Angels From Heaven (standard:Creative non-fiction, 1697 words)
Author: karenmcguffin	Added: Jan 27 2006	Views/Reads: 3464/2206	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Thousands of bright lights filled the sky surrounding the balloons

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

When Teresa and I came to visit as we walked into the room Mom was
asleep, we walked in and sat down. I was on one side of Mom and Teresa 
on the other side of her We sat there quietly just watching her sleep, 
and at some point she had woken up, she looked at Teresa and I and 
smiled (it was the most coherent I had seen her since before the 
surgery) she reached her hands between the rails and took hold of both 
our hands, squeezing them gently she whispered that she loved us. At 
that very moment when I looked into her eyes I saw something, it was as 
if she knew she wasn't going to be here much longer, the color in her 
face returned, she looked at peace. I didn't understand what was 
happening at the time, but as I look back I think I know the answer. 

It was time for Mom to be released from the hospital, and for the first
time ever MOM wasn't ready to leave the hospital. I remember when I got 
there to pick her up I was sure she would be dressed, out of bed and 
ready to run out the door to get home, but she wasn't, she was still in 
bed, still in her robe. She wasn't ready at all, she didn't want to go, 
but the doctor said she had to go home. 

As soon as we got to her house, she was ready for bed, she called my
Father and told him she was fine, that she wanted to go to bed and that 
she would talk to him the next day. I walked Mom into her room and 
helped her get undressed and into her pajamas, she laid down, I covered 
her up and gave her a kiss, told her I loved her and that I would leave 
the door open so if she needed anything I would be right there for her, 
all she had to do was call my name and I would be there. She smiled at 
me, told me she loved me, and said if she needed anything she would 
call for me. As I walked out the room, I looked back at her and felt a 
sudden bit of anxiety, ignoring the feeling that came over me I shut 
her door just a little walked out of the room and sat down in the 
living room. That was the last time I saw my Mom alive, when I went in 
to check on her awhile later she had passed. 

I have had a very difficult time dealing with her death, I have felt so
much guilt for not going and checking on her sooner, have felt like I 
should have been able to do something. Even though the autopsy report 
confirmed she died of a massive blood clot that had formed in the 
hernia I still feel responsible for not doing anything. 

This last Saturday (6 months after her death) was the first time that I
was able to go visit her gravesite. My boyfriend John drove me up 
there. It was an overcast day, the sky was gray, and the ground was wet 
from the rain. I brought with me a bouquet of carnations, a card, and 
balloons. My plan was to tie the balloons to the card and let them go. 
I had four balloons, one for each of us girls. I was nervous about 
being there, knowing I would break down when I saw her headstone. I 
stood there with John at my side looking down at the beautiful marble 
that had her name inscribed, I knelt and felt the letters as I ran my 
fingers across the cold smooth stone, tears rolling down my face I 
stood up and released the balloons. The card was too heavy; they didn't 
go anywhere, so I untied them and was just going to release the 
balloons. As I let go and they gently floated up into the sky John and 
I watched, higher and higher they went, and I felt a sudden calmness 
come over me. I was watching these balloons go higher into the sky I 
saw something else; there was these little bright flashes of light 
surrounding the balloons. There were thousands of them. I thought I was 
seeing things so I looked away and rubbed my eyes, but when I looked 
back up in the sky, there they were. We got back in the car and was 
ready to leave and I told John what I saw, I was a little afraid he 
would think I was crazy, and then he told me he saw the same thing! I 
wasn't crazy after all, it really happened. It was as if my Mom had 
turned the lights back on for me, reminding me not to be afraid. 


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