Uncles, aunts, cousins, grandmother, grandfather and even
some close friends of the family are patiently waiting at the hospital lobby to
meet Marcus’s and Marie’s new born.
Marcus comes out to
announced the birth of their son.
“Everyone, the birth
was a success. We have a very healthy little boy. His name is Gabriel. You may
all come in and meet him”
Everyone’s thrilled to meet lil’ Gabriel.
There were balloons, teddy bears , greeting cards and
flowers. It was just such a wonderful time for Marcus and Marie. It’s an
exciting new beginning for them.
Five Years Later (Gabriel
had just turned 5 years old.)
Gabriel has become Marie’s source of happiness. He’s the air
that she breathes. She cherishes every moments with him.
Marie and Gabriel are very close as a mother and son. Marie
takes Gabriel with her everywhere she goes. They have fun together. Marie loves
to sing to Gabriel and she does so every chances she gets. She sings to him at mealtime,
bath time, playtime and bedtime. She even makes up silly songs and she sings
those silly songs to Gabriel just about anytime. They could be just having a
normal conversation and Marie would turn the conversation into a silly song and
Gabriel would conversate with his mom the same way. He loves it.
Almost every moments with each other is a silly moment
because they love to laugh. Sense of humor is a part of the Edwards family;
however, Marcus, the dad is the most funniest one.
Their family motto is Live, Laugh and Love.
Marie is the type of mother who would do anything for her
child. She’s the type of mother who cares a lot but at the same time worries a
lot about her child. She worries a lot
about Gabriel’s health and safety and that sometimes becomes problematic;
however, she’s also a mom who always seems to have a sixth sense about her.
It’s summer time and the Edwards family is camping out for
the weekend with some relatives. Everyone has gathered around the bonfire
telling stories. Gabriel is obviously very tired. Marie cleans him up and lays
him down to sleep. Gabriel has no problem falling asleep right away. Marie rejoins
the rest of her family soon after Gabriel fell asleep. The bonfire is about 30ft from the tent. Everyone
is having such a great time.
Not too long after, Marcus notices something about Marie.
She looks as if she had seen a ghost.
“Are you alright Marie” asked Marcus.
“Yeah, but do you hear that?”
“hear what?”
Marie pauses for a few seconds and before her husband could her
ask again, Marie jumps up and she rushes to the tent where Gabriel has been
sleeping. She goes inside the tent and she finds Gabriel curled up on his bed.
He’s sniffling. He looks scared. Marie
cuddles with her little Gabriel and helps him feel comfortable and safe. Gabriel falls back to sleep. Marie didn’t want
to leave him again so she decided to stay with him.
Marcus realizes that Marie hasn’t come back out yet so he
goes to the tent to see what’s going on.
“Is everything ok?” Marcus asked.
“ Yes” Marie replied.
“Gabriel woke up. He was sniffling and he looked scared. He’s
back to sleep now though, but I think it’s best if I stayed here with him just
in case he wakes up again.”
“OK” Marcus says “but are you sure you’ll be alright?”
“yes, I’ll be fine, but It’s weird though Marcus, I really
don’t know how I heard his sniffles. When I walked in here his sniffles was so
quiet that you have to get really closed to him to hear him. So I’m wondering
how in the world did I even hear him from out there with all the noises?”
“Well they say some moms develops some type of psychic
abilities or intuitions when they have children of their own. Maybe you’re one
of the lucky ones” Marcus says jokingly”
Marie laughs and says “Well maybe!”
Marcus went back out to rejoin the rest of the gang. Marie,
as planned stayed with Gabriel.
Marie loves her baby boy very much. Nothing is more
important to her than her little angel.
As Gabriel continue to sprout, Marie’s worries also grew
bigger and stronger. Now that Gabriel is at the age where he has to go out into
the kindergartners world it was bittersweet to Marie. Sweet because it is an
exciting new venture for all three of them and bitter because to Marie, Gabriel
is growing up too fast and too soon and on top of that, Marie is a worrisome
mother. She worries every day about Gabriel. The only time she doesn’t worry is
when Gabriel is with her. She has this strong feelings that something bad is
going to happen to her son and she’s afraid that she can’t be there to protect
him. She even developed a paranoia about her self. She’s afraid that somehow
she’s going to die and she’s afraid that
Gabriel will grow up with out her as his mother. As crazy as it may sound, these are the burden that Marie has been
carrying on her shoulders.
Gabriel started kindergarten. Mommy and daddy are so proud.
They couldn’t believe how fast time went by. They were both there on Gabriel’s
first day of Kindergarten holding his hands and giving him kisses. Marie was in
tears. She wanted to stay with Gabriel, but unfortunately the school wouldn’t
allow her (Yes, she asked)
Marie enjoys getting up early in the morning to get Gabriel
ready for school. Though sometimes it’s a little difficult for her to get
Gabriel up. Marie; however, figured out a way to make getting up in early
morning fun for Gabriel. She’d tickle him. She’d make up funny wake up songs
and she’d make funny faces. Gabriel has a huge sense of humor so he’d laugh every
time. Waking up in the morning became a silly game to Gabriel. As soon as he hears his mom’s voice he’d
giggle and he’d cover himself up with a blanket hiding from Mr. Tickle Monster.
That’s how he woke up every morning and they both love it.
Marie is a stay at home mom. She chooses to stay home so she
could personally take care of Gabriel
and give him unconditional love. Marcus likes the idea. Marie takes Gabriel to
school every morning. They blow kisses to each other and Marie does her best to
always say those 3 little words ,“I LOVE YOU”. They even came up with a sign, a
sign for “I LOVE YOU” just in case they forget to say it.
Marie presses her index and middle finger against her lips
quickly removing them and immediately placing them to her chest signaling her
heart. Gabriel does exactly the same thing. This is their way of saying “I LOVE
YOU”.
When Gabriel is in school, Marie does house work and runs
errands.
Though things are fun and loving at home, Marie still
carries a huge burden on her shoulders. Her love for her son is so strong that
she fear of losing him and it’s taking a huge toll on her specially now that
Gabriel is in school.
Her worst fear is hearing from the school, getting a phone
call from someone there breaking a bad news to her. So every time the phone
rings and it’s from the school (Unless Gabriel is with her) she answers the
call worriedly while holding her breath.
Thankfully, she rarely receives calls from the school and each time she did, the reasons has been informational (Yes, sigh
of relief every time)
Yes! The school year is over, Gabriel had survived
kindergarten, Marie and Marcus are proud parents. They are very proud of their
little boy. Gabriel is moving on to the next level, the 1st grade
and he’s very excited about it. A new venture is to come and Gabriel could
hardly wait.
It’s summertime again and the Edwards family is ready for
some fun. Marie though on the other hand, hasn’t showed a sign of total relief.
She’s still dealing with her own personal issues. Her fear of losing Gabriel is
growing. She’s so worried that somehow, something bad is going to happen to her
son. She always had to deal within her self the fear of the unknown. The "what if". What if he goes out there and something bad happens?. Her worries are so overwhelmingly
strong that she’s becoming over zealous of Gabriel. Gabriel receiving minor injuries from playing
isn’t helping Marie either.
Activities that Gabriel’s allowed to do has become limited. Limited to the point where he couldn’t even
play at the park or ride his bike. Gabriel is not allowed to sleep over his
friends’s house because Marie is afraid that during sleepover Gabriel would somehow
get hurt. He also isn’t allowed to play at the park because Marie is afraid
that he’d fall and break his legs. Sometimes it’s too much for Marcus to handle
and at some point he did ask Marie to stop being such a frantic mom.
“Gabriel will be just fine Marie” says Marcus . He’ll never
learn or enjoy anything in life if you keep stopping him from doing things. We
will always be there to guide him but you’ll have to give him some room to
grow. He’ll be just fine”
“I’m sorry Marcus, I just can’t help it. I just don’t want to
see him hurt” says Marie.
“He’s not going to get hurt, but I do understand how you
feel. I feel the same way, but what you’re doing to yourself and Gabriel is
morbid. You’re driving yourself crazy. You’re driving me crazy. We’re not going
to lose Gabriel. He will be just fine. You can relax”
Marie acknowledges Marcus’s concerns and stopped arguing
with him.
Summer vacations are fun, but this one is over and it’s back
to school for Gabriel. He’s very excited about seeing his friends again. Marie
though however is still holding her breath.
One afternoon, Gabriel asked Marie a question. It was about
something he learned from class. In this class, they spoke a lot about Jesus
and God.
“Mommy guess what I learned today?”
“Hmm I’m not sure, tell me” says Marie, happily”
“I learned today in class that when people die they go to
heaven to meet God, is that true?” Gabriel asked curiously.
“Well it’s true for those people who believe in God” Marie
replied.
“Do you believe in God?” Gabriel asked his mom.
“Yes, I do” Marie answered. “and I also do believe that when
people die they go to heaven to meet God, and that’s when God makes his
decision to whether or not to allow them to live an eternal life in heaven”
“Why does God has to decided who can stay in Heaven?
“Well because only good people go to heaven and only God
knows who’s been bad or good”
“I thought it’s Santa Clause who knows if you’ve been bad or
good?” Gabriel asked with a smirk in his face as if he knew that the question
was pretty silly.
Marie laughs…
“Well yes Santa Clause knows too, but only God can decided
who will be spending an eternal life in Heaven. Not Santa Clause.
Gabriel laughs, followed by a moment of seriousness and he
says...
“Mommy, my wish is for us to die together so that we could meet God together” says Gabriel.
“ Don’t talk like that Gabriel! I don’t like to talk about
things like that”
“I’m sorry mommy, I just want us to stay together forever.
I’m sorry”
“Son’t be sorry, it’s OK baby lets just talk about something
else okay? How was the rest of your day at school?”
and the conversation went on from there.
Months went by.
Everyday Gabriel has a new story to tell and Marie is always
ready to listen.
One sunny day, after doing all the house work, Marie was
feeling very tired.
“I think I’ll take a
nap” thought Marie to herself.
So Marie lays down and takes a nap. Marie’s in deep sleep
when she’s awaken by a phone call. She quickly answers the phone. It was
Gabriel’s school.
“Hello, Mrs. Edwards?” asked Principal Armstrong.
“Yes, this is she” answered Marie.
“Mrs Edwards, my name is Mrs. Evelyn Armstrong. I am the
Principal at Haven Creek Elementary. I need you and your husband to come to my
office as soon as possible”
Marie feels that there’s something wrong. Her heart ‘s beating
so fast. Her chest was tightening and
she couldn’t breathe. Her face is feeling so hot it almost feels like it ‘s on
fire. She clears her throat and swallows a couple of times. She’s very nervous.
“What’s going on? Asked Marie”
“I suggest that you and your husband come to the office as
soon as you can. We can discuss it then” say’s Mrs. Armstrong.
“Is it about my son Gabriel? Asked Marie, worriedly.
“Ma’am, unfortunately I cannot discuss it with you now”
Marie’s very confused and very worried.
“OK, I will call my
husband and we’ll be there right away.
Marie immediately hung up and calls her husband, she’s
hysterical.
“Marcus, you have to come home now. Something is wrong” .
Her voice is shaky and she sounds very frantic.
“Calm down Marie. What’s going on? Asked Marcus.
“I don’t know what’s going on. Gabriel’s school principal
just called me. She wants us to go to the office right away, but she won’t tell
me what’s going on” “There’s something wrong Marcus. You have to come home
now”.
Marie’s afraid that she’s finally facing her worst nightmare.
Her fear of losing her son.
Marcus quickly fled home. He arrived at their home about 30
minutes later and they both left immediately and drove off to Gabriel’s school.
They ran to the office where they were greeted by Mrs. Armstrong, Gabriel’s
teacher Maggie, and the school nurse.
“Please have a seat” says Mrs. Armstrong.
Marie and Marcus sits down and they both say thank you.
“Mr. and Mrs Edwards, there had been an accident involving
Gabriel”
Marie’s covering her mouth. She’s afraid to hear what the
pricipal’s going to say next. At this point she’s in tears. She just knew that
whatever comes out of the pricipal’s mouth next was not going to be good. Marcus
is holding her hand tightly.
“He had been rushed to the near-by hospital and we don’t
know his current condition” says Mrs. Armstrong.
“What happened?” asked Marcus
“Gabriel asked me if he could sharpen his pencil” says
Maggie, Gabriel’s teacher
“I told him, he could. He then proceeded to the electric
pencil sharpener, which is located across the room. As he was waking back to
his table, he stumbled and landed on his stomach on the floor. Gabriel got up.
He looked OK, until he pulled the pencil out his chest and that’s when I
realized the pencil had punctured his chest. He bled out. I’m so sorry, I
didn’t know that he was hurt” cried Maggie, sobbing hysterically.
“It appears that when he landed on the floor, the pencil he
was holding punctured his heart” the nurse says. “I’m only a nurse. I’m not a
Doctor, so I don’t know this for a fact.”
“This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening” yelled
Marie.
Marie could not believe what she’s hearing. She started to
sob hysterically.
The school nurse told Marie and Marcus the near-by hospital
where Gabriel was taken. They quickly fled to the hospital. As soon at they got
there, Marie ran to the Nurse’s station and immediately demanded to see her
son.
“My name is Marie and I want to see my son” She said,
commandingly
“Calm down ma’am” says the nurse
“Don’t’ tell me to calm down! My son is hurt. He needs me. I
need to see him!”
“Sure, not a problem” says the nurse “what’s your son’s
name?”
“His name is Gabriel Edwards, he was admitted this morning.
We’re his parents”
The nursed looked at them both. Almost staring at Marie with
a sad look on her face.
“Just a minute please” said the nurse.
The nurse picked up the phone and called Dr. Hughes, the
attending Doctor for Gabriel.
“Dr. Hughes, this is Aileen at the nurse station. Mr and Mrs
Edwards has arrived to see their son Gabriel Edwards”
There’s a moment of silence.
“OK Doctor. I will let them know that you’re on your way”
“Mr. and Mrs Edwards, Dr. Hughes is on his way here to talk
to you.” Said the nurse
“Listen, I want to see my son, why can’t you just tell me
where he is so I could see him. My son
needs me.” cried Marie, angrily.
“ Yes I understand, but the Dr. specifically said for you to
wait here.” Says the nurse.
Not too long after, Dr. Hughes arrives. He goes directly to
the Edwards.
“Mr and Mrs. Edwards?” asked Dr. Hughes
“yes” answered both Marie and Marcus
“I’m very sorry. We did our best to save your son, but the
injuries to his heart was too great. We couldn’t save him”
Marie’s in shocked. She looks at Marcus in disbelief. Then
it hit her.
She screams aloud.
“NO NO NO NO NO NO NO” cried Marie “Not my Gabriel, please
not my Gabriel”
“This is a dream. This can’t be real. This can’t be real.
Please someone wake me up”
Marie looks at the Doctor and said “Doctor this is a dream,
right. This isn’t really happening. It can’t be true!
The Doctor looks at her and says “I’m sorry” and then he
walks away.
Marie turns to the nurse and says …
“This can’t be real. Please tell me I’m only dreaming. My
son is not really dead!”
The nurse looks at Marie sadly and said “I’m sorry. I can’t
tell you that”
“Marcus, please tell me we haven’t lost our child. This
can’t be happening. I just kissed him this morning how could this be real. I
have to be dreaming. Please tell me I’m dreaming”
Marcus hugs Marie ever so tightly. He’s also confused. He’s
speechless. He didn’t know how to comfort his wife, the mother who had been so
worried about losing their child since he was born. How do you comfort a mother
who spent most of her time protecting her child.
Marcus is also in disbelief. He stands in the corner facing
the wall holding his head. He’s sobbing and he’s also heart broken.
As Marie’s trying to get more information from the nursing
station. A man walks up to her. He introduces himself as Joseph.
“Hello, Joseph. What can I do for you? Asked Marie.
“ My job is to speak to the family members of the minor
victims” says Joseph.
“I’m very sorry for your loss, ma’am”
Marie who is still in disbelief continued to say.
“This is a dream. It can’t be real. Please someone wake me
up” she continued to say this over and over.
“Mrs. Edwards, I know that this isn’t the best time, but I
need to talk to you.”
“Joseph, do you have any kids?” asked Marie
“’Yes ma’am I do. I also have a son” answered Joseph.
“Then you must know how it’s like to give love to your only
child. How you pray everyday that he is safe from harm. I’ve always dreaded
that this day would come and now I’ve lost him. It’s surreal.”
Marie continues to cry uncontrollably. She was literally
losing her mind.
Her and her husband comforted each other.
Joseph and the Edwards walks into another room.
Marie and Marcus sat across Joseph. Joseph begins making
conversation with them, but before he could say another word, Marie calmly says
to Joseph, crying.
“My son is everything to me. He’s the air that I breathe.
Without my air, I can’t live.
My heart is broken. I don’t think I can continue on with my
life. Please Joseph tell me that this is only a dream. Please tell me that this
isn’t real because I can’t breathe and I can die right now. Please tell me I’m
dreaming and that my son is still alive”
Marie’s head drops low. Her chin presses against her chest
with both her hands covering her face. She’s sobbing. She’s sniffling. She gets
up and walks around the room rubbing her face in confusion. It was apparent
that she’s having a hard time believing that her child is gone. She looks at Marcus and says.
“This can’t be real Marcus”
Marcus hugs Marie.
“Please God give me back my baby” cried Marie.
Marie drops to the floor. She puts her hands and forearms
across her stomach, and begins to slowly rock back and forth. Her breathing seems
to quicken and her chest can be seen rising and falling.
Joseph gets up and walks up to Marie.
“Please Joseph tell me that this is a dream. Please tell me
that this isn’t real and my son is alive and well. Please, please tell me I’m
dreaming”
Joseph grabs Marie’s hands. Looks at her in the eyes and
says…
“YES, this is a dream. None of it is real. Your son is well
and alive. He is safe at home with you and he will always be safe, but as your
husband said, before you need to let him have some room to grow. He’s heart is
also breaking because he doesn’t have the same freedom other kids has. You can
stop worrying so much about him. He will be just fine”
Marie is very confused and before she could say anything again
she wakes up in her own bed. She immediately ran to Gabriel’s room and yelled
out his name.
“Gabriel!”
Gabriel’s in his room playing and watching his favorite
cartoon. Marie stops at the door as soon as she saw Gabriel. She’s in tears.
She puts her hands together, one being on top of the other tightly holding the
other one and she touches her chest where her heart is. She cried.
“What’s the matter mommy. Are you OK?” asked Gabriel.
Marie jumps on Gabriel’s bed, pulls him close to her and she
holds him tightly like she has never
held him before.
“Mommy, you’re hugging me too tight again” complained
Gabriel
“I’m so sorry baby, I’m just so happy to see you” cried
Marie
“But I’ve been here with you since you picked me up from
school. You’re acting weird mommy. Are you OK, and why are you still crying?”
“Yes baby, everything is great. It’s just wonderful. I love
you so much!”
In conclusion …
It is now in Marie's belief that God spoke to her in her dreams.
She believes that her dream was the path to the wisdom
of truth.
Truth about guiding her son to the right direction without limits while
giving her son some room to grow.
Truth about letting her son experience different things and
letting him make his own mistakes so that he could learn from them.
Truth about her son’s little heart may have been breaking
because of the limitation that he has endured.
Marie definitely learned her lesson. Though she has set a
new boundary for her self, some limitations on what Gabriel can do still applies
but they are reasonable. Marie’s dream seemed so real, but she’s beyond happy that it was only a dream!
THE END!
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