Little Girl Feels Lonely after Granny’s Death, Writes Her a Letter and Gets Answer a Day Later — Story of the Day

A little girl is struggling to come to terms with her beloved grandmother's death until a teacher tells her a sweet story that helps her cope.

A death in the family is one of the hardest things for any one of us to come to terms with, and even more so for a child. How can someone that is essential to our lives suddenly just be gone?

Where do they go? How can they leave us? And how can we help our own children cope with the loss of a loved one when we can hardly face it ourselves?

Mrs. Carson noticed that Lily was looking very sad. | Source: Pexels

Mrs. Carson noticed Lily sitting in a corner of the playground on Monday morning, looking very sad. Lily was a lively, energetic little girl, and she was sure something had upset her.

Mrs. Carson walked over and sat down next to Lily. "Lily," she said gently. "I noticed today in class that you were very quiet. Are you OK?"

Lily didn't look up. She just nodded and said in a very soft voice, "I'm OK."

"Honey," Mrs. Carson said. "You know that if you feel sad you can talk to me. I'm here to listen..."

Lily lifted her head to look at Mrs. Carson and the teacher saw that her eyes were filled with tears. "My granny died," she whispered. "I loved her and I'll never see her again."

Lily's grandmother had passed away. | Source: Pexels

"Oh, sweetie!" Mrs. Carson cried and placed a comforting arm around Lily's shoulders. "I'm so sorry!"

Lily's little shoulders started shaking as she sobbed. "She's gone, Mrs. Carson, she's gone forever, and I miss her so much!"

"I tell you what, Lily," Mrs. Carson said. "Why don't you write a letter to your grandmother this afternoon and tell her how much you miss her?"

Lily shook her head violently and cried even harder. "My brother said she's gone out like a bad lightbulb," she sobbed. "So they put her in the ground and she's gone."

"You know, Lily," Mrs. Carson said. "People aren't at all like a lightbulb. They're like...well, like a glass full of water. When the glass breaks the water spills, right?

Mrs. Carson told Lily that people's spirits are like water in a glass. | Source: Unsplash

"But remember how we talked about how water changes? The water doesn't disappear. It evaporates up into the clouds and rains down to help the flowers grow.

"People are just the same. When a person dies, what is inside us also rises up into the sky and rains love down on us when we are sad. I think if you write the letter your grandmother will know all about it, and send even more love."

Then a wonderful thing happened! Even though it had been sunny when Mrs. Carson and Lily started to talk, raindrops started to fall, and right over the playground, a beautiful rainbow formed.

"Look!" Lily cried. "So you think that's my grandmother sending down love?"

Lily and Mrs. Carson saw the most beautiful rainbow. | Source: Pexels

Mrs. Carson smiled. "I know it is, Lily," she said. "It's her way of letting you know that she's here watching out for you!"

All the children were yelling and running inside to get away from the rain, but Mrs. Carson and Lily stood there, with raindrops glittering in their hair like jewels, watching the rainbow.

That afternoon, Lily wrote a lovely letter to her grandmother telling her how much she loved her and missed her and asked Mrs. Carson to put it in the mail.

Mrs. Carson phoned Lily's mom and told her all about their conversation, and asked her for permission to send Lily a letter in her grandmother's name.

Lily's mom agreed. She was worried about Lily who couldn't sleep and cried for her grandmother every night. She didn't know how to help. She thought the letter was a good idea.

Lily received a letter from her grandmother. | Source: Unsplash

Three days later, a letter arrived for Lily and the return address was 'Heaven, Third Rainbow." Lily was very excited and opened the letter. With her mom's help, she read:

"My sweet Lily, I got your letter yesterday and I was sorry to hear you've been feeling sad. I know you miss me, and I miss you too, which is why I've been keeping an eye on you.

"Remember that I'm always here, even if you can't see me. Whenever you feel sad and lonely, all you have to do is think about me and I'll be there, smiling at you from heaven. Love you always, Grandma."

Lily and her mom cried a lot over the letter, but that night, the little girl fell asleep straight away. From then on, whenever Lily missed her grandmother, she would write her a letter, and she always received a reply.

The letter was a great comfort to Lily and her mother. | Source: Unsplash

What can we learn from this story?

• It is important for our children to know that there is hope for a reunion with our beloved ones after death. Nothing is so devastating as imagining that life has no meaning, and all we can expect at the end of it is darkness. Give our children hope!
• Our bodies may be frail vessels, but our spirit is immortal and eternal. Those we love, live on in our hearts and our memories for as long as we live. Hopefully, one day, we will all solve the great mystery and meet again in a better place.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a little boy who is grieving for his recently deceased father and is worried that he will be afraid of the dark.

This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com