The first time Jonathan saw his son was really the first time he said goodbye. Ten little fingers and ten little toes. So little, so fragile; he feared that if he touched him he would break into thousands of tiny little pieces.
His wife, Claire had not even a chance to hold him when he was born, hardly had a chance to see him before the doctors took him away.
“He’s so weak.” Claire had said the first time she saw her son. “He needs a strong name. Something strong and hopeful.”
So they named him Alexander. Alexander the great, powerful, Alexander with ten little fingers and ten little toes just ready to shatter.
Alexander with hope in his eyes and courage in his heart.
Jonathan never liked to admit it, but the first time he saw Alex, his little warrior, he silently whispered goodbye.
And every day after he was born, he feared the worst for his son, kissing his bald head goodnight or picking him up in the morning. Sending Alex to school and bringing him home.
“Goodbye, son.”
“Goodbye, dad.”
And taking him to the hospital when he fell. Just fell into a tiny little pile on the floor; he was standing and then he wasn’t and Claire was crying and calling the hospital because her little warrior wasn’t supposed to fall hesnotsickhesalrighthesalright. And Jonathan was picking him up and taking him to the car all the time thinking goodbye.
Goodbye, Alex, goodbye.
And when the Doc, the Good Doctor told them what Jonathan already knew, or at least expected, well, he said goodbye then too. And every day he said it, or thought it at least, every day when the chemo was making him better and then it wasn’t every day when his son lost a little bit of that bushy hair of his until he was bald as the day he was born. Jonathan said goodbye to his son everyday for seven years, swallowing the thick lump in his throat as he prepared himself for the worst. Every time Alex smile up at him and said:
“It’s going to be okay, daddy. I feel better now, I know the medicine is making me better daddy, I know it. Don’t worry. Don’t worry.”
But then the worst happened, Jonathan was in the room and his little warrior was just sleeping and the heart monitor was just beeping.
And then it wasn’t
It was making that sound, that terrible sound and Claire was shouting “What’s wrong? WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY BABY?”
“Goodbye, Alex. Daddy loves you so much.”
“No! NO! He’s not dead! DON’T TELL ME HE’S GONE! HE’S. NOT. GONE. YOU CAN’T TAKE HIM AWAY! YOU CAN’T TAKE MY BABY AWAY!“
“I’ll see you Alex, someday. Goodbye, son.“ Claire was sobbing and screaming and having a fit of hysterics; her little warrior didn’t fall, and the beeping would never stop, Alex would never die, not to Claire, because every time Jonathan was saying goodbye, she was saying hello. Hello, little boy, little warrior, I love you so much. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world. Hello.
To Jonathan, the beeping had stopped the day Alex was born.
And when the funeral ended and the little casket not even big enough to hold a dog had been covered with dirt and the little gravestone with the lamb on top, that said:
ALEXANDER LEE KANE
OCTOBER 28, 2000- JANUARY 7, 2007
HE WILL ALWAYS BE OUR LITTLE WARRIOR
Jonathan stood there for a while, just staring at the stone and the soil that was all that was left of his son, the one that he loved so very much. Claire had come up beside him and asked:
“Saying goodbye?” And he simply shook his head and smiled, looking at her lovingly, and then back down at the grave.
“Finaly saying hello.”
Author notes
Option B
A contest entry
- 3 options by LostSoulOfRage.
375 points, ended June 21, 2007, 14 entries
Honorable mention
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - ANYTHING! by Magma Globe.
130 points, ended July 13, 2007, 16 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - : Make me cry. by Taylor Renee.
375 points, ended November 20, 2007, 31 entries
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 18 of 18
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AW! I absolutely love the last line of this.
This was a terribly sad short story, definitely. Written pretty well, too, you did great.
This is so sad, yet so inpriring, and true. This has happened so many times in real life.
Great work here!
Thank you so much for enteirng, and good luck!!!
xoxo
Tay
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The dialogue is simple, yet descriptive..............
I loved the theme around which this story is based.......its really depressing and sad and pitiful.......
this is the story of millions and millions of people all over the world........its good that you wrote something about infant mortality......
I felt great sympathy...........just after reading that.. to all that people that have had children and lost them......this is just precious....simple and precious.......
this also tells you how much our parents love us!!!
i'm glad i read this...
Hats Off to Parents!!!!
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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I think this is the best!
it was really good and triple sad. -
Ohmygod this was such a good story...it was sad and precious and I loved it...the ending was so perfect. Amazing job.
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Thank you! A nice comment always makes my day.
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thx for entering the contest.
wow this was really good, and sad! i loved it. but i think you should mention in the beginning what was wrong with Alexander cause your reader that the father is constantly saying goodbye and your confused cause you dont know why. but this is a very well written story. i really liked it. good luck and keep up the amazing work.
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Well, the father himself didn't know what was wrong with Alex until he fell- but what the beginning is telling you is that he was a very sick child that was probably going to die without the cancer. Hence all the goodbyes.
Thanks for the feedback!
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awww... that was sad! it made me tear up! I don't usually cry when i read, only really sad things. this was beautifully written.
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wow
i think that was REALLY good, and very touching. do you write sad stories like that often, because even though it almost made me cry at the fate of many, it was very well done!
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No, I'm actually fonder of happy, funny stories, but this little plot bunny took ahold of me about three months ago and I had to write it, no matter how sad.
Thanks for the comment!
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OMG
That was...good. It was really good, and really depressing. I guess now I know what it feels like when people read some of my stories. I just have to know... did you cry when you wrote this, or was this, to you, a "happy" ending?
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I actually didn't cry when I wrote this, I usually do not when it comes to my own stories.
As for it being a happy ending, bittersweet maybe. The child dies but the father finaly finds the will to say hello to his son that he never really met in the first place...
Thanks for the comment~!
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Very sad story. I think that a few of the instances of saying goodbye coule be cut to releive some of the repetitiveness. Also what is hesnotsickhesalrighthesalright? Were the words supposed to be run together, or was it just a typo? Anyway, good write!
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The whole hesnotsickhesalright is supposed to run together, as a way of showing Claire's franticness at Alex's fall.
Thanks for the comment.
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Criminy...
I got online to read something, cause I was too bummed out to sleep........... This didn't help any!
There's not much I can say; you've written a wonderfully depressing story here. Very sad.
Now I gotta find something funny to read. All your fault.
~Alainn
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Sorry I couldn't hep your sleeplessness!
Thanks for the comment.
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A very sad story you have here, it cuts close to the bone as so often it happens. Great work, and good luck with your other writes.
~Queen~
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Thanks!
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