I’ve taken the liberty of ignoring the dog in the picture and basing my tale just on the headstone!
Little Millie lived with her mum and dad in a cottage next to the village church. One afternoon Millie came in wearing a garland of flowers in her hair.
‘I told you never to steal flowers from the graveyard Millie’ said mum, Suzie. ‘Just wait till I tell your dad’.
‘I didn’t Mum, Beth made it for me’.
‘Who’s Beth?’ asked Suzie.
‘She lives over there’ said Millie pointing to the crooked headstones in the churchyard. ‘She’s a beloved daughter who went to heaven too soon. It says so on that stone’.
‘Millie, I…I..’
‘She said that lots and lots of years ago she had a baby girl and because she was too young, someone took it away and adopted it. She never saw it again. Then she died of a broken heart. Isn’t that sad Mummy?’
‘Millie, that’s enough…’
‘She thinks she’s probably a granny by now’. With that, she walked back outside.
Suzie watched Millie from the window. She was sitting beside a grave talking and laughing. Then she rose to her feet and started skipping around and around, her arms stretched out before her.
*
The next morning after dropping Millie at school Suzie strolled into the churchyard and stood before Beth’s grave. A tear trickled down her cheek.
‘Mummy?’ she whispered.
Thanks to Susan Spaulding for both hosting Sunday Photo Fiction and providing this weeks photo.
Lovely, but sad tale. Thanks Keith.
Thank you Denise.
Incredibly chilling ending.
Delighted to have chilled you, James!
Unexpected ending Keith I didn’t see coming, well done.
Thanks so much, Iain.
Great twist at the end Keith
Thank you Susan
A unexpected ending, and a fine story.
Thanks so much Mike
What a sweet and sad ending!
Thanks Mimi
A sad but charming tale Keith.
Thank you so much
Even though I expected it coming, the ending still gave me a chill. Well done!
Well spotted Donna! Thanks so much.
The last line!! 🙂
Lovely!!
Thanks so much.
Most welcome, Keith! 🙂
I love it! Such a beautiful story of a Grandmother watching over her grandchild.