Photo prompt: Dale Rogerson
“Can we go to the playground, Mama?”
The woman stroked the small forehead to compose herself and smiled into the over-bright eyes. “It is the middle of the night, Cara.”
“Can I see?”
The woman tucked the blankets under the child and lifted her. The bundle in her arms felt devastatingly like the infant Cara had been a handful of winters ago, and heartbreakingly almost as light again. She turned so her daughter faced the window.
“It’s dark,” the girl sighed. “I’m tired, Mama. Maybe I wait for the light?”
“Yes, Cara,” the mother whispered. “We wait for the light.”
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
Na'ama Yehuda 
Beautiful and so understated!
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Thank you, Neil!
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Beautiful, Na’ama! Cara makes me think of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol. I hope she has a future of light.
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Thanks, Merril …
I have a feeling the future of light in Cara’s case will not be in physical form …
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Yes, that’s what I thought, too.
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Yeah …
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I like the way you’ve left it unsaid.
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Thank you, Crispina … one can fill in the blanks as needed …
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Or as you intended?
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As I intended … yes …
Perhaps there is more than one outcome to this story, and I did not want to force mine but suggest it …
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And maybe I didn’t take that one, but I’m thinking I’m did.
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🙂 I hear ya …
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Na’ama Y’karah,
Heartbreaking. No mother should outlive her child, especially a very young child. Subtle and poignant.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you, Rochelle. Yes, it is a heartbreak, any time it happens. I know some families whose children were in hospice (some at home, some in hospital), and I can’t imagine a harder thing. May we none of us have to be in that position, and may those who were, know they are seen and heard and may they never be in that position again. Ever.
Na’ama
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Achingly sad and touching – very well done.
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Thank you, Iain. I’ve known far too many families that have endured these things – with end-results that sometimes left hearts scarred and sometimes left them broken.
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I can almost hear her little heart beating. A child wasting away has got to be one of the most painful experiences ever. I hope the light comes soon.
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Yes. I think it must be one of the most painful experiences indeed. I’ve known some families who’d endured it. It is heartbreaking even from a distance, let alone when it is one’s own reality. I hope the light comes peacefully, too.
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From the way I read it, the light she is waiting for is at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Sad story.
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Yes, I think you read it right …
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Beautiful and tender and loving. A mother knows when her time is limited…
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Thank you, my friend. Kisses your way.
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You are the sweetest
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xoxo
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xoxo
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It’s a blessing kids don’t see what adults do. The story leaves much emotion.
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Thank you … though, sometimes, I think kids see as many things as adults do, though they may not have the same frame of reference with which to understand or explain in. And some see more than adults dare to. But, yes, many a time children live in the moment, and we see behind a corner and know what may come …
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You are right, sometimes they do see more than adults…
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Sometimes, yes. I’m glad you agree!
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A poignant piece indeed.
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Thank you, Keith!
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Poor Cara, let’s hope all turns out well.
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Thanks, James. I think sometimes ‘turns out well’ is the end of suffering … but one hopes she’ll turn a corner and get better …
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Darn it, Na’ama, you made me cry. Wonderfully written.
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Oh-oh, Penny, sorry! (not wholly sorry … if it was the writing that moved you …) 😉
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The sadness here reaches out and grabs you by the throat. Such tragedy.
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Thank you, Linda. It is indeed a real tragedy lived by so many. I’m heartened if it got communicated in my few words.
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a poignant story of unspoken grief. well told.
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Thank you, friend!
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So sad, beautifully told.
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Thank you! Yes, these situations are universally heartbreaking …
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I can only echo what others have said. Just so beautiful, heartbreaking, so delicately done. Very well done, Na’ama
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Thank you, Lynn! I’m very humbled that the tenderness of the scene was communicated. Dale’s photo was immensely evocative and does have the job.
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My pleasure. It was a lovely piece of writing
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🙂
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Wow, that’s sad!
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Yeah, these realities are heartbreaking. I’m gratified if I was able to bring it into meaning in this short piece. Thank you for reading and commenting, Russell!
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Beautiful, your words know how to touch the heart.
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Thank you, Susan. I think these kinds of devastating realities are recognizable to many of us (even in hopefully not in 1:1 similarity), and so those with open hearts of empathy ‘feel’ the sorrows even in few words. It is a duo kind of thing, writing and reading, conjuring and having it be seen ….
Thank you for reading and commenting! Na’ama
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