They are hurting just as much

He had thought about it, long and hard, before finally agreeing. He was not enthusiastic about meeting them, her parents. They had been upset with him, that much he knew, and nothing he said or do would make a difference. But he had a task to perform, and for his Sparks, he would brave the coldest war.

This morning, he is grateful he had listened to that voice. Not because they'd apologised for their brutality the other day, but because they'd deigned to share a part of their grief with him. He knew how much effort it'd taken them to do so. He was afterall the outcast, having come into her life this late. But that was not it, the worst had to be the unforgiving fact he didn't detect something amiss the day she left. Now that's all in the past.

Today, they opened their hearts to him, that in itself is a miracle. For what he did, his job that is, it was not one that people of their calibre would trust. He sent a little prayer of thanks to his Sparks, for bridging the gap between her parents and him.

Deep in his heart, he knows she is smiling, knowing that they have become friends.

Here is the piece they'd like him to include in the memorial service booklet. How well they've described their loss:

Please don't ask us if we're over it yet,
We'll never be over it.
Please don't tell us she is in a better place,
She isn't here with us.
Please don't say at least she isn't suffering,
We haven't come to terms with why she had to suffer at all.
Please don't tell us you know how we feel,
Unless you have lost a child.
Please don't ask us if we feel better,
Bereavement isn't a condition that clears up.
Please don't tell us at least you had her for some 20 years,
What year would you choose for your child to die?
Please don't tell us God never gives us more
Than we can handle.
Please just say that you're sorry.
Please just say you remember our child, if you do.
Please just let us talk about our angel.
Please mention our love's name.
Please... just let us cry.
Please talk about her,
Talk about her gentle smile.
Share your memories of her.
Share your sadness that she has gone.
Ask us what we loved about her.
Tell us what you loved about her.
Tell us what she brought to your life.
Tell us you will miss her.
Say she was beautiful.
Say you loved her.
But please don't tell us...
There is nothing you can say.