… I looked underneath the stairs to find Stephanie sitting down, her white school shirt filthy from recovering her beloved Lucky, and the little duckling being held tight— loved even in death.
We had been lucky to find the duck. And Stephanie had learned a hard lesson.
As I felt the tears welling in my eyes, I realized I still had some learning to do myself...
No matter how much you love someone, you can’t alleviate the pain that they feel.
You can only hope that sharing it with them will somehow help to diminish the sorrow over time.
Each afternoon when I picked Stephanie up from school, she was quiet and sad.
There were to be fresh flowers for Lucky every morning until we moved.
I tried to find some means of closure for Stephanie— and for myself.
It was Stephanie who found it, however.
One afternoon she handed me a drawing that she had made of Lucky’s little resting place and a marker that read “LUCKY. Love was all he needed.”
Nearby a duckling swam happily on a pond with lilies.
There was also a poem written beneath, penciled neatly by a shaky, yet caring fourth grade hand:
Lucky
In my mind I see you,
and Lucky, you see me.
You fill my heart with love,
and make me very happy.
Death can’t keep us separate,
Yes, that’s very true.
And now I’m very desperate
for you and only you.
When I watched you take
your last breath,
I really thought our love
was then death.
But just because your body
has been left behind,
It doesn’t mean you’re
absent from my mind.
You’re my favorite duckling,
This is also true.
Now all that I have left to say
is “Lucky, I love you.”
