The boy wondered aimlessly trying to grasp what had happened to his world. It was just yesterday that his father was playing catch with him. They had laughed and kidded each other. His dad was his best friend. What would he do now if he had a problem? Who could he turn to?
He had heard someone say that your life can change in a blink of an eye. He had no reference point for this concept until today. His dad had gone to bed last night and never woke up. Why? He kept trying to figure all of this out.
His mother was sad. His sister was sad. But he was just angry. He felt guilty about being mad his dad had died. How could this have happened? Dad was supposed to be around forever.
He finally looked up and saw that there were a lot of cars parked in front of his house. Where did they all come from? As he walked into the house he saw so many friends and family members all busy making food and answering the phone. He felt a little out of sync with the activity going on.
He sat down and just watched and listened. Someone had handed him a sandwich and a drink. He looked down and wondered where it had come from. Taking a bite he realized that he had not eaten all day. The food tasted good, but he usually had lunch with his dad on the weekends. All of a sudden he lost his appetite.
Visitors continued to come by till the sun went down. His mom had to go to the funeral home to make arrangements for his dad’s burial. The boy shuddered. He just could not imagine his dad being put into the ground.
His mother came home and called he and his sister to come talk with her. She explained that there was going to be a funeral in a couple of days. It was the time to say goodbye to their dad. The boy told his mom that he didn’t want his dad put into the ground. His mom smiled and told the boy that his dad was not going into the ground. That his dad was in heaven. Only his body was left. She told him that his dad would be with him every day of his life and that because his dad had died didn’t mean he didn’t love him.
That night in bed, when the house was very quiet the boy was thinking about his dad. He could almost hear his dad’s voice tell him good night. He said goodnight to his dad and smiled as he drifted off to sleep.
