Goldie's Story

Goldie Fox and her brothers, Fred and Skyler, were invited to come over to the home of Cindy Wolf and her family one fine day in November. It was a very beautiful day when Goldie and her brothers left home - the sky was clear and blue, the air was cool yet comfortable, and all the trees have already lost most of their leaves. Ever since Goldie and Cindy have met each other, they've become very close friends and have spent time hanging out and getting to know so much about each other. And so, Cindy decided to invite Goldie and her brothers over to meet her family, who were having a big dinner. They arrived in a car that was driven by Goldie's older brother, Fred, who was able to find Cindy's home without any trouble. Everyone in Cindy's family was very nice to meet them, and they were able to spend time by socializing and having dinner. After everyone finished eating, Goldie decided to relax for a bit in the living room while Fred and Skyler went outside to spend time with Cindy and her relatives. Cindy's mother, Clara Wolf, went to join Goldie in the living room after she was done cleaning up. She sat down in a chair close to Goldie and decided to have a friendly chat with her.

"It was very nice of Cindy to invite us over for dinner, Mrs. Wolf," said Goldie.

"The pleasure is all mine, Goldie," said Clara. "But y'all don't have to refer to me formally as 'Mrs. Wolf', though; y'all can just call me 'Clara', which is fine."

"Sure thing...Clara," chuckled Goldie, and Clara laughed with her.

"I'm actually glad that my daughter was able to meet a nice and friendly gal like you," Clara said to Goldie. "You two always seem to have a lot in common, and I just love seeing my daughter happy when she's spending time with someone who shares some of the same interests as her."

"Well, thank you very much for saying so, Clara," said Goldie.

"You're very welcome, dear," said Clara. "I'll bet you are just like your mother in every way, huh?"

"Yeah..." said Goldie, whose smile began to lessen. "I guess you could say that..."

"What's wrong, Goldie?" asked Clara, looking a little concerned. "Was it something that I said?"

"Oh, no, you didn't say anything bad at all," responded Goldie.  "It's just that...my mother has been dead for quite a while."

"Oh, dear..." said Clara, who became a little surprised by what she heard. "I...I had no idea, Goldie."

"I never thought I'd talk about my mother again after what had happened a few years ago..." said Goldie with a sad tone in her voice.

"Why?" asked Clara, who was becoming very concerned for Goldie.  "Whatever happened to your mother? If it's not too much trouble, you can explain it to dear ol' me."

"Sure thing, Clara..." said Goldie as she began to tell her story. "My parents were two of the nicest people I have ever known throughout my life. They would never have arguments or fights over little things, and they always knew what was best for me and both of my brothers as we grew up together. My father used to spend every day working as the assistant manager of a local grocery store, and my mother stayed at home cleaning the house and taking care of me and my brothers. My oldest brother, Fred, is about three years older than I am, and I was thirteen years old when my mother gave birth to my youngest brother, Skyler. As I was growing up, me and my family would spend so much time together, doing all kinds of things that many families usually do such as playing games and going out to places like the movies and amusement parks. I actually believed that the happiness would last forever, especially when Skyler was becoming a little older, until that fateful day..."

"What day was that, Goldie?" Clara asked.

"It was the day of my high school graduation, and I was actually very excited to be a part of it. My family and I have gotten ourselves ready to head out to the gymnasium, where the graduation ceremony took place at. After we arrived, my parents realized that they forgot to bring a camera to take pictures of me at the ceremony. And so, my mother decided to hurry back home and get the camera while my father decided to stay with us. The graduation ceremony had already started ten minutes after mother left, and I was beginning to worry that she wouldn't show up. After the end of the ceremony, I was feeling extremely anxious because I noticed that she never showed up, not even with the camera. I started talking to my friends and family when a police officer came up to me, and he told me that he had some bad news about my mother..."

"What did he tell you?" asked Clara calmly.

"He told me..." Goldie paused briefly as tears began streaming down her face slowly. "He told me that our mother ended up in a terrible car crash on her way to the graduation ceremony. Apparently, somebody wasn't paying attention while driving and ended up crashing into my mother's car. The police officer also said that she was taken to the hospital by ambulance. And so, we immediately left the gymnasium to see how mother was doing."

"Oh, my..." said Clara, who was becoming very concerned while listening to Goldie's sad story.

"The doctor told us that her injuries were so severe that she wouldn't be able to live very long," Goldie continued her story, and her voice started breaking as she spoke.  "We went into the room where our mother was kept in... She was in terrible shape - most of her arms and legs were in casts, she had a few cuts and bruises all over her face, and she was barely able to move.  We were able to speak with mother while she was awake, and with her last ounce of strength, my mother whispered to us calmly 'Fred...Goldie...Skyler...My husband...I love you all...', right before she passed away."

Goldie began crying softly to herself while Clara got up out of her seat and decided to sit next to her, comforting her. "Aww, that is a truly sad story, and I'm really sorry to hear what happened to your mother..."  She then hugged Goldie tightly to make her feel better. "What exactly happened after that?" she said while hugging her.

"Well..." said Goldie, continuing her story with tears still streaming down her face. "After the funeral, my father became completely miserable over the death of our mother.  He was so sad and depressed that he didn't feel like doing anything...except trying to kill himself."

"Oh, my..." Clara became quite shocked after hearing that. "Your father was trying to kill himself?"

"Yes," said Goldie. "He believed that he would never find another woman like my mother in a million years, and all he could think about was to end his life once and for all. There were so many ways he tried to kill himself - hanging himself by his neck with rope or string, attempting to drink poisonous substances such as bleach, jumping off the roof of our house... He even rented a gun and tried to use it on himself."

"What happened to your father afterwards?" asked Clara. "Did he manage to commit suicide?"

"No," said Goldie. "When my father began trying to kill himself, me and Fred did whatever it took to prevent him from committing suicide. We were able to stop him for about a month, but then he was becoming very desperate and did not seem to give up on killing himself, so we did the only thing that seemed possible..."

"What did y'all do?" asked Clara.

"We called the police and told them about our father attempting suicide for the umpteenth time," said Goldie. "And so, he was taken away and placed in a mental hospital that isn't too far away from our hometown. We were able to come and visit him at least once a week, and he seemed to be doing a little better the last time we saw him.  The doctor told us that he has been going through a type of depression that can lead to suicidal thoughts, which tend to happen unexpectedly. For that reason, he has to be kept until he's able to go on with his life again."

"What else did your brothers do when these things were happening?" Clara asked Goldie.

"Well..." Goldie continued. "Fred was actually living outside of home for quite a while before our mother died. He was able to live on his own in an apartment while making money as a food vendor, selling all kinds of food to people on the streets. After our father was taken away for trying to commit suicide, he decided to move out of his apartment so that he could help me take care of the house, since he knew it would be kind of difficult for someone like to me to do it alone."

"And how did Skyler feel about his mother dying?" asked Clara.

"Oh, he became quite devastated after our mother's death," continued Goldie. "You might even say he was greatly affected by it, especially because he didn't feel like himself afterwards as well. Without our mother, all Skyler did was stay in his bedroom and cry quietly to himself nonstop. It was very sad to see him in such a state... He wouldn't be able to come out of his bedroom, he hardly ever said a word, and he just laid there on his bed without getting up. I was able to bring some food like a sandwich to him each day, and he would actually eat it slowly by taking small bites."

"How long was he like that, Goldie?" Clara asked her.

"It actually went on for nearly a couple of months," said Goldie. "I then decided to raise Skyler in the exact same way as our mother did, so that he wouldn't feel miserable anymore. I was by his side everyday as I took care of my little brother, from feeding him to getting him cleaned up and tucking him into bed. I even took him to the pizza restaurant that I work at most everyday, and everyone I knew who worked there would usually cheer him up and make him feel really welcome. He was able to feel much better afterwards, although he's still become very quiet and rarely speaks. Other than that, I was able to get him back on his feet again."

"Well, that's very good to know," said Clara. "Despite what has happened to you and your brothers over the years, y'all were able to pull through and stick together like a real family. Y'all must've had some real courage to help you make it past those troubling times, and I think that is one very impressive feat."

"Thank you very much for saying so, Clara," said Goldie, who was feeling a little happy. "I'm actually glad that you were able to listen to my story, and that you are very compassionate and understanding to someone like me. In a way, you kinda remind me of my own mother..."

"Aww, that's very nice and sweet of you to think that way about me, Goldie..." said Clara, who became really touched by Goldie's words. Then, she reached out to Goldie and gave her another hug. As Clara was hugging her tightly, she actually had tears streaming down her eyes. "I'm just so happy that I've gotten to know a little more about you, especially because you're so sweet and kindhearted. I also want you to know that y'all are welcome in our family anytime..."

"Thanks, Clara..." said Goldie, as tears were streaming down her eyes again while she was hugging Clara. "I really appreciate it."

And so, Goldie and her brothers were able to hang out with Clara and the others until it was time to go back home. As they were driving off, Goldie was glancing through the window of Fred's car, feeling very happy and pleased with their visit. She was able to tell the tragic story of her life to someone very kind and understanding, and she actually felt better after doing so. Even though their mother had been dead for a long time, Goldie actually found someone who was like a mother to her, and they could come see her whenever they'd like. Goldie then sighed happily to herself, feeling that she and her brothers have become part of a caring family once again.