Trying not to hear their words the young woman hurried past the protesters with the red roses pinned to their shirts and into the clinic. Why couldn't they understand she didn't have a choice; how could she finish her education if she had a baby?
Her baby was gone and unexpectedly she felt the pain of its loss. If only she had known but she couldn't let herself think about it and so she kept her mind busy with her classes and social life.
Graduation came and went and now she was marrying the love of her life. The big day came and everything was perfect except for one little detail; she didn't have a flower girl. What no one saw that day was the ghostly figure of a little flower girl tossing ghostly red rose pettels as she followed the bride down the aisle.
Her marriage was a happy one and she didn't think it possible to love anyone as much as she loved her husband but now sitting in the rocking chair her husband had lovingly made for her and looking down at the face of her sleeping newborn son she knew and understood the love of a mother. As she rocked and softly hummed to the sleeping baby she was unaware of the ghostly figure of a little girl with a red rose in her hair kneeling at her side and gazing affectionately into the face of the baby.
As she put the birthday cake into the oven she noticed that her four year old son seemed strangely quite. She hurried into the living room where he'd been playing to check on him but he wasn't there; she did a quick search of the house but still no boy to be seen. And then she noticed it; the front door was hanging ajar. She rushed outside to bring him in but he was nowhere around. She called his name but he did not answer and she began to panic as she rounded the corner of the house. She saw him there floating face down in the pool but what she didn't see as she rushed to pull him from the water was the ghostly figure of a young girl trying desperately to lift the little boy out of the water and she didn't see how everytime the girl put her arms under the boy to lift him out of the water her ghostly little arms passed right through his body. After what seemed like endless ages she reached her son and pulled him from the water without noticing the crumpled red rose floating nearby. She was to late her baby, her precious son was gone. Never again would his contagious laughter fill the halls of their home and she would never hear his sweet little voice or feel his arms wrapped around her neck as he whispered "I love you mamma" while planting sweet kisses on her cheeks.
The years quickly passed and the grieving couple unable to conceive again tried to fill the hole in their hearts with other things. There were picnics in the park, summer vacations, trips to far off exotic places, new cars, and weekends at the lake. She was alone that Friday morning getting everything ready for the next day's trip to the lake when the phone call came; there had been an accident and her husband was pronounced dead on the scene. As her anguish overwhelmed her she neither saw nor felt the ghostly young woman with the red rose blossom pinned to her shirt; who longing to comfort her wrapped her in a warm and loving embrace. And she was unaware of the ghostly figure's presence through the following days. At the funeral service the following week she didn't see the ghostly young woman who stepped from her side to add a bouquet of red roses to the rest of the flowers already placed on the casket.
She was sitting alone with her fears in the hospital room when the doctor entered, she didn't feel the ghostly younger woman with the red rose blossom pinned to her shirt place a hand gently on her arm as the doctor shook his head and informed her yet again that they hadn't found a match.
In another hospital room, bedfast, and struggling to breath; she was dying all alone with no one to hold her hand and pray with her as she passed from this life. As her breathing grew more labored she felt a gentle pressure on her hand. With great effort she turned towards the empty chair that was placed next to the bed and saw the figure of a woman seated there. The woman held her gaze for a what seemed like an eternity and then spoke to her. "Mommy I loved and couldn't wait to meet you; I would have been your flower girl, I would have saved my baby brother's life the day he fell in the pool, we would have been there to comfort you when dad died, and I would have been your match." As suddenly as she had appeared the figure of the woman was gone and the sick and broken hearted elderly lady took her last breath alone; her gaze vacantly fixed on the chair next to the bed; empty except for a faded red rose bud that had never bloomed.
Her baby was gone and unexpectedly she felt the pain of its loss. If only she had known but she couldn't let herself think about it and so she kept her mind busy with her classes and social life.
Graduation came and went and now she was marrying the love of her life. The big day came and everything was perfect except for one little detail; she didn't have a flower girl. What no one saw that day was the ghostly figure of a little flower girl tossing ghostly red rose pettels as she followed the bride down the aisle.
Her marriage was a happy one and she didn't think it possible to love anyone as much as she loved her husband but now sitting in the rocking chair her husband had lovingly made for her and looking down at the face of her sleeping newborn son she knew and understood the love of a mother. As she rocked and softly hummed to the sleeping baby she was unaware of the ghostly figure of a little girl with a red rose in her hair kneeling at her side and gazing affectionately into the face of the baby.
As she put the birthday cake into the oven she noticed that her four year old son seemed strangely quite. She hurried into the living room where he'd been playing to check on him but he wasn't there; she did a quick search of the house but still no boy to be seen. And then she noticed it; the front door was hanging ajar. She rushed outside to bring him in but he was nowhere around. She called his name but he did not answer and she began to panic as she rounded the corner of the house. She saw him there floating face down in the pool but what she didn't see as she rushed to pull him from the water was the ghostly figure of a young girl trying desperately to lift the little boy out of the water and she didn't see how everytime the girl put her arms under the boy to lift him out of the water her ghostly little arms passed right through his body. After what seemed like endless ages she reached her son and pulled him from the water without noticing the crumpled red rose floating nearby. She was to late her baby, her precious son was gone. Never again would his contagious laughter fill the halls of their home and she would never hear his sweet little voice or feel his arms wrapped around her neck as he whispered "I love you mamma" while planting sweet kisses on her cheeks.
The years quickly passed and the grieving couple unable to conceive again tried to fill the hole in their hearts with other things. There were picnics in the park, summer vacations, trips to far off exotic places, new cars, and weekends at the lake. She was alone that Friday morning getting everything ready for the next day's trip to the lake when the phone call came; there had been an accident and her husband was pronounced dead on the scene. As her anguish overwhelmed her she neither saw nor felt the ghostly young woman with the red rose blossom pinned to her shirt; who longing to comfort her wrapped her in a warm and loving embrace. And she was unaware of the ghostly figure's presence through the following days. At the funeral service the following week she didn't see the ghostly young woman who stepped from her side to add a bouquet of red roses to the rest of the flowers already placed on the casket.
She was sitting alone with her fears in the hospital room when the doctor entered, she didn't feel the ghostly younger woman with the red rose blossom pinned to her shirt place a hand gently on her arm as the doctor shook his head and informed her yet again that they hadn't found a match.
In another hospital room, bedfast, and struggling to breath; she was dying all alone with no one to hold her hand and pray with her as she passed from this life. As her breathing grew more labored she felt a gentle pressure on her hand. With great effort she turned towards the empty chair that was placed next to the bed and saw the figure of a woman seated there. The woman held her gaze for a what seemed like an eternity and then spoke to her. "Mommy I loved and couldn't wait to meet you; I would have been your flower girl, I would have saved my baby brother's life the day he fell in the pool, we would have been there to comfort you when dad died, and I would have been your match." As suddenly as she had appeared the figure of the woman was gone and the sick and broken hearted elderly lady took her last breath alone; her gaze vacantly fixed on the chair next to the bed; empty except for a faded red rose bud that had never bloomed.