Never Alone Chapter 6: Epilogue: An Unbreakable Bond
Noah Mayer steps up to the podium. He scans the sea of faces and feels his nerves go haywire. Then he locks his eyes on a pair of soft brown ones and he finds his strength once more.
Behind Noah is an advertisement for his film, An Unbreakable Bond; his first major success as a director. Noah can’t help imagining how Luke would have looked as he watched his “Bubby” introduce the film students to the secrets of his success.
Noah clears his throat in an attempt to quell the chatter in the audience. The room goes silent and all eyes are on him. The film students are all on the edge of their seats in silent anticipation.
“Hello, I am Noah Mayer and I am here to talk to you about inspiration. As a film student myself I learned that inspiration is a major contributing factor to a person’s success. Inspiration isn’t always easy to find. It took me many years to realize that my inspiration was right in front of me.”
Noah pauses and glances around again hoping to see a response in the many faces. Not seeing any, Noah trudges on.
“Unfortunately my inspiration never got the chance to know that he inspired me. You see the person who inspired my film career died three years ago and I didn’t recognize him as an inspiration until after he was gone. Luke Snyder was and still is the love of my life. I was devastated when he died because he had been my whole life for over four years.”
Noah’s voice catches and he has to stop in order to regain his composure. At that moment a film student in the front row stood up. Noah glances at the standing student.
“Mr. Mayer, what happened to Luke?” the student asks timidly
“He was in a car accident. It was late at night on September 7th, 2011. He was returning home from a romantic evening with me. I was driving because Luke had indicated he was too tired. What happened next will haunt me for the rest of my life and was the inspiration for An Unbreakable Bond. The drive home up to this point had been uneventful and Luke was amazingly quiet. I reached the main intersection in Oakdale. The light for me was green so I continued through the intersection. I never saw the other vehicle coming. It was a navy blue SUV and the driver had been distracted by her kids. She ran the red light and barreled into the passenger side of my truck. I will never forget the sight of Luke after this woman crashed into us.”
Noah sucks in his breath. He has never really talked about Luke’s death in the past three years. However, seeing the sea of faces waiting with baited breath inspires Noah to continue his account of Luke’s death.
“Luke’s face was streaked with trails of blood. His eyes were closed and his breathing was labored and shallow. I realized that I could move so I struggled to maneuver my body closer to Luke. Finally, I was able to cradle Luke’s limp body in my arms. I kept saying his name. After a few minutes Luke opened his eyes and tried to speak. ‘Noah, don’t worry I’m fine.” Luke gasped at me. I remember saying to him, ‘No, you’re not you are bleeding really badly. Don’t talk, save your breath.’ So for the next five minutes Luke just looked at me and never said a word. I helplessly watched the life and sparkle leave Luke’s eyes. Just before the medical team arrived Luke softly uttered his last words. He said, ‘Noah, I am so in love with you and I always will.’ Then he closed his eyes and shuddered his last breath. I remember pulling his lifeless body closer to me and sobbing uncontrollably. I told him, ‘Same here’. The medical team had to fight me for his body. After he was pulled out of my arms, I passed out.”
Noah heaves a sigh and wipes a stray tear off his cheek. He forces a smile in the general direction of the students.
“After months of therapy I was able to talk about Luke and how his death affected me. The result of my inspiration was a love story about two lovers who endure all to be together. My film An Unbreakable Bond is based heavily on the love story of Luke and I. So the lesson I wish to teach you is this: never be afraid to make your projects autobiographical because often times the lessons you learned throughout life have also been experienced by others.”
With that Noah steps away from the podium and shuffles his note cards. The professor, who asked him to speak, approaches the podium.
“Thank you, Mr. Mayer for your insight. I know this was a difficult subject for you to talk about. Students you are free to go. Thank you for being so respectful of Mr. Mayer.”
All the students noisily clamber out of the lecture hall. Noah gives a smile as he watches the students’ departure. He remembers being in their place only a few years ago. Noah walks toward the door as well. Halfway there Noah is stopped by a lanky, blonde boy.
The student causes Noah’s breath to catch. He is a spitting image of Luke, right down to his excited brown eyes. Noah gives the student a small smile.
“Mr. Mayer I loved your presentation today. It was inspirational,” the boy mutters.
“Thank you, umm…” Noah silently asks the boy his name.
“It’s Luke,” the boy said, “I know same as your lover.” Luke gives a big grin and walks off.
Noah sighs and gives a chuckle. He shakes his head in disbelief as he exits the building. The frigid November air catches Noah off guard. He pulls his dark green sweater closer to his chest as he hurries to his truck.
Once inside his truck, Noah allows his emotions to flow. He laughs and cries before muttering to an invisible person.
“Very subtle; a student who was inspired by me and he just happens to look like you. You never were one for hinting at things. You never beat around the bush. Are you trying to tell me that you’re never really gone? Because, Luke, I see you everywhere.”
Noah pulls out of Oakdale University parking lot and heads out of the downtown area. He reaches his apartment complex in record time. Upon entering the apartment, Noah flips on the lights. After the presentation he had made at the college he is able to fully see all the changes that had occurred in the last three years.
Noah had gradually gotten rid of most of Luke’s physical possessions. To this day he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of Luke’s watch and some of his shirts. Noah even had a shelf, in the bookcase, reserved for all of Luke’s writings. Noah knew that he was expected to move on, however Luke would never fully leave him.
As Noah takes off his tie he realizes it is one that Luke had bought him years ago. All the subtle reminders of Luke, that Noah had encountered today, simply strengthens the unbreakable bond Luke and him shared. Noah could now safely say that he would never be alone because no matter what he would always have Luke.