One More Stop
Page 21
‘Dina. Turn around. Hold me. You can hold me as tight as you want. I won’t die. I won’t scream. You are so silly; silly girl carrying a rock inside your heart. You know, a secret like that could kill you?’ I whisper in her ear, ‘Guess what? It’s not your secret anymore. I know about it now.’
‘I’m so ashamed.’
‘You had a million reasons for hating me. But, look at us. We’re together. We’re alive. Look around you. Look at the thousands of gravestones. Generations of secrets, lies, shame, misunderstandings. If only we could forgive ourselves for being human. Wouldn’t that be a relief?’ We gaze at the graves of our parents, their parents, and all of their parents before. ‘You know something?’
‘What?’
‘All these years … You have been so nice to me. Now, I understand why. Nothing like a little guilt to make a big girl feel like she’s responsible for an entire family. Man oh man, it is time for someone else to take over that thankless role … Are you looking at me? Absolutely not!’ … Dina hugs me, really hugs me. ‘Come with me. Over there, by that footstone. Take my hand. Step on a crack, break the pattern’s back. Come on now. We have no time to waste. Time enough has been wasted.’
As it turns out, my mother was, and still is the only one without a secret. Maybe she had one. She might have been jealous of Mrs B.’s garden after all. Wouldn’t that be the living end?
My secret is no secret. I never wanted to say goodbye to my mother. By keeping her alive, she would always be with me. By letting her go, she would, we would, be free. Goodbye Mom. I have a lesson plan to put together for next week.
The End
Acknowledgements
Thank you: Ron Portante, Jill Robinson, Elizabeth Kendall, Laurie Liss, Jan Werner, Margot Harley, Gillian Freeman, Edward Thorpe, James Nunn, Angeline Rothermundt, Gary Pulsifer, Daniela de Groote and all at Arcadia Books.
A special thanks to the students in the classrooms across the United States.
About the Author
LOIS WALDEN has worked as writer and lyricist with a variety of major artists and composers including Dionne Warwick, Jane Fonda, and Charles Fox. As founder of the star studded singing group The Sisters of Glory, she has performed at the Vatican for the Pope. She co-produced the group’s critically-acclaimed album, Good News in Hard Times, for Warner Bros, as well as writing and co-producing her solo album, Traveller. She was the lyricist for American Dreams Lost and Found, based on the book by Studs Terkel. Her life and music have been profiled on the CBS shows Good Morning America and Sunday Morning. Ms Walden is currently writing her second work of fiction.
Copyright
First published in 2010
by Arcadia Books,
15-16 Nassau Street,
London, W1W 7AB
This ebook edition first published in 2011
All rights reserved
© Lois Walden 2010
The right of Lois Walden to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–1–908129–46–8