Ralph sacrifices himself to save Natalie

Ralph Roberts, a seventy-year-old widower who had remarried and found a second chance at love, died on a hot August morning in 1998 by throwing himself in front of a speeding Ford sedan to push Natalie Deepneau out of its path. The act was the culmination of a promise he had made five years earlier to the entities Clotho and Lachesis, the agents of purposeful death, in exchange for sparing the child from a random death orchestrated by their rogue counterpart, Atropos. Ralph's sacrifice was not a sudden impulse but the deliberate fulfillment of a bargain that had been sealed with a scar on his arm and a ticking deathwatch in his ears, a bargain he had kept secret from his wife, Lois, until the final moments. His death saved Natalie, preserved the life of a child who would one day save two men crucial to the balance of existence, and allowed Ralph to exit the world on his own terms, with his love for Lois and his integrity intact.

The Promise and the Deathwatch

Five years after the events that had plunged him into the world of auras and supernatural beings, Ralph began to suffer from insomnia again. The premature waking returned, and with it came the sound of the deathwatch ticking in the walls, a sound he had last heard during his first wife Carolyn's final illness. He knew the sound was coming from within himself. The long white scar on his right forearm, left by Clotho's scissors as the seal of a bargain, began to throb with a deep, narrow heat. Ralph understood that the time of the promise had come. He had agreed to give his life in exchange for Natalie's, a life that Atropos had threatened to take as revenge for Ralph's interference in his plans. The deathwatch was his own countdown.

The Confrontation with Lois

On the morning of his death, Ralph told Lois he was going to the Red Apple for an ice-cream bar, but she saw the scar glowing red through his sleeve and knew he was lying. She seized his arm, her eyes full of terror and recognition. When he told her he had to save Natalie from being hit by a green Ford, she begged him not to go, pleading with him to break his promise. 'Better your promise than my heart!' she cried. Ralph held her at arm's length, his heart pounding, and told her he had to do it. He reminded her that Natalie had her whole life ahead of her, and that he would not let Atropos have her. Lois, weeping, finally let him go, and they walked up Harris Avenue together toward the Red Apple.

The Final Moments

As they approached the store, Ralph saw Atropos across the street, wearing Natalie's stolen Red Sox cap and tormenting their beagle, Rosalie. Natalie came out of her house, her jump-rope over her arm, and knelt to comfort the frightened dog. A green Ford sedan, driven by their former paperboy Pete Sullivan on his learner's permit, came slowly down the street. Atropos slapped Rosalie on the rump, sending her darting into the road. Pete swerved to avoid the dog, and the car veered directly toward Natalie. Helen Deepneau, coming out of the Red Apple with a loaf of bread, dropped it and screamed. Ralph, having risen to a higher level of perception, ran forward with a speed that was not his own. He dove, his hands outstretched, and in the last instant, he dropped back down to the Short-Time world. He shoved Natalie in the chest and stomach, sending her flying backward into the gutter, safe. The Ford struck Ralph, hurling him into the air and then smashing him down onto the pavement.

The Aftermath and Ralph's Death

Lois ran to Ralph and fell on her knees beside him. His body was broken, his shape fundamentally changed by the impact, but his eyes were bright and aware. He told her he loved her, and that every day he had woken up next to her was like waking up young. He asked about the ticking, and then said it had stopped. He smiled brilliantly, and then he died. Lois held his head in her lap, weeping, as Pete Sullivan sobbed apologies and Helen wailed. Unseen by the others, Clotho and Lachesis appeared. They placed the hands Ralph had shaken on either side of Lois's face, and she felt a wave of calm and peace. For a moment, she was in a dark place filled with brilliant seams of light, a vision Ralph had sent her, a universe where there was dazzling light behind the darkness. When she opened her eyes, the long white scar on Ralph's right forearm was gone. The promise was fulfilled.