The Place I Loved The Most

The story of a man who has lost everything. His family, friends and wife. He doesn't want to live anymore so he goes back to the only place he has ever been happy, reuniting with someone along the way

I loved the feeling of the mist from the crashing waves spraying me in the face. It brought back all the good feelings from when I was a child.

My family used to come up to this cottage and had the best of times. It was the only time we seemed normal.

 With my 80^th birthday coming up, my family all gone; either dead or lost in the midst of this chaotic world, I figured I would come up here one last time. I wanted at least a shred of happiness one last time for today would be the day that I ended it.

As I stared out into the lake I could hear my dads voice in my head teaching me how to start a fire, and the smell of my mom’s big breakfast she cooked every morning.

I don’t know where everything went so wrong, why we ended up the way we did, all I know is that I was there to do what I had set out to do.

With the sun slowly setting and the beautiful colours filling up the sky from my youth, I turned back to say farewell to the place I have always loved the most.

Thank you for all the memories and the attempts to keep us together. Thank you for the laughter and the fun that was shared. But most importantly thank you for being there when I needed you most in this time of despair.

I blew a gentle kiss towards the old cottage and noticed the sky was now dark.

I turned towards the peer and I made my way to the end. You know its funny, with all the time we spent here over the summers I never did learn to swim. But I was thankful for that.

I jumped into the water feeling the cold autumn water surrounding my body. I let the rough November currents have their way with me. I twisted and turned and I felt my body going into a hundred different directions and being whipped with such ease. I felt so insignificant. I closed my eyes. My soul became numb and everything went black. At that moment, my life belonged to the mighty spirit of Lake Huron.

I woke up in the middle of the backyard at the cottage. My whole family was there laughing and talking and enjoying the weather. There was one person missing though. My brother. He was always the life of the party and the one I missed the most.

This was supposed to be my heaven but how could it be without his presence? I called out his name but he never replied. I know I couldn’t be dead I simply refused to believe it. I could not be in heaven without my brother being here.

In the distance, I could hear a voice screaming my name praying that I make it.

The scene that I spent years praying to see again began to fade. But with it brought something even better.

I started feeling cold and I felt life running through my veins again.

“What were you doing out there brother”

I sat in disbelief when he told me he was here to do the same thing I had set out to do. I guess he wanted to see the place that brought him so much joy one more time before he called it quits, the same as me.

We ended up having a fire in the backyard like we did many years ago. We talked and we laughed and we caught up on the things we missed.

We stayed out there all night. We kept warm by the fire we fought so hard to start.

I could hardly believe it but the old cottage that helped my family survive through so many rough years has just saved us again.

With the fire slowly dying our hearts began to fail. With every ounce of strength, I turned my head towards the place I loved the most and gave another thank you.