The last thing Ryan Palmeter felt before the bullet tore through what was remaining of his undeveloped brain was white hot anger. He had run out of options and took one of two available to him, the cowardly path of taking his own life.
He was sure it would be lights out, barren darkness, unaware and unconscious for all eternity. He was more than a little surprised when he realized that he still had awareness. Before him, he saw a tunnel that he was suddenly rushing through. Confused and scared, he began to sense others around him. Celestial figures bathed in light surrounded him. As his own specter grew accustomed to the surroundings, he realized that he survived the death of his physical body.
Slowly these orbs of light were communicating with him. Beings of light that he knew in earthly incantations and others he did not; foreign to him. They were not judgmental, which surprised him because he spent his 21 years on earth doing nothing but being judgmental.
He was now alone, yet he was aware of a presence. Ryan Palmeter was introduced to his spirit guide who appeared to be everywhere and nowhere. His spirit guide took him through a montage of his life. He now felt and understood in a way that his physical body never did, the pain and life altering impact that his actions had inflicted on others. He experienced the spectrum of emotions of those who came within his orbit of hatred and venom. He now found himself in an ethereal IMAX. In excruciating detail, his short life flashed before him. He saw like a blind man suddenly bestowed the gift of sight the things that he failed to do, the people he harmed with both keyboard and gun. He felt the heart-piercing damage that his words and actions had on so many.
Helplessly, he saw hundreds of people mourning outside the Dollar General Store in Jacksonville. Images of the past wove a tapestry of images that were happening and are yet to come. He felt the grief of the families and friends of Angela Michelle Carr, A.J. Laguerre, and Jerrald Gallion. His spirit guide showed him the future and how the stone he cast across the water creates ripples that would impact thousands of people for generations to come. He understood on a guttural level that we all have free will that affects both our destiny as well as the destiny of others.
He saw that pigmentation meant nothing. He began to understand that every living person is born with a divine spark. He was shown the universal truth that all women and men are created equal, imbued by their creator as imperfect beings in a constant quest for perfection.
He saw now that his life of imperfection was not the end but just the beginning. His spirit guide was now gone, and he was alone. He would return to earth to learn and grow.
On September 1, 2024, Mary Slayton gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Blessed with a boy after the birth of her two daughters. Mary Slayton and her newborn son, Daryl Jerome Slayton left the hospital to his new home on the south side of Chicago. And so, it began.