Veritas
Summary: The Metcalfs learn that, despite tragedy, there is hope in the first signs of spring.
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Author's Notes: I dedicate this story to Cheryl, who allowed me to experience the real beauty of forsythia. And for Sharon, my HF "partner-in-crime".
Author: Tracy Diane Miller
Mom
always loved spring. Ever since he could remember, she'd say
that
anything was possible in spring. Spring was God's continual
blessing.
Spring was a gift, a celebration of life. It was part of
God's
plan. God always had a plan. That was why HE covered the
Earth
in snow. It was a reminder for everything in nature to go to
sleep
with the promise of a new beginning in the spring. The
trees,
shedding
their leaves in the cold of winter, would soon come alive
again.
New leaves would offer a tangible reminder of this
rebirth.
Forsythia
would soon bloom, perfuming the River Run with its
fresh
fragrance.
It
was hard to remember the joy and celebration of life when they
had
just
buried Sarah. At her funeral, the sermon challenged them to
honor
Sarah's life by rejoicing in their memories of her. They
shouldn't
be sad because Sarah was going homegoing to Heaven. She
was
at peace. And someday, they would see her again.
Jeff
had allowed those words to soak into his brain. But seeing
his
brother
in such pain, the younger Metcalf wondered how he, how any of
them,
could accept that.
Later,
when he saw the forsythia blooming in their basement, he
understood.
Yet, Jeff Metcalf understood something else. In a box
containing
Sarah's things, he discovered the locket that he had given
her
with his picture. She had married his brother, but she had kept
this
very personal reminder of him and the love that they had once
shared.
For one small moment, he had considered telling Hank the
truth
about his romance with Sarah during the war. Truth, like
spring,
was a gift. Instead, the young man hesitated, realizing that
the
best gift that he could offer his brother at that moment was not
to
tarnish the memory of the wife that he had loved.
"I
never met a man that Sarah loved more than you." Jeff
had
responded
when Hank asked him about the mystery man.
Mom
and Linda came down the basement; both Metcalf women were in awe
of
the sight of the blooming forsythia. Mom sat on the stairs,
telling
them about God having a plan, that even in Sarah's death, He
had
a plan. She talked about how all of them were a blessing. He
wasn't
sure why she was talking like that, why now.
Linda
interrupted Mom. His sister revealed that Mom had changed her
will
and had gone to see the doctor.
Good Lord! Was Mom sick? Was she...was she dying?
That's
when her words hit them all with the force of a speeding car:
Mom
was having a baby.
It
was the first sign of spring. The forsythia was in bloom and
soon
he'd
have a little brother or little sister.
Good Lord! Except, this truth was not so easy to hear.
The End