Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for the Slice of Life Challenge.
I put off going to visit.
I took my time finishing a prayer blanket. Then busy days kept me away. Until Sunday. I knew I needed to go before it was too late.
I knocked tentatively on the door. No answer. Another knock. No answer. I hung the bag with the blanket inside on the door handle and tip-toed back to my car. I texted her daughter, “I left a package at the door.”
She responded, “No one answered the door? I’m not home. They must be on the back patio.”
I turned my car around. Ok, here I go. I walked around to the back and met her husband and her sister. “I have the monitor, so I can hear her,” her husband said. “It’s time for her medicine. It’s a good time to visit. She will be more alert.”
“You may be shocked to see her,” he added. I remembered seeing my husband’s father near death. I felt prepared.
I wasn’t prepared.
She lay in the bed. Her face pale, almost stone-like, but still soft and warm. I lay next to her, placed the blanket over her, and cried.
When I spoke her name, she opened her eyes. Did she see my tears? She tried to reach out to hug me, but her arms had no direction. I held her hand and rambled:
“You are beautiful.
You are a queen.
I love you.
God is with you.”
She mumbled. I didn’t understand her words.
I think she said, “I’m sick.”
I think she said, “I love you.”
I think she smiled.
When her husband came in with her medicine, I saw true love. He climbed onto the bed, raised her up, and said, “Breathe, breathe. I love you. Breathe.”
As I left, I hugged him. A man I just met. He was doing the best he could. He’s holding on to a small thread and knows that it will soon break. He will lose her. She will die. My eyes met his.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”
Reflections on the Teche 
Pain, heartbreak, and yet peace and love . . .
You have captured so many thoughts . . . the “shoulds”, the “coulds”, and then the doing. Bless you and your friend. You won’t regret going ever! ❤
Yes peace and love abide. It was hard to do and hard to write. Thanks for your response.
Margaret- This is a beautiful slice. So, so sad. It made me cry. Carol
Beautiful.
So hard. It is such a difficult situation.
This is never easy, but you have written it beautifully.
You are a beautiful friend. I thank you for sharing this. It serves as a reminder to us all that we should make the effort to visit. Yes, it is hard for us, but so much harder for the family.
I love that you lay down beside your friend. So sorry for this sad loss. You honor her so beautifully here.
Beautiful, clear voice! So real and relatable. Love it!
Margaret, what can I say but kindness knows no boundaries. Your post brought tears to my eyes. I pray for your friend and her family.
This is sacred, liminal space. Your friend is poised between two worlds, and can see both of them. There is much Awe here! She sees both sides through a glass darkly, but will soon see face to face on the other, holy side.
An intimate glimpse of enduring love and the promises we made at the alter, living out our wedding vows, ….”in sickness and in health, ‘til death do us part.” Amen
Oh, my. Thank you. Love you too.
You’ve captured the hard and raw just beautifully. I am sorry for this heartache.
What a beautiful and heart wrenching slice. Thanks for being there for your friend and writing about it to share with us. What a gift to be there for her and her family.
Yes, a gift.
Beautifully written! I’m glad you got the visit.
I’m sorry, too. For you. For your friend. For her loved ones. A friend of mine died last summer. Her battle was long and hard fought. She left us with so much.
I marvel that we both chose to write slices on losing someone we love so. Death being a part of life … I marvel at the power of simple words and the human touch, at the power of the human spirit to overcome, and dying grace at the moment it is needed. Peace to you~