Saying Good-bye

Annie gripped the shoebox tightly and waited patiently as her father dug the hole. She shifted her weight from one foot to the next, trying to keep her high-heels from sinking into the soft earth.

Mason huddled close to Annie’s side. As Annie looked down at him through her lavender sunglasses, it occurred to her that he was not wearing a hat. She gently set the box in the grass and unwrapped the flowery, silk scarf from around her neck. She carefully tied it around Mason’s head.

“There, that ought to be deep enough to keep the Jackson’s dog away,” declared Annie’s father as he set the shovel aside.

From the back porch, Annie’s mother coughed a warning to her husband.

“Oh yeah, I mean, it just ought to be deep enough.” He stepped aside and let his six-year-old take over.

On cue, Annie picked up the shoebox and slowly walked forward until she stood at the edge of the hole. Mason stayed glued to her side.

“LORD!” screamed Annie, startling poor Mason, as well as her parents. “Lord, take my Goldie to a better place, where all fish live happily ever after,” preached Annie.

“And where people remember to feed them,” whispered Annie’s mom.

The young girl’s plastic Mardi Gras beads rattled as she tossed the box into the hole. Annie’s father quickly replaced the dirt. Mason reached into his sagging pants’ pocket and produced a baseball-sized rock. “Goldie” the rock proclaimed, in stark white crayon. Mason placed the rock on top of the freshly turned soil.

Annie paused briefly before declaring, “Let’s go play!”

Content that he and his wife had handled this life lesson as well as any parents could, Annie’s dad exclaimed, “Life goes on.” They joined their children at the sandbox.


WC: 299