I am blessed to call Alice my daughter. She was a beautiful, happy child. And smart – boy was she smart.
She had a rough time in high school. It hurt to watch the choices she made and the struggles she faced as a result. But she emerged from that period of her life as a stronger woman – probably the strongest woman I know. I think those struggles gave her more compassion for people and a greater love for life.
And then Christopher came along – the joy of her life. I truly believe he was the catalyst that completed her transformation. And I couldn’t be more proud of the woman she was.
Christopher, you were a gift to me and your mom. These past fourteen years have been the best of our lives.
There was a period of time in her life when I feared something bad might happen to Alice, but those days were long over. I did not expect to outlive her, that is for sure. And to have her taken away like this is just not fair. And in this way. I mean- a closed casket? Beaten so badly that we don’t get to have a proper last look at her? I don’t know…
I love you, Alice.
(This is part 4 of 26 of the story What Happened to Alice. To see the full listing click here.)
Chuck I am really enjoying this serialized approach to A to Z. But I admit it was nice to miss “C” yesterday and get C and D all at once. Cheater. Yup that’s me.
Thanks, Jeri! Yeah, A to Z month gets hectic trying to post and visit other blogs, doesn’t it? I sometimes wait on serials and read a few at a time also. 🙂
Hey Chuck, I am late getting to your party but I’m loving your series. I am all about wanting to know about Alice now!
What a genius theme!
Thanks for dropping by, Jerralea. I always enjoy seeing your posts show up in my email. I need to drop in and comment more often so I can say “hi.” 🙂
Whoa… you’re going straight for the heart…
This one was hard for me to write. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a child.
The emotional impact here is immediate. Alice, the daughter. Wow. Having this told in first person makes it even more immediate. It would be easy for something like this to be overdone emotionally speaking, since we’re talking about a child, but that’s not the case, so it works. I can absolutely feel the narrator’s pain.
Thanks, Silvia! I’m glad to hear it didn’t come across as overdone.
Let’s call in the best detective you’ve got – Alice deserves the best!
Good idea, Sue. Hopefully someone will be able to tell us what happened. 🙂
So sad coming to terms with a loss – tugs the heart strings.
Thanks, Helen!
Oh dear. Something no parent should have to go through. I like the way you’re revealing bits and pieces of Alice and the speakers.
I am so enjoying these! I signed up to get them mailed to me every day but wanted to stop by to tell you to keep it up 🙂
~AJ Lauer
an A-Z Cohost
@ayjaylauer on Twitter
Thanks for stopping in to comment, AJ! The encouragement is appreciated. Oh, and thanks for signing up for the email updates, too. 🙂
Oh no! No parent should have to go through this! So heartfelt.
glad when I realised this was a story and not an experience.
Yeah, somehow I forgot to add the link to the whole story at the end. Sorry for the confusion. 🙂
‘beaten so badly’? Well, if we didn’t know it already we can rest assured that whatever happened to her was violent.
I’m loving these, Chuck! Each one is like a little coin that you have to save up to buy the big reveal.
I felt nauseas when I first read this. Then I thought some of the comments were heartless until I did some back reading to discover if it was real or not. Well written Chuck… perhaps a tiny intro explaining it’s fiction might prevent someone else losing their breakfast or lunch… I came close. 🙂
Reflex Reactions
Thanks for letting me know I forgot to add the blurb at the end pointing to the entire story. I’ve fixed that now. Sorry for the jolt. 🙂
Oh wow. Heartbreaking. I’m watching Dateline right now where a mom is talking about her daughter’s murder…so I’m already in that mindset!