My Sleeping Princess
How could this happen? Well I know how it happened. Some reckless driver hit my little girl and drove off, the coward! So here I stand by my little girl’s bedside, her frail little body buried under her spring green comforter dotted with little pale yellow flowers, I didn’t know what kind. Her skin was pale, which wasn’t unusual but it lacked its usual rosy pigment which didn’t give him much hope, he saw the blanket rise and fall which he knew meant she was alive but is this really living? Lying in a bed isolated from the world unable to experience all the things life has to offer. I desperately wish I could bring her back, just kiss her forehead and she’ll wake up like in some fairytale and he has tried. He’s tried so many things and asked help from practically everyone but to no avail. Sometimes I wonder if things would be better if he just let her go….if she’s never going to awaken then why watch her wither away?
I wasn’t able to continue this training of thought when the familiar sound of whining and scratching began ringing in my ear. In response to the sound I managed to pull my eyes away from my sleeping princess and over to the bedroom door. I knew on the other side of the painted sky blue door was a small canine that no doubt could sense something was wrong. Angie was their pet dachshund hound, she was a good dog who was loved by his daughter and loved her back, they were best friends. Up until now I hadn’t really given the hound much thought as I was lost in my own grief. But some part of me knew that it was cruel to ignore Angie anymore then I already had so slowly I made my way over to the door and turned the brass knob and the moment the door opened the small dog immediately headed over to the bed. It only took a glance to know that she knew something was wrong, her tail wasn’t wagging nor did her ears perk up like usual, instead they were firmly angled downward.
“Come on girl, let’s get you up there, I’m sure she’d love your visit….” I said to the small dog as I picked her up into my arms stroking her fur lightly before placing her on the bed, watching her move over to my little girl’s face, nudging her and even barking a bit. “She’s sleeping Angie, she’s going to sleep for a while….” I replied with my voice cracking a little at the end of the sentence as I got hit by a wave of emotion, specifically of sorrow. It didn’t take long for my eyes to betray me as I felt the sting of tears being to fall once again, this time I fell into a nearby chair as I began to wipe away the tears, I hated feeling so powerless! There was nothing I could do to help my little girl…
“Angie! Who’s a good girl!” I could feel my heart skip a beat at that sound, the familiar sound of a girl, my girl, talking to her dog. In response my head shot up to see a sight that brought a whole new wave of tears except this time they were tears of joy. My girl, she was awake! Smiling and laughing as the little dog licked her face, a scene I have witnessed so many times before but this was a moment I was never going to forget. “Papa? Why are you crying?”
“N-no reason, I’m just…so happy….love you baby girl….love you so much….” I replied, stuttering a little at first as he leaned over and pulled my beautiful little girl into my arms, relishing in the feeling of her in my arms again. The feeling of her little arms wrapping around me, even the nuzzling from Angie, it all felt so….wonderful. I didn’t understand what awakened her, whether it be she just naturally woke up or Angie secretly had magic licks, I didn’t care, I had my girl back. She was awake, she was happy and bursting with energy, even her rosy cheeks had returned! It felt almost magical, perhaps fairytales and reality weren’t so different after all…
