Loss

I remember the first day I moved in the neighborhood,

She showed up on my doorstep with homemade apple pie.

And when my brother was lonely and hadn't made any friends yet,

She invited him over to play basketball with her sons.

When I went out on walks and bumped into her,

She'd not only greet me warmly,

But stroll alongside me.

Hours passed in conversation about school, movies, families, and books.

We'd watch them play basketball.

My brother and her sons.

We'd laugh and talk about life.

About vacations, the holidays, and dreams for the future.

But hers wasn't to be.

Six months after I first met her,

She collapsed from a seizure.

"You have a massive brain tumor,"the doctor said.

"You're going to need surgery."

And on the operating table she went.

When she came back, everything seemed fine.

She talked, ate, laughed, and moved normally.

But the sparkle in her clear emerald eyes had vanished.

Three months later,

She suffered a stroke.

"I'm sorry, but the operation failed,"said the doctor.

"You have a month to a year. I advise you to get your affairs in order."

She arrived home,

Ashen faced, shaking.

Her children and husband hugged her tightly.

We all offered our sympathies.

Her house was jam packed and raucous every night for the next few weeks.

Friends and relatives from all over the globe poured in.

Seeking time with someone who had so little left.

But eventually her health couldn't take it.

Those last months were a haze.

Her health deteriorated rapidly.

I remember seeing her nurse help her painstakingly walk down the driveway

I paused in front of them and said, "Hi!"

She didn't recognize me.

July 2, 2015.

The night was rent apart with the shrill screams of ambulances.

2 am.

My family and I were startled wide awake.

"Please, please, please be all right!"

"Thank god; she's alive!"

But she wasn't that lucky.

9 am, when her children were at school,

She passed on.

Way before her time.

The funeral was like a stab to the heart.

Her sons and daughters stared blankly at the coffin, dressed in black,

While their father quietly acknowledged our condolences

With tears silently running down his face.

Shock when the next few days

Dawned sunny with not a speck of cloud in the sky.

When life went back to normal.

And I had to go to school.

Why couldn't the world mourn with us?

Hundreds of people know her,

One of the best people you could meet.

But a century later,

No one will remember.

History is cruel that way.

She was one of the pillars of our community.

She was one of the best mothers in the world.

She was a helpful, welcoming neighbor.

She was kind, compassionate, empathetic, and a phenomenal cook.

But she's gone now.

And I will never be the same.

Mother, daughter, wife, neighbor, friend

May she rest in peace.

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Some of the dates and events I have changed slightly to keep her anonymous, but most of it is a true story.

If I have offended you in any way, I sincerely apologize.