The Last Goodbye

Dark shadows were embedded under his suffering eyes like twinkling diamonds encrusted deep within the earth's ground. His dirty hair clung to his weary face and his shallow breathing felt like a huge effort with every breath. His frail body was positioned on an old rickety chair which sat near a dusty table. White snow fluttered toward the ground outside. Pale moonlight shone through the square window, casting an eerie light throughout the old shack. He held a black feather in his rugged hands and slowly dipped it into a small ink pot. He began to carefully write on the thin sheet of parchment in front of him.

" My close friend,
I am dying. I have been ever since I abandoned my dear family. My footsteps no longer have the spring they once had. I smile no more and my laugh is but an echo of the past. My head aches so and at many times, it is hard to keep my thoughts clear. I can no longer go outside for the cold is too much for my weakening body to handle. I hear things that are not even there and I fear I am losing my senses. I feel as if I am slowly fading like the large and powerful flames of a blazing fire burning down into the feeble red ashes. I know not the disease that has taken control of my body, but I know I shall not stay on this earth for long. I ask of you only one favour. That is to take care of my wife and young son. Please be their protector and solid rock in stormy weather. Be the resonating light that will lead them through the most treacherous terrain. Be the strong and proud man that I could never be. I beg of you do this! Now, I feel as if I can write no more. Goodbye, my dear friend, once and for all."

With that, he quickly scribbled his signature. He leaned back into his wooden chair, thoughts of his precious family still emblazoned within this mind. He tried to rise from his chair but suddenly collapsed back into it. He felt weak, so weak. His eyelids fluttered closed and his shallow breathing finally stopped. He had gone into eternal sleep.