I Heard a Little Voice

 I was working with a young man who was in his early 30s and fairly close to death. His parents had come from out of town and were spending as much time as possible with him at the hospital. They had been with him for many hours and finally took a break to go out for dinner. While they were out, their son died. The parents were devastated, the man=s mother in particular; not only had her son died, but he had died during her absence. She was obviously distressed and frequently rested her head on her son=s chest and cried.

As I was standing with her, I distinctly heard a little voice in my head say, Suggest that she get up on the bed and hold him. My mind whizzed. How could I make such a suggestion? What if someone saw? What would people think? I tried to ignore the voice, hoping it would go away. Not so. Seconds later, the voice said in a louder, more insistent tone, She needs to get up on the bed and hold him!

AWould you like to get up on the bed and hold him?@ I heard myself ask. She all but leapt onto it. I remained with her while she held her son, stroked his face, talked with him and sang to him. These moments with this mother and her son were some of the most exquisite moments of my life. I felt blessed that I was able to be with her while she said good-bye to her child.

        Anne Walton

 

QUESTIONS

 

1. Vocabulary. Find in the text words or expressions that mean the following:

Near:

Wept:

Caress:

Really sad and upset:

 

2. Answer the following questions according to the text:

a. How old was the boy?

b. When did the boy die?

c. Why did the writer know the boy?

d. Why did the writer think that holding the dead body would be inconvenient?