LIFE LESSONS: SUICIDE IS FINAL
Too Many Tragic Deaths This Year
This year had been painful for Eduardo. He’d lost his wife to the Coronavirus.
She was a nurse, a hero, a front-liner against the pandemic, they said.
He lost his job. It was because of the virus, they said.
He and his son, Miguel, moved in with his mom. He had been depressed, but things were looking up.
He interviewed for a new job, and they offered it to him. It would pay better than his old job, they said.
He still had his car. It was a 1962 Chevy Impala that had belonged to his dad before he died last Christmas. It was lung cancer, they said.
Eddie and his six-year-old son were washing it when he saw the boy scratching the car with a rock. He screamed at him to stop and sprayed him with the high-pressure hose without thinking.
The boy fell back and hit his head on the concrete step; Eddie called 911.
He died of a brain hemorrhage, they said.
He was charged and arrested. It was involuntary manslaughter, they said.
Eduardo hooked the hose to the exhaust pipe and ran it in through the window. He started the car, put in a CD with his favorite Eric Clapton song, “Tears in Heaven,” and went to sleep.
He saw his wife and son playing together. His son saw him and yelled, Papi!
It was suicide, they said.
But the young detective asked the Chief if he thought vandalism to the car had anything to do with it? He said, “Someone had scratched I ♥ Papi on it.”
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Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Currently living in the Philippines, Stephen is a Top Writer in Virtual Reality.
You can see his portfolio here. Email [email protected]
