Letting Go

Flash Fiction weepy

Henry had opened the small wooden box against his wife’s wishes and consequently faced an inner conflict that surpassed anything he’d experienced in seventy years of life.

As he looked down on his wife of 42 years he could not help remembering the abandoned dreams of his youth. He watched Amanda as she lay in her bed, life ebbing slowly from her cancer riddled body, and recalled the moment she had told him she was pregnant with their first child.

As if prompted by the memory, Amanda opened her eyes and asked weakly,

‘Did you get rid of it?’

There was an awareness to her tone that had been absent for months now.

‘Yes’, he lied, with a happy smile,

‘I burned it like you wanted’

A large tear rolled across Amanda’s cheek and wetted the pillow beneath her head. She closed her eyes and smiled ruefully. Henry brushed his fingers through her sparse grey hair and forgot about the confession he had read barely an hour previously.

‘I don’t want to leave you with any regrets’ she told him, tears brimming at her closed lids.

Henry thought of John, their 44 year old son, and then Charlotte and Carol, born 5 and 7 years after him. He pictured his three children and then the plane he had almost caught to India before John’s conception. He thought of the years of toil he had endured to feed and clothe his family and placed these facts next to his youthful dream of travelling the world. For the first time in almost half a century he allowed himself to imagine the things that might have been.

Perhaps he should have been angry now that the truth he had always suspected, but could never prove, had been confirmed, but Henry felt only relief.

He looked at Amanda and felt glad that she had conceived John to keep them together. Had she not then he would have been on that flight and would not now be with the woman he loved as she relinquished her hold on the life they had shared.

Henry wept with his wife as he stroked her cold cheek,

‘The only regret I have is that I have to let you go’, he assured her

Amanda opened her bright blue eyes and looked to him pleadingly,

‘Really?’

Tears dripped down Henry’s nose,

‘I wouldn’t change a single thing’ he said, telling her, finally, that he understood.

She held his hand and smiled as best she could,

‘Will you let me go now Henry? I can’t stand this pain any longer’

Henry nodded and managed a smile through the blur of his emotion,

‘Of course my darling. You’ve suffered enough’

He leaned close to her and kissed her gently on the forehead while plunging the morphine filled syringe into her scalp. Henry watched as she closed her eyes one final time and said, as he always had,

‘Sweet dreams my sweet. I’ll see you very soon’

Reviews

[sarah]

this is wonderful it leaves me with alot of questions though

[Jade Mayhew]

:[ Tears are in my eyes. Cancer is a very close issue with my; I lost one of my closest friends to cancer. This was a beautiful story, and I enjoyed reading it very very much. Thank you so much for posting and entering in my contest.

[Nautili]

very touching.........i like the fact that they endured so much together and still were in love....and that he believed in an afterlife where they would be reunited.

[snapstache]

another great story of yours!
I was going to cry!
Cancer is so sad.
It was much shorter than some of your other things I have read, but you still made an impact like you always do.
*.*

[Soldiering]

Wow that was definitely intriguing! Nice writing style, i found it really easy to read and it flowed so perfectly.
You had me really feeling for ol Henry.