I know I am gone. I know my family and friends are upset. I am upset 50%
because I wont get to see my family again and I never got to see my family again
and I never got a chance to say goodiey (goodbye) to my friends and family.
The outher (other) 50% why I am not sed (sad) is because I died in something I
love doing wiyle (while) I used to live on earth. I had a good life. My family
teatched (teached) and treated me well. My friends wher (were) nice and kind to
me. I had fun with my friends. I may be gone but I’m not lost. I will aksedently
(accidentally) touk (took) another path. You think I may be gone but I’m not.
Nomater (no matter) wher you go…nomater wher you are I will always be with
you right by your side every secone (second) of the rest of your life. In this note
is my one last chance to say goodbiey and have a good life. Don’t be sad or
afraid because I will be with you every step of your way looking down and
whatching you for as long and the rest of your life. Remember I didn’t die of
something or eneything (bad). I died in a place of something I loved doing.
P.s. Don’t be afraid to try eneything.
——————————————————————
My daughter presented this short story/letter to me this afternoon after school. It took everything in me not to show obvious panic. Because my daughter’s autism enables her to articulate to me exactly what this was about (due to communication impairments) it took a long time to get out the real story.
For those unfamiliar with my daughter, she has been taking formal esquestrian horse back riding lessons for about five years now. When I read this, excuse the language, I almost crapped. After a half an hour, of trying to figure this out, I finally got a reason as to “why” she wrote something like this. She thinks this is a “poem” by the way. To my shock, Michaela has expressed to me that she wants to write a book. A book about a girl like her, who’s friends played a prank on her over at a horse stable. The prank, caused the horse to rear up and fall backwards, killing both the horse and the rider. The horse broke its neck and the rider was crushed by being pinned by the horse. Michaela’s idea was that the girl in the story somehow “knew” that the possibility of an accident occuring whilst horseback riding could happen at any time. So, the girl thought that perhaps its a “good idea” that she write a letter to her family and friends telling them how much the riding meant to her and that she died loving what she was doing. The letter of course, was secreted away until found after her death.
I am stunned. Looking down at the paper on which Michaela wrote, I did not notice the handwriting. Its suddenly changed. Her spelling has improved greatly. I had NO idea she could clearly echo down on paper what was in her head. I am shocked (and happy- sort of) to find what kind of an imagination she has.
“This idea just popped into my head, I have no idea how it happened mom.”
I feel sick to my stomach.
