke, at the same time, is shown to be a pearl without price, a genuinely good soul who didn't hold grudges and still, after everything, loves Matt.

 

I thought it was nicely done.

 

A

[Nephylim]

I've been crap and I apologise to all the authors I've let down. THings have just been so hectic I haven't had time to do anything serious like reading. I think it is a good idea to take a break and come back to it. i woudl really like to review Jon's work at some point though because the work is unique and deserves attention

[BWCTwriter]

Agincourt- Thanks for the awesome review! It's nice to see my story get a little attention after all these years.... It's my baby, and to be honest, some day i would love to see it played out in film.... Sadly though, I think it will never come to pass, unless I attempt to create it myself (as if i have the time and skills to do that :-p )... But yeah, Thanks again!