Author: David Henson
A gust of wind found us while we were walking in the park. She opened her arms, skipped backwards, pretending to be a kite. Like you used to do. Before you got sick. Before you helped them create her, your dying gift to me.
We came upon the spot where you and I once had a picnic — cheese and a baguette. She had your memory of hiding red wine in a thermos because alcohol is against park rules.
When we got home, she made spaghetti for dinner. The sauce tasted exactly like yours. She knows all your secrets.
After the doctors said there was nothing they could do, you spent more and more time with her creators. You told them everything you could think of. About yourself. About us. Now it all resides in her.
She looks like you, laughs like you and cries like you. Just as promised. When I kiss her, I’m overwhelmed by the scent of you. When we make love, she moves like you. As I said, she knows all your secrets.
Tonight we sat and talked for hours. Just like you and I used to do. I lost myself in the rhythm of her voice — your voice. After a while, she began speaking slowly and softy, and her eyes dimmed. Reminding me I need to charge her. Reminding me, yet again, she’s not you.
I wish I could live without her.
I wonder if she knows.
A gift that is a curse.
Good story.
Thank you.
No two things are exactly alike, a beautiful story well told.
Thanks!
Yes, in German she would be “die gleiche Frau” (alike) but not “dieselbe Frau” (the very same). There is no moving forwards, only being stuck in the same memory loop.
Well done!
Thank you.
Of the many ways of dealing with grief and loss that has to be one of the unhealthiest yet most appealing.
True. Thanks for commenting.