Footprints

The little angel boy in his blue velvet suit lay cushioned in his casket. Emotion

overtook me as I gazed at his long black eyelashes resting on his plump baby cheeks. He was only three years old and no longer part of this world.

Two days ago, I heard his grandfather screaming his name, searching the neighborhood for him. Neighbors frantically helped him search for the little boy. Long into the night, I heard the mournful calls, wailing with heartbreak.

The next morning, his small body was found in the pond floating in the hearts of the water lilies. His love of the little ducks inhabiting the water had lured him to his watery death as he pursued them with the innocence of a child.

The cherubic beauty of this child was not lessened by the fact that he was slightly retarded. Soft dark curls haloed his face as he lay cherished in his resting place. I cried as I remembered the grace and love that he had brought to the grieving mourners. He left his footprints on the world in the short time that he was here, occupying a heartbreaking place in my memory. He now resides with the angels.