This Little Light of Mine

20: 𝐈 𝐋𝗼𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝗼𝐮, 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲, 𝐆𝗼𝗼𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞

Bennett Marie Bradford had her homegoing on December 18, 2031, at the age of six. She went peacefully, being held by Lucy and Tim at their home. Her parents had wanted nothing more than for Bennett to receive her healing miracle, which she got that same night. Tim and Lucy knew she was healed then, and would no longer struggle to eat, talk, walk, hear, see, on top of everything else.

Lucy and Tim were lucky that some of their closest friends and family members were present with them during Bennett's passing. Everyone had a chance to speak to her and love on her before she passed. Lucy and Tim were the last ones to go, as they wanted to hold her when she went, and that is exactly what they did. Even Kojo and Max had a few moments with her.

The last bit before Bennett left was when her favorite people sang her favorite songs to her. The last song she heard, though she most likely couldn't hear it, was, "You Are My Sunshine", that Lucy sang to her as she and Tim held their baby girl. Bennett took her last breaths not too long after that, and after an immense amount of "I love you", "We love you", "We'll be alright", "You can go, you can rest, baby" from both of her parents.

Around 10:00 that night, Bennett left the Earth, with so many people thinking of her. Thousands of people all across the world had gathered to pray and think of the little girl as she fought the tumor, all thanks to the social media Lucy had created at the beginning of their journey.

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After Bennett had passed, Lucy and Tim spent a little bit longer holding her, hugging her, kissing her, and talking to her. After about an hour or so, Wesley stepped out, with the parents permission, to give the funeral home a call, so they could give them the next steps. The funeral home assured Wesley that they would have someone out within the next hour or so to check it out, and decide the steps. Sometimes this meant that whoever had passed would go to the coroner's office, though most knew that this was highly unlikely, as Bennett had a terminal diagnosis, and the doctors and her parents knew her time would be ending rather soon.

"They'll be here within the hour" Wesley informed Tim and Lucy after he had come back in the room. The grieving parents nodded, and thanked him for handling that for them.

"Can we help you guys with anything? Would you like to be alone with her?" Angela asked, before Lucy shook her head. "You guys can stay. We're glad you guys were able to be here, it means the world to us, and I know it meant everything to Bennie too" Lucy told her. "As soon as you say the words, we'll go, okay?" She told her, as Lucy nodded.

While they waited on the funeral home to get there, Wesley stepped out to make a few more phone calls, as the designated caller of the night. He made a phone call to Bennett's pediatrician and oncologists, both of whom had been on call the last few nights, in the chance she would pass. They were very impactful people to Bennett, Lucy, and Tim, and loved that little girl, and wanted to be informed of when she passed.

"Hello?" came the voice of Bennett's pediatrician, Helen. "Hey, Helen. This is Wesley Evers, I'm a close friend of Bennett Bradford's parents" Wesley said. "Is everything alright? Can I do anything?" She asked, as Wesley drew in a breath. "Unfortunately, Bennett passed away about two hours ago. Tim and Lucy were holding her when she went, and it was peaceful. I just wanted to give you a call to let you know, I know how much you meant to the entire Bradford family." He told her. "Oh gosh, please give the two of them my condolences. I'm so sorry, I know how special Bennett was to everyone she met" Helen added. The two conversed for a little while longer, before Wesley had to make the same phone call to Bennett's oncologist, to inform him.

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Soon enough, a couple of people from the funeral home arrived at Tim and Lucy's home, and were let in by Nolan. He led them to where everyone was, Tim and Lucy still holding and loving on Bennett. The two people, a man and a woman, walked over to the parents, and got down to their level. "My name is Marissa, and this is Justin. We're from the funeral home" The woman said softly to the parents. Tim and Lucy looked up from Bennett, and greeted them. "You'll take her there right? And then we'll be able to see her?" Lucy asked. Marissa nodded, "To an extent. We'll go over a few things here, and then, circumstances depending, we'll take her to the mortuary where she'll be taken care of. Get her ready and everything for services, should you choose to have them. We don't have to discuss services tonight, unless you know what you want to do." She told the two. "So, can you tell me about her? What caused her death?" Marissa asked, to find out, as she had never met the family before.

"This is Bennett. Bennett Marie Bradford, we call her Bennie a lot. She had DIPG, a brain tumor that was inoperable. She's been through radiation, clinical trials, all of it. Last week, her doctors told us to bring her home and spend all the time we can with her. She was tired of fighting, and now she's gone." Tim informed the woman, not really thinking, just spitting out basic information on his daughter. Marissa nodded, as she looked over the six year old. "I see. Do you have her medical files anywhere? I believe you, but I have to ask and check" she said, as the parents nodded. Wesley grabbed the file on Bennett, and passed it to Marissa. The woman took a few minutes to look through it, and read over things, before closing it and handing it back to Wesley. "Thank you. Everything seems to add up properly, so we will be able to take her with us." Marissa said. "So, what's going to happen is we'll give the two of you, and anyone else, a final few minutes with her, and then we will load her into the car and take her with us. From there, you can come tomorrow anytime and we will discuss her obituary and services. Once our guys have her all clean and prepped, you'll be able to see her at her viewing, should you choose one. If not, we will allow the two of you to see her before her funeral." Marissa told them.

Everyone in attendance then came to say their goodbyes and last words to Bennett, before they'd see her at her viewing and funeral. Tim and Lucy went last, giving her forehead kisses, hugging her, and telling her how much they love her. Their time with Bennett soon ended, and Marissa and Justin took Bennett out to the vehicle, where they drove off with her to the funeral home, where she would remain until her services.

After they had left with Bennett, everyone spent a few extra minutes with Tim and Lucy, before heading to their own homes, and for some, to see their children and hug them a whole lot tighter when they got there.

Now alone, Tim and Lucy didn't know what to do. This was the first time they had been completely alone in pretty much the past six years. The two spent another hour or so up with each other, simply grieving. On their way to their bedroom, Tim closed Bennett's bedroom door for the final time, and without their baby girl in there.

Tim and Lucy finally made it into bed, and fell asleep holding each other close, at around 2 the following morning. Their lives had been changed forever, and now they had a Bennett sized hole in their hearts.