Chapter 6: The Song I Never Finished
I stared at the cassette tape.
For a long moment, I couldn't even touch it.
"Where did he get this?"" I whispered.
Lily smiled sadly.
"Jack found it in your old music box.""
I looked at Daniel.
He remembered.
Twenty-five years earlier, before our son was born, I had recorded a song for a small local singing competition.
I hadn't won.
But I'd kept the recording because Daniel had told me it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard.
After Jack was born, I put the cassette away.
Years passed.
The music box eventually ended up in a cupboard.
I hadn't thought about it in decades.
"Why would Jack want this?"" I asked.
Lily answered gently.
"Because he heard you singing in the kitchen one night when you thought everyone was asleep.""
My throat tightened.
I remembered that night.
Jack had been home from the hospital for a few days. I was making tea at nearly midnight, exhausted and frightened.
I had hummed an old song without realizing it.
Jack had appeared in the doorway.
"Mom, you know that song?""
I'd laughed.
"Of course. I used to sing it all the time.""
He'd smiled.
"You should sing it again.""
I'd kissed his forehead.
"Maybe someday.""
Now I understood.
He had remembered.
Grace led us back into the auditorium.
There was a small cassette player on the table beside the microphone.
She inserted the tape.
A few seconds of static filled the theater.
Then a younger version of my voice emerged through the speakers.
I barely recognized myself.
The song was slow and gentle.
A song about loving someone enough to let them go.
Daniel reached for my hand.
I began crying before the first verse ended.
When the recording stopped, nobody spoke.
Then Theo quietly said, "You have a beautiful voice, Sarah.""
I shook my head.
"That was a long time ago.""
"Jack didn't think so.""
Lily opened another folder.
"There's something else you should see.""
Inside were several pages of handwritten lyrics.
Some were Jack's handwriting.
Others were mine.
I recognized the song immediately.
It was the one I had recorded all those years ago.
But Jack had changed the final verse.
He had added something.
Lily handed me the page.
I read it.
If tomorrow comes without your smile,
I'll carry your light another mile.
And when the world feels cold and wide,
I'll hear your voice still by my side.
My hand flew to my mouth.
Daniel leaned closer.
"He wrote this?""
Lily nodded.
"He wanted to perform it with you.""
I couldn't breathe.
"Jack was going to sing?""
"He recorded a version from his hospital room," Lily explained.
"He wasn't strong enough to rehearse in person, so he sent us recordings.""
Theo stared at the page.
"He never told me.""
"He wanted the surprise to remain a surprise.""
I looked toward the stage.
For the first time, I imagined Jack standing beneath that spotlight.
My son.
The boy who used to sing nonsense songs while brushing his teeth.
The young man who had spent fourteen months fighting an illness that stole so much from him.
He had still found the strength to create something beautiful.
Grace approached us.
"There is a rehearsal recording.""
She pressed a button on the small sound system.
A guitar began playing.
Then Jack's voice filled the theater.
"Okay. This is take number seventeen. Theo, if you're listening, stop laughing.""
A faint chuckle came from the recording.
"Seriously. I'm trying to make something beautiful here.""
I covered my mouth.
Jack continued.
"Mom, if you're hearing this, I hope you haven't already decided you're too embarrassed to sing.""
Daniel let out a broken laugh.
"That's our boy.""
The guitar started again.
Jack began singing.
His voice was weak, occasionally breathless, but unmistakably his.
I closed my eyes.
For a few seconds, I could almost see him in the kitchen.
Barefoot.
Hair sticking up.
Stealing cookies from the jar.
When the song ended, the recording continued.
"Okay. So, Mom, here's the plan.""
I opened my eyes.
Jack's voice became quieter.
"I want you and Theo to perform this song at the opening of the memorial stage. I know it's a lot to ask. I know you might both say no.""
He paused.
"But I need you to understand something.""
The room became completely still.
"I spent a lot of time being afraid of what might happen next. I was afraid of another treatment failing. Afraid of disappointing you. Afraid of leaving before I was ready.""
My tears fell onto the page.
"But I learned something from Theo. And from Emily. And from you, Mom.""
His voice cracked.
"Being alive isn't just about how many days you get.""
I pressed my hand against my chest.
"It's about what you do with the days you have.""
There was a long pause.
Then Jack said something that made Daniel turn away.
"Dad, I know you think being strong means fixing everything. You tried so hard to fix me.""
Daniel began crying.
"But you couldn't. And that's okay.""
The recording continued.
"I don't want you to spend the rest of your life thinking you failed me.""
Daniel covered his face.
"You were there. Every single day. Even when I was angry.
Even when I didn't want to talk. Even when I told you to leave my room.""
A small laugh escaped Jack.
"You never really listened, though.""
Daniel laughed through his tears.
"Stubborn kid.""
Jack continued.
"I love you, Dad. And I need you to promise me one thing.""
The recording crackled.
"Don't spend the rest of your life standing outside the door of the room where I died.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Go outside. Take Mom somewhere nice. Fix the stupid garden. And maybe learn how to make pancakes without burning them.""
I laughed.
It was the first time I had laughed so hard since Jack died.
Then Jack's voice softened.
"And Mom?""
I leaned toward the speaker.
"Please don't stop singing just because I'm not there to hear you.""
The recording ended.
The theater fell silent.
Daniel walked toward the stage and rested his hand against the microphone stand.
"I wish I'd known," he whispered.
I approached him.
"Known what?""
"How much he was doing. How much he was thinking about everyone else.""
I held his face.
"He was our son, Daniel. He loved us.""
He nodded.
Then he looked at Theo.
"And he loved you.""
Theo wiped his cheeks.
"I loved him too.""
Daniel embraced him again.
Grace waited until we had gathered ourselves.
"The theater board meets on Friday," she said.
"They need someone to confirm whether the project will go ahead.""
Theo looked at the folder.
"I don't know if I can do it.""
Lily stepped forward.
"Jack didn't expect you to do everything alone.""
She pointed to the list of names.
"These are people who volunteered. Teachers, musicians, parents, former performers. Everyone wanted to help.""
Theo looked through the pages.
"How many?""
"Forty-three.""
He stared.
"Forty-three people?""
"Forty-three people who believed in Jack's idea.""
Linda smiled.
"And one mother who still has her sewing machine.""
Theo laughed softly.
"Mom.""
"What? You think I'm letting you wear that dress without checking the hem?""
For a moment, the room felt warm.
Almost normal.
Then Grace approached me.
"Sarah, there's something I haven't mentioned.""
I turned.
"What?""
She hesitated.
"Jack asked me to arrange a private meeting with you before the opening performance.""
"Why?""
Grace glanced at Daniel.
"He wanted to show you something he recorded separately. He said it was too personal to play in front of everyone.""
My heart began racing again.
"When?""
Grace reached into her folder.
"Tomorrow afternoon.""
I looked at Daniel.
He nodded.
"We'll be here.""
But Grace wasn't finished.
She lowered her voice.
"There's one more condition he gave me.""
"What condition?""
She looked directly at me.
"He asked me not to let you listen to the recording alone.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
Grace's expression became serious.
"Because Jack said you might hear something that would make you angry with him.""
My stomach dropped.
"Angry?""
She nodded.
"He said you would probably cry. Then you'd probably ask why he hadn't told you sooner.""
I gripped Daniel's arm.
"What could he possibly have hidden from me?""
Grace looked down at the folder.
Then she whispered:
"Sarah, your son wasn't only planning a memorial project. He was also making a decision about his own future, and he knew you wouldn't agree with it.""
I felt the room tilt.
Daniel stepped forward.
"What decision?""
Grace closed the folder.
"That's what tomorrow's recording is about.""
As we prepared to leave, Theo approached me.
He was still wearing Emily's red dress beneath his coat.
"Sarah?""
"Yes, sweetheart?""
He held out his hand.
"Will you really sing with me?""
I looked at the young man who had stood beside my son through every terrible hospital night.
I thought about Jack's final request.
Then I nodded.
"Yes.""
Theo smiled through his tears.
"Then I'll learn every word.""
But as we walked toward the exit, I glanced back at the stage.
The microphone was still standing beneath the spotlight.
And on the music stand was a final handwritten note I hadn't noticed before.
It was addressed to Daniel.
My husband picked it up.
He read the first line.
Then his face went completely white.
"Sarah," he whispered.
I turned.
"What?""
He looked at me, his hands shaking.
"Jack says he needs me to tell you the truth about the last night we spent together.""
And suddenly, I remembered that night.
The night Daniel had come home from the hospital alone.
The night he had told me Jack was sleeping.
The night he had refused to look me in the eyes.
May you like
What had my husband been hiding?
And why had Jack waited until after his funeral to reveal it?
