Do You Love?

By William Briner

            The King of Horror himself wrote this story. Stephen King’s “The Raft” is a part of a collection of short stories in King’s book called, Skeleton Crew. I first read this horrifying, but loving book at a facility in Fordyce, Arkansas. The reason why this book is loving is because it talks about love, but in a horrifying way. Love is the theme of all the short stories in this book. “The Raft” is a terrifying account of four teenagers at a forbidden lake. They decide to swim to a raft. They know full well. They aren’t supposed to be there. I don’t know what it is with teenagers and trouble, but when we’re told not to do something we do it anyway. Someone is liable to get hurt that way. Well all of them die, except one. The one that survived is Randy. At the end, he kept repeating, Do you love?

            Love is an emotion we all feel. Whether if it’s our parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, guardians, friends, or significant other we all feel love.  That is a recurring theme in this short story. Love. It’s a simple, but a powerful word. Before LaVerne dies, Randy figures out he loves LaVerne. They kiss on the raft, before she dies. I ain’t really in this position, but I love my girlfriend, Hannah, enough not to let her go. Love is a recurring theme in King’s three novels: Pet Sematary, Carrie, and Bag of Bones. In each novel, the main character is searching for love. In Pet Sematary, he brings his beloved son back to life. In Carrie, she wants to be loved by everyone. In Bag of Bones, he’s trying to let the ghost know she is loved by her ancestors. Stephen King loves the story and subject of love. I ask you. Do you love?