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Danielle Fairchild

It was a blessing to love her, and a broken heart to lose her.

By Abigail DorothyPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 4 min read
2
Danielle Fairchild, 23

Jotting down the next things on her list, she put her pencil on the desk and looked at her expanding responsibilities.

The list of “To Do’s” seemed to grow with the morning sun, inching through the windows of her apartment. The warmth cascading freckles of glistening light across her complexion. She sits amongst the wooden desk chair painted blue, tapping her finger nails against the side of her tea cup. Tilting her head, she takes a deep breath as the corners of her mouth move up with her arms, in a refreshing stretch.

“What a beautiful day.” She smiles to herself.

Finishing her tea, she brushes her teeth, puts her hair up with a scrunchy and gets dressed. Afterwards she slips on both her wrist guards and glancing at her unmade bed she quickly makes it, excited to start her day. Gathering her phone, wallet and keys she grabs her empty tea cup as she makes her way downstairs. Eager to make breakfast, and get to class. But first she notices her plants are looking a tad thirsty, so she fills a cup and is sure to water them.

Something from beyond the glass door catches her eye. Placing the water on the coffee table, she opens the sliding door and peaks into the frigid air. She notices the trees are almost completely bare now; only a few leaves remain stubborn to keep from dropping. A giggle escapes her as she realizes what caught her attention. The dark shadows of the neighboring homes offered a place for the cattails to bathe in a cold light. They resembled a sort of mesmerizing sandy ocean, swaying in the wind. She simply watched nature for a moment, taking it all in, and turned back inside.

A normal day.

Yet after crossing the street, she realized that the rest of the day was out of sync. Perhaps the tea she drank had gone too cold, or maybe she forgot to drink enough water. Did she pass out from dehydration? In her last physical moments, she thought of the ones she loved, the ones who loved her, and how nothing would ever be the same.

Waking up, she was standing in her apartment. The blue desk to the left and the windows to her right. She watched the horizon drain of color, expecting the waning crescent moon to appear in the velvet night sky. Confusion filled her chest, a sense of heartbreak, and a flicker of the darkness she passed through. Death, the great illusion.

Then she understood. She is invincible, ecstatic, unbound from the Earth. For the first time the chaos around her fell away. She knew that in our lives, she would continue to live on.

Though she still allowed herself to mourn, as she sat with her dear friends who huddled at the end of her bed. She understood the sobs, she accepted their grief and in honor of her relationships with them, she cried too. Unable to touch them ever again, to express feelings, thoughts, aspirations, or to find joy in her physical form.

Her sisters will continue to grow and become everything she knew they would. Her parents will mourn their daughter through old pictures and videos forever. Their weeping cries broke her, for she so desperately wanted them to enjoy their lives ahead. These people made her who she was. She was thankful for the memories they shared of her, and she felt a weight be lifted from her heart.

She was reborn.

She awoke somewhere else, in an infinite multiverse of boundless possibilities. To her family, friends, and to the man she was so thankful to meet and fall in love with, she would never forget them. She holds each and everyone of us. Allowing us to fall back on the moments of shared love. To recall the beauty found, for so long, in the tender memory of one another. She wants to shake us awake, and compel us to understand that her love will never leave us. That the bliss we found with her doesn’t have to be over, and her company doesn’t have to be less.

Her list of “To Do’s” serve a different purpose now. She knows her potential will only grow, with the sun in the morning, and the moon at night.

Imagine your future beyond tomorrow.

Find joy in nature.

Seek out giggles that ricochet through happy hearts.

The simplicity of house shadows in the morning, a cats meow, a thrifted dress, growing plants, dusk coating the sky in multiple shades of comfort, silk fabric and her memories.

Try to love yourself as much as Danielle loves you. It’s true that nothing will ever be the same again. That in this lifetime, we will never get the privilege of physically being with her again. But you must know as much as I do, that Danielle could never leave us. She will cheer us on forever and become the light we need to move forward.

Thank you.

grief
2

About the Creator

Abigail Dorothy

Welcome to my rollercoaster of writing,

I strive to create pieces that are vulnerable, transparent and raw. I enjoy a type of writing where the endings have a turn of events, are pleasant and on occasion are disappointing.

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