I’m so nervous. It’s my first day as a guide and today I get to help her, I hope she remembers me.
Tossing and turning, Grace was unable to sleep. Memories of what used to be flooded her mind. The pain, the grief, the pity. This continued on throughout the night. Frustrated, Grace ran her hands over her tired face. She finally closed her eyes and succumbed to the inevitable nightmares.
As she finally fell into a dreamless sleep, the loud shrill of the alarm rang. Annoyed at the sudden outburst of noise, Grace pushed the clock away from her sleep deprived body. A sudden realization came over her, though, when she saw the time on the falling clock.As she rushed out of bed, she made her way to the end of the hallway and went into her daughter’s room, prepared to wake her up for the first day of high school. However, she froze when she opened the door and noticed the unusually tidy bed; The way none of her clothes were on the floor and how it appeared as though Hazel hadn’t been in her room in months. In truth, she hadn’t. Grace unconsciously slid to the floor as everything came rushing back to her. The man, the glass, the police, the posters, the remorseful phone call. The gun in the evidence bag,the bloodstained t-shirt. Undeniable shock flowed through her body as she attempted to hold it together. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live knowing what he did to her. Knowing that, as her mother, I couldn’t protect her.”
“Hello, Ms. Meyer. Are you ready to come with me today?”
Confused at the sudden intrusion, Grace snapped her head up. Standing before her was a girl, about sixteen years old, and she looked so familiar. But, when Grace looked at her, she felt a wave of sadness flow throughout her. She was reminded of the special little girl who was a part of her life so long ago. “I don’t think I am. But who are you?”
“You’ll find out soon enough, Grace. Now come on. We have a lot to do today and we need to get started.”
“Where are we going?”
“Well, that’s for you to decide. Where do you want to go?”
“Um, it’s really silly but I want to go talk to my daughter.”
“Okay. But why is that silly?”
“Because she’s dead.”
“That’s all the more reason to go talk to her then. Come on, I’ll take you.”
Grace began to regret the visit, however, when they arrived and she saw the built up dust on Hazel’s grave. She just couldn’t bring herself to visit her before, and she now realized how weird it must’ve looked for the grave to not have dozens of flowers from the child’s mother. “Hazel I miss you. I woke up today to wake you up for school, but you weren’t there. I know it’s crazy to think you can hear me but, I think this will help me come to a sense of closure. I am so sorry that I couldn’t protect you. As your mother, my one and only job in this world is to keep you safe. But I failed. I just need you to know that I really love you and I will never forget you.”
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I turned to Grace. “You are such an amazing person. What happened to me was not your fault.”
“What do you mean, what happened to you? Who are you?”
Walking towards Grace, I start to speak. “Hi. My name is Hazel Ann Meyer. I am sixteen years old. I was abducted and murdered when i was fourteen years old.” She looks somewhat elated and confused before turning towards me.I continue, “And I’m your daughter.”