LOST MEMORIES

Rachelle, BIPH

Growing up,

Dad said you were one of a kind.

I never understood it until he passed away

And the burden of caring for you fell onto me.

After he left,

Every part of me shattered.

I could not leave my bed for days,

Nor eat my meals with craze.

I had fallen into a spiral of depression,

Needing a hug, and especially a cushion

However,

Maybe this is an opportunity to get to know you better.

I packed my bags,

Left my job,

Lost the keys to my very first apartment,

Just so that I could be with you

The moment I saw you

You flung your arms around me

You cradled me again just like when I was a baby

Your tears told me everything

All the pain and suffering I hope you don’t go through another loss

Because this is really painful to see

As the days go by I’ve gotten to know you better.

I’ve read your stories of Wizards and dragons;

And you told stories of Aunts and uncles

Who were equally as scary.

For days,

We baked cookies,

Sang Karaoke,

And saw cheesy rom-com movies.

We walked around the park,

Made a ton of art.

We looked back at old photos

Stood on tiptoe to reach the cookies we’d baked

After all the fun we had

I could not believe it

Your condition got the better of you and plagued you with a curse.

After a few months,

Your memory started to deteriorate.

You could no longer remember

The last time you ate,

Or perhaps where you put that freshly baked chocolate cake.

After a week

It started to get serious.

The day I’d been dreading had to finally come.

I sat on the table,

Gave you your breakfast and finally got the courage to ask you the question:

“Do you know who I am? Do you know my name?”

You replied with, “I’m sorry love, what was it again?”

Remember how I said,

“I hope you don’t go through another loss”

I truly wished I had said that to myself.

So that I would not have to go through

Another loss, a more painful loss

The loss of a mother and all the memories she held with her