A Life Changed Forever

She was your typical teenage girl who thought she knew what life was about. At sixteen, she met and fell in love with the man of her dreams. He was tall, dark, and handsome and he got to her no matter what he did. At first, he didn’t even know she existed but she knew in her heart that he was the one. Seven months later she gets the shock of her life when the telephone rings and its him. She felt all those months of praying, wishing, and hoping for him to notice her had finally paid off. Little did she know that being with him would change her life in ways that she could never have imagined. The first few months were rocky because he was into partying and she was not. However she stuck by his side because she knew that he was the one for her. Finally, after six months things finally started to fall into place. He gave up the partying for her and she gave up her heart to him. As the years passed and she graduated high school, she was excited to learn she was pregnant shortly there after. They already had planned to marry but various obstacles stood in their way. Once the baby came things slowly started to change. He loved that little girl to death and she continued her education. Over time, she started to wonder whether he really was the one for her. She had dreams of finishing college, while he had dreams of her staying home with the baby. It obviously put a strain on their relationship and one day she had enough and she walked out. He tried to get her back by promising to change and professing his love over and over again, but she was a stubborn girl and she had already made up her mind. She wanted someone who shared her new dreams. The next year was very rocky for the both of them between fighting, almost getting back together, only to fight again as well as two young people trying to raise a child together.

         Then one day he decides he is going to join the armed forces. At first she is relieved because she feels that she can finally move on with her life. As time passes, she starts to wonder if she should give it another try or just to let fate intervene where it may. Several months into his training he returned home on medical leave due to an injury and he was just like he was before he left. Angry, bitter, and jealous. He wanted to have a say in everyone that would be around her daughter. This drove her even more into her schooling because she knew it was up to her to provide a stable environment for that child. Then one day a simple phone conversation turned into a final goodbye. She had asked him to watch the baby so she could do some research at the college library and he said "No, I’m not going to watch her so you can run around with the guys." It wasn’t like that at all,” she replied. In the end they exchanged harsh words only to have him abruptly hang up on her. She was so mad that she said she was done with him and she never wanted to talk to him again.

         Later in the week she saw him driving down the road and she waved at him. He acted like she didn’t exist. Angry, she decided to take their daughter and leave town for the weekend. When she returned home Sunday she saw a friend of his pacing past her house. She knew something was up. He came to her and asked if she had seen or heard from her daughter's father and she replied "No why?" "He is missing, " said the young man. Shocked she ran into her house only to hear from her mother that he has not been seen since Friday night (the very night she waved at him with no response) and they found his truck along side of the road. The girl proceeded to act tough and tell everyone he is ok. "He is just trying to get back at me, "she says with a quiver in her voice. Deep down she knew that something was terribly wrong. About 2am there was a knock at the door. It was her brother, a local firefighter. He told her that Mike had been found face down in a ravine and he was dead. Her knees buckled beneath her and she crumbled to the floor screaming, "NO NO This cant be happening, it is just a dream." Sadly it wasn’t because she soon got a call from his sister confirming the news. Molly, had no idea that her life had been changed forever. She finally cried herself to the point that she could not cry anymore and she went to lay down and she saw that sweet baby girl sound asleep in her bed. "She is dreaming of good things and she has no idea that her daddy is gone forever." She then crawled into bed with her only to cry more tears when she didn’t think she had any left. That angelic face was all she had to keep her alive.

         As the week went on and the funeral arrangements were made, Molly still had no idea what exactly happened the night Mike died. No one knew and there were several conflicting stories. Her precious 2 year old was walking to every room in the house looking for Daddy to no avail. She then proceeded to play with her toys. Molly and her daughter were both so young and so innocent that neither of them truly grasped what had happened. The night before the funeral Molly wrote a very long letter apologizing for everything that had happened between them and professing that she never stopped loving him. It was the only way she had to say goodbye.

         Once the funeral was over it took awhile before she grasped that not only was she a single mom, she was a widow in her own sense. A widow at twenty years old. She had no idea what to do with her life but to go on. She had a daughter to take care of and an education to finish. She proceeded on, chasing her dream and raising there baby, only to be bombarded with the guilt of knowing he isn’t there to see his baby girl as well as the harsh words that were said in their very last conversation ever.

         It took her six years and a few setbacks to finish and she finally did. She was proud to receive her bachelor's degree but sad to see a girl growing up without her father. She has prayed for years for someone to come along and help fill the void with no avail. The little girl is now ten and turning into a beautiful young woman. Molly has to relive that time in her life again because their daughter has a lot of questions that honestly, Molly cannot answer because they still do not know what happened to him on that April night. She has made peace with how things were left before he died. She knows he knew she cared and that it was just a fight. She is convinced that she will never find love because of the traumatic event she went through all of those years ago. However, she continues on raising their daughter alone and hoping for a happy ending.