A Muse for the ages
Matthew's grandmother was dying. She didn't fear the demise of her mortal body. It was something she had recently considered after living a very long and fruitful life. That said she was mortified by the thought of her second and final death. Like a ghost it haunted her.
"Don't forget me." She anemically declared
With each passing hour she worsened mentally and physically. Her family and friends gathered at her bedside to comfort her. They knew her frail, worn heart would not continue beating through the night.
Always a reserved lady, she now was anything but modest. It was the proper time for Nelly to express her convictions. It was her final chance to direct her last wishes. "Remember me," she continued to plead with as much command as a dying person could impose on their weak breath.
Her grandson Matthew was particularly averse to her petition. They were close. As far back as he could remember she was there for him. A confederate to his mischievous games. Now, at the delicate age of nine, he stood painfully still next to her bed. He was old enough to understand death and it's presence dulled his otherwise maverick character. Her every utterance stabbed at his heart and stirred uncomfortable feelings of helplessness.
Although Matthew loved his grandmother dearly he was uncomfortable with her daunting request. How could he possible do her memory justice? The boy barely remembered what he had for supper the night before.
Mathew justifiably feared he lacked the ability to be faithful to the many details of her life. Nonetheless, he was a tenacious young man. As Nelly slipped away into her never-ending sleep, he vowed he would spend the rest of his life chasing her ghost. He would be faithful to her memory.
So as expected, Nelly Mckeen passed away, and as they say... the world still turned. Two years passed as Matthew and his family did their best to honor her wishes. They did their best to keep her unwritten memoir fresh in their minds. Yet it was no surprise to Matthew, that after some time, his family allowed some of those memories to slip away, but it was surprising, and stranger yet, that the passing of time somehow distorted what they were able to recall. They all had different versions of her life.
Even though his grandmother had long since been buried, Matthew couldn't help but feel she was dying all over again. He watched as her story, her ghost, fade away slowly. The events of her life were given up to misconceptions.
Family and friends were forgetting her, or to be more precise, they were remembering her incorrectly. It was death by a thousand errors.
Matthew was heartbroken. His grandmother believed that being forgotten was a fate worse than death.Her family unwittingly dug a second grave.
Years after Nelly passed away she finally died.
