...
My Little Sunshine
...
Jane was pure; and innocent at one point. It's hard for her to remember, but every once in a while she gets flashes of a small child with golden hair and cerulean eyes. She sees her in pictures that her mother has in an old scrapbook."Was that really me?" She asks, nearly every time. Her mother gives her a sad smile, and cups Jane's cheek in an old, weathered hand.
"It's still you, baby girl." Jane stares at the picture, and then glances at her reflection in the mirror propped against the wall. So many differences...
Her eyes were no longer a bright, cerulean blue; they were dark. Almost navy- and they had lost the curious gleam that they used to hold. And her hair- once thick, and long- was now cropped, and dyed black. Sun-kissed skin had turned pale. She had more wrinkles than a woman of twenty-six years should have. Jane shakes her head.
"That's not me- or at least, it's not anymore." Her mother's sad, glossy eyes continue to stare at her. She shifts in her seat, uncomfortable. The old woman wets her lips, and she murmurs,
"Won't you sing me a song, little Jane? Like you used to? You sang for Daddy and me all the time when you were younger." Jane wants to refuse, but something about the way the woman looks at her makes it hard to say no. So instead she asks,
"What do you want me to sing?" Her mother's eyes light up, and Jane can't help but think it was worth it. The woman leans forward in her rocking chair.
"Do you remember our song? You Are My Sunshine? Sing that one, Angel. Please sing our song." And so, Jane sings.
"You are my sunshine,
My little sunshine.
You make me happy,
When skies are gray.
You'll never know dear-"
Jane's strained voice, (It wasn't always that way, she recalls) abruptly stops. Her mother's eyes search for a reason in Jane's.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Jane's eyebrows furrow, and she tries to clear her brain- to think clearly for the first time in a long time.
"I- I can't... I can't remember the words." The woman's expression falls, but her love and kindness never falters.
"That's alright, dear. I'm sure you'll remember them soon- you're probably just tired. Why don't you go lie down? You've had a long trip." Jane hesitates, and then nods. She can't bear to disappointment the sweet woman any more. Noticing the vacant couch, she decides she can just stretch out there. It's just a small nap- she won't sleep for long.
As Jane begins to drift, a voice from long ago- soft, tender, and sweet as honey- finds it's way into her heart.
"You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy,
When skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take
My sunshine away..."
She isn't awake long enough to see the relieved smile spread across her mother's face.
"Welcome home, my Sunshine."
...
