The Last Good bye

short story of unconditional love

The Last Good bye!

As I sit by my window,watching the playground full of laughing children with there parents, I think

back on my life. I was once married. He was a tall, handsome man, dark hair, brown eyes. He made

me feel alive and vibrant like sunshine upon your face in the middle of summer. But just as the sun sets

in the evening, he disappeared from my life one day and never came back. A week later I found out I

was pregnant.

Nine months later I gave birth to a baby girl. I named her Darla. She had dark hair and brown eyes; just

like her father. She was my world. I taught her how to tie her shoes, read, ride a bike. Her favorite

book was “Cinderella.” She was going to find her prince someday and live happily ever after. She

believed in chasing that dream. I still have that book sitting on the book shelf with all her other books

I read to her. “You can do anything you want to in life if you set your mind to it.” I said. I had so many

aspirations for her life.

Darla, where are you going? I asked. “A party” she replied. “Not dressed like that. I didn't raise you to

dress like a hooker.”

“Mom, I am 16, I can do what I want.” She walked out of my life for ten years. I didn't hear from her

or know where she was or if she was even alive anymore. I was afraid for her.

When I went to work one day, a friend told of a girl she had met. She had a baby and needed help. She

had been raped and left for dead. Her friends took advantage of her and she started doing drugs and

drinking alcohol. She felt she couldn't call her mother. “She wouldn't understand me.” she said. Darla

had a difficult time between rehab and sobriety.

She is right, I didn't understand. My baby girl who was smart, pretty, and could have made a good life

for herself was out on the street, begging living in homeless shelters with a baby of her own. “How

could this have happened? I taught her right from wrong, to be self-sufficient, work hard and you will

go far in life. Of course, that is what I heard living at home. My mother had said the same to me.

I let go of my dreams that I had for her and now my only dream was for her to return to me. There was

something I needed to tell her.

I will be 75 this fall. I have been diagnosed with cancer and have only a few months to live. I want to

tell Darla good-bye and tell her that I have always loved her. I will get to meet my 5 year old

granddaughter, I have never seen. Finally, from my window, I see them walking to my front door.

Reviews

[Alex Boyd]

Good context and subject matter....