The Life of Owen Sterling

         I cannot believe how good I got it, Owen sterling thought to himself as he walked home from the bus stop one beautiful June evening.  I have a wife that I adore and a job that is perfect for me. We are in the process of purchasing the house of our dreams and our daughter will be born right before we move in. This is definitely the perfect life. God has been so good to me.
        While  Owen was still thinking about his life someone ran by, nearly knocking him over.  When he looked to see who could be so careless, he saw someone that looked like himself. 

“That doesn’t make sense,” Owen uttered confused, “it must be my imagination.” But by the time he gained his composure and tried to look for the guy again, he was gone.  Owen continued his walk home, but this time instead of thinking about his life, he couldn’t stop thinking about that strange man. He was so distracted with his thoughts that he was oblivious to what was going on around him. Owen did not hear the shouts telling him to get out of the way or see the haywire car coming straight towards him. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late, all he could do was pray.

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This is it, Owen thought excitedly, time to open my eyes and see what Heaven looks like!  His eyes fluttered open expecting to see the streets of gold, but instead, he saw a small windowless room with nothing filling the space except for a small desk, a chair, and a lit lamp. 

“What?” Owen said in bewilderment, “Where am I? I should be in Heaven, why am I in this ugly room? Did I even die? If I didn’t die then why am I not in a hospital? Where is my wife? I’m so confused!” Owen knew he had to get out of the room but he quickly realized there was no way to escape a room with no windows or doors. Even with this revelation, Owen kept trying to find a way out. When he finally realized it was no use, he sat on the chair and began to cry. Through his tears, he noticed a thick book laying open on the desk. Owen grabbed the book to see if it would help him get out of the prison of a room. He looked at the page it was opened to and began to read. 

The life of Owen Sterling was thought to be perfect. He had all that he ever dreamed. But that all changed. This book tells the end of  Sterling’s life, and trust me, it does not end well.

“The end of my life?” said Owen perplexed “Is this real? What does it mean by not ending well?” Then Owen continued to read.

Things began to go downhill for Owen after he got hit by a car in June. He spent almost four months unconscious in ICU then another six months in recovery. During this time,  his wife, Gianna, had a healthy baby girl named Ava, and their purchase of a house fell through. When Owen was released from the hospital in April of the next year, he was paralyzed from the waist down and was restricted to a wheelchair. Owen was never the same man again. 

 This can’t be real, I would have remembered if it was, Owen thought while taking a break between paragraphs. 

Owen began having anger problems and would lash out at his wife for the simplest of things like leaving the toothpaste out of his reach. 

“Why would I do that?” said Owen, starting to assume that the book was telling the truth.

Owen completely lost his relationship with God and eventually the one with his wife and daughter.  

“What! Those were the three most important things in my life!” Shouted Owen, now believing everything he read. Owen wished he could fix all he had done but he could only turn the page and keep reading. 

Owen left his wife and daughter and moved into an apartment near his job. But because he didn’t have anyone to release his anger on at home, his co-workers got the full force of his vexation.  This quickly led to the termination of his hard-earned job. 

“Why in the world would I do such a thing!” Owen cried, “I’m so stupid! I am ruining my life and I don’t even care! Maybe I will fix it, maybe I will make everything right again? I just have to keep reading!”

Things didn’t get any better after that. Owen was now unemployed and was kicked out of his apartment to live on the streets. Life as a homeless man in a wheelchair was difficult. He was too prideful to ask for anyone’s help, not even his wife, and he fell asleep hungry every night. 

“I am so brainless!” Owen said frustrated, “I am letting my pride get in the way of my survival, God gave me a second chance at life and I am ruining it! When am I going to get it together!”

Owen went on like this for two weeks before realizing that he couldn’t live like this any longer.  

Here we go,  Owen thought, it’s all going to get better now .

He knew he had to fix his life. That he had to do something that he never would have dreamed of doing before the accident. He had to end it all.

“No!” Owen screamed, “Don’t give up! Go talk to Gianna! She can help! Please don’t ruin your life! Please!” Owen didn’t want to read anymore; it was too much to bear. But something kept him from looking away from the page. His eyes frantically scanned the page while silently pleading for the terrible act not to take place. His heart raced and his breath quickened as he came to the last two sentences. His sight became hazy and before he finished reading the last sentence, all went dark. 

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When Owen opened his eyes this time, he didn’t know what to expect, but he didn’t think he would be in a hospital room. He looked around and saw his wife sitting in a chair next to him holding a tiny baby girl. 

“Gianna,” Owen said hoarsely.

“It’s okay Owen” his wife replied, “You’ve been in an accident, but you are going to be fine” 

“Is that..?” 

“It’s your daughter, Ava” Gianna answered

“Ava..” Owen said smiling.

  Owen spent another six months recovering and was paralyzed just like the book said, but he spent the rest of his life making sure that no other events that took place in that strange vision ever came true.