Appreciate (Song fic)

There's a man dyin' on the side of the road

Won't make it home tonight

He was driving fast on a cellular phone

That's how he lived his life

While he was hangin' by a thread

These were the final words he said

My girl turns sweet sixteen today

She's beautiful, so beautiful

It might get rough sometimes but I hope she keeps her faith (hope she keeps her faith)

I wish I grabbed the chance to say to her

Life is too short so take the time and appreciate

Blood started to trickle out of the man's mouth.

        "Tell her," he choked out. "Tell her what I said."

Then his eyes rolled up into his head and he sucked in his last breath. Justin stayed where he was, as still as ice, his mind racing with what the man had just said to him. He saw a small package in the man's hand. He pried it loose from his lifeless hand and looked closely at it. There was something written on it. "Happy Birthday to my dear Kelsey." Justin put the package into his pocket and reached for the man's wallet, which had fallen out of his pocket onto the road. His name was Richard Hayden. Justin copied down Richard's address as if in a trance and hardly noticed when the paramedics came and lifted Richard onto a stretcher and carried him away.

She got a call tonight

Now she's tremblin' outside her daughter's door

Walks in and holds her tight

Mmmmmmmm

Wonderin' how and where to start

Is there a way to shield her heart?

Denise Hayden was putting the finishing touches on her daughter's birthday cake. Kelsey had turned sixteen that day. Denise smiled fondly as she remembered Kelsey's fifth birthday when she had insisted that her parents invite Barney to her party. As Denise slipped the last strawberry into place, the kitchen phone rang. She wiped her hands on her apron and leaned over to pick it up.

        "Hello?" she said, cheerfully. There was a pause at the other end and then an unfamiliar male voice spoke.

        "Is this Mrs. Hayden?" he said.

        "Yes it is," Denise replied.

        "Mrs. Hayden, I'm extremely sorry to have to tell you this but your husband was in a car accident today. I'm afraid he didn't survive."

        The phone slipped and fell from Denise's numb fingers. She hardly noticed when the tears started to trickle down her face. She slowly sank down onto the kitchen floor and started to cry. After a few minutes, she suddenly thought of Kelsey. How would she be able to cope with this? It was her birthday today. Denise managed to muster up enough strength to get up and walk upstairs to Kelsey's room. Her door was closed. Denise started to tremble, knowing that the news would come down like a ton of bricks on Kelsey. She took a deep breath, opened the door and walked in. Kelsey was sitting at her desk, doing her homework. Denise went up to her and wrapped her in a big hug.

        "What's wrong, Mom? Why are you crying?" Kelsey asked, alarmed.

        "Honey, your father..." Denise said helplessly.

        "What's happened to him?' Kelsey asked with forced calmness. "Mom, tell me!"

        "He got into a car accident today... and... and he didn't... he's dead, Kelsey!" Denise sobbed.

        "What?" whispered Kelsey, the colour draining from her face. Denise just stared sadly at her daughter and saw her eyes start to glitter with unshed tears.

She's beautiful, so beautiful

It might get rough sometimes but I hope she keeps her faith (hope she keeps her faith)

I wish I grabbed the chance to say to her

Life is too short so take the time and appreciate

Any but a loving way

Get heard along the way

Don't be afraid to open up

And use the time you have before it fades

Show your love today.

Richard lay panting at the side of the road, knowing he had only minutes left to live. His eyes brimmed over as he thought of all the times he could have told Kelsey he loved her. There was so much he had wanted to tell her' and now he would never get the chance. She would never know what he had planned to tell her that evening. That even if the road sometimes seemed too long and hard, he hoped that she would always have faith in herself. He thought how short life could be and wished he could tell his daughter to take the time and appreciate life's wonders before it was too late. Then a man came and knelt down beside him and all he could think of was to tell him to give his message to Kelsey. Only then could he rest in peace.

She's beautiful, so beautiful

It might get rough sometimes but I hope she keeps her faith (hope she keeps her faith)

I wish I grabbed the chance to say to her

Life is too short so take the time and appreciate

Life is too short so take the time and appreciate

It was two days after the accident. Justin stood outside the Haydens' house. He had the package he had found near Richard in his pocket. For the past two days, all he could think about was Richard's dying words. It had seemed so very important to him that Justin tell his daughter what he had said. This was why he was now standing outside Richard's house. He rang the doorbell and swallowed hard. A woman opened the door. She looked tired and her eyes were red-rimmed as if she'd been crying a lot. It had to be Mrs. Hayden.

        "Excuse me, my name is Justin Carlton," he said. "I'm very sorry about your husband's death. I was there at the time he died and he gave me a message for your daughter, Kelsey. May I please pass it on to her?"

        The woman's eyes had filled with tears again and she nodded, stepping aside to let him in.

        "I'll call Kelsey. Please make yourself comfortable," she said showing him into the sitting room. Justin sat down and looked around the room. There was a picture of Richard and a little girl hanging above the fireplace.

        "Mom said you wanted to talk to me," a voice said. Justin turned around and saw a young girl standing in the doorway.

        "I did," he said. "You must be Kelsey. Please sit down."

        She sat down on the sofa across from him.

        "Your father gave me a message for you before he died," Justin said.

        "What did he say?" Kelsey asked, her voice wavering slightly.

        Justin took a deep breath and began to tell her what Richard had said before he died. When he finished, Kelsey was biting her lip, trying to hold back tears.

        "Your father had this in his hand. I think it was meant for you," Justin said, handing her the package he had found.

        "Thank you," Kelsey said, thickly. "I really appreciate you coming here and telling me this. I think this talk was meant to be part of my birthday present from Dad. This must be the other half," she said, gesturing to the package in her hand.

        "You're most welcome. I'd better be going now," Justin said, getting up. Kelsey accompanied him to the door and let him out.

        "Goodbye," Justin said.

        "Bye," Kelsey whispered. She watched Justin walk away until she couldn't see him anymore. Then she unwrapped the present Dad would have given her. Her eyes flooded with tears when she realised that her father had remembered what she had wanted. Then she went over what her father had wanted to tell her so badly. As a tear dripped down her cheek, she wiped it away resolutely. Her father wouldn't have wanted her to be miserable. She would take his advice and have faith in herself to go on. It wouldn't be easy but she could do it. As her father had said, it was important to appreciate life. That was what she would do.