Letters To Sophia Berkeley [h.s.]

Goodbye, My Love

Everything is dark. The sky is overcast. The lights are dim in my apartment. My thoughts are dark. My clothes are dark.

Today is the day. Today is the day we all say our goodbyes to Sophia.

There are tears in my eyes as I try to tie my black tie, and Gemma walks in; when she sees how upset I am, she walks over to hug me. I hug her tightly, sobbing into her black dress and I feel her rub my back just like my mom does when she tries to comfort me.

She pulls away and gives a sympathetic smile toward the poor attempt I made at tying my tie. She swiftly ties it for me and I thank her, giving her another hug.

"Are you gonna be okay?" she asks me. She looks concerned. I hate it when people pity me, but I brush it off cause I would be doing the same thing if I knew someone who lost the love of their life.

"No," I respond, feeling myself choke up again. I take a deep breath and head out the door with Gemma.

--

I step up to the podium at the wake and clear my throat, hearing it echo throughout the church. I have my notebook in my hand with the second letter I wrote to Sophia, which will act as my speech. I lean into the microphone and start reading the letter.

"Dear Sophia,

I decided to write a letter to you as my eulogy for your funeral. I'm not even sure what to say, and I feel as though a lot of people who knew you understand that feeling.

It's hard to put into words how much someone meant to you or how amazing they were. The memories everyone has shared with you are unforgettable.

My fondest memory of us is when you tried making dinner for us one night. It was about a year ago, and you really wanted to have a romantic, candlelit dinner. You insisted on making it even though we both knew you couldn't cook..."

--

"Harry please! I know I'm not the best cook, but you always make food for us. I would like to give it a try," Sophia pleads.

All of the bad scenarios that could happen are happening in my head right now, but then I see the look on her face. She clearly really wants to make dinner, and she looks so cute.

"Fine, but if there's a fire then you can't tell me that I should've talked you out of it," I say, raising an eyebrow at her and smirking. She gives me a big smile and I kiss her forehead.

"What are you gonna make for us?" I ask.

I wrap my arms around her waist and she wraps hers around my neck.

She leans in and whispers, "That's a surprise," then kisses my lips and rushes into the kitchen.

Putting all of my trust in her not blowing up the kitchen, I plop down on the couch and flip through the channels on the TV. I decide to watch reruns of Friends and settle into the couch.

I must have ended up falling asleep, because the next thing I know, I'm being shaken awake by a frantic Sophia.

"Harry! Oh god. Harry! Wake up!" Sophia yells. I sit up quickly and look back at the kitchen, seeing a reflection in the window of the oven on fire.

Without a second thought, I grab the hand towel out of her hand and rush into the kitchen. I cover it in water and then cover up the fire on the oven, looking back at her.

Her eyes are widened and she's very shaky. I chuckle at her and walk over to give her a big hug.

"Let's order pizza, yeah?" I say, looking down at her. She burrows her head into my chest and gives a self-deprecating laugh.

"Yeah," she says. She looks up at me and I give her a quick peck before taking out my phone to call the local pizza place.

--

After that story, everyone is laughing and crying. I always think it's good to celebrate someone's life rather than mourn over what's been lost. Especially now.

"On this day, we are all missing her more than we ever had. But I'd like to think about what she would want us to do if she were here. She wouldn't want us to wallow in sadness over her. Sophia would want us to celebrate the life she had, rather than the life she could've had."

Everyone claps, and I take a deep breath that seems to take away all of my worries. I go and sit back down in the pews of the big church building as we all reminisce over the beauty that was and is Sophia Berkeley.