Fare Thee Well
...
Rewind. Last night. I am walking in the door at 10:20 p.m. Alia is sobbing. I can hear her. Rob calls my name. I make it up the stairs, round the corner, and there is Rob. He is sitting on the floor of Alia's room. Holding a plastic bag. Inside is a bird. A sand-colored bird. Oh no. It is Peaches. One of the three finches Alia got for her birthday a few months ago.
I go to the bedroom. Alia is hysterical. She is sobbing, the deep-from-the-gut sobbing. Almost rhythmically, on the fourth or fifth sob, she gulps for air. Large, sucked-in breaths. We look at each other. Her eyes are full of hurt. Full of a life-isn't-fair hurt.
By 11:00 p.m., I finally had her calmed down. Peaches was double plastic wrapped and in the freezer until burial time. Alia and I sat on the bed. I collected a few books for her to look at, and then I read to her. A simple book. Clever Rachel. A book about a smart girl named Rachel who had a knack for solving riddles. It was the perfect book to help Alia move forward with/transition to sleep.
Fare thee well, dear Peaches. We will miss you!
...
Rewind. Last night. I am walking in the door at 10:20 p.m. Alia is sobbing. I can hear her. Rob calls my name. I make it up the stairs, round the corner, and there is Rob. He is sitting on the floor of Alia's room. Holding a plastic bag. Inside is a bird. A sand-colored bird. Oh no. It is Peaches. One of the three finches Alia got for her birthday a few months ago.
I go to the bedroom. Alia is hysterical. She is sobbing, the deep-from-the-gut sobbing. Almost rhythmically, on the fourth or fifth sob, she gulps for air. Large, sucked-in breaths. We look at each other. Her eyes are full of hurt. Full of a life-isn't-fair hurt.
By 11:00 p.m., I finally had her calmed down. Peaches was double plastic wrapped and in the freezer until burial time. Alia and I sat on the bed. I collected a few books for her to look at, and then I read to her. A simple book. Clever Rachel. A book about a smart girl named Rachel who had a knack for solving riddles. It was the perfect book to help Alia move forward with/transition to sleep.
Fare thee well, dear Peaches. We will miss you!
...
Comments
ask her what she thinks will happen to Peaches now ... she may have an answer, inside, that will comfort her more than any that others offer.
give her a hug from us, too.
carol