Part 2 prequel to "You'll be in my Heart"
A Mother's Prayer
A woman's screams had echoed throughout the night, piercing and pain filled waves of sound that left nothing to the imagination the torture she was going through. Eventually though, like all things, her cries stopped and the cries of a healthy baby took their place a few minutes later alerting all who were listening to the arrival of the world's newest child.
Adela Frost knew she was dying. It was obvious from the way the midwife was reacting to the blood still pouring from the new mother and the way her strength was slowly slipping from her very bones instead of replenishing. So in her last few hours, Adela called her family together beside her. She hated the sorrowful aged look in her husband's eyes and the confused frightened plea in her young son's. The mewling of her newborn daughter broke Adela's heart as she imagined all the memories she would miss with her child. Her daughter wouldn't be told about "womanly issues", nor would she learn about the way of a housewife from her mother like she was meant too. It was Adela's job to teach the next generation of girls in the family to be good wives and mothers just as it had been her mother's job to teach her.
She reached for her husband's hand, her little Jackie already clutching her other hand. Their eyes locked, drinking in the love that could never be from that point on. Jackie's sniffles blended with those of his sister the sound tearing her apart more surely than a knife to the heart. With all her strength, Adela squeezed their hands to give them even a small amount of comfort. Before she left this world though, she had a few last messages to give to those she would be leaving behind.
"Jackie," Adela waited until her son looked at her face. "My precious Jack, I need you to be strong. Your new sister needs you to be strong, to have the strength to protect her from danger and show her how to live life to the fullest...I want you to smile because...you always light up the world...when you do. Show your sister how to have fun, teach her about the Guardians and how to run the fastest...show her which berries to pick in the summer...and what plants are good for medicine. Help your papa to live, to smile, to laugh, and eventually...to move on. Can you do this for me? Can you be my eyes and watch over your little sister?"
Little Jack took a moment to wipe away his tears, sniffling hard, thinking harder. This was his mother-his beloved Mummy- and while he didn't understand exactly what was happening he knew that she was asking a lot from him. It sounded like mummy was taking a long trip somewhere and Jack wasn't going to be able to go with...but why would mummy leave when the baby needed her? Papa said that when the baby was born, Mummy would be needed a lot so then why would she act like she was leaving? Jack looked into his mother's eyes and saw the unshed tears but also the pride and trust. Even though he was to little to understand fully, his mummy believed in him to be strong so...strong was what he was going to be...strong like Papa.
"I wills, Mummy." Little Jack straightened his back and puffed out his small chest, trying so hard to show his mother how serious he was taking her request. Adela smiled softly at her son's scrunched up nose and serious expression, to adorable for words and oh how she would miss her Little Jackie the most for he was her light when times seemed so dark. She tugged him down to plant a kiss on his forehead, breathing in his sweet scent of childhood and meadows for the last time.
"I love you Baby."
"Love you toos Mummy."
The Midwife slowly separated mother and son, ushering the young lad out of the room so the couple could give their own goodbyes. Adela had already kissed her newborn and held her, naming the baby Pippa after her husband's late mother. Now all that was left was to get one last promise from her husband, then she could be at peace with her death.
"John..."
"Dela...don't leave me...please, please don't go!" Silver tears cascaded from his deep brown eyes, darker still in grief. Adela did nothing to stop her own tears as she knew it was a request she couldn't give the man she loved.
"You know I can't, Beloved. It is my time..."
"No...NO! He can't take you from me, from our children, it can't be His will!"
"Do not blame God for this Johnathon Michael Frost! It is my time to go and I would rather leave this mortal shell knowing that my death will not be the cause of you straying from the Good Father." Adela broke off her admonishment coughing harshly into her hand. Small speckles of blood was a garish contrast to her pale features. Johnathon clung to his wife's hand, his heart shattering with every wracking claim Death took on her body. He so desperately wanted to protest, to argue, to rage against the so called "merciful God" that was taking this strong woman from her family even as they watched. Once Adela had her breath back she continued.
"Beloved, I will not ask you to not mourn my passing...but I will ask you to find love again. Pippa will...need a strong...female influence...since I can't give that...to her... I ask that you find someone... special whom you could show... love for again. Don't pull away from our...children. Now is when...they'll need you most...John, remember that I will always …..love you and that... our parting is...only a brief period in time...before we'll be together...with the Heavenly...Father forever. Promise me...you'll do this...for me?"
"I don't know if I'll ever love another, Dela. I can't promise that I will find someone else...but I will promise that I won't intentionally pull away from the children. I just feel like I'll be replacing you if I love another and no one could ever be better than you." Johnathon leaned into the cooling hand on his cheek as his own larger, warmer hand clasped it close. Adela smiled gently while her delicate thumb brushed away his tears.
"So long as... you keep an open... mind to the poss...ibility I will rest in ….peace." Adela's gaze drifted past her husband's face to the window where a full moons was just beginning to rise above the tree tops. The silvery light illuminated the bleak world and granted an exotic look to the young mother. Her husband drank in the sight like a dehydrated man finding a desert oasis, memorizing every little detail for the future. "The moon... is so bright tonight...sing with me...my love one last...time?"
"Of—of course. Which one?"
"Mo...Mother's Prayer..."
Little Jack peered through crack provided by the slightly opened door watching as his parents, lit in mercury highlights by moonbeams sang one last duet together as a prayer for their children.
I pray you'll be my eyes
And watch her where she goes
And help her to be wise
Help me to let go
Jonathon's voice was deep and strong with only the slightest of quivers to betray his sorrow. Adela's voice was soft and gentle, rising high when she had the breath before sweeping so low as to be unheard when her body cried for oxygen. Yet despite these flaws, it was a song sung by angels, by soul-mates being turn apart before their time due to the harsh reality of the world they lived in. It was pure in meaning and intention, a prayer for God to hear from the lips of a dying mother and the heart of a grieving father to protect their precious children.
Every mother's prayer
Every child knows
Lead her to a place
Guide her with your grace
To a place where she'll be safe
The first half was sung for their newborn daughter, just brought into a world that would pity her for the loss of her mother. The second was on behalf of their young son who would have to grow up faster than they ever wished for him.
I pray he finds your light
And holds it in his heart
As darkness falls each night
Remind him where you are
Every mother's prayer
Every child knows
Need to find a place
Guide him to a place
Give him faith so he'll be safe
By this time Adela's voice had disappeared from the song, her hand falling limp and cold in her husband's grasp. With a strength Jonathon didn't know he possessed, he managed to finish the last song his wife sang before he collapsed in his grief.
Lead them to a place
Guide them with your grace
To a place where they'll be safe
Adela Frost was buried in the Burgess Cemetery underneath a young maple tree where the leaves would settle in the Fall on her grave like a colorful blanket. Ten years later, she would be joined by her son after an incident in late winter where he fell through the ice of a local pond and drowned after sacrificing his life to save his sister. Jackson Overland Frost kept his promise to the very end, loving and protecting his little sister enough for his mother .…..and himself.
Done! Yeah this one was long I Know (and Long awaited) but I wasn't sure where exactly I wanted this one to go. I had the general gist but not the specifics But it finally came together! (I just hope its of the same quality as the last chapters) as always let me know what you guys think of it. Also yes I did kill Jack's mother and *SPOILER ALERT* yes I know that in the movie there was a woman's voice calling out to Jack and his sister telling them to be safe however with my story that is Johnathon's sister who has come to teach Pippa what Adela would have. Jack genuinely likes his aunt and is on good terms with her. Adela means "Noble" in old German which is how I picture Jack's mother as being. I'm totally horrible to Jack! I"m SOOOOO SOOOOOOOORRRY JACK! On another note, I really liked calling Jack Jackie (soooo cute!)