All Those Who Die Leave No Trace

Strips of light slowly stung her bare feet as she ran to say goodbye to her father as he left for work. That moment of every morning was so special for the 7-year-old Hope. Her father would always tuck her to bed and she would always wave goodbye the following morning. Her father simply assumed that it was mainly for the chocolate he got her every day after work, but deep down he wished it was pure love that made her so persistent. She ran across the driveway back to the house making all types of sounds such as aw, awtch, oh, mom. Her mother had already warned her and prepared her sneakers next to the door, but she, always pushed by the rush to get to him before he goes, would recklessly run and suffer the consequences of her choice. And she always got to him. And she never regretted it. The following day was March the first. Hope’s first day at her new school. They had to move her because the older school did not tolerate her continuous late arrival. They did not understand how important that morning moment was for her. The father, so patiently, looked for a school that agreed to her late arrival. Hope was excited that she was no longer going to be ridiculed or punished for simply carrying out a morning father-daughter ritual. Sarah and Mat had to wait 10 years until they gave birth to Hope. It was actually why they named her so. They believed she was their beacon of hope and chance for a happy life. Driven by their emotions, the couple could never reject any of the girl’s wishes or requests. Hope and Sarah relationship was strong too, but daddy was always the hero. On March 4th, Hope was ill. She slept so heavily and could hardly move a limb. Mat did not want to disturb her, so they let her sleep. He got into his car. Started the engine, which coughed a few times first, and then drove to work.

He never came home.

The next morning, Hope started feeling better. She got dressed and prepared herself for school. She got the pens. The pencil case. The notebooks. The books. Everything was set, but something felt missing. There was a big round clock hanging on the kitchen wall that read 7:10. Something pulled her to the driveway. She stood there for 5 minutes not knowing why. And started waving. Her mother shouted twice until she finally realized she had to go to school. And so she went to school. For the next few weeks, Hope woke up, rushed to the driveway, waved at nothing and was shouted at. A whole year passed and nothing changed. Same thing. Same result. “Why are you doing this to me, Hope! Stop it. I forbid you from being late to school ever again! Why? Why do you keep going to the driveway and miss the bus?” “I do not know, mommy. Something always pulls me to that spot”. On the 4th of March the following year, Hope got sick. She started hallucinating, “Mat. Dad. Driveway. Wave. Have to go”. The mother stood there haunted by fear incapable of moving and thinking. “What is happening to my daughter?” She kept crying as she paced her body from one room to another. Sarah kept her head close to Hope’s arm as she placed a goodnight kiss. Hope saw through her mother’s watch that it struck seven. She got up so sluggishly and moved her feet one foot at a time until she reached the driveway. The mother woke up to the sound of a crash. She went downstairs so fast. It appeared that a car drifted from the road and hit something but there was nothing there. She stood there for hours. She froze. Then she got inside. Her neighbors swore she kept standing every single day at 7:10 at her driveway and waved at nothing. People thought she was crazy. But something always pulled her out.

It was love. Love was stronger than post-death memory loss. All those who die leave no trace. They fade into thin air. Their existence goes into ash as their bodies disappear. But one thing would always overpower that memory loss of the living: True love. It would always linger – even without realizing what or who it was. On her 70th birthday, Sarah stood there at 7:10. Waved her last goodbye – and she too faded into thin air. Mat. Sarah. Hope. Were known and remembered never again. But their love remained untouched. Their love lingered across time and place.