LJ Idol, Week 4: Ghosted

[adoptedwriter]

Ghosted

Billie is a ghost.
She saw me once, but I can’t remember seeing her.
Doctors sent me to the nursery, and then I went to foster care.
Billie went to the OR for surgery and then home to recover.
She appears in many photos, so I know she was real.
People talk about her, but I’ve never heard her voice.
She worked in restaurants and bakeries most of her life.
She never fed me.
She enjoyed country tunes, the old style.
I never heard her sing.
She danced and swayed to the music.
She never rocked me.
She argued fiercely with her boyfriend.
She and I never had a mother-daughter fight.
She wanted to find me and had carbon copies of papers.
I had a new name and a changed birth certificate.
She moved away to California, to start a new life.
I moved to Florida to start college.
Her heart valves gave out, and she died feeling broken.
I fell in love and returned to Ohio. My heart grew when my babies were born.
I’ve never felt Billie’s touch, but I have felt her presence in the room and in my daughters’ eyes.
Billie is a ghost.

Comments

[favoritebean]

What a beautiful tribute to her.

[adoptedwriter]

Thank you!

[tatdatcm]

This is incredibly powerful and brought tears to my eyes.

[adoptedwriter]

Wow! Thanks!

[bewize]

This was really powerful. Thank you for sharing.

[adoptedwriter]

Thank you for reading!

[reidharriscooper]

A true and tender touching reflection to your always powerful and deep story. I think she would appreciate this, which is why you feel her around even though you've never met.

[adoptedwriter]

True. Thanks.

[dmousey]

She is much more than a ghost. She lives, in your heart, and in your thoughts. She lives through you. ✌💙😊~~~d

[adoptedwriter]

yes...Thanks!

[static_abyss]

You did an excellent job of bringing Billie to life in this piece and tying her presence back to you. A great piece. Thank you for sharing!

[adoptedwriter]

Thank you!

[murielle]

This is wonderful! Such a beautiful telling of an absent mother and an adopted child. Really this is fantastic, and to someone like myself, so revealing.
And it's told with such lovely creativity and compassion.

Brava!

[adoptedwriter]

Thank you!

[bleodswean]

This is beautiful and heartfelt and such a poignantly honest response to the prompt. Wonderful work.

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks!

[halfshellvenus]

There's such a wistful feeling to this-- undertandably-- and the prompt fits very well for how you've used it here.

Pictures, a history, and an almost-chance for there to be more, had she lived longer. :(

*hugs*

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks...My sisters and I wonder the same thing all the time.Thanks!

[moretta]

I really liked the way you played with this, with the comparisons between you and Billie, and I'm so glad your heart grew enough to have your babies in the first place. Poignant.

[adoptedwriter]

I wanted bio kids so badly. I'm incredibly thankful for them.

[favoritebean_writes]

This is so heartbreaking. So well written. *hugs*

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks!

[tjoel2]

Interesting!

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks!

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

This pulls on the heartstrings. It's obvious that this you and this ghost have lived in each other's periphery all along.

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks! I believe we have.

[tonithegreat]

I feel like I’ve come to know inside information about your search for her over the years of these Idol contests. This was beautifully done.

[adoptedwriter]

Thank you!

[the_eternal_overthinker]

Wow! You packed a lot in there. *hugs* Very well done!

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks!

[jenwithapen]

When a writer can convey _so much_ about something without actually outright _saying_ the words... that's one sure sign of a truly gifted author! So well done, and just... so full of the heart (without some of the trappings of those things)! Incredible!

[adoptedwriter]

I'm honored! Thank you!

[dragonswimmer]

I love how this is written and want more.

[adoptedwriter]

Thank you!

[rayaso]

There is so much here, and such sadness. This was extremely well written, and you did a great job relating it to the prompt.

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks!

[sonreir]

This is sad and lovely.

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks.

[nayanawrites]

This is an awesome memoir ... so much depth and emotions. Well done...

[adoptedwriter]

Thank you!

[kehlen.livejournal.com]

I am sorry you never got to meet her, but I love how you express you yearning for it and her never-quite-there elusive presence.

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks so much!