FOUR
Dear Dylan,
Our God is an awesome God. He is good. All the time! Amen? I’ll always love the both of you.
Love, Katie
***
Haley and I lay on the softest, greenest patch of grass that we could find across the vast Californian fields. As we basked in the warm evening sunshine, I took Genesis chapter one from God’s word, to heart. Genesis meant beginnings. Haley, in every sense was my new beginning. Where Katie, the love of my life marked a full stop, Haley the other love of my life promptly replaced it with a comma. Full stops meant endings to me, but commas meant the other person was willing to continue where you left off. It was a fresh continuity, a good place to be. I was happy with a comma. I was happy with Haley.
I wanted Haley to hear about Genesis. I knew that it was never too late to start teaching your toddler the word of God. I turned to look at my baby girl and she squinted under the sun’s bright light, trying to look ahead at the beach that was not too far away from us. She smiled a small smile to herself when she finally saw the line where the beautiful blue skyline met the ocean. Haley was contented with lying on the soft patch of green grass right beside me and for one of the rare few moments of her life at being exactly three years old, she was rather quiet and serenely so.
“Honey, do you know who created this entire earth?” I started by asking. Haley paused for the longest second and thought to herself long and hard about the possibilities. “God did!” Haley announced happily at last, a big wide grin plastered across her beautiful face. “He created every single living creature you can see right now” I explained. I’ve gotten Haley’s attention and interest in what I’m about to say now. The sun rays felt warm and comforting to my soul and I waited patiently for what Haley had to add to that. “Did God create that palm tree over there?” Haley asked me, pointing at the row of palm trees planted along the beach. “He sure did” I said, pulling my daughter closer to me. She rested on my chest and looked around for more questions to ask me with.
Somewhere between answering all of her questions, Haley grew really quiet. “Is Mummy with God now?” she asked in a tiny voice, her gray eyes prodding me for an answer. My eyes grew watery. “Yes. Yes she is. I’m sure of that”, I say in a soft whisper. Haley looked up at me and announced happily, “Then she’ll be okay”, and I couldn’t help but agree as we sat there; the waves lapping at the distant shore, sun setting against the ocean line.
YOU ARE READING
16 Letters
Teen FictionSixteen letters came through the mail over the course of sixteen years. Each letter brought significance, hope, joy and laughter, but most of all : memories.
