Letting Go

• Manie Li, Grade 8
• Poetry
• 2010

“I grabbed her hand. She may have been small, but she was heavy. “Let go of my hand!” she shouted. I shook my head. If I did, she would die! I couldn’t hold on any longer and I was starting to slip. That was when the fence tore away from the ground and we both fell into the crashing waves. When I woke up, I found myself in a hospital bed” I explained to the doctor. He nodded as he wrote what I said down. “Is that all?” he asked. I shook my head and slumped back onto the bed. He thanked me for cooperating and left. It was lonely. It had been 3 years since mum died in the sea. I lost my mum when I was 8 and I had the same occurring dream every night for the past year. My dad never got over mum being gone but he still occasionally smiles and laughs when I talk to him. Ever since the dreams started, I’ve been scared of countless things but mostly the dream itself. I suddenly fell asleep and I woke up when I heard a knock on the door and my grandfather came in. Mum’s dad. “How are you?” he asked as he sat down beside me. “I’m terrific!” I grinned as I rubbed my drowsy eyes. There was another knock on the door and my dad peeped in, but than it became awkward. You see, my grandpa and dad dislike each other VERY much. The truth is that they blame each other for mum’s death. I stared worryingly around, hoping nothing would happen. Instead, dad closed the door. I sighed with relief. Granddad stared sadly at me, holding my hand. “I don’t wish to fight with your father but I just can’t make myself stop” he whispered sadly. “The same goes for me,” said a voice on the other side of the door. The door slid open and my dad came in. He held out his hand. “I’m sure she would never have wanted us to fight either, so stop this nonsense for her!” he said, making it sound like and order. Granddad surprisingly took his hand and shook it. I placed my hand on top of theirs and gently whispered some words. “What did you say?” asked my dad. “Not me, it’s mum,” I answered. “She says thank you.” They stared at me, confused. “I had that same dream again… but this time I did as mum told me. Mum said something different from the other dreams. “Let me go for your grandpa and your dad’s sake” she said. “Let me go for my two most important people and be there for them. Tell them thank you”. So dad, grandpa, I’ll be there for you guys instead of mum so don’t you guys ever fight again!” I laughed and hugged them. “They hugged me back but there was something troubling them. “What happened after that?” they asked. “I cried… but I let go…”