by Kat Ballew

Created on: October 19, 2009

"Johnny, I'll be working late tonight, so you come straight home after school," Mr. Andrews said as he pulled on his boots, knowing that Johnny wouldn't. "And don't forget to wear your coat, it's supposed to rain. " Johnny just looked at him with a blank stare. He was not sure if the boy even heard him. He shook his head, threw a stale ham sandwich in his lunch box and grabbed his thermos of coffee. As he headed out the door, he passed by the picture of Annie and stopped, as he always did, to say goodbye. "I miss you, Annie girl," he said as he left.

Working at the mill for over thirty years had definitely taken a toll on him. Every day he walked the three miles to the stop sign at Oak and Main Street, waiting for the bus that would take him the rest of the way to the old Saw Mill. As he walked, he pulled his coat a little tighter around him. Winter was setting in, but now the seasons all seemed the same. His life never changed from one day to the next. As far as he was concerned, he was just biding his time until he left this world and could be with her again. His Annie, his sweet, sweet Annie.

She had been the center of his life, and something inside of him died with her when she passed. It had been almost ten years ago. She developed an awful cold, which turned in to pneumonia. She needed to be hospitalized, but she refused because she was afraid no one could take care of Johnny as she could. She worked with him every day, taught him as best she could, and read to him until he fell asleep. That is how he found her on that fateful night.

All day she had been burning up with fever. He was worried about her, and when he left work early and hurried home to check on her, she wasn't there on the sofa, waiting for him as she always did. When he looked for her, he found her in Johnny's room. While the boy lay sleeping, she had lain down beside him, her lungs filled with fluid and she drown in her sleep. It was then that his world became dark, no more sunshine, no more laughter, nothing to look forward to except his exit, when he could be with her again.

Johnny had been her baby. When he was born, it had been a difficult birth and had almost killed her. All through his life, he always seemed a little slow, withdrawn, and quiet. He had no friends and did not do very well in school. All the kids made fun of him and it broke her heart. However, she never gave up on him; she loved him with every ounce of her being. When she died, he became even more withdrawn, and clingy,

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