Being Thankful

Source: Forgotten Love by Marcus Quigmire

Death affects me very deeply. I know, who is left without tears upon the death of someone close, right? It's human nature. You may shed tears, you may carry the scars on the inside, but we are all affected by the loss of life.

And then, there's me. . .

When I was in high school, a girl I disliked very much came to school crying. A friend of hers had died the previous night in an accident. I overheard her telling the story and I cried with her. We became close friends after that. That's the kind of person I am, I take death too hard. My family never shares those kinds of news with me unless they're right there to see me through. But just as I become depressed and saddened, I find a way to ease my pain. I like to pay some form of tribute to the deceased; then, with time, the sadness fades.

Death has twice changed me profoundly, affecting the way I live my life, but I won't go into details; at least not today. Today, I want to share with you a third occurrence that, in similar fashion to my high school story, has brought me a present.

About three years ago, I received news of the passing of a close uncle. He'd been sick for a very long time so it wasn't a surprise, maybe even a blessing. As always, I was left with a profound melancholy. As a way to work through the dark moments, and because I hadn't been able to say goodbye, I wrote a piece of flash fiction. Three paragraphs that acknowledged his suffering, a small token that said: I won't forget. When the pain went away, I worked on the piece. I edited and added details, some fictional, but always thinking of him. The story is called IN THE END. Today I signed a contract with Dark Moon Books; the story will be part of Dark Moon Digest, issue 14.

I am very happy, also thankful. I can't stop thinking this comes from him. My promise stands; I won't forget, his memory won't fade away. And now, he lives on in a piece of paper within the infinite confines of the written word.