R
Namitha Soju
9 C
April woke up rubbing her eyes and blew her tousled
hair out of her face. She grinned, remembering that
today was her eighteenth birthday! Right on cue, her
dad waltzed into her room, singing “Happy birthday”
off-pitch and holding a chocolate cake that made her
stomach rumble. “Happy birthday sweetheart!” her
dad wished merrily. He took a good chunk of the cake
a smeared it across her face. April laughed heartily and
gave her goofy dad a panda hug. “Your mother would
have been very proud of you”, he said lovingly and
April replied in a strained voice, “If only she were alive
to tell me this herself.” Then her dad did something
he had done countless times before. He pointed at
her heart and said, “But she’ll always be in there.”
And April sighed, “Yes, I know.” Then, as though to
lighten things up, he said mysteriously, “Come along,
I have a special gift for you,” and led her outside. He
handed her a small box that looked older than her.
April opened the box with anticipation and found a
letter inside.
It was frayed along the edges and was starting to turn
yellow with age. “This is your mother’s eighteenth
birthday gift for you.” April’s heart leapt at the thought
of a gift from her mother. A person she never missed
because she never knew her. A person fate snatched
global
public
school
away before she could even be etched into her
memory. She opened the letter with trembling fingers
and read……
“Dear April,
If you are reading this you must be a big girl now. I’m
sorry I’m not there to celebrate it with you, but I want
you to know that I love you more than I have ever
loved myself. I don’t think I have a lot of time left, but
all I can leave with you is my heart full of love.
Love,
Mom”
April slowly folded the letter, her eyes filling with
tears of joy. She managed to say between sobs, “It’s
beautiful.” Her father smiled and whispered sadly,
“You don’t get it do you?” April gave him a puzzled
look. Then, she gasped as it all came crashing down.
She reread the letter and started crying uncontrollably.
But this time her heart bursting with sorrow. Suddenly
the scar near her heart had so much more meaning
than a simple childhood accident.
That heart beating ever so strong, keeping her alive
each day did not belong to her. It belonged to her
mother. And her mother will forever be with her….
inside.
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