To VeilCorp:
The last time Judy and I saw our daughter was two years ago. She was being wheeled away for yet another surgery. I’m not sure anything can make you feel more helpless as a parent than seeing your child sick. Her prognosis was not good and this procedure was for her short-term comfort, not a cure. She had gone through all of this too many times to count. It wasn’t her first time in the operating room, but it would be her last. Madison had been sick since birth but we still weren’t prepared when they asked to talk to us in a private room. I’m not sure you can ever be ready for something like the loss of a child.
Almost as bad as Madison’s passing, was the toll it took on my marriage. I knew it wasn’t my fault, but at the same time I couldn’t help but think I could have done more or gone to one more specialist. Judy blamed me too. Not with her words, but with the way she acted around me and the look in her eyes. I missed her smile and waking up with her head pressed against my chest in the morning. I missed her laugh. I missed our family. Our friends suggested we take a trip to kick-start our marriage and get Judy out of her funk. I booked a vacation with Veilcorp and hoped that some time in a beautiful place would help us heal our wounds. I wasn’t very hopeful, but I was wrong.
The first thing I saw when I came out of the gateway was Madison smiling at me, holding her mother’s hand. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I honestly thought we had died until I heard the local weather announcement. I froze when she ran up and gave me a hug. It took me a few seconds to loosen my grip when she complained that I was squeezing her too tight. I could feel the tears drip off my chin into her hair. Letting her out of my arms was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Judy cocked her head and asked if I was alright. I saw concern in her eyes instead of the usual despair, so I played along. It was like the horror of the past two years had never happened.
We spent the day talking and laughing like we used to. Madison giggled while talking about other trips we’d taken. I smiled right along even though I didn’t remember some of them. We walked around town for hours. We shopped and ate and even spent some time in a few tourist traps. Madison looked so strong and happy. I tried to not cry, or stare at her too long, but I couldn’t help it. I was afraid that if I said something I’d wake up from this dream and go back to the nightmare we had been living. “She’s just growing up so fast,” I said to Judy through the tears. She wrapped her arms around me and called me a wimp. It was wonderful.
After dinner we walked along the beach. I held Judy’s hand as we watched Madison run away from the waves as they rolled up the sand. She collected shells and I tried hard to burn each second into my brain in case all this went away in the morning. We all sang her favorite songs that night before bed, just like we used to. After she fell asleep, Judy caught me staring at her again and asked if I was alright. I told her that I wasn’t just alright, I was the happiest man on Earth. She teased me about being a softy, took my hand and pulled me to bed.
There was something on my face when I woke up and I panicked for a second before I figured out it was Judy’s hair. She stretched and began to groggily protest about being woken-up so abruptly when Madison jumped on our bed. “I thought you guys would never wake up! What are we doing today?” she asked. I knew then that I had been given the greatest gift possible. I had been given my family again.
I’m not sure what happened. I don’t care what it was. Some part of me is still scared that I’ve gone crazy. If I am, I don’t want to get better. You’ve given me my old life back and I can’t lose both of them again. I’ll do anything. I can’t go back to the world I’d been living in! Please let me stay here, wherever it is.
Dave Harris
Veil Code: 270401DHarris
