Jackie Rodriguez

Mrs. Erickson
English 1/1
st

4/3/2014
After the Rescue
He sat nervously fiddling with his watch hoping that time could just stop for a moment.
In a few minutes everyone would be there and he was not sure if he was ready. Ralph had spent
the last twenty years trying to forget those dreadful memories of his time on the island. Now
suddenly after a few phone calls, the idea of a gathering to chat and have lunch had been
arranged. They had all decided to meet at Ralphs house in England. At first Ralph was hesitant
about the whole idea. Why would any of them want to meet again? What would they even talk
about, how they killed the others? Ralph sighed and buried his head in his hands. He always
wondered what it would be like if they had never killed Simon or Piggy. They could have had a
future, a wife and kids. Ralph liked to believe that he had no part in Simons death. He had only
been a small boy who had not known what he was doing, or had he?
Daddy, theres someone at the door, his two year old daughter announced.
Okay darling, he said with a smile.
Ralph took a deep breath and headed to the door. Memories were already beginning to
surface. Too many times had those memories woken him up in the middle of the night. It was
only until he met his wife, Mary, had the nightmares slowly ceased.
When he opened the door he was relieved to find it was Eric standing there with a big
grin on his face.
Rodriguez


2
Ralph, so good to finally see you, he said. It had been about ten years since he had last
seen the twins.
Look at you, Eric. Youve grown so much, youre almost taller than myself.
They made their way into the living room and Eric joked, No longer a littlun am I?
Dont worry, youll always be a littun to me, he teased.
The doorbell rang once again and Sam stepped into the house with a load of stories to
tell. Ralph listened patiently as both boys, or men, bantered with one another and brought an
entertained smile to his face.
When Roger arrived there was an uneasy feeling that hovered in the air. Ralph nodded at
him civilly and Roger returned the gesture. As the others began to appear there was a light
atmosphere and meaningless chatter going on, but beneath that was a tense and unspoken
heaviness. After a while Mary entered the room to offer snacks and drinks.
Jack finally entered the room and the heaviness grew thick in the air. Sam and Eric
simultaneously scratched their necks and tried to diffuse the obvious tension. Ralph had seen
Jack numerous times before, since they both lived on the same side of England. They always
shared understanding looks or polite nods with one another, but had never conversed. Their
conversation would no doubt consist of a tense topic that both were trying to avoid.
We need to talk about it, Roger suddenly recognized.
Talk about what? Jack asked.
The island. We have to talk about it so that we can finally move on, Roger insisted.
What is there to talk about? Ralph said, his voice rising. He wasnt necessarily getting
angry at Roger, but at the idea of talking about the island.
Eric sighed and agreed, We just need to talk about it so we can stop blaming ourselves.
Rodriguez


3
No ones blaming anyone, Eric, Jack furiously argued.
Stop lying to yourself, Jack. Of course we blame ourselves. Every single day I wake up I
remember his face. The way he looked at us as we surrounded him and killed him for no good
reason, Sam shouted.
It wasnt our fault. We were just kids. We had no idea what we were doing, Jack
defended.
Jacks right. We didnt kill Simon on purpose. We were kids not animals. It was an
accident, Ralph agreed.
Stop it! Just stop lying to yourself. Youre not hurting anyone but yourself by denying
the truth. We killed Simon and we knew exactly what we were doing, Roger argued.
Then admit it, Roger. Admit you killed Piggy, Jack challenged.
I killed Piggy. Are you happy now? Did that make everything better? he raged,
Everyday I wake up and remember that moment and everyday I pray for forgiveness. If I could
go back in time I would change what I did in a heartbeat, but I cannot. All I can do now is accept
the truth and ask for forgiveness.
Are you willing to do that Jack? Sam asked.
Willing to do what? he quietly muttered.
Are you willing to admit your faults?
Jack sighed and ran his hands over his face in an act of mental exhaustion. Im so sorry,
Ralph. Im so sorry for almost doing what I did. I almost killed you. I did horrible things that I
cant take back and Im terribly sorry. I let Piggy die and tormented him for no reason. I am so
sorry. He kept on repeating himself and saying he was sorry as a few tears slipped from his
eyes.
Rodriguez


4
Jack, I forgive you and I forgive you too Roger, Ralph finally assured. They all began
to say the same thing and looked to one another to admit their faults. That was all they ever
needed; each others forgiveness.
Ralph was busy talking with Jack when out of the corner of his eye he saw his daughter
peering at him behind the door. She smiled at him and walked into the room.
Who is this littlun? Sam asked with a smile.
Im Lilly and Im two years old, she replied. Lilly held up two fingers with one hand
and clutched her stuffed animal in the other. Jack waved at her after she waved at him and sat
next to him on the couch.
Are you one of my daddys friends? she asked.
Id like to think so, Jack laughed.
After Ralph introduced her to all of his friends she said, Id like to introduce you to my
own friend.
Well, where is your friend? Roger wondered with a smile.
Hes right here. Everyone meet Piggy, she giggled as she turned her stuffed animal
around. It was a fluffy, pink pig with spectacles placed upon its nose.
Nice to meet you Piggy, Sam played along.
What are these? Eric asked as he touched the specs.
Dont touch those. He needs them to see, Lilly fussed.
They all gave Ralph a heartening smile and he just chuckled and said, She picked it out
herself at the toy store.
They each sat there with a huge weight lifted off of their shoulders and no longer felt like
they had to dwell on the awful past. Forgiveness was all they had needed to entirely move on.
Rodriguez


5



Rodriguez


6