The Day Dad Went to Heaven

It was a day like any other, except my dad was not feeling well,

I felt it was up to me to stay home to take care of him,

But mom insisted, even though I was just ten,

dad would be fine, I must got to school.

I wasn't sure of what golden rule,

I might learn that day, but worried about my best friend, my dad,

off to school I did trudge, feeling anxious, feeling unsure.

Mom was at her job, so dad was all alone,

I hadn't taken the key, so I rang the bell,

Feeling as much as hell, as a ten year old could,

there was no answer from the apartment,

and it seemed to me there was silence all around,

Our landlords were also friends,

so I rang their bell and waiting there for someone to come fetch me,

I never knew what was really going on till mom,

arrived from her job and went up to our apartment,

*

My little girl heart was beating in a double rhythm.

just knowing something was wrong,

just knowing it was the end of the song.

Anxious and unsure, the landlord and his wife,

knew not what to do with me.

Then came the phone call,

I recognized my mother's crying voice,

as this lady who spoke Latvian at home

and to all our neighbors including the landlord and his wife,

declared loud and strong in English -

"My husband has died!"

Now I was just sitting there,

holding it together as best as I could -

waiting for the next shoe to drop.

*

It wasn't long when our Latvian church pastor,

arrived to take the poor child, namely me,

up to her apartment and let her know -

her dad had gone to Heaven.

I was an only and unusual child,

gifted with a sixth sense, as was all my family,

I knew things were not right,

I had a feeling my dad was gone,

the pastor and I rode up in the elevator in silence.

A neighbor let us into the apartment.

To the right of the hallway, the bedroom looked cold and empty,

to the left, the living room was filled with neighbors and friends.

I stood in the doorway of the bedroom.

and suddenly my grandma, who had passed away some years ago,

stood by my side and whispered to me -

take a look at your dad's belongings

and know he has come to the other side.

The pastor still standing awkwardly in the hallway,

worried about how to handle me,

saw me walk to the desk and pick up my dad's wallet.

Then I turned, looked him right in the eyes

and the pastor knew right away,

this child knew the angels had come for her father,

he turned and walked to the living room

and I just stayed with the spirits to mourn alone.