Page 121 of Eleanor & Grey

He smiled and stared out at the pond. “I think now we can call it even.”

We sat there for a while longer, not really saying anything at all, not needing words.

We were just there in the wilderness, calming our souls. And every now and then, a dragonfly buzzed by.

“You know how you always worry about Karla?” I asked him.

“Yeah.”

“That’s how I worry about my father. All the time. I just have this bad feeling that he’s falling deeper into his depression, and even if he needed me, he wouldn’t reach out. It terrifies me every single day.”

“And you’ve tried to help him?”

“So much, and every year he pushes me away more. He’s drowning in loneliness, and he won’t take my hand.”

“It’s hard,” Greyson confessed. “It’s hard to take people’s help. And the more days that pass, the easier it becomes to push people away. Most people just fall off, too. They realize that it’s a hopeless cause—helping the broken souls. I know that’s what I did. I pushed everyone away, and only the ones who meant the most to me stayed around. You want my advice?”

“Please.”

“Keep calling. One day he’ll decide to pick up, and if he doesn’t, then go and kick down his door. If that doesn’t work, then know that you at least tried everything. You didn’t give up.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Greyson.”

“Always.”

When it came time to leave, we both stood from the log.

I took in a deep breath and paused. “Do you think I can take a minute alone?” I asked him. “Just to talk to my mom?”

“Of course.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I’ll meet you at the car.” He wandered away leaving me there alone with Mom.

I knew she was there, I could feel her energy surrounding me.

There were so many moments in my life when I felt lost, moments when I didn’t know if I should go left or right. I doubted myself and the choices I made, felt like I was drowning, and on those days, I’d hold conversations with Mom and tell her my story.

As I stood in front of the water that gently shifted back and forth, I asked her for her help, for her guidance, for her to look over Dad in a way that I couldn’t.

Then I closed my eyes, felt the light breeze against my skin, and was thankful because somehow, my mother was magic. Somehow, she had been able to cheat death. Even though her physical form was gone, I felt her spirit sweep across me every single day.

Whenever I asked for her help, she never hesitated to show me the way. Some people called it signs, others called it blessings, but I simply called it my mother’s kisses.

She guided me through the darkness while promising there’d be light at the end.

So no matter what happened, I knew everything would be okay.

Because a mother’s love is enough to surpass time and space.

A mother’s love never vanishes.

A mother’s love can always heal her daughter’s heart with simple kisses in the wind.

“Happy birthday, Mom,” I whispered, wiping the tears that found a way to fall from my eyes.

I didn’t know if they were happy tears or sad, but it didn’t matter. As long as I was still feeling emotions, I knew I’d be all right.

46

Greyson

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