A Father's Love

A Father's Love(Amelia Edwards) My feet thudded against the hard-packed earth and the sun burned my neck. Panting from the weight of my load, I tried to brush away the sweat dripping in my eyes. Luscious green leaves slapped my face as I trudged home through the orchard. I peered through the foliage long enough to see a modest brown house in the distance. The roof was in need of repair and the windows were cracked and dirty but it was my home. I was a poor man living a poor life. I had once had a wife, but she was long gone. One cold winter pneumonia had swept through our poor village, and with no doctors many were lost. Just months earlier, my darling Elizabeth had given birth to a beautiful daughter, Lily.

As I walked, I remembered her shining face and her chiming giggles. Lily’s soul was so young and untarnished, and the sight of her could bring joy to anyone’s life. Miserable that we could not buy her the many toys and clothes the rich children could afford, we spent much of our savings on her single toy. It was small and ragged, but Lily loved it as we loved her. Lily never let that pink bear out of her sight, even when she was asleep.
Then, I made the most horrid mistake of my life. I let Lily out of my sight. She had just finished her bath and was now on her blanket, playing with the bear. I had left her there for a moment to go check on her mother. I was gone for perhaps ten minutes, but when I got back, Lily was gone. I panicked. I raced around the house, looking and searching into every corner, nook, and cranny. I froze while searching the kitchen cupboards as her happy giggle echoed through the window. I flew out of the door and scooped Lily out of the snow. Her skin was still wet and was freezing cold. I rushed inside to her mother. Lily’s blanket was already in her arms and Elizabeth wrapped her tightly in the blanket until she stopped shaking.

Despite all of my efforts, Lily died of that tragic disease, pneumonia, just days after her mother. I knew it was my fault she was gone. Had I just taken her with me to go see Elizabeth, Lily would still be with us; maybe if I’d given her milk to keep her still or washed her later or earlier she would have been dry and safe. Now, all I had left of her was that doll. I kept it in Lily’s bed, where she had last seen it. In her final moments, Lily had wrapped her thin arms around the doll and closed her eyes, the last breath slowly leaving her chest.

I pushed my thoughts out of my mind as I stomped up the porch stairs. I gently pushed open the door, tears now sparkling in my eyes, mingling with the sweat. I pushed gently and the door swung open. My thoughts full of Lily and Elizabeth, I set down my pack and walked quietly to Lily’s room. I slowly crossed the room; it had been so long since I had come in.
I paused by the crib and looked around the room. I saw the small blue blanket, lying wrinkled and dusty on the floor; Lily had happily lain here, playing with the doll and her mother. I saw the shelf displaying Lily’s things, hanging on the wall by the door. It was nearly empty, a small plastic cup, still filled with Lily’s last drink, and a family keepsake. A coffee mug cracked and chipped with age bore the family’s crest of arms: a badger racing with an eagle flying close above.

Suddenly a tremor shook the house. The dust shifted and Lily’s milk trembled. I looked around, confused. Work was over for the day and the machines had been turned off and put away. Another tremor ran through the floor as a hair-line crack split through the wall. I stumbled as the floor gave a violent shake and dust fell from the ceiling.

I stared, horrified, as the house began to fall around me. My mind was jumbled and my body was shaking with panic, but through it all, I knew what was happening. An earthquake was shaking the land. I staggered to a wall as the beams of the ceiling began to fall in. The window in Lily’s room shattered with a crash and then a piece of wood fell and crushed the frame. Ducking, I fell onto Lily’s small bed and curled into a ball, trying to protect myself from the falling debris. I curled up, smaller and smaller, until I felt I was the size of my deceased daughter. Suddenly, with surprise, I felt my hair lengthen and my face grow rounder. Before my very eyes, the fallen wood flew into place and a tearful man appeared before me.
A quiet cough escaped my lips and I struggled to find my breath. Slowly I wrapped my arms around the pink bear, lying by my side.

“Lily, no. Stay with me Lily, please,” the man whispered. I squeezed my bear and closed my eyes, a final shuttering sigh leaving my body.