“Then in your heart there will always be a part of me.
Someday we’ll all be gone
But lullabies go on and on
They never die
That’s how you and I will be.”

— Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel), Billy Joel

~~~

She had expected that she would do this one day. She just never thought that it would be this soon. She offered a smile to the man who lent her a helping hand as she made her way in front of a small audience. She mouthed a silent thank you, feeling grateful for his presence.

She cleared before speaking, “I… I actually don’t know why I am here. All I know is that it shouldn’t be like this… at least not this soon…” she stops, her eyes already leaking tears.

“I never thought that a short phone call from my mom would hurt my whole being. One time I was leaving our home with a smile on my face, then the next thing I knew I was crying my heart out. I thought I heard wrong. I thought she just made a mistake, but I was wrong.”

Nobody in the hall said a word.

She continued, “It hasn’t sunk in to me... until now. It still doesn’t feel real… or I just refuse to believe the truth. I wake up and there’s this heaviness in my chest and it just keeps getting heavier everyday knowing that I will never see my father again. I lost a part of myself that will never come back.”