Little House on Prairie - Sequel.

Chapter 6 - Albert Part One

"Missing someone is a proof of love. There is someone I have been missing ever since he took his last breath. Even before that, possibly. He deserved a long life, but unfortunately it didn't turn out that way. I comfort myself every day for the time he got to live and that he was finally free from the pain. What a comfort, though. I lost an important person to me. My brother. Albert was a funny and mischievous man with a big heart. He was kind and caring for his loved ones, both family and friends. We grew up together, sister and brother. I was grateful for everything we did together, all those good memories. All the laughter. Yes, even the times we got into trouble. For a long time, I have been keeping inside everything around Albert's death. It is time to share it."

- Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The day after we all went to the top of the mountain along with my sick brother, Albert, it started to get worse. He stayed in bed for the most of time. We all prayed for him, hoped he would get more time with us. Every minute we got to share with him, we cherished. We had no clue about when he was going to pass away. Pa stayed with him, every day and night. Almanzo and I took over for Pa some hours each day, so Pa could rest and get something to eat. Albert had a lot of nosebleed, which was as expected. It was horrible watching him like this, just slowly dying. He got weaker for every day. His skin was pale. It was difficult to get him to eat or drink something at all. Not even his favorite food seemed to tempt him. It was difficult for all of us, but of course mostly for Albert. "Laura..." he whispered one night when I sat beside his bed. "Yes, Albert? Is there something I can get you?" He coughed. "I'm not ready to die..." he whispered. The words felt like a cut in my heart, and still hunts me today. "Don't worry about that, Albert. Heaven is a beautiful place. But you're not going there yet" I answered, mostly to comfort him. We all knew, including himself that he could die any minute.

Some days were better than others. Some days he was able to smile and have a good laugh with you, the next he slept mostly. Albert and Pa stayed at our house while they were here. Albert had made it clear that he wanted to die in Walnut Grove, and not inn Burr Oak. Walnut Grove was his home, according to himself. I couldn't disagree with him. Walnut Grove charmed every citizen in it, and embraced them with a feeling of being home. There is no other place like it, not at least for us who lived there. One of Albert's better days was on a Wednesday. He was able to walk a little by himself with support. We went down to the river where we used to fish when we were kids. A peaceful place. Albert sat on a rock by the water and threw some rocks into it. "I remember when we used to going fishing here. Especially on Saturdays when we were done with our chores" he said and smiled. I couldn't help myself from smiling, it was contagious. "Yeah, that was fun" I answered. He spent that day talking and laughing about our memories from the childhood. Such as when we scared Mrs.Oleson with that sea monster and the time Mr.Oleson scared us practically to death on Halloween. "I miss it" I said. "All the fun. Don't get me wrong, I love my life as a wife and mom, but there isn't much time left for fun stuff like that". Albert laughed a bit before he became silent. "Let's go have one last adventure together". "Albert, you are too sick for some adventure time now" I said with a sharp tone in my voice mixed with a bit of fear. "What if you get worse?" I asked. Albert laughed, which made me make a weird grin. Why on Earth would he laugh of that? "I can't get any worse, Laura. I am dying. Come on; let's go on one last adventure. A memory to treasure. Let me use one of my last days doing something fun. I don't want to stay in a bed for days until I catch my last breath". I sighed and thought for a while. He did deserve to spend his last days like he wanted. Even though I was now a grown woman with husband and child, I still wanted some fun too. "Alright, adventure it is" I said and smiled.