The bicycle memory is real. The rest is fiction.

All feedback appreciated.

But the rest is so very true. I've seen many people die, and most of them held onto life until someone let them go, either by saying so or being absent in the moment they finally take their last breath.

This is touching and heart-wrenching. Very well written.

Thank you, Barbara. The rest was indeed fiction, but was inspired by what had happened between my mother and her own mother. I was at work in another state at the time, so I heard about it but was not there for it. I hadn't realized how common the waiting to be let go really is.

It's a rumor that I think is even substantiated by statistics that women often die after their birthday, wanting to spend that special day with their family one last time. Men often die before their birthday, for whatever reason that may be.

Interesting. I assume the same is true (at least for women) about waiting until after any sort of personally significant event, such as their anniversary, holiday get-togethers, etc.?

Could be, but I don't really know about that.

You might want to check this out.

Fair enough.

Thanks for the link. (BTW, the link is slightly broken: It needs a comma before the pair of slashes. Here's a corrected version of the link.)

That was sad, Lynn, and a little chilling. But it was also a poignant completion of a cycle. Parents must release their children into the world, and the children must, in turn, release their parents into the next world.

The Wikipedia article discusses suicide as a possible contributor to the Birthday Effect (though it isn't proven, not by a long shot), and I would encourage anyone whose mind flits to suicide as a solution to the problems one currently faces to ask for help. There is no shame in seeing a doctor when our bodies are unwell. One should feel no shame in seeking help when our minds are unwell either. I promise you from personal experience that while suicide might seem to be a solution, all it does is multiply your problems and drop them on your loved ones like a load of wet cement.

Peace be to all, especially in this season when we celebrate the Prince of Peace.

Hello Terry,

Thank you for your reminder to seek help when needed. I hope that you have made it safely up the other side of the valley with regard to whatever your personal experience was and that whoever in your life apparently attempted (or at least contemplated) suicide did not succeed.

Joy,
Lynn

I have made it to the other side of several valleys in my time. Sadly, there have been two people in my life who have deliberately taken their own lives in the past three years. Another young lady, a friend of our youngest daughter, overdosed on heroin and died several years ago after several attempts to get her clean. She was special to both my wife and me.

Please don't think that your story stirred up bad memories for me. I'm blessed - or maybe cursed - with something close to an eidetic memory, and my past is always with me. But since it's all part of who I am today, the good balances out the bad.

Very nice story. I hope to see many more of these micro-shorts from you in the near future.

I am so sorry about those needless deaths and how they must have impacted you. I hope that anyone reading all of this who is in emotional distress follows your advice and seeks help. Your posting may well have saved lives.

Thank you for your kind words about my micro-shorts. I have a few stories already written, but the next one will have to wait until next week. I post them here after I post them to the Flash Fiction website, and "Letting Go" was my story for this week. The next story is writing-related, and one that I am guessing a number of people here might relate to; I even managed to work Superman into it. If all goes well, it will be posted on or shortly after the 24th. (I have to wait until the webmaster published my story there; I am guessing he may take off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.)

Joy,
Lynn

Letting go is never easy. Saying good-bye to my Mother was one of the hardest thing I ever did. Still, the memory of her courage, sassiness and smile has gotten me through some bewildering days.

Thanks Lynn, as always, your writing says so much with so few words.

Hello Morgana,

Thank you for your kind words.

I am so sorry that you had to say goodbye to your Mother. (She sounds like she was a delightful lady, by the way.) I fear I will likely be joining you in that soon. My own Mother is relatively healthy for her age, but she is ninety years old. I must admit I mentally breathe a sigh of relief every time she picks up the phone on our twice daily calls, and I cherish the times we have together. Each time my visit comes to an end, I wonder whether it will be the last one. To be honest, given how heavily she had smoked for several decades, I am very pleasantly surprised that she has lived as long as she has.

Be well,
Lynn