In Honor of Life

Short Short Fiction, by CJ Heck

It was Memorial Day again and as she did every year, Sharon Cleary drove to the Eternity Gardens Cemetery with three of the prettiest bouquets she could find. She took this day seriously. It was her way to honor family members who died in war.  It was her private way to show she cared.

One bouquet was for Great-Grampa, "PJ" Mullerton, who died in a bunker during the First World War. A second bouquet was for Uncle Theo Tarns, who was killed when his bomber was shot down in the Second World War.

She had never met Uncle Theo, or Great-Grampa, but she was still proud and indebted to them for their service and sacrifice –-more importantly, they were family.

The last bouquet was always the hardest. Sharon always made sure this was the largest most colorful of the three. It had to be special. It was for Daddy.

Sharon was only six when she hugged Steven Cleary's neck for the last time. They were at the airport in Stewartsville. She remembered crying and pleading with him to stay. "Please, Daddy, don't go. I’ll miss you and so will Mommy. Please stay. We need you here." She knew he had been just as sad to leave them. Sharon saw the tears he quickly wiped away after he hugged her and turned to hug and kiss her mother goodbye.

Daddy was killed in Vietnam six months later, a decorated soldier and hero. Her mother, Sarah Cleary-Buddig, eventually framed his medals. They still hang on the wall with his picture over the fireplace.

Sharon remembered what a sorrowful time that was, after the family learned of his death. But as sad as she was, she never felt as helpless as she did, hearing her mother crying into her pillow at night and not knowing what to say or do to comfort her.

Sharon had been so lost in thought she nearly missed Uncle Theo's grave. She had to walk back two rows and she chided herself for not paying attention. After she finished her prayers and was done talking to Uncle Theo, she took a deep breath -- it was time to find Daddy. Her heart always felt like it was in her throat as she walked the steep path to the upper section where her father rested in the Cleary family plot.

Just as she reached the top, she noticed an elderly woman by one of the older headstones on the left. Sharon watched quietly as the woman kissed a folded paper and slipped it under a vase of roses on the flat marble headstone. Then she adjusted the small American flag that was stuck sideways in the ground.

As the old woman stood and turned, their eyes met. Sharon was stunned. She could almost feel the woman's thoughts from what she saw in her eyes. Then just as quickly, the woman turned away and the moment was gone.

How amazing, Sharon thought, as she watched the elderly woman walk slowly down the path towards the entrance gate. The woman was crying – she could see her tears, but at the same time, she had the most peaceful smile on her face. Sharon felt compelled to go over to the headstone and read the folded note the woman tucked under the vase.

"To my husband, my lover, my friend:
I miss you and I’ll love you always.
Thank you for what we had.
Please wait for me.
I hope you like the roses..
All my love, Maeve"

Sharon read the short note and it made her cry, too.  The words filled her with a beautiful new awareness. She could almost see the wheels of time turning days and months to years.  You realize it's been a whole lifetime a loved one has been gone. Then one day, instead of mourning their death, you begin to celebrate what they meant to you in life.

Sharon slipped the small note back under the vase. She silently thanked the elderly woman and walked back to her family plot to place her third bouquet on the engraved marble in front of her.

Sharon thanked Steven Adam Cleary once more for being her father, then allowed herself to remember all the love and good times they shared together. This time she knew her tears were born of gratitude and she could also smile.

“Thank you, Daddy. I love you …”

Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018.
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