Fall Writing Frenzy Challenge 2023

This story was inspired by a photo by Josh Hild on Pexels.com

It was one of many photos in the Fall Writing Frenzy https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/fall-writing-frenzy-2023/

This image moved me as I move through my own grief at the loss of my dog, Molly, who was my very favourite person.

Seasons Across Sorrow

I cannot settle in the hammock today.  It hangs beautifully backlit above fallen fall leaves decaying on the lawn.  It beckons, but I don’t want its comfort.  It hangs so still; the motionlessness only reminds me you are still gone.

We spent our summer swinging in the hammock seeking refuge between the trees on hot humid days.  Or taking a nap, nestled together, and dreaming of adventures to come.

However, autumn succumbs to winter. The hammock is packed away for the season.  The trees are bare and cold; my heart is bare and tender. I cannot think of you without tears.

But life continues in our grief and seasons pass whether we are ready or not.  Spring intends for us to emerge. The hammock supports me and I rest in its embrace.  You are not here in ways I can hold.  You are the stories that I whisper to the wind, the dappled sunlight sneaking through the fresh leaves of the trees, and the shoots rising up from warm soil yearning for life. I can finally remember you without weeping, most of the time. I rock myself into daydreams and revisit our seasons in the hammock together with a smile.