A Mother's Miracle

Another night, another bruise marking her porcelain white skin; Deep indents of fingerprints shining purple on her arms hidden by her favourite long sleeved sweater knitted by her mother, many years ago.

Closing her eyes to the world for a moment, she took a second or two to remember the warm smile of her mother and father, the scent of the summer green grass and the azure sky laced with pure, white clouds, each image bringing a smile to her face.

The golden memory ended when a slam of the flimsy, wooden door downstairs brought her back to reality. Knowing he had gone out for his usual evening drink with his friends, the young woman released a long sigh before she looked about the room she stood in. Dark and damp, walls pasted with wallpaper withering with time and the simplest of furniture to give the place a homey touch, she reminded herself of how lucky she was, to have a home of her own, however empty it looked and felt.

With shaking hands she adjusted the frames on the walls knocked by the shatters of rage and looked at each picture wrapped up in a single layer of cheaply varnished pine, one in particular. The sepia, tinted images staring back at her bringing yet another small smile to her face as her reflection was placed perfectly between her mum and dad. She slowly placed her hand to the glass protecting the picture, careful of the crack in the far right corner, feeling a silent tear fall down her cheek. The question she often found herself asking to the empty room came to her rose petal lips once again. “What happened?”

There was never a day that she didn’t sit alone in her room wondering what had happened to the life she once knew, the times when laughter would ring off of the desolate walls of the Georgian house built by her parents when they first moved to Georgia. What happened to her dream of the perfect little family she would have, with the perfect house in the country far from the noise and pollution of the city, and most of all what had happened to the dream and hope of being held in the strong arms of a man who would be the perfect husband and father to their children. The man that would be there when she needed him the most, to tell her everything would be okay.

Looking to wrists, she was suddenly reminded of how all of her dreams had died along with her happiness, four or five years ago when a blue eyed stranger stepped into her life.

Thinking back to that chilly summer evening down at the city hall she chuckled at the line he fed her, his teeth bared through a sweet smile as he called her ‘Darling Daisy’ and asked her to dance. Only young and of course naïve, she accepted and they danced the night away.

From that day, she and the young man, named Will, spent each and every Friday night for five months, meeting at the city hall for a dance and then one night as he held her close for a slow dance; he looked into her hazel eyes and asked her;

“Dear sweet Emma-Faye would you do me the Honor of becoming my wife?”

Besotted and in, what she thought was love, her smile beamed as she stopped the gentle swaying and nodded. “I do!”

Happy and living with her parents at the time, they both married in the fall right in the city hall, where they had met. Little did Emma-Faye know was that the two sacred words, binding them both in holy matrimony would become the two words that would lock her in a home that was the opposite of every thing she had ever dreamed of.

A year after they had married, Emma came to learn the news of her father passing away of a heart attack. Distraught by the news, she attended the funeral with a broken heart Will and her mother by her side. After the day they had laid her father to rest, her mother Rosemary slowly began to wither away, without her husband Albert, she was not the same. The light in her eyes and warmth of her smile became forced. Watching her mother fade away killed Emma-Faye but it had the opposite effect on her own husband, Will. Learning of the inheritance that would come to them both after her parents were gone, Will was more than happy to watch the old woman wither. Emma’s view of her darling husband completely changed when he had told her his plans to send her mother into the county home for the old aged. Showing her disagreement brought out the worst in him. On the night before Halloween was the first time Emma had seen Will in a blind rage and felt the wrath of it when his hand came into contact with her honey smooth skin.

Adjusting the picture once more, Emma left her spot to sit by the window, looking out at the stars. Something she loved to do whilst Will was out, blowing the inheritance given early to them since her mother had no use for it, on beer and gambling on the dogs, which when he lost she was the only one to know about it, and it wasn’t very often that he won on the races either.

Her shaking hand moving to her stomach, she looked down and smiled at the thought of the life growing inside of her. It was the one moment Will had shown true affection to her, a day when he had finally won fifty dollars on the races, bringing home a small bunch of Daisies to her, calling her by the name he once did when they first met.

“Honey, I’m home!” He practically pranced into the kitchen where Emma was cleaning the dishes. He pulled her to him and spun her round, a genuine smile upon his face. Kissing her lips he then presented her the flowers. “These are for you, a bunch of daisies for my Darling Daisy.”

Taking the bunch from him, she sniffed at the gentle summer smell and smiled, thanking him.

“I love you Emma-Faye.” He then whispered, holding her close still. Looking up at him, she felt like it was the night they had met all over again. Kissing her with a passion she had not felt in a long time, she dropped the daisies to the floor and followed him up to their room, where they made love, twice.

Things were finally turning out the way Emma had planned, Will becoming a new man when she had told him the news of their unborn child. It was the happiest day of her life. That was until the bubble eventually burst when she had dropped his hunting trophy when cleaning, breaking it in two. When he found out, it was like the kind and sweet Will had disappeared, returning to his usual temperamental self.

Looking to a certain star she believed to be her father, she kept the faith and knew that the star she watched every night was Papa Al looking down on her and keeping her safe.

~

Sweeping the brunette locks of hair from her face, six months later, Emma – Faye cried out as the family doctor encouraged her to push, an early fight with Will causing her to go into labor three months too early.

Screaming in pain and drenched in sweat, she bore down once more to give birth to her little boy. Throwing herself back onto the couch in her living room, she watched as Dr. Thorne took her baby, handing it to a midwife to check him over.

“What’s wrong, why is he not crying?”

Emma feared to ask. There came no reply at first until she was told that her baby boy was a still born baby, not even taking one breath. Swallowing hard, Emma nodded in acceptance and asked if she could hold the child, just for a moment. Nodding, her doctor handed the boy to her, wrapped in a pale blue blanket she had made especially for him.

Looking down at the small child, she gently brushed her hand across his forehead, tears clouding her vision. She felt her whole life leave with the life of the baby in her arms.

It was only days later that Emma-Faye attended yet another funeral, made especially for Jamie Adam Sommers, the name she had also stitched into the small little blanket. She stood stock still as the tiny coffin was lowered into the ground, the priest saying his prayers for the child.

“Jamie Adam will be remembered by his family and his parents, William and Emma-Faye Sommers.”

Emma turned her head and saw her husband standing at a far distance, the death of their baby being the final straw in their marriage.

Once everyone had left and her uncle had taken Mama Rosemary back to his, Emma stayed behind and knelt before the open grave. Taking out of her pocket a small piece of paper and a baby blue elephant she kissed it softly before dropping it into the ground. From that moment that the soft toy hit the surface of the coffin she felt a small breeze blow through her hair and the autumn leaves dance about in the sky. It was warm and comforting. Emma-Faye then knew that her baby was in safe and loving hands, the hands of her father, Albert. Knowing that, she left the cemetery with a sentimental feeling knowing that things would only get better from there, her faith restored and grief only small.

~

Five years later, Emma-Faye stood before Jamie’s grave, placing a small bunch of daisies upon the dew laced ground, the petals blowing in the gentle spring breeze. Looking to the headstone, she gently touched it before feeling a small pair of arms hug her legs. Bending down she picked up the little girl and kissed her cheek.

“Hello sunshine! Ready to go and see Grandma!?” She asked with joy laced in her voice.

Nodding in reply, the little girl cheered with a melodious laugh. “Let’s go mummy!”

Emma smiled and turned to leave, meeting part way with her husband, George. A kind and loving man, she had met when helping her mother move back in to her home.

Standing at the cemetery gate she felt the breeze once again and turned to look at the grave, giving a smile she left with her family, inwardly thanking her father for being there, every step of the way, guiding her to a better life.

My darling son, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of you and what it’d be like if you were here.
Sweet child, you barely had the chance to breathe before you were taken away from us.
Snow white spirit, I know you’re there when I look to the stars smiling in the arms of our father.
Blessed babe, it’s a miracle that this life we live did not have the chance to tarnish your innocence that you lay and rest in eternal peace.

To others you barely lived, but to us you walk with us everywhere, your smile lining the sun, sending the rain to hide our tears and letting us know we’ll be okay.

To our Sleeping Angel, although your life on earth was short lived, your memory will remain forever in our minds and forever in our hearts.

In God we pray, Amen.