Ace of Hearts

It was another of those days for John Larson. He had rolled out of bed, and said “fuck I do not want to be here right now”, and began pouring the vodka bottle beside his bed into a glass. This was a typical day for lead singer of Super Stone John Larson, drinking, smoking weed and hitting up the closest strip joint around. Things were not always this way. See John Larson was the best thing that could ever happen to the small city of Glen Willow. No one had ever become famous, let alone leave the city. He grew up in the worst of circumstances, had a father who abandoned him and a mother through the depression became a pill-popper. John was never really given a chance; he was a smart kid with great views, but never had the money to finish university. So he pursued what any other teenager would do, he went to Hollywood, to become famous. It did not long before he was deemed one of the best guitarist and vocalists of all time. Word got back to the small village that one of their sons had done something exceptional.
He was touring around the world, going to red carpet events, being interviewed by many journalists, and was flying high for six years with the band. His band, Super Stone was at its peek and was being compared to The Beatles. Until one day, drummer of the band and one of John’s best friend Ricky Star, overdosed on crack-cocaine, that things started to go down hill for him.
He had no more inspiration to play guitar, or sing, so the band broke up. He had lots of money that he spent it on booze, drugs and prostitutes. Things got heavy in
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Hollywood, his fans and the presses were all over his current drug and alcohol abuse. So his agent Mark Fisher told him
“Move somewhere, head home, because after Ricky’s overdose you have not been able to sing or play. Get away from all the paparazzi and bad news because you’re on the verge of throwing not only your career away but your life as well.”
So John headed back to his small town of Glen Willow, Ohio in hopes of restarting his life.
Glen Willow was a small town on the outskirts of Ohio, where the population barely reached four hundred people. It was a plain and boring city with nothing to do, and nothing to see. The McPherson family were never plain and boring, but when Lenny left his wife and kids, when Tyler whose sixteen now was only four, things started to change. It was a nice family of four; a single mother Rachel and her three kids: Phoebe twenty two, Mike eighteen and Tyler sixteen. Phoebe worked as a nurse at the only hospital in town, and Mike was twenty-two years old and was partying it up with all his friends. Tyler McPherson was your average sixteen your old teenager. He goes to high school, and gets stressed with homework as well as girls, like any other teenager. Tyler barely knew his father, but has a very close bond with his mother Rachel. His mother was his best friend, but being a single mom, she had to work two jobs to barely put food on the table, and had very little time for Tyler, especially with the economical crisis going on. The McPherson’s could not afford expensive toys, so Tyler would let his mind dominate his thoughts, thinking of ideas of the world that most sixteen your old kids do not really think about. When it was time for dinner, he was like most teenagers, he would hear
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“Tyler it is time for dinner, come inside.” But there was something on this day that Tyler heard that changed the rest of his life.
Tyler went to see Dr. Schwartz the family doctor, for his annual checkup, but this was no ordinary check-up. Dr. Schwartz saw that something was wrong with Tyler’s heart. He ran many tests, and found out that his heart was too big for his chest, and that he needed an emergency heart transplant. When his mother heard the news, she looked at Tyler, and began to weep; Tyler had never seen his mom weep and new the severity of this illness, and started to weep with her.
“Mom, it’s going to be okay,” Tyler said as he tried to wipe the tears off his mother eyes.
“I know, but we are very poor to afford such a procedure,” Replied Rachel. “Dr. Schwartz I have known you since Mike was a little boy. Can we even afford this?”
The doctor shook his head sympathetically, “Rach, that’s now the worst of it, these things cost tens of thousands and they are politics involved.”
“Politics?”
“Unfortunately yes, see the politics that take action are that Tyler will be placed on a long-term wait list for a new heart. It will take many months at the soonest. I am so sorry to say this but Tyler only has a short time to live, and there is very little chance. I will do my best, you have my word on that.” Said Dr. Schwartz wiping off the tears from his face, as he walks out of the room.
The drive home from the doctors was quiet.

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“ Mom, there is nothing we can do but enjoy whatever time we have left together, I don’t want our last bit of time to be quiet. I want to experience life, I want to do things” Tyler said anxiously
Rachel blew her nose and took a deep breath, “Your right Ty, I always tell you to look at the glass half full rather then half empty, so what would you like to do?”
“Well, I heard John Larson’s moved back to Glen Willow a couple months ago.”
“John Larson from Super Stone? I don’t know Tyler that does not seem to be the best of ideas. Plus how do you plan on reaching him, you can not just go to his house expecting him to let you in”
“I know, but what about the Make-A-Wish foundation, they can’t refuse me and John’s a good guy, he’s my favourite rocker of all time.”
“I will think about it, get Phoebe and Mike and let us have a nice, peaceful dinner,”
Tyler went into the house, while his mother stayed in the car. Praying to God as she cried profusely, in hopes of a miracle. The family sat around the dinner table silently after Tyler and Rachel addressed the issue. Everyone was at a loss for words, thinking to themselves what they had or hadn’t done with Tyler; and what he meant to them. Phoebe and Mike cleaned the table, allowing Tyler leave to his room
“Mom I can’t believe Tyler is dying”
“ I know Phoebe, I still can not believe it either. Dr. Schwartz said there is some stupid politics involved that Tyler is on the bottom of a list for a new heart, and he thinks

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Tyler might not live long enough for a transplant. What is even weirder is that, when I asked Tyler what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to spend time with John Larson.”
“Mom, that is Tyler’s favourite person in the world. He is the reason why Tyler is interested in guitar and bought that piece of junk last year. He also has many posters of his band in his room. Let him spend time with John Larson. I mean who are we to stop him? He’s the one who is dying. Look into the Make-A-Wish foundation, I’m sure they will take him.”
Only two days after they made the phone call, Tyler had been scheduled to go to John Larson’s house and spend a day with him.
* * * * *
Mark Fisher stormed in with a brand new black suit, and blackberry in hand and sees John lying in his bed, reeking of alcohol and marijuana.
“ John this kid is very sick, try not to be wasted like every other time, this is especially different. Make-A-Wish foundation called about some kid who is in his last days of dying, if the press could see you, being all humanitarian and such and caring for this kid, they will get off your back and you can get back on you feet.”
“ I don’t really care Mark and as my agent, you should know that I do not ever plan to do anything anymore but drink and do drugs. See in my life I was never happy, never had a family, but I am free, and relaxed what more can a man want.”
“ What more can a man want? I will tell you, I have a wife and kids who I abandoned a month ago to help my top client get out of his slump, and a month later you have not changed one bit. They are my family, they are the reason I wake up in the
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morning look myself in the mirror, and know that I did something with my life. As your agent and as your friend I am saying do it for the kid. If you want to stay here for the rest of your life fine so be it, but this kid has a very short time to live so I went ahead and already planned it so that you can spend all day with him tomorrow.”
“ Why would you do that?” as he takes another large gulp from his Vodka bottle
“ All you have to do is spend a day with the kid. Play a little guitar and that is it.” “ Fine but only one day”
Tyler finds out that he is going to spend the whole day with John that he cannot sleep. The next morning Rachel drove Tyler to John’s house.
“It’s a big house” she exclaimed
“Yeah I know can I go, please I do not want to waste anytime with John”
“Umm.. Okay have fun just remember he might not be the same John Larson you think he is.”
By this time Tyler was half way to the door with his guitar in his hand that he barely heard what his mother said to him. Tyler rings the doorbell and a man five feet six inches, with short black hair, an earring in his ear and nose, wearing jeans and a silky white robe, opened the door.
“You must be Tyler, come in” John said in his dark scruffy voice
They go to the kitchen table, where John offers him a bite to eat; Tyler refuses politely and is still in complete shock.
“What the hell is wrong with you kid? Stop staring at me”

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“ I… I’m sorry, see your John Larson and…. Well I have posters of you in my room and every Super Stone album and I have even been trying to learn some of you songs.”
He plays a few chords but sounds nothing like any of the songs he was trying to play.
“That is great kid, so how long you here for. Like another hour or so” John said in a sarcastic voice
“ No, Mr. Larson I am here for the whole day if that is okay with you”
“ Not really I was planning on going to Happy People in like an hour or so”
“That is a strip joint though”
“Yeah it is, so are we done here”
“ You know what I will call my mom and leave this is not what I expected at all, I will just leave.” And storms away and begins to cry.
Rachel comes to pick Tyler up and sees he is already outside of the house on the front step crying. She gets out of her car and tells Tyler to wait in the car, while she goes inside.
“ Oh are you my five o clock?” John replies with a big grin
“ OH MY GOSH, HOW DARE YOU. I am the mother of that sixteen your old kid who is crying in the car. Do you even know what you mean to that kid, and the fact that he is dying in the next few days or weeks, what kind of monster are you” screaming at the top of her lungs, as she storms away leaving John by himself thinking of what he had done. A few days passed and Tyler was not getting better, he was turning paler each
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day and was beginning to lose weight. One night during dinner the doorbell ring and Rachel went to answer it.
“How dare you,” echoed from the door to the kitchen, there was a brief conversation before the door shut and John Larson appeared from it with Rachel behind him.
“ Would it be alright if I talked to Tyler alone” he said in a very sad and nervous tone
“ No” Tyler exclaimed
“Tyler I am so sorry, I am just not in the right frame of mind, and… well I was an ass hole and I am sorry can I please talk to you, I would really like to spend time with you.”
“Okay” and the only people left in the room were John and Tyler
“ Tyler I want to show you something” John goes out of the room for a second and shows him a guitar signed, “ This is for you, I feel really bad, so this is my black and white Stratocaster that I used in..”
“ In Central Park it was my favourite of your concerts! But for me, why? I am dying I can not use it for so long.” said Tyler in astonishment of the beautiful guitar.
“ I know but I want you to take it as an apology from me to you, and I want to show you how to play some of my songs”
Over the next two weeks Tyler and John’s friendship grew. John came to Tyler’s house each day and spent the whole day playing guitar, going for food, showing him cool pictures and artifacts in his house. Still Tyler was getting sicker by the day and was only
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mere hours from his heart giving up and dying. One night John took Tyler to his favourite place as a kid, a small section on the beach.
“ When my father left me and my mom was all up in the drugs, I would come here and listen to the sounds of the ocean they would calm me down”
“They are quite peaceful” Tyler said playing his guitar better then before
“ You are getting better at it, your timing and rhythm have truly picked up”
“ I have had a good teacher”
“ Can I ask you something personal?”
“ Sure anything”
“What is it like feeling death approaching? I mean some people like my mother died instantly of a heart-attack, but you have known this day has been coming for a while now, and I mean… well I thought about killing myself never could, but what do you feel right now.”
“ I mean it’s actually not hard. I never knew my dad, and I was never close with either Phoebe or Mike, my best friend was my mom, but she worked two jobs and had no time for me. I just wished I knew more.”
“ Knew more, about what Tyler?”
“ About the world, life, being a rock star and the glitter and glam that came with it, I mean it only seems like a person like me with no life what so ever would have a heart
problem, and not be able to get if fixed because were too poor, and I have an AB Rh negative, the rarest blood type, where only 0.8 percent of people in the world have, so it

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made my options go from slim to none. I mean what was it like being on the road, partying all the time meeting girls”
“Tyler it was nothing special at all, I mean yeah it had its moment but I wish I had a family, a wife and kids. I was deprived of it as a kid and I guess I was never able to rebound and start a family of my own; I just got into music, which got me into drugs. But I am impressed I was never as mature or philosophical as you are at sixteen” John picks up a rock and throws it into the ocean
“You also were not dying at sixteen, I just have a completely changed my view on life”
They sat on the beach for another hour before John took him home, where he said goodbye for his final time as he was offered a segment on the Barbara Walters show and had to fly to Los Angeles the next day. He walked Tyler to the door said his goodbyes, hugged him and when Rachel opened the door, Tyler went directly to his room.
“Thank you so much, it means the world for him to spend time with you”
“ Mrs. McPherson, Tyler is an unbelievable kid”
“ I know thank you again”
“Wait I want to give you something” as he grabbed a bunch of papers from his car and handed it to Rachel
“What is this?”
“ It’s a legal document that allows Tyler to get my heart I had my lawyer and agent fix it up, see Tyler and I both have AB Rh negative and well I have no family and so much money that I will pay for the whole procedure myself.”
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Rachel in complete astonishment started to tear up “ I cannot take this I mean”
“Mrs. McPherson I already booked it at the same time that Tyler was going to go in the hospital at ten-thirty, I have planned the transplant to happen then.”
Rachel broke into tears and gave John a huge hug and kiss “ Thank you so much… I mean I just do not know what to say but you’re an angel, I do not understand why your doing this though.”
“I got a few lucky breaks and made it big, but I had my life I had my fun, I am not going to get married, I am not the marrying type a guy, the first day I met Tyler and the things you said really touched me and well, he is me but better, wiser and I want him to live a life, he deserves it”.
“ God Bless You” Rachel says while John is driving off into the distance.
The next day at two-thirty the transplant was completed, John’s heart had been placed into Tyler. Tyler looked up and saw his mother, brother and sister all smiling with tears rolling down each of their eyes.
“ What are you guys doing in heaven, I thought I was dead mom?”
“ Last night when you came back John offered to be your donor for your heart transplant and to pay for it all, and well his heart is in you now.”
John died but his heart and life lived on as the transplant motivated Tyler to become a rocker like him. Ten years later he made it big and went on to become better then John could be, with people referring his playing style in comparison to John’s. People were saying that it was so similar that it was like they were they same soul. He named what was to be the largest record selling album of all time “ Rebirth” in memory of John.