Grief Story #6: Trish Butcher

My Grief Story

By Trish Butcher

There once was a girl,

Born to a mermaid and a hero,

She was well loved by all and the sun

shone on her birth.

Another child was born in time,

And love rained down from the girl to

her sister.

The mermaid and the hero were from

different worlds,

And strife began to tear them apart,

One day the hero flew away, leaving the

child broken hearted.

Of this the mermaid said nothing.

The child felt a deep emptiness without

her hero,

And the mermaid was often away

Providing food and shelter for the

family,

And the child was often lonely.

As the young girl grew into a young

woman,

Caring for her sister while the mermaid

was away,

She began to hide her loneliness

In the company of those who dreamed

only of themselves.

The young girl and the mermaid began

to quarrel

For the girl believed the mermaid to be

the fault of her sadness.

Finally the young girl found the hero

And begged him to care for her once

again.

The mermaid was hurt

But sent the children away with the hero.

He knew nothing of girls and caring for

them

And the young girl saw that he was not a

hero after all.

In early maidenhood, the young girl met

a boy.

He invited her to a festive gathering,

But the boy disappeared and she was left

alone,

Surrounded by young men, careless and

selfish.

They tricked the girl into a deep sleep

And in the night took her innocence.

The fallen hero shunned her

And so the girl never spoke of the trick

that was played.

Pushing her pain down, the young girl

returned home to the mermaid,

But the mermaid had left their home

with no word.

So the girl roamed the village on her

own

Seeking safety but finding only hardship

and despair.

Finally the girl went to a temple for help

For she was too sick to go on.

The priest helped to find the mermaid,

And they were reunited.

The mermaid had found a new love

And the girl lived with them for a while.

But the trick had left a deep aching in

her

And she sought to soothe through

potions.

One night someone gave her a deadly

potion

And she fell into a deep sleep.

She journeyed through the white tunnel

to heaven

And the physicians pronounced her

dead.

During the sleep, the girl saw great

things

And was given the answer to all

questions in life.

She awakened as they prepared her dead

body

And spoke of God to those attending her.

But no one believed her words

And instead they thought her insane.

The mermaid was ashamed

And turned her back on the young girl.

The girl was saddened and confused

And desperately wished for the

mermaid’s love,

And so she joined the most perilous of

all armies

To prove her worth and redeem her soul.

In this army she did not fight wars with

other tribes

But instead fought a war with herself,

For the soldiers were like the boys at the

gathering,

And much harm was done.

Time went by, and the woman sought

love.

She would do anything for it,

Even for those unworthy.

And the young woman was lonely.

Then a plague came upon the land and

took the woman’s sister.

In her grief the woman blamed the hero,

And in so doing the hero flew away once

more.

To mask her grief, the woman worked

very hard

Believing coin and success would save

her

But the gods would have none of it

And after a time, the woman fell into a

deep and sudden sickness.

The sickness took the woman’s work,

The sickness took the woman’s home,

The sickness took the woman’s lover,

And the woman entered the land of

despair.

Seeking solace and a new life,

The woman traveled to land in the north,

The land was dark and cold

And the woman was sick and lonely.

After a time, the woman wandered into a

temple

Full of people she recognized

But not in the usual way.

She found solace and comfort there.

One day on her way to the temple

The woman was drawn to a great love.

There was a great spark between them,

And they laughed and frolicked together.

For a time, there was perfection

And the woman enjoyed a great, great

love.

Even though the tricks played still

plagued her

The woman was sometimes now not so

lonely.

After a time, the darkness again

descended

And a deadly sickness entered her

lover’s body.

She prayed for her lover’s healing

But her prayers were answered with

deadly silence.

Her lover was taken by the sickness

And darkness entered the woman’s

heart.

No one understood her pain

And the woman was lonely once more.

The cold and darkness enveloped her

And her sadness knew no bounds.

She turned to wine and solitude

And in nothing was there comfort.

The years went by and the woman

healed

And hoped for love again.

But none could reach her as her sweet

lover had,

And the woman was still so lonely.

The hero, hearing of her sickness and

trials,

Returned and offered his heart.

Their joy of reuniting was great

And they marveled at their oneness,

Which had grown even in their

separation.

The woman felt a sense of completion

And was grateful for the hero’s return

But the time was short lived, for the hero

had grown old.

And his time on earth was done.

Sadness enveloped her once again.

She grieved for the lost years between

them

And grieved for the years they shared.

Her heart knew no comfort.

Even the people of the temple could

offer no comfort,

And for a time the woman turned away.

In darkness and solitude she longed for

lightness,

But it did not come.

The woman wondered at the sadness of

her life.

Why she had come to this land

Far, far away from her beloved mermaid.

Time stretched and pulled and lingered,

And the woman lived her days,

One upon another

Drifting into sameness.

After a time around the sun

The woman returned to the temple.

At first she could not bear the glances of

others

For she felt shame in her grief.

And the woman felt lonely even in the

crowd of the temple.

The woman prayed as she often did

And this time, support rained down upon

her.

She began to be gentle with herself

And allowed the help to come.

Her pains had taught her to know herself

And sometimes she was not so lonely.

Time went on, and the woman grew

strong.

She began to believe in the goodness of

life,

Nourishing her faith in a garden of trust,

And even the tricks played on her began

to lose their power.

The woman now knew herself well,

In joyful times and in sorrow.

She began to do for others,

Cultivated the earth of her soul,

And was true to herself in spite of her

sorrows

She now knows that all feel lonely at

times.

And sometimes now, the loneliness is gone.