It all began that late afternoon... we dined indoors and I scolded him for spilling water on the kitchen floor. He gave me a sad smile and apologized... he leaned on the refrigerator as I slowly mopped the floor and made a comment about the stain it will leave on the floor.
He turned towards the window... "Can people fly?" he asked still looking towards the window.
"What kind of shit is that, you know better." my harsh reply echoing in the kitchen.
I walked by him and without looking at him told him to get ready for the afternoon stroll.
He took his time changing, and after I yelled at him three times he appeared smiling by my side... "Do you think its funny to make me wait? don't you know how busy I am? You should feel lucky that I take time to walk with you. lucky I tell you!" were a few of the things I said to him in the elevator...
"Can the soul be happy even when the body is sad? Does the spirit dance with joy even when the heartbeats are having trouble keeping up?"
I gave him a stern look and pulled him closer... "Cut the crap now"
At the park he ran after the squirrels, fed the pigeons, played strange dogs & talked to every possible stranger... I yelled, I scolded, I warned and even threatened. But his smile ...his permanent smile challenged everything that I said.
"Look at me" he yelled from behind... I turned to find him upside down on the monkey bars... "get down, you'll hurt yourself and stop interrupting my reading" & I went back to my book... Ironically, I was reading "The Notebook"...
he hesitated...but came down... he took off running after a black Lab & I took off after him.
I grabbed his arms and yelled that it was time to go home...
I prepared his bath and carefully measured the amount of bubble bath gel to be used... I folded the green towel and placed it on the table, I lined his robe, his sleepers and his underwear next to the toothbrush and the paste, I left a note with instructions on how many times to rinse & how many minutes to spend in the tub...and that milk and 3 oatmeal cookies were waiting for him at 7:30pm * * * -Don’t be late, I wrote in red ink-
it was 7:33pm- I marched up the stairs ready to scold him once again... I opened the door to his room and found it empty...'cept for a note on a green paper taped to his mirror... i grabbed the note... I screamed "NOoooooo!!!!" as I ran to the bathroom but I was too late...
time froze forever - what I've done?! ... His lifeless body floated in the tub; his laughter still echoing in the bathroom; his bright eyes followed me every where and the sound of my voice repeated the note that I've just read...
The days that followed were long and lonely & the only voice I now hear is my own ... my own voice reciting the same verse over and over...
Love is Patient, love is Kind.
It does Not Envy, it does Not Boast, it is Not Proud.
It is Not Rude, It is Not Self-Seeking,
it is Not Easily Angered, it Keeps No Record of Wrongs.
Love does Not Delight in Evil, but Rejoices in the Truth.
It Always Protects, Always Trusts, Always Hopes, Always Perseveres.
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