I first knew something was wrong when you didn’t come down for breakfast. You never skipped breakfast. It was one of the few things left that made you happy. “Maybe she’s just tired,” I thought. “She’s been staying up a lot lately. She probably needs her rest.” And so I left you be. Throughout the day, I became increasingly worried. By dinnertime my stomach was in knots. You hadn’t come down all day. That just wasn’t like you. You were always so sociable. You loved talking with us. I must have called your name a dozen times. But no response. Every time I thought of you, I just gave myself some kind of excuse, something to put off checking on you. Finally, I just told myself, “I’m going to do it. I’m going to check on her.” I just couldn’t leave you be. I was terrified to open the door. I wasn’t sure what was even on the other side. But I did it anyway. And there you were. You were dead. My sweet, innocent child, gone. Whisked away on a whim. Taken from me in an instant. I was
I first knew something was wrong when you didn’t come down for breakfast. You never skipped breakfast. It was one of the few things left that made you happy. “Maybe she’s just tired,” I thought. “She’s been staying up a lot lately. She probably needs her rest.” And so I left you be. Throughout the day, I became increasingly worried. By dinnertime my stomach was in knots. You hadn’t come down all day. That just wasn’t like you. You were always so sociable. You loved talking with us. I must have called your name a dozen times. But no response. Every time I thought of you, I just gave myself some kind of excuse, something to put off checking on you. Finally, I just told myself, “I’m going to do it. I’m going to check on her.” I just couldn’t leave you be. I was terrified to open the door. I wasn’t sure what was even on the other side. But I did it anyway. And there you were. You were dead. My sweet, innocent child, gone. Whisked away on a whim. Taken from me in an instant. I was