One Thing Can Be Everything

A contest entry that comes straight from the heart...www.writerscafe.org/contests/As-Love-Dies/54564/

I could always remember it all so clearly. Myself, only a little girl then, looking up at her. Seeing her smile. Hearing her laugh. Helping her bake those chocolate cakes I always loved. Her always calling me into the kitchen to give her a hug when I arrived. Saying goodnight to her when I would stay over.

I had never realized how much she truly meant. Not until after it was too late...though, that's how things always go, don't they?

That day had been so cheerful, so happy. Being surrounded by friends most of the day. Laughing, smiling. I had done all of it. But then I was told. She was gone. I hadn't seen her in so long...why hadn't I gone to see her more often? How had I let all of that time that I hadn't seen her go by? She was older, yes, and always had trouble breathing. Some of her fingers were shorter because of an accident she had when she was little. Her hair was always back in a little ponytail. She constantly dragged those annoying oxygen tubes around the house with her. When I would call and ask to come over, she would tease me and say I have to give her a million dollars first. She always had a smile. She was always happy. She had been with me since I was born.

I laid in bed that day, locked away, tears pouring from my eyes. Would I really never see her again? Was our time together really over?

Then the funeral came. I couldn't walk into the room. I wanted to see her again. I wanted to see her smile again. I wanted to feel her hug me again. I wanted to hear her say I owe her a million dollars again. But I couldn't experience any of it again. Seeing her that way...I couldn't. I wanted to see her smiling at me and laughing, but that isn't the way I would see her. That thought pained me. I only wanted one last smile...one last hug...one phone call...but it was too late.

Now, years later, I still think of her. I remember how happy I used to get when I saw her. I remember standing on a chair and helping her make that cake. I remember her making me bowls of noodles when I would get hungry. I can't feel any of that anymore, and it makes my heart ache. But...I know I still have her. She may be gone, but there always has been and always will be a part of my heart that is just for her. I will never forget her.

Never.

Author's Note

This was based on a real person who was once a part of my life and still is. You can't even imagine how hard it was to write this...but I hope that others also feel the emotion that I did when I wrote it.