"Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else."
- Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
It was a dark night on the quiet street of the small town. The moon was full and the light illuminated a lone woman standing at the end of the road.
The woman was wearing dark clothing with a hood pulled over her head, shadowing her face from the light. Dark brown, bone-straight hair peeked out from under her hood as she looked up at the moon above her. She stood still for a moment before a small whimper was heard, coming from the tiny bundle in her arms.
The woman shifted slightly, adjusting her arms so the baby in her arms lay on her chest. "Hush, my dear," she whispered, rocking the baby gently. "It'll be alright. Everything will be alright." The woman closed her eyes tightly as the lies slipped past her lips. She knew the baby in her arms would suffer before true happiness was found. It would be a long time before 'everything' would be alright again.
Glancing up at the moon, she said a quick prayer for the child in her arms before beginning to walk slowly down the short street. She knew she was only trying to prolong the inevitable. She tried to comfort herself that they would soon meet again even though it would feel like centuries before that day came. But she couldn't imagine this child growing up not knowing who she was- the true family she had. It was painful to think about.
Hugging the baby to her chest, she sped up before she could change her mind. Before she could run in the opposite direction- to a safe place where no one could find them.
The dark-haired woman stopped, coming to stand in front of the small white house. She sighed deeply, pressing her lips against the baby's forehead. A lone, traitorous tear fell on the child's head before she could stop it. She wrapped the baby tighter in the brown blanket surrounding her.
The woman slowly walked up to the door. She placed the baby on the cold, wet stone in front of the door before standing up to ring the doorbell. Her finger paused on the button, looking down at the baby, memorizing her features. She wiped her cheeks of any tears before pressing the button.
"Goodbye, darling," she whispered to the baby before disappearing off the front step.
A second later, the door opened to reveal a young woman no older than 20 with brown hair and blue eyes. She gazed out onto the dark street confused before hearing the small whine from the baby below her. She gasped, rushing to pick up the small child. She clumsily adjusted the baby in her arms, gazing out onto the street although she had a feeling the person who left this precious child would not appear.
Hearing the baby whine again, the young woman comfortingly shushed it, looking down. Furrowing her eyebrows, she brought her thumb up to wipe away the golden liquid on the baby's forehead.
Gazing out into the dark street again, she rocked the baby gently before softly closing the door.
Watching from a distance was the dark-haired woman, another tear running down her cheek. She gazed up at the moon, watching as the dark clouds pulled over slowly to block the illuminating light. She turned slightly to look longingly at the white house.
"I'll see you soon, my sweet," she said. The clouds blocked the moon fully, plunging the street into darkness. Once the clouds were gone, so was she.
Review Please!
