The 6S Social Network
What can YOU say in six sentences?
The Voicemail (6X3)
August 31st at 5:27PM: “Hey Mommy!” He is whispering, prompting the babies: Say, “We love you! We miss you! And we’re doing okay! We made it through the storm.” The babies take over saying ‘okay’ - cause it’s a funny word – giggling, blowing kisses, saying goodbye, and then Xavier is heard over everyone saying in his distinctive Teletubbie voice, “I love you Mommy,” before the line dies.
September 6th at 8:59PM: I hear the babies in the background as he says he loves me and can’t wait to hear from me as soon as I can get away. He wants to know if I got the kids’ pictures. Tells me that the kids are planning a birthday party for me, better late than never, and how they all miss me. Then the phone falls and a charming little lady says, “I wanna say that as soon as you get this message can you please call me, Symone, the number is 555-555-5555. Again, the number is 555-555-5555.” She giggles, the others join in, and they all say, “We love you!”
It was just supposed to be a month, 958 miles, apart not forever. Why couldn’t we have been available to take the other’s call? Why was everything left to simple voicemails, letters, drawings, and cards? I don’t want these messages to be all I have left of them. For twenty-two days -- twenty-two days, eleven hours, and seventeen minutes -- I dreamt of them running into my arms, showering them with the kisses they blew to me over the phone, and finding peace again even if it was just for a little while. They made it through one storm.
Comment
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Comment by Deborah Jovan Reed on March 22, 2013 at 6:29pm -
Joey, do you think that last line needs clarification?
The voice mails are true, adapted slightly so its a husband and children talking to mommy instead of a sister and nieces/nephew talking to Tante. The first one was during the events of Hurricane Katrina. My sister and the kids got the winds/rains/power outages, thanking God they were far enough away, and they called me when they were finally able to to tell me the family was all okay. I didn't have a cell phone until five days after I got the second message. It broke my heart my baby girl thought she had to tell me who was talking to me and what the phone number was. My first cell phone was my birthday present that year.
Anyway, I just thought that nobody would mention having made it through just any old storm. And the fact they made it through one storm, the second - the one that took their lives - had to be ten times as bad.
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Comment by Joey Delgado on March 22, 2013 at 5:04pm -
So heartbreaking. The last six in particular is very gut wrenching. I'm not quite sure what happened, but I know a happy reunion was not it.
© 2013 Created by Robert McEvily.
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