Aliyah's Uncle

Aliyah’s Uncle James had died a couple of weeks ago after the dumbest accident. He slipped in the tub and cracked his head on the wall. No one found him for a couple of days. If they had, maybe he’d have been okay. But, Uncle James had never married, and as far as anyone could tell didn’t have any significant (or, for that matter, insignificant) other in his life. There was no burial. Uncle James donated his body to science.

James was Aliyah’s father’s older brother. He didn’t have much, but he always made it a point to help the girl out. The two got along very well. To say Uncle James was like a second father probably didn’t really state the case well.

He was her friend, and was there when she needed someone.

He helped her get through all the things she couldn’t talk to her dad about. He slipped her a few bucks when he could. He encouraged her to apply for college scholarships, which she received. And he encouraged her to take the scary step of even more education after she got her undergraduate degree.

And now, Aliyah couldn’t help but think that Uncle James was going to help her through medical school. "Thank you,” she said looking down at her assigned cadaver as she raised the scalpel. If she didn’t know better, she’d have sworn that Uncle James was smiling back up at her from the table.

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