After listening to Jenny's version of his father's story, Will was heartbroken!
He drove home, but no one was at home, including his father who was supposed to be lying there.
The sheets fell to the floor, messy and tangled, it was obvious that he had left in a hurry.
Will grabbed the keys on the table and rushed out. The "message" light on the right flashed on the transponder.
Will came outside the hospital and heard his wife Josephine calling him!
Will turned around and saw his wife at the public phone booth. She hung up the phone.
Will asked, "What happened?"
Josephine told him: "Your father suddenly suffered a stroke. He is upstairs, and your mother and Dr. Bennett are also there."
Will asked anxiously and hopefully, "Will he get better?"
Josephine didn't know how to answer!
Will smiled bitterly, knowing that his question was idiotic and his father would certainly not get better.
Will continued: "I mean, will he ever go back to what he was before..."
Josephine interrupted: "No, no. I'm sorry."
Will felt dizzy.
Night, in the ward.
Edward fell asleep quietly, with an oxygen tube inserted into his nose. There were no beeping monitors or flashing lights around him, everything was so quiet.
Sandra held one of Edward's hands tightly. Dr. Bennett had just given him his third comprehensive examination.
Sandra said: "In case...in case he wakes up, someone needs to be here."
Will said, "I'll stay. You and Josephine go home and I'll stay here tonight."
Sandra said to Dr. Bennett, "Is that okay?"
Dr. Bennett nodded: "Okay."
Sandra said to Will: "Call if you have anything to do."
Will said: "I will. Mom, do you still want to stay with Dad for a while?"
Sandra glanced at Edward: "Okay, thank you."
Dr. Bennett and Josephine left, and Will came to the door. Sandra was alone in the room with her husband.
She smoothed his hair, held his hand, kissed his fingers, and stroked her chin with his hand—the way Edward always stroked her.
Afterwards, Sandra was waiting at the door of the bathroom. She was very nervous, but tried to stay calm. She knew that things were inevitable, but she was unwilling to give in.
Josephine came out of the bathroom.
Josephine said: "I'm sorry. It seems like every hour I have to..."
Sandra said: "I understand. It was like this when I was pregnant with Will, like clockwork."
The two women walked forward, not in a hurry.
Sandra asked her: "Do you like being pregnant?"
Josephine stroked her swollen belly and her face was filled with inexplicable happiness: "I like it."
Sandra smiled: "I love it too. It sounds strange, but I really love every second of being pregnant. Edward often travels away, and when he leaves, I can feel that he is still with me. His soul is
Part of it is inside me, I can feel it. It's alive and it kicks you."
Sandra suddenly felt her heart surge, and she tried her best to control herself.
Sandra murmured, almost in a whisper, "I really miss that feeling."
They stood together in the corridor, just standing there.
At the same time, in the ward.
Will was sitting on the edge of the bed, playing the crossword puzzle. Dr. Bennett knocked on the door and came in, bringing his coat and bag. Will was going to spend the night here.
Dr. Bennett: "I'm glad to see that you didn't talk about your innermost thoughts with the patient. This is the most annoying thing for us as doctors. The family members keep talking next to them, and the patient can't hear it."
Will said: "My father and I have an understanding, we never talk."
Dr. Bennett checks Edward's blood pressure chart.
Will suddenly asked: "How long have you known my father?"
Dr. Bennett said with some nostalgia: "It's been thirty years, maybe it will be longer."
Will was curious: "How would you describe him as a person?"
Dr. Bennett did not answer but asked: "Then how would you describe your son?"
Will didn't know how to answer, so Dr. Bennett hung the blood pressure monitor on the bedside.
Dr. Bennett asked, "Did your father ever tell you about the circumstances of your birth?"
Will nodded: "I've told him a thousand times. He said he caught a fish that couldn't be caught."
Dr. Bennett shook his head and said, "It's not that, it's the real story. Has he ever told it to you?"
Will suddenly became interested: "No."
Dr. Bennett thought for a while and said: "Your mother came to the hospital at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. A neighbor drove her here because your father was doing business in Wichita at the time. You were born a week early, but the birth went smoothly.
It's a pity that your father didn't see you being born. But according to the custom at that time, men were not allowed to stay in the delivery room. So I think it doesn't make any difference whether he is there or not. This is the real situation when you were born."
There was a long silence, and only the hospital radio calling for a certain doctor was heard.
Dr. Bennett added: "It's not that exciting, is it? If I had to choose between the real situation and the fictional story, I would rather choose the well-conceived story, the story with the fish and the wedding ring. However,
It's just my choice."
Will smiled unnaturally, and Dr. Bennett patted him on the shoulder and left. Will stayed with his father for a long time, and Will took a pen to write a list.
Will turned to a new page, and the list grew longer and longer. He smiled, as if he remembered something. When he wrote on the fourth page, he looked up at his father, who was still motionless.
The first ray of blue light in the morning came through the blinds. Will was sitting on a chair. He had just woken up. His notebook was still on his lap and he still held a pen in his hand. He moved his neck.
Will yelled, "Dad?"
His father was already awake, gasping for air. His eyes were open, frightened and confused.
Will asked: "Dad! Do you need to call a nurse?"
Edward shook his head. Will had already placed his hand on the orange button but did not press it.
Will added, "What can I do? Can I help? Get you something? Do you want some water?"
Edward nodded. Will poured a glass of water and brought it to his father's mouth, but Edward didn't drink it and pushed the glass away. Obviously he wanted something else.
Edward whispered: "The river."
Will was puzzled: "That river?"
It took all Edward's strength to piece together each thought, as if he was desperately trying to hold on to the world.
Edward said inexplicably: "Tell me how it happened."
Will was even more confused. He couldn't understand his father's words at all: "What happened?"
Edward said again: "How did I leave?"
Will finally understood: "You mean what you saw in the glass eyeball?"
Edward nodded. Yes, that's what he wanted to say.
After a while, Will continued: "I don't know that story, Dad. You never told me."
Will held his father's hand, not knowing what else to do.
Edward looked around, confused and increasingly frightened. He knew the end was coming, but he didn't know what it was like. Without a story, he was lost. Will tried to control himself not to panic!
"I can try, Dad, you have to help start it."
Edward: "Just like this."
Will quickly said: "Okay, okay."
Will looked around the room, growing more desperate. He looked at the orange button to call the nurse and really wanted to press it.
Edward waited for Will to speak.
Will paused and began to speak: "In the morning, you and I were in the hospital. I fell asleep lying on the chair, and when I woke up, I saw you..."
What follows is Will's version of the story as told to Edward.
Will wakes up: "Dad?"
The first golden rays of dawn shine through the blinds.
Will continued to shout, louder and more concerned: "Dad?"
Edward, who was already seriously ill, became extremely agile at this moment, sitting on the bed and combing his hair.
Edward said: "Let's get out of here."
Will quickly said: "Dad, you can't go yet..."
But Edward lifted the quilt at once.
Edward added: "There is a foldable wheelchair in the bathroom. Give me a blanket. There is an open space after going down this floor."
Will went to the bathroom, and sure enough there was a wheelchair there.
Edward urged: "Hurry up! We don't have much time."
In the hospital, Edward was wrapped in a blanket, like a ghost, giving directions to his son.
"Hurry up!"
They passed a stocky nurse, who turned to look at them.
Rounding the corner, they almost bumped into Dr. Bennett.
Dr. Bennett shouted: "Will! I... what are you doing?"
Before Will could answer, he saw Edward turning the wheelchair by himself, and he hurried after him.
The stocky nurse leaned out of Edward's room.
The nurse shouted: "Security! Stop them!"
At the elevator at the end of the corridor, Sandra and Josephine came out of the elevator and saw Will and Edward running straight towards them.
Edward shouted: "No time to explain! Follow us!"
Seeing the security guards chasing them, Sandra had an idea and pushed a cart next to them towards them, knocking down the security guards.
Will pushed the wheelchair into the elevator. Due to the speed, his legs slipped and the wheelchair almost hit the back wall of the elevator.
They came to the parking lot.
Will and Edward finally reached their Chevrolet and he lifted his father out of the wheelchair.
Will's voiceover narrates: "I picked you up and you weighed almost nothing. I don't know why."
Will put him in the passenger seat of the car.
"Water. I want water."
Will found a bottle of water in the back seat and handed it to his father. Edward opened the bottle cap and didn't drink it, but poured the water on himself, soaking the blanket.
Will wanted to fold up the wheelchair and put it in the trunk.
"Don't worry about it! We don't need it anymore."
The car drove away with a "Woo" sound.
Back to reality, the camera showed a close-up of Will's face. When he told the story, he tried his best to hold back tears.
"To avoid the Sunday traffic, we had to take Glenville Avenue. Those going to church drove too slowly."
Edward on the other hand was completely immersed in Will's story, and he seemed happy to hear him tell this detail.
Will continued to hold back his tears as he told the story: "I asked where we were going, and you said..."
"That river!"
Will braked suddenly, there was a traffic jam ahead. He honked his horn and tried to go around the car in front, but it was in vain.
Later, the cars in front started to move, and they were pushed aside by a pair of big hands. At this time, the giant Carl was using brute force to clear the way for Edward.
Edward waved to him, and Carl waved back to him.
The Ashton River is still so wide, and more than a hundred people are waiting by the river.
Will's narrating voice continued: "When we were approaching the river, we saw that everyone was already there, everyone was there."
Amos Calloway is here, along with other members of the circus, including Mr. Thorgibotton. And Edward's mother and father, the mayor, and many of the people Edward has met along the way, everyone's
The appearance hasn't changed at all.
Amos said: "He's here!"
The crowd cheered and the Ashton Pipe Band played. Jenny Hill smiled, and so did the old woman.
The camera zooms in on the old woman's glass eyes...
Reflected in the glass eyeball, this was what he saw at that time.
In the car, Will was so surprised that he turned to his father and said, "This is unbelievable!"
Edward: "The Story of My Life."
Will got out of the car and was surrounded by the crowd. Behind him, Sandra, Josephine and Dr. Bennett's cars stopped, and then Carl arrived.
Will walked to the guest seat and picked up his father. Strangely, he became lighter and Will held him easily.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Edward took off his shoes, tied the laces together, and handed them to Josephine. She threw them onto the wire, and the crowd clapped and cheered.
The crowd parted, making way for Will and Edward to walk to the river. As Edward passed, he shook hands with some people, patted some on the cheek, or poked some in the ribs.
Will continued the story: "The weird thing is, everyone is smiling. Everyone is happy to see you and happy to see you off."
Will walked into the river, the water up to his knees. He turned around so that his father was facing everyone, and Edward waved to the crowd.
Edward smiled: "Goodbye everyone! Goodbye! Take care!"
Various voices came from the crowd: "Goodbye Edward! Goodbye! We will miss you!"
However, there was one face missing from the crowd - Sandra Weir turned around and found that she was already standing in the river, right next to them.
The sunlight reflected by the river gave Sandra an unearthly brilliance, making her more peaceful and beautiful.
Edward shouted: "My girl from the river."
Sandra kissed Edward, and Edward pinched her chin. Only Will could see this intimate movement between them.
Edward wanted to take off his wedding ring, but it got stuck on his finger. Finally, Edward put the ring in his mouth and pulled it off with his teeth. When Edward smiled at Will, a golden light flashed, and Will took it out of his mouth.
ring.
Edward suddenly broke free from Will's arm and fell into the water, causing a splash. Now, he was no longer a person, but a fat catfish.
The catfish swam in circles for a while, then swam toward deeper water and disappeared from people's sight.
Will and his mother stood in knee-deep water, watching Edward Bloom swim farther and farther in the sunshine. Josephine returned to the shore and stood with the others.
The music reached its climax, and then, a huge fish suddenly jumped out of the water, drawing a beautiful arc under the sunset, and then fell into the water, causing a wave of waves.
Back to reality, in the ward, Will's eyes were filled with tears.
"You turned into what you always were, a very big fish."
Suddenly he laughed: "That's what happened."
Edward whispered: "Yes, exactly."
Edward smiled, proud of them both. His eyes were wide and dim. In every atom of his body, in every thought, Edward Bloom was happy.
