It’s funny how life can surprise us when we least expect it. Everything seems fine one minute, but then our whole world is turned upside down the next.
I was lost in thought as I walked through the park when I came across a lovely family. A loving pair with two kids who are having fun and laughing. I used to imagine that moment happening to me, but fate had other ideas.
The dad asked me to take a picture of their happy moment, and I said yes, even though I had mental scars from the past. As I took the picture, I could feel how happy they were, but it also made me long for them deeply.
We traded phone numbers, and I went my separate way, remembering how happy they were. A scary message hit me like a ton of bricks: “IF YOU ONLY KNEW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO OUR FAMILY.”
I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had done. Had I caught something I shouldn’t have by accident? The doubt made it hard to breathe.
When I got another message, it broke my fears. The mother of the family had died, and the picture I took of them was their last one together. My dad said something that cut to the core of my being: “You kept that memory alive for all time.”
I wept as I grieved for my own death and the death of this family. I cried for Tom, the person I loved, and the times we had together. At that very moment, something changed inside me.
I learned that the beauty of life is in the small and big times that it gives us. People can be helped by our light even when things are dark.
When I saw the last picture of Tom and me, it made me feel something other than sadness. I was thankful for the time we spent together instead.
Finally, that chance meeting taught me how important memories are and how powerful it is to connect with other people.
Do you think memories can heal and bring us together? Say what you think!
