Lesson 13
Second Chance
I hear a faint voice. It is close to my left ear, reciting the Lords\u2019 Prayer. To those who hold a vigil at my bedside I am asleep. Yet my mind and emotions are on full alert. Tear drops escape and pool in my eye ducts. Again, I hear a voice.
\u201cLeave them be, while tears are shed my mother lives.\u201d
I recognise the voice. It\u2019s my dear daughter. I try my hardest. But my eyes remain locked. A barrier between me and the living. Her gentle touch. Her fragrance fills the air. My head screams. I\u2019m here, but my words are unheard.
\u201cYour mother is tired and frail.\u201d I hear the doctors’ hushed conclusion of my life.
Then let me sleep. I will gain strength and wake again tomorrow. Yet nobody hears my plea.
I drift and enter my childhood. A day where I yearned for the future. Now I long to relive the past and make all the wrongs right. I dream of younger days at the beach, my itchy nylon ruched bathing costume, where sea water collected in its folds. Attentive steps over laverbread rocks. I cling to my net, where tomorrow\u2019s butterflies will rest. I hear my mother call; we are shopping at the local market. Fresh veg and a large chicken for Sunday lunch, before the walk back down the incline for an afternoon at the mission. Back when days were long and the sun always shone.
I enter the same mission and stand before an altar. Young, naive and gladly repeat my vows. Only to regret them later. A lifetime of lies. If I lived another day, it would be to put right all the wrongs Sam made against us. A silent veil encases me; I am swept up beyond the sun.
It\u2019s true there is a light. The purest light, that draws me in. I sail through its quiet path. Taking in all its love. I slow and reach the end. Nothingness. I hear the herald angels triumphant call sounding. Its beauty beyond compare. Not yet a saintly voice calls.
I fall through a cloud and stand at my bed. Watching my loved one’s weep. And take a turn to say good-bye.
\u201cI can\u2019t do it. I can\u2019t watch her go.\u201d My body yearns to hold and quiet my daughter\u2019s sobs.
What\u2019s He doing here? You had no place in my life. I\u2019m damned if you are going to see me die. My body shudders. My heads in a whirl. I gasp. Yet not my last breath.
\u201cQuick call a doctor? \u201cA distraught voice calls.
My eyes are open. I blink and as our eyes meet and I see tears pool in Sam\u2019s eyes.
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Lesson 13 Second Chance I hear a faint voice. It is close to my left ear, reciting the Lords\u2019 Prayer. To those who hold a vigil at my bedside I am asleep. Yet my mind and emotions are on full … Continue reading