“Rain” Why People Do What They Do by Emilio Iasiello

In my opinion there is no greater tragedy than a loss of a child and to have a parent outlive his/her offspring.  Any time I read in the papers or see on the news the passing of one so young, it saddens me deeply, and reaffirms my desire that there should be a higher power whose sole mission and purpose is to protect children.

“Rain” focuses on that very point; how parents try to move past the death of their child, particularly when it’s caused through no fault of their own—therefore, nowhere to assign “the blame” to any one individual. Healing over such things takes on an almost insurmountable task.  Difficult enough when it’s an older loved one, a parent who’s older, perhaps even enduring a long-term sickness.  But children are another matter.  Parents should not outlive their sons and daughters. Time is not constructed that way.  So when it does happen, there is that questioning of everyone and everything.  Survivors are forced to confront, to suffer, to grieve, without understanding the reasons behind such a travesty.

Survivor’s guilt becomes a palpable existence; especially if one parent takes it upon himself or herself to shoulder that blame.  When he or she decides to undertake that path, to head down a course of self-destruction and loneliness to atone for that guilt.  At what point is self-punishment enough?  And how does that individual accept that enough has been meted out so that he/she can rejoin life?

At the very heart of the story, we have a husband trying to reconnect with his wife after an incident when their son is killed in a car accident by a drunk driver.  His wife is on the brink of being lost forever, consumed by the guilt that she was one driving when their car was struck.  It’s a stain that can never go away. It can only fade so that only those who know where to look can detect its slightest outline.

How do you help a loved one recover from that experience?  How do you help them look past that stain, and into a future that no longer bears the indelibility of that mark?

Published by Deer Hawk Publishing www.deerhawkpublications.com

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/emilio-iasiello/