Remembering Lincoln

It's funny how a tragedy could bring a family together. It hasn't been less than four years after the Loud family was forced to part with Lincoln. What started as a simple trip to the park revealed itself as a nightmare when Lincoln passes out from blood loss. It only went from bad to worse when Lincoln was diagnosed with brain tumors, meaning that he only had a short amount of time left to live. Lincoln had been suffering from symptoms pertaining to the wretched disease that went unnoticed by his family. By the time that they were made aware of the young boy's condition, Lincoln slowly drifted into the final stages of the malady. Although distraught by the announcement, Lincoln tried the best to his ability to instill good memories in his sisters so that when the time came, they could fondly think back about the time that they had together.

As the week slowly went by, the cancerous cells slowly drained Lincoln of his energy. It had gotten to the point it was recommended that Lincoln spend a few nights in the hospital. Even though it pained his parents to do so, they obliged. His younger sisters - Lucy, Lola and Lana - were made aware that their brother's health was failing, and naturally, they didn't take it well. While his younger siblings expressed their sadness in different ways (Lucy, who was morbidly fascinated by death sniffled at the announcement for instance), arguably the worst reaction was Lisa's. Taking it upon herself to find a cure for her brother's illness, she was made to realize that there was no hope for her brother. Usually the stoic, the reality of the situation drove Lisa to tears, and she destroyed her research. She was even unwilling to attend his funeral; it took her sisters having to convince her that it wasn't her fault to convince her to go.

Eventually, the Loud family went to the hospital to request that Lincoln be removed so that he could attend his sister, Lynn's, game. The hospital respected their wishes and provided a wheelchair for Lincoln. And then it happened. As the game was nearing its climax, Lincoln leans over in agony, grabbing onto his chest. The family immediately rushes to the hospital, where they are informed that the tumor was spreading to his heart. Lincoln ultimately died with his loved ones around him. His sisters' eyes were filled with tears as they saw the life slowly drain out of his eyes. Before he passed off to eternal slumber, he swore that he could see his friend, Adrien, standing beside him with a warm smile on his face.

Lincoln's funeral was a rather simple one. His family invited all who would attend. Even Mr. Grouse, the resident grouch of Royal Woods, took time to pay his condolences to the grieving family. It would seem that his gratefulness to Lincoln for giving him a one-way ticket for Christmas really rubbed off on him. The funeral service was dreary at first. Lincoln had tried to encourage his sisters to be strong in the events of his passing, but they were completely shattered by their loss. It takes Luna suggesting that they remember all of the funny times that they had with their brother to lift their spirits slightly. After they had finished on what they had wanted to say about their brother, others took part in the discussion. Clyde reminisces on the misadventures he and Lincoln engaged in, Ronnie Anne talked about how she used to tease him a lot, Grouse remembered when Lincoln's action figure was tossed into his backyard and he kept it, etc. Eventually, the family opted to cremate Lincoln, because they feared that Lisa would try to bring him back through science. Lincoln's ashes were placed in an orange urn jar that sat on top of the fireplace, out of the reach of the younger siblings. Even though it was only a few years after Lincoln's death, the family didn't seem as energetic as they used to be prior to the devastating experience. Lincoln was hardly mentioned in any discussions by his sisters, as they feared that this would trigger traumatizing memories of watching their only brother die slowly from the brain tumors. It became such a problem, that Lynn Sr. and Rita opted to keep the spare bedroom off limits. Taking a lock, the room remained unopened for quite some time. With that, the Loud house became less loud.

As with everything, the sisters grew older. Lori had graduated from high school, and went to acquire a fairly well-paying job after college. Leni was working at a restaurant as a waitress, Luna and Luan were hardly ever home. The younger siblings were also getting older as well. Lily in particular was starting to learn more words. Lincoln would've loved to have witnessed Lily's training going well without a hinge. Lily had become quite the adorable young girl as one could imagine. At four years old, Lily was mischievous, getting into trouble whenever she could. She expected her older sisters to play with her every now and then, but she didn't mind playing by herself. She was playing with a bouncy ball one Wednesday afternoon, and she tossed it down the hall. Unsurprisingly, the ball overturned vases and other breakables. The ball then bounced off of a door that slowly creaked open. Giggling, Lily scampered to retrieve her ball. She was about to head back downstairs, but seeing the empty room open sparked her curiosity. Lily quietly waltzed into the room, and was fascinated by what it held. Lily walks over to the bed, and she sees a cute stuffed rabbit sitting on the bed sheets. Without any consideration on her part, she makes a grab at the stuffed animal, accidentally roughing it in the process. She hides the torn rabbit underneath the bed, and she he heads over to the counter. She sees a picture of a young boy that she didn't recognize. The young boy was in a family picture dated 2016, and to her surprise, he had white hair. No one in her family, barring Pop Pop, had white hair. She squinted at the picture in deep thought. She seems to remember this boy from somewhere, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Maybe if she were to show the picture to her older sisters they could clarify on the identity of the boy before her.

Lucy, Lola, Lana, and Lisa were sitting on the couch watching a show at that time, when Lily scampered into the room. "Hey, I found a picture," Lily says in an excited tone. Her sisters didn't seem to acknowledge her presence that much, as they continued to watch their show uninterrupted. "That's nice, sister unit," replies Lisa in her usual monotone. Lily, seemingly unfazed by this, continued to speak. "I found this picture in some locked room, but I don't know who this boy is." The remote drops on the floor with a thud. "R...room?" Lily shakes her head excitedly. Upon further expression, Lisa realizes that Lily had gotten the picture from the locked room. A great silence engulfed the room as the sisters tried to process the situation. "So, who is this," Lily says more forcefully. Her sisters looked at each other for a long time contemplating on who should be the one to tell Lily. Sighing, Lana sits down beside Lily and, with a heavy heart, she explained the mysterious boy to her. "Lily, this was your older brother, Lincoln." Lily's jaw drops in surprise. "I have a brother? Where is he?" Lana tugs at her shirt nervously before continuing on. "You see Lily, your brother was sick for an awful long time, and he didn't get better." Lily scratches her head in confusion. She got sick a few times, and the only thing that she needed to feel better was medicine. "So?" Lily says without a hint of hostility in her voice "mommy always makes me feel better whenever I feel sick, so why couldn't Lincoln get better?" Her older sisters were feeling the waterworks coming on, but they felt compelled to continue. "He...he," Lana began before warm tears overtook her. Lola consoled her, and she took over. "Lily, remember when you had that pet butterfly you've had once and dad accidentally crushed it?" Lily nods. "Well, Lincoln's in that same kind of situation that your pet was. He's...he's dead." Lily still couldn't get a grasp of what she was trying to tell her. "But, if he died, why don't I remember him?" Lana pats Lily's head tenderly. "You were so young when Lincoln left. He loved you so much and would've loved to spend time with you."

Lily didn't know how to meditate on her sister's assuring words. She wanted to feel sad that her brother was gone, but she just couldn't fathom that she had special moments with him. What's more, she felt angry that her sisters got to know him longer than she ever could. And yet she could recall some distant memories of spending time with some boy when she was younger. "It's not fair, all of you got to know and love him! Why, why does it have to be this way?" she yelled. Lana looks at her with understanding eyes. She dips Lily from off the floor and hugs her deeply. "Sometimes, there isn't a reason why this happens."

Even though the sisters were greatly saddened by having to come to terms that their only brother wasn't coming back, they decided to take this as an opportunity to show Lily glimpses of what her brother was like. With Luan's help, the sisters watch home videos of the time that Lincoln spent with them. What caught Lily's interest was when it came to her interaction with her brother. She witnessed him playing with her, and tucking her in at night. A lump began to form in Lily's throat as tears burned her eyes. Soon, all of the sisters were crying, but they were tears of joy as memories of Lincoln poured out from them.