"Don't say that, Daddy!" pleaded Rachel, tears streaming down her face.
"But it's true, Honey. I only have a small number of tomorrows left, but you have a lifetime of them. More than your six years of experience can ever imagine." he replied gently, his own cheeks stained with tears.
"Don't go! I'll do whatever it takes to keep you here." she bargained as she buried her face in her father's wide, strong chest.
"It doesn't work like that. If only it were that easy, I would never have to leave. I want to stay with you and Mom more than anything in the world." he assured the sobbing child.
Rachel suddenly stopped crying. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her Princess Belles dress, and smiled broadly. She then threw her arms around her very confused father's neck. He hugged her tight.
"Daddy, if you really can't keep from going, we will go with you! I don't mind leaving my house and friends. I will even leave my toys behind." she offered, both joy and sadness in her voice.
The big man's well tanned face went white as the blood drained from it. His knees buckled. He found himself kneeling before little Rachel, who looked at him curiously.
"Please, never say that again, Honey. The place I have to go to, neither you or Mom can follow me there for a long time. I want you to stay here, and take care of each other, and Fluffball, and Uncle Patrick. And Grandma Melanie."
"Can't we at least visit?" she sniffled, unhappy that her plan had been rejected.
"They don't allow visitors. But I will get news about you and Mom. I will always be thinking about you." he replied, while the familiar lump lodged in his throat yet again.
"Isn't there any way we can be together?" she asked, trusting that adults always had the answers.
"No Princess, I wish there was. I looked everywhere for it." he replied, hugging her so she wouldn't see that he had started to weep silently.
"Well how long will you be gone?" asked the ever practical child, who had never so much as lost a goldfish.
"Until you are like Grandma Melanie. Sometime after that, you will come see me." he replied, trying to explain death without adding to her sadness and trauma.
"Oh, then I will learn all I can, and try to hurry!" she promised.
"Don't hurry, just stay a little girl as long as you can. You will always be my Little Princess!" he managed to choke out among the tears.
Ten years later, after her sixteenth birthday party, Rachel found a little box on her bed. Next to it sat a DVD. "I wonder what this is?" she asked aloud. Mom had told her there would be one more present after the party, but refused to say more.
She decided that since there was no card or name tag, the DVD had to be the card. Rachel popped it into her laptop, and it began to play.
Her father appeared, exactly as she remembered him. The memory of the night he told her he had to leave came flooding back. She hadn't truly understood what he was saying. Despite both Mom and Dad trying to gently prepare her over the next two months, when the time came, she still hadn't fully grasped the concept of death. The reality of it hit her six year old heart, soul, and mind like a ton of bricks.
"My Little Princess, today you turn sixteen. I know you are a beautiful young woman. Both inside and out. In honor of this day, I bought you a little present. I hope you will like it, and remember, I am always with you.
My tomorrows in this world are few, not nearly enough to watch you grow up. I want to be here with you today more than anything. But at the same time, my tomorrows are going to be many. Honey, every time you go to the beach, or look at the sky, I will be right there beside you. Enjoy everything good that the world has to offer. In this way I will have my tomorrow."
The short video had her in tears, but at the same time smiling. She would honor his wishes, and live life to the fullest.
"I wonder what he got me?" she mused, picking up the little box. It was pink and yellow, with a white ribbon. When she pulled on the ribbon, the lid popped up, revealing an exquisite charm bracelet, with a single charm dangling.
She gasped, stunned by the beauty and detail. It was a tiny sun peeking above ocean waves. Along the beach was the inscription "Tomorrow is never a sure thing, so enjoy today's sunrise and sunset."
Rachel held it to her for a long time, crying tears of both joy and sadness. Then she opened the clasp, and put it on for the first time. She went outside, and let the sun's last rays reflect off of it. "Here's your tomorrow, Dad." whispered Rachel.
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What a beautiful and amazing story, @wrestlingdesires. Thank goodness we humans have memories. The people we lose really can live on and be with us in that way.
Definitely :) ... And whether alive or dead, they also become a part of us through our memory.
Very good my friend
You have a real talent
@wrestlingdesires
Have an amazing day😎
Thanks so much, you have a great day too 🙌
The word tomorrow alludes here to a philosophical question. The story's answer is that the word tomorrow can always be an unknown. Tomorrow may come in a span of ten years and bring a gift in the form of the sun, which lights the way.
Beautiful story, @wrestlingdesires !
Thanks so much for your kindness, I'm glad my story touched you ❤️
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very impressive story s
I'm glad you liked it, thank you 🙌
Wellcome brother @wrestlingdesires
Very touching and well written, hopefully his little princess will have many wonderful tomorrows before they meet again.
Great incorporation of the prompt in the story @wrestlingdesires.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story with The Ink well!
My pleasure, and thank you for reading it ❤️
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It's just q with a bunch of silent letters waiting in line.
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I love it! Very touching 😢 Rachel's dad was very thoughtful leaving her that 16th birthday present too.
He surely continues living with her, for many more tomorrows yet to come.
Lovely story and nicely written @wrestlingdesires!
Thanks, we should all take a second, now and then, to remember how we might not have many left. Tomorrow is unknown :)
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A naughty frog.
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This is so touching. Only if she would have grown a little older would she understood the concept of death and it eternity. Glad he dropped her a remembrance
Yes, at that age many children are confused, but it's usually the adults who cause it. Calling death things like going away or leaving makes it sound like something you might do for a business trip or vacation.
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They eventually fired him.
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Are they going to meet, ever? Wonderfully written, I enjoyed a lot reading your emotional story. Inspired by life?
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Not inspired by a true event, except in the sense that it can happen. But yes, I believe eventually they meet :)
Thanks so much for your kind words ❤️
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I see, true :)
Thanks a lot for those
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and
!ALIVE
:)
@lightcaptured, sorry! You need more $ALIVE to use this command.
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Ops, getting there :) Currently I've got 770 :D
!giphy cheers
Have you tried the engagement contest? It can help you out with an Alive delegation 🙌
I wasn't aware at all! No idea what the concept is, I'm gonna check it out. Could you recommend where should I start from?
Via Tenor
Make sure to apply for our weekly staking contest called #AliveOnThursday, total prizes of 1000 ALIVE every week.
Que hermosa y triste historia. Los niños son grandes sabios y encuentran respuestas y soluciones rápidas a todo, pero evidentemente menos a la muerte. me encantó tu historia 🌺
Thanks so much, I am happy that it was enjoyable ❤️
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Thank you very much!!!
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Boara Boara.
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BEAUTIFUL. These are the stories that we need right now -- thank you!
Thanks so much for enjoying it ❤️
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Thank you for the midnight snack -- definitely makes me feel more alive!
My pleasure - it was given with !LUV
Thank you!
What a touching story! It struck a chord with me as I lost my mom not too long ago. Coping involves honoring her memory each and every day.
Happy week and new month ahead!
Made in Canva
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This post has been curated by the Alive And Thriving Team, we curate good content in the We Are Alive Tribe that is on topic for #AliveAndThriving, and it's included in our daily curation report on @aliveandthriving.
That has to be the hardest thing in the world 😢 I can only imagine what a story like this does on top of that. It must have been hard to read?
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Norse Code.
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@wrestlingdesires(1/3) gave you LUV.
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@silentbot star 4
Thanks for your support ❤️ And for the treats 🙌
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Complimenti bellissima storia! Veramente bella!
Complimenti di cuore
Ti auguro una buona serata
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Thanks so much for your kindness ❤️
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Grazie di cuore
!PGM
Thanks so much ❤️