Learning to Cope

"There you go Liam just a little further!" Alexa cheered as Liam pulled himself through the water. "You're doing much better today!"

"We both know my legs aren't getting any better so I wish we could stop this." Liam sighed breathily as he pulled himself the last few feet of the pool.

"Believing is half the battle Liam, and right now I'm fighting that half alone. Injuries like this take a ton of time and effort to heal, and effort is all that we can change."

"I know, I know. It's just hard to find the motivation sometimes, I feel like it's too hard to even get out of bed in the mornings ya know?" Liam asked seemingly staring into space again.

"A lot of people feel that way," She said as she placed her hand on his head. "What seperates the strong ones from the weak is what they do next. Will you stay down like the weak? Or will you rise, stronger than ever?"

"Give me some time and I'll answer that. Right now I want something to eat."

---------------------------- 8 Years Later ------------------------------

Liam woke up in a cold sweat, for what seemed like the thousandth time. Yet another restless night that took him back to THAT day. He quickly wiped his brow and shifted himself toward the edge of the bed. His hands grabbed for his wheelchair which was always seated next to his bed and he lowered himself down onto it. As he reached the seat of the wheelchair, a sudden, loud crack of thunder startled him. He wheeled himself over to the window to see the torrential downpour of an apparent hurricane outside.

"It is that time of year, isn't it?" he mumbled to himself. "I just love being awoken by thunder every few minutes." The television could be heard softly through his door so he rolled out into the main area of the house. "Alexa, you're still awake?"

"Uhhhh, yeah?" Alexa stated, slightly confused, "It's like noon," she said with a smile. "How'd you sleep?"

Liam went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "About as well as usual. The stupid thunder woke me up."

"You know those aren't good for you," Alexa pointed to the beer, "especially with how little you eat!"

"Sometimes I just need a beer, I'll eat something in a little while ok?"

"Promise?" she asked while holding out her pinky.

"I promise," Liam responded as he linked her pinky with his. "But for now, I'm heading back to bed. Come and get me if you make food, please," he yelled over his shoulder as he retreated back to his room. As the door closed quietly behind him, a sudden alarm sounded from the television behind Alexa.

"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS ISSUING A TORNADO WARNING FOR SUMMERVILLE AND THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES," sounded the mechanical recording.

"Eh, probably another false alarm, we never get any that touch down around here." Alexa mumbled to herself as she went to look through the kitchen for something to make.

Liam closed his door and got into his bed. He slowly pulled himself up to a seated position on his bed and pulled the covers over himself. 'Hopefully this damn storm will pass so I can get some sleep,' he thought to himself. Not a second after, he heard a soft rumbling come from outside. It sounded like a car pulling up to the house. 'Who is driving in this weather, they must be out of their minds?' Liam thought. However, the sound continued to get louder and louder until it seemed to be a roar coming from outside. He sat up and looked out his window and saw what seemed to be a wall of clouds directly outside.

"What the fu-" Liam started, only to be stopped by a massive object hurling through his window which knocked him out almost instantly. The wind, no longer being halted by the wall, started dragging anything not bolted down out into the air, including Liam's' limp body. All he could see was black and he felt nothing, his mind clouded as he floated through what seemed like a never ending void.

The complete darkness that enveloped Liam slowly gave way to a bright yellow light, almost as if he was leaving a dark tunnel. He felt something pulling him towards it and no matter how he struggled he could do nothing but follow.

"He seems to be quite the fighter, milady," he heard someone say. "He will definitely grow to be a strong knight!"

'Knight? What does he mean knight? And what about growing? I'm already fully grown...' Liam thought to himself as he was blinded upon emerging from the tunnel. What he was greeted by was a strange sight indeed. A young woman was holding him in her arms showing him to a woman lying on a bed.

"He has your eyes, milady." The realization that suddenly dawned upon Liam confused him immensely. Lying before him was a woman who had obviously just been through a harrowing experience. She was short of breath and sweating profusely. Her legs were being propped up and there was a strange rope like object protruding.

'Wait, wait, wait! Hold on! Did I?!?!?!' He started uncontrollably crying, his mind racing as he tried to understand what had just occurred.

"'Op, there he goes," said the midwife. "Usually they start crying right away. Just goes to show that he is a strong one," she said joyfully. "Have you decided upon a name milady?"

"L-Liam, It was his grandfather's name, and I hope he can grow to be just like him," she said with a pained smile.

Liam calmed suddenly at the sound of her voice. He looked down upon her and saw nothing but pure happiness radiating from his new mother.

"This is quite surprising milady Angelica, giving birth to two children at once. It must be a sign from the gods! They blessed you!" the midwife proclaimed. "A healthy boy and girl!"