Trigger warnings: Early Parenthood, Loss
The Brightest Light in the Darkest Night
In the dream we’re falling. She’s a tiny bundle in my arms and we fall and fall until I don’t know whether I’m terrified or grateful that there’s no ground to hit.
Her cries pierce me awake and for a moment we’ve hit the ground but no, we’re in bed and she just wants a drink or a diaper, or maybe she was dreaming too. For that microsecond she’s all there is: even outside the dream there’s only her and me.
But then the world comes back, and there’s her, me, and the gaping hole where her mother should be.
elmowrites 
Gosh, that’s powerful. The revelation that it was Dad with the baby because Mom had died was a total shock. And what very mixed emotions you evoke. The anguish of loss, of course, but also a kind of exaltation that Dad is raising his child with the single-minded focus of a Mom.
All single parents have me in awe; I can’t imagine trying to navigate those first few weeks and months while also going through such grief. Thanks for stopping by.
Aww, so sad Elmo. Well done.
Thanks Mason.
Beautifully constructed to that revelation at the end
Cheers Neil. It was a hard one to fit into 100 words!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by!
Wonderfully narrated. Loss of a loved one is unbearable.
Very sad. But, sadly a reality for many.
Thank you, Anita. As you say, still a reality for too many people.
Oh! This was so good, Jen. Beautifully written with it’s real-life feeling of terror.
Thank you, Dale, atlhough apologies for the terror!
No apologies! Ya done good 😉
What a sad image, and a powerful story, well done
I used to write a lot more sadness; glad I haven’t lost the touch. Thank you.
This tears me apart. It feels so real. Good writing on a tragic topic.
Sorry for the tearing apart, Ms J; thank you for staying with it.
you’re welcome
That was a shock, really powerful stuff, the best ive read today
Aw, thank you! What a nice comment!
The dream and the mixed feel of it – closeness, danger, loss of control, the all consuming power of love for a child, then wrapping it up with the braveness of the parent alone. Wow. Awards for saturated 100 words.
Cheers! Definitely a lot to cram in.
Ouch! This one is going to linger. So sad.
Well as they used to say on TV, don’t have nightmares…
Very well formed story. Very real.
Thank you, Bill
Powerful in so few words. Gorgeous, in a sad way.
I’ll take that – thank you!
So sensitively and heart-rendingly executed, Jen. Well done.
Thanks, Sandra. I’m glad it didn’t feel overworked in the end. I wanted to keep the sensitivity in amongst the pain.
Dear Jen,
This is gut wrencher from beginning to end. Particularly with the realization it’s a single dad. Very well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you, Rochelle. I do find sad stories come more easily than happy ones sometimes. This tale wanted to be told.
Wow, quite a shock at the end. I seen this played out on the news several times since Covid hit. Mom dies in the hospital, sometimes without even getting to see the baby and Dad is left to raise the child alone. Heartwrenching. Great writing, Jen.
For me, it’s hard to imagine a greater loneliness than to be in that position, but as you say it happens. Thanks for visiting, and for your kind comment.
Yep, sometimes life’s journey can be a lonely one at the wrong time.
Indeed. Thanks for stopping by, James
A heart-wrenching story, well told.
Thank you!
feel sad for the mother
I suppose depending where she’s gone, she may not know that she is missing anything but yes.
A sad story indeed, nothing can take the place of mother.
Thank you, Keith. I’m sure this character is going to do his /her best to try, but I can’t imagine the burden they must be feeling.
His grief and fears were imagined in his nightmares. What a powerful story!
heartbreaking story. hopefully, he’d find the courage to move on.
Beautifully written tragedy.
So beautifully told, with the sense of falling, the relief, then the remembering.