To Say Goodbye
A sudden cry shook Alice’s thoughts. The boy had fallen to the ground and now sat crying. Alice reached for the door but stopped herself.
The man rushed to the boy, checking for injuries and holding him close, but the boy was upset. He continued to cry in the man’s arms. The man lifted him up and carried him to the porch, they sat down on the steps, and the man rocked the boy in his arms. He patted his back gently and sang to him.
Alice gasped as she heard the familiar tune.
A memory of a woman with tight brown curls and caramel skin. She sat on a green couch, holding a baby in her arms. His chubby cheeks and giggling smile. Alice sat on the floor, staring at the baby in her mother’s arms. She smiled as he giggled each time her mother tickled his toes. Her mother smiled, a warm and happy smile, as she sang to him.
The same song that Alice heard now from the man holding the boy.