Alternate Ending of Paul’s Case
Alternate Ending of Paul’s Case
The sound of an approaching train awoke him, and he started to his feet, remembering only his resolution, and afraid lest he should be too late. He stood watching the approaching locomotive, his teeth chattering, his lips drawn away from them in a frightened smile; once or twice he glanced nervously sidewise, as though he were being watched. When the right moment came,, he started to lunge forward, but something happened. Right before he left his feet, he had a thought that caused him to question his resolution. He thought of his father. At first he found this strange. Never before had his Father really mattered to him in any decision he had made, but at this critical moment, he found himself flooded with emotions that he had never experienced.
As Paul’s mind began to rush, he fell to his knees. Suddenly he came to the realization of what he was about to do. An uneasy feeling swept through his entire body as if a horrific virus had invaded his entire being. He began to sob hysterically and his body heaved with nausea and followed with uncontrollable vomiting. His mind raced with the thoughts of the terrible injustices that he had placed upon all those that loved him. This particularly rang true with the harsh treatment of his father.
Paul was forced to face, perhaps for the first time in his life, that despite the unending torment that he had heaped upon his father, he was at that very moment on the way to save him.
Adding to the pool of guilt that was drowning Paul, he also has forced to realize that his father had reimbursed the money that he has so callously taken. A new concept was experienced by Paul right there on the tracks between life and death. He realized the meaning of love. Not just any type of love, but the unconditional love of a father for his son. His nausea turned now to sobbing as he attempted to search for the words that he would convey to his father. He knew within the depths of his soul that he must convince his father to forgive him. As he reflected further, Paul pondered the life that he had yet to live. His mind raced to the places he had not visited and the things in the world he had yet to experience. Perhaps what burdened Paul the most, was the fact that he had been just seconds away from throwing his life away, and thus wasting a lifetime of opportunity.
In that moment, Paul began to relive the week he had just experienced. He was able to fulfill many of the fantasies that had before existed only in his imagination. He had lived in an expensive hotel and had eaten elegant meals, yet something was missing. He was not feeling that sense of satisfaction that he had envisioned. He thought to himself, “all the things I have spent my life dreaming of, things I thought would bring me such joy were in the end, were simply fireworks exploding in the night. They had come and gone, never to be seen or