Chapter 1. {The Girl Who Couldn’t Say Goodbye }
883 Words
The nightmare always ended the same way.
“Run, Emily!”
Melissa’s scream tore through the darkness.
Her mother turned.
Not frightened.
Not crying.
Just… smiling.
A gentle smile that never reached her eyes.
Then—
Everything disappeared beneath a flash of lightning.
Melissa jolted awake.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she stared at the ceiling.
Again.
The same nightmare.
For four months…
Always the same.
She reached beneath her pillow and pulled out the framed photograph she slept with every night.
Emily Anderson.
The woman with warm brown eyes and a smile capable of making any room feel like home.
Melissa traced her mother’s face with trembling fingers.
“I dreamed about you again.”
Her voice cracked.
“I can’t even remember what your voice sounds like anymore.”
A tear slipped onto the glass.
She quickly wiped it away.
“I’m trying, Mom.”
“I really am.”
“But every morning I wake up hoping yesterday was the nightmare…”
“…and then I remember.”
Silence answered.
Like it always did.
A knock sounded gently on her bedroom door.
“Mel?”
Jason’s voice.
“You awake?”
Melissa hurriedly wiped her face.
“Y-Yeah.”
“Breakfast is ready.”
“I’ll be down soon.”
There was a pause.
“Take your time.”
His footsteps faded down the hallway.
Melissa looked around her room.
Nothing had changed since Emily died.
The lavender curtains.
The framed family photographs.
The bookshelf Emily used to organize every Sunday.
Even the dried lavender bouquet on her bedside table remained untouched.
It no longer smelled sweet.
Only old.
Melissa stood and picked up the bouquet.
“Guess we’re both fading…”
She whispered before setting it back down.
Downstairs…
Jason carefully arranged two plates on the dining table.
He reached for a third one out of habit.
His hand froze halfway.
For a long moment…
He simply stared at the empty place where Emily used to sit.
Then, slowly…
He placed the plate back inside the cupboard.
He never spoke about moments like these.
He simply carried them.
Melissa walked into the dining room wearing an oversized lavender hoodie.
Jason smiled.
“There she is.”
She forced a small smile.
“Morning, Dad.”
“Morning, Queen.”
He pulled out a chair for her.
“Pancakes?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“You made these?”
“I absolutely did.”
She looked at the slightly uneven edges.
“They survived?”
“Barely.”
Melissa laughed softly.
A real laugh.
Jason’s shoulders relaxed.
He hadn’t heard that sound in weeks.
For a while…
The only sound between them was the clinking of cutlery.
Then Jason cleared his throat.
“I stopped by the cemetery yesterday.”
Melissa’s fork stopped halfway.
“You… did?”
He nodded.
“I changed the flowers.”
Melissa looked down.
“I wanted to go.”
“I know.”
“I just…”
“I couldn’t.”
Jason reached across the table and gently squeezed her hand.
“You don’t have to explain.”
“I miss her too.”
The words broke something inside Melissa.
“I keep thinking…”
She whispered.
“…what if I hugged her one last time before she left?”
“What if I told her not to go?”
“What if…”
Jason interrupted softly.
“Melissa.”
She looked up.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
She burst into tears.
“I know…”
“…but it still hurts.”
Jason stood and wrapped his arms around her.
She cried into his chest.
For the first time since Emily’s funeral…
Neither of them pretended to be okay.
An hour later…
Melissa climbed into the attic.
She hadn’t been there since the funeral.
Dust floated lazily through the beams of sunlight filtering from the small window.
Everything smelled like old wood…
And memories.
In one corner sat a large cedar chest.
Her mother’s memory chest.
Emily had always joked about it.
“If anything ever happens to me…”
She would laugh.
“You’ll find all my embarrassing secrets in there.”
Melissa smiled weakly.
“You really had terrible jokes, Mom.”
She knelt beside the chest.
Her fingers brushed across the brass lock.
Locked.
She frowned.
“That’s strange.”
Emily never locked it.
As Melissa stood to leave…
Something caught her eye.
Tucked beneath one of the chest’s wooden legs…
Was a tiny silver key tied with a faded purple ribbon.
Melissa’s heartbeat quickened.
She picked it up slowly.
The key fit perfectly into the lock.
Click.
The lid creaked open.
Inside were neatly folded scarves…
Old photographs…
A music box…
And several ivory envelopes.
Each one sealed.
Each one written in Emily’s elegant handwriting.
Melissa’s breath caught.
The first envelope simply read—
For My Little Sunshine.
Her hands trembled.
“Mom…”
Before she could open it—
“Melissa?”
Jason’s voice echoed from downstairs.
She quickly slipped the letter back into the chest and closed the lid.
“I’m coming!”
She glanced back one last time.
Something told her…
Her life had just changed.
She didn’t know it yet.
But somewhere else…
Someone was already wondering whether she had found the letters.
- Writer
