When it's All That's Left

📓 What guilt hath wrought . . . .

He clutched the card she left him as he urged his broken and battered body to move. The information on that card sends Mark Cooke on another journey, one he would rather not go on. Forced by his own guilt, he ventures on a path to unravel the past, all while Jade lies in the hospital bed, clinging to life. He knows for a fact he hasn’t been completely honest with those he cares about. Has he been honest with himself?

Jade not only clings to life, but she fights for it. Finding herself in a world that’s not real, but is more real than anything she’s ever experienced, she stands at the edge of a pivotal decision. Does she push through the darkness towards the light, or forever be lost from her family and those she loves? Arriving at an answer is not as simple as it seems.

She’s prayed about it. She’s thought about it. She’s talked about it. Berta still has the same answer. She’s divorcing Craig. And with an intrusive detective inserting himself into her life, she stands firm on the decision. She halfway wants to give Craig up and move on with life, but one question stops her. Who is Detective Simms really?

Craig is alone. Truly isolated from all of his loved ones, on a ranch that isn’t his, he has ample time to think of his mistakes. He wonders if he will ever get the chance to rectify some of those mistakes, primarily the ones he’s made with Berta. He abhors being alone, so he runs down to a produce stand a few miles down the road just so he could talk.

In this final entry to the “When it’s...” series, does everyone find a way back to each other? Or does each one collapse under the pressure of their own guilt?