Whatever Happened to Harry

By Don Tozer

The story begins with the main protagonist Harry, meeting with a fatal accident on his way to work. With death he expected oblivion, but he is surprised when he finds he lives on sharing the body of a young man called Ron. He retains all his faculties but no one, including Ron can detect his presence. He is an isolated remnant of his former self. The book deals with his effort to overcome the complexities of death and return to some sort of normality. In the process he must find a way to communicate with his fellow humans, no mean task in his situation. He is able to enlist the help of his younger self by going back in time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jul 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664100046

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

HARRY AND DORIS

T hrough the mists of a dream Harry heard a call, loud and insistent.

Harry! Wake up; you will be late for work.

Reluctantly he woke to find himself looking deeply into the eyes of his beloved.

Harry, I really thought you were dead Doris said with a hint of exasperation,

I called quite loudly without response which I found not only worrying but downright irritating when I realized you were making no effort to wake up and get out of bed.

Doris for god’s sake I was enjoying a good sleep, there was no need to bellow in my ear!

Having satisfactorily established Harry was alert and properly awake and having relieved her irritation with a few well-chosen words, Doris bustled off to the kitchen. Harry remained in bed. After several moments of considered thought, of a general nature, he slowly slid out from under the sheets making his way to the bathroom for a shower shave and general ablutions. He quickly dressed and then presented himself for breakfast. Doris had prepared his usual bowl of porridge. Porridge had been the staple breakfast fare for several weeks. Doris thought it a healthy way to start the day and it probably was thought Harry, but a plate of bacon and eggs perhaps garnished with the odd sausage or two would make a nice change. He said nothing of this to Doris, he preferred leaving for work on a calm note rather than the tail end of a domestic argument, Doris could be very touchy first thing in the morning and required delicate handling. She returned to the kitchen and sat opposite Harry, not exactly glaring at him but lacking a cheery word or a welcoming smile. She obviously had something on her mind bursting to get out.

Harry she said, pausing portentously, I want to ask you before you rush off to work, have you spoken to that boss of yours about your retirement. We agreed you would do this when discussing our future earlier this year. You are after all well over normal retirement age and he is obliged to resolve the matter with you whenever you give the word.

Yes, I know Doris and indeed my love, he and I had a long talk on the subject only recently, and we decided, jointly that is, I stay on for a further twelve months at which time I would review my position and at that juncture probably retire.

You did this despite both of us agreeing you would retire at the beginning of this year. Are you quite mad Harry? This could go on indefinitely. If you are still alive you could be working well into your nineties, is this what you want? You seem to go to water whenever you discuss retirement with that boss of yours. He doesn’t own you; you are a free agent and can decide your own future!

Doris be assured my future is carefully planned as you will see in the fullness of time, and there is no question of my working into advanced old age. I have matters under my complete control so don’t you worry about me; you can safely concentrate on your personal social agenda and leave me to sort out my retirement.

That is just it Harry, you think you hold the whip hand when in truth you are being led by the nose by that boss of yours. If that is the way you want it, then be it on your head; far be it for me to interfere in your top-level discussions, I will say however, it is surprising that someone as cost conscious as a noted skinflint like your boss did not jump at the chance to get rid of an elderly employee like you. Surely at your age you are only of limited use to any forward-thinking employer. Maybe he thinks, yes old but reasonably reliable and of course, for someone of your lengthy experience, quite cheap or, heaven forbid, the old scoundrel has been dipping into the retirement funds?

Doris, I have known Doug as a friend and as a boss for many years now and trust him implicitly.

Harry could see that Doris was working up a head of steam and thought it advisable to end the conversation by quickly finishing his breakfast and hurrying off to work with a "goodbye my love’’ receiving a dissatisfied grunt in reply.

The train as usual at peak hour, was packed with commuters most of whom disembarked at the city rail hub, as did Harry. From the city station, he set off at a brisk pace to walk the short journey to his place of work. At the first major street intersection, he found himself in the front row of the pack impatiently waiting to use the pedestrian crossing. Motor traffic was rushing by hurrying to make it through the intersection before the lights changed. Harry, as he waited, was thinking about his conversation with Doris. On reflection, he realized she was probably right, as she usually was, he should have given more thought to his retirement date rather than to have simply agreed to stay on for a further twelve months. Anyway, it was done now. At least he had put off the day when he could, if he were not careful, find himself part of the select little group revolving around Doris inspired social doings. He had not looked forward to becoming a mandatory regular at her little soirees. It was not that he did not enjoy the company of his wife, quite the contrary, but it meant mixing in with a group of garrulous elderly women and the odd despondent husband wondering why the hell he was there. At least for another year he would spend the days at work among old friends, although on reflection even old friends can be a little tedious when you see them every working day year after year. He needed a new outlook on life, a change of scenery, new friends; when he thought about it, his problem was boredom, doing the same thing and meeting the same people every working day. He sighed and looked up at the traffic lights as if this would make them change quicker.

Harry’s reverie and the dreary tenor of his life came to an unexpected and sudden end when a hefty bump from behind sent him sprawling into the fast-moving traffic. An oncoming bus struck him. The impact tossed him into the air, and he landed heavily onto the bitumen surface of the road. It seemed to Harry, he only briefly lost consciousness but when he regained his senses it must have been some time later, for he was on the footpath being examined by two ambulance officers. Spectators surrounded him some looking down at him obviously concerned while others turned away from the carnage. Surprisingly, he felt no pain and could see and hear quite clearly. He spoke to the ambulance people, but they took no notice of him other than to continue with their examination. He heard a brief exchange between them which gave him no cause for optimism. The one examining Harry said,

There is not much we can do for this patient, we best get him to casualty, I don’t like the look of him, in fact I think he is beyond help. You mean dead replied the other and with that they hurriedly loaded Harry on to the ambulance and with siren blaring and a screech of tyres took off for the nearest available hospital.

After what had been a lengthy delay, he was delivered to hospital casualty where a doctor eventually examined him. After a quick check, the doctor turned to the nurse on duty and said,

Nurse you took delivery of this man. Did you happen by any chance to notice that he is deceased?

Nothing was said to me Doctor

Let me put it this way, did you or any of the ambulance crew happen to notice that the patient was in fact dead and had been in that condition for some time, no! You people are supposed to be trained medical staff yet here we have a patient displaying no vital signs and even showing early indication of rigor mortis, and not one of you notice anything untoward. Is this a normal circumstance? Do you now give him a poke and a prod and expect a miraculous recovery? God in heaven woman what have I got into here? What did you propose saying in your notes?

I was going to record as dead on arrival

"Yes, Nurse it would certainly be a brilliant insight on your part. I must make a note to myself to do a refresher course in raising the dead. I can see I am going to need some added expertise in this