Such a 'Joyous' day
How can such a day of pure and utter happiness be spoiled with such a terrible tragedy.
Mary cradled her newborn son, beaming at the small bundle in her arms. What a day she mused to herself hadn't been long since Matthew left, but she couldn't help feel more impatient as 30 minutes turned into 2 hours.
She heard a sudden knock on the door and a red-eyed Robert came in. Sudden dread filled her stomach as she wondered why his eyes were red and why everyone took so long to get there.
Robert forced a smile on and walked towards Mary.
"I'm so proud of you, my darling girl. I suppose I have someone to meet, do you know his name yet?" He gently said.
"Thank you, Papa and no Matthew and I are going to decide on it when he gets back."
A flash of pain struck across Roberts face and his eyes welled up with years and he averted eye contact with his eldest daughter, who had gone through so much only to be told her husband had died on this supposedly 'joyous' day.
"Where is he?" She asked in a serious tone.
Robert stood frozen, unable to function at all.
"Where is Matthew, Papa?" She slowly said like she was talking to a five year old.
His daughters deep and dark brown eyes bored into his head waiting impatiently for his response.
"I'm so sorry, Mary." He breathed out
Mary's stomach dropped and heart felt cold, her body froze and time stood still to her.
"He was killed Mary. In a car crash." His voice caught at the word killed. He felt tears dropping down his face as he watched his daughters try to process the devastating and life changing news he had just delivered.
Her world fell to pieces in the space of forty five seconds. She tried to be calm , she tried to process the thought that Matthew was no longer alive. How can someone so alive and full of excitement and eagerness to embrace the future, just die when he had so much more to look forward to in life.
With that thought her eyes watered, she tried to fight the tears, she tried to be as tough as she was when she first met him. But she couldn't take it anymore. Like a dam bursting, she exploded. The previous unshed tears she had, now shed and however much she tried to keep her mouth shut, she could not contain her sob.
Soon the baby sensed his mother's distress and started to wail. Mary couldn't care less because she knew the baby was oblivious to the fact that his father died.
Robert quickly recovered himself and had to call in a nurse to take the baby away to stop crying.
Robert walked over to Mary and held her in his arms as she cried.
She had her breakdown and after that she remained emotionless and hard as a rock, never moving, never speaking. Just blinking blankly at the pale white ceiling. She was waiting to see Matthews body, one last time.
The nurses helped her into a wheelchair and wheeled her down to a small secluded room where the outline of a body covered with a white sheet lay on a small hospital bed.
When she was next to the bed, she pulled off the white sheet and not to her disbelief, lay her very pale beloved husband. She rested her hand on his which lay on his stomach and with some difficulty she lay her head on his chest, where she usually rested her head right on his heart, usually that slow, strong and steady rhythm and his chest rising and falling as he breathed is what lulled her to sleep only now she only found silence and an unbearable stillness.
His normal pale face now even paler. His golden hair now tainted with dry blood right by his ear as you could see the dried up trail of blood seeping out of his ear and down his neck. His eyelids were shut, however, she knew behind them were beautiful, intense cerulean blue eyes.
He looked so young, he could even be sleeping for all she knew.
But there lay her husband, young and broken by life and there was nothing in her power to do anything to get him back. She soon fell asleep with her head in its usual place on his no longer beating heart.