The sun shone brighter on that specific 29th day of April 1967, Caroline got dressed in her azure empire dress, knitted floral cardigan, and a locket that hangs around her neck. She made breakfast for her daughter, picked up the watering can and began watering her vast collection of flowers and plants.
Admiring the scenery, she held the little girl's hand and said, "I love you, sweetheart."
Caroline left her home and slowly walked the empty streets, taking her time as she looked around. She stopped at the park, picking up a few rocks to fill her pocket. Taking in deep breaths, she continued her morning stroll which led her to the shore. She walked closer and closer to the water, echoing her name, beckoning her home.
What she didn't know was that little Theresa had followed her that day. She watched as her mom took the first step, the second, and the third, until the water touched just below her knees. Caroline was about to move further when she felt a thug in her dress and cried at the sight of her daughter. Nobody spoke, the only sound one could hear was the splashing waves.
Caroline held the little girl up in a tight hug and whispered, "Let's get you home."
Decades later, Theresa understood what had happened that morning and did what Caroline could not do. She walked and walked until she saw the familiar place. It seemed as though it was a deja vu but she wasn't watching this time around. Instead, she took the steps without turning back, leaving me behind, sleeping soundly on Grammy Caroline's lap.
No one could've expected what would happen.
Everything's going to be just fine.
You'll forget about it.
The pounding in my head intensifies as the words echo through my mind like a broken record. I've memorized each word, each line, each sound, every single detail that there is to be seen, heard, or felt.
No, things would never be the same. Not now.
For so many years I thought to myself every time that, 'that's how it goes, Reese, You'll get over it'. I guess life isn't the way we want it to be but somehow it happens to be just right. Obstacles come and go like the sand being flown away by the breeze and the splashing waves on the shore.
But I was wrong.
It won't leave.
It's always been there.
Lurking in the shadows and waiting for me.
All these that we have now won't last for a long time. Soon enough, it'll all be taken away as if it didn't mean anything. Life is too short and yet too long at the same time. In a few years, I'll be graduating, maybe, I'll get married, have kids, and work till my body retires to the comfort of my very own casket, down in my tomb beneath the ground where we all belong.
What if I don't want to?
The cold wind blew against the curtains, revealing the reflection on the glass window. Her sunken eyes, tear stained face, and slender form was a tiresome sight.
Everything is different now. Drowning in pools of sorrow won't change what has been done. It doesn't matter.
