April 6th – Echoes of the Past

Twelve years ago… that was when it happened.

Well, I guess it all started few years before that, four to be exact, when my wife passed away… I was left to raise my son alone. He was all but two, mischievous and hyperactive.. I had no idea how to handle him, but it was something I knew I had to do, and would love to do. Derek was a handful, but I loved him a lot, and he loved me too. I left him in a playhome when I went to work, and I’d have the hardest time leaving him there at first. He’d cry a bit, but I knew he’d be okay after a while. In the evening, he’d just be that naughty little imp that all knew and loved. He’d get in the way of my work, drive his nanny Jane crazy with his antics and refuse to have dinner till I pleaded with him. Two years went by, and yet it felt so much lesser. He started homeschooling, Jane teaching him alphabets and numbers. He took to them like fish to water, and his grasping power was quite amazing. She taught him whatever she could. He’d take it all in and remember them like no one else could, still never changing that naughty persona that he had. He’d begun to realize his mom wasn’t around, but he never asked me. Perhaps, he had seen me cry when I talked to her picture at night. Jane suggested we send him to school, and I agreed. We went to the best school in the neighborhood, and immediately after seeing his talent, the school offered a seat and a scholarship. He could start in September, after the summer break, they said. Just after his fifth birthday… the timing was just right.

That evening, we decided to celebrate. I took Jane and him out to dinner, and ordered his favorite dishes. I looked behind him as he smiled, and I thought I saw his mother there, smiling too. Memories flooded me. Leaving them both at the table, I went to the bar to have a drink. I don’t know, perhaps I had more than one. I was sober, but I still thought I saw my wife standing next to Derek. Jane and Derek approached, I paid the bill and we left. She insisted on driving, but I didn’t let her. Memories came fast, just like how I was driving that night. Then all went horribly wrong, we hit another car, I slipped out the side window, and found some hands helping me. The world was now a blur, and in the purple glow of night, I saw two figures go by… Derek, his hand held by an angel. I’d lost my angel.



Twelve years, I’ve lived in sorrow, no holy waters able to wash away my sins. Today, I drove my car fast again. The past echoed. I see that purple glow again. My angel is calling me to his side.


Poetry & writing to me are to me, a breath of fresh air in a life that is sometimes covered by the smoke of sorrow or self doubt. They also become the sweets I share to celebrate when life offers me a reason to. But most of all, they are to me, my life. For each word I write is a piece of my heart, a thought that just had to find its way into the world.

20 thoughts on “April 6th – Echoes of the Past”

  1. Wow..Amazing ..I loved the way its written , as my eyes swiftly read impressions of your fantasy , i was literally drifted into your fictional world …Thats the magic of your words !! 🙂

  2. If your loved ones will leave you one after the other, what is there to live for?His wife left him an angel, however his angel left him just the same!Very touching tale! Poignant, indeed!

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