Remembering

This is not true at all, it's just an idea I had for a story.

I cried as we pulled into the cemetery. It had been exactly a year since she died and I still couldn’t get past the fact that I would never see her sweet little face again. I stared into the clouds searching for heaven, searching for Sally. My mind slowly began to drift back to that day…..

I was sitting at home waiting for Dad to get back from grocery shopping. He had promised to play catch with me and I was excited because I usually got stuck playing hide n’ seek with Sally. When you’re a 12 year old boy and you get stuck playing with your 4 year old sister it can get annoying.  In fact I probably would have been playing with her then except she was with my dad. For some reason Sally liked going to the market, but I wasn’t going to argue because then I didn’t have to go and I could watch TV instead.

I was watching "Toy Story" when the phone rang. All of a sudden I heard my mom burst into tears and she was crying so bad that she had difficulty even hanging up the phone. I ran up to my mom immediately and asked her what was wrong. Her voice was very hoarse and barely audible due to the fact she was crying. Eventually she just picked me up and hugged me for what seemed like hours. Then she sat me down at the table and began to tell me what the call was about.

She still struggled with the words but she finally said, “ That was the hospital. They called because your father and your sister got in an accident. They said your father has minor injuries but S-Sally sustained l-life threatening injuries.”

By this point I was crying hysterically but then I received the worst news. “They s-said she might d-d-die because she has a pu-punctured lung” my mom stammered out. Before I had time to react to this latest piece of information my mom grabbed my arm and rushed me out to the car. She fumbled around with the key but eventually started the car. She hung her head down and tried to stop crying so she could drive. This was ineffective for the most part but we were able to pull out of the driveway.

The whole way to the hospital I cried and cried. It seemed like forever before we got there. When we pulled in my mom whipped in to the nearest parking space, we both jumped out, and ran into the lobby of the hospital. Seeing the frantic look on our faces the nurse immediately asked us what was wrong. My mom told her that her husband and daughter were just in an accident and without any further information we were led down the hall towards the ER. After taking elevators and navigating the halls we arrived to where Sally and my father were.

We saw Sally laying motionless in the hospital bed with my father standing beside her, holding her petite hand . We rushed over and my mother hugged my father and I followed suit. Then we all just looked at each other and seeing the look in my father’s eyes I knew she wasn’t doing well.

“The surgeon said she broke a rib and it punctured her lung. She still had a small chance of surviving when we were taken in, but they’ve tried everything.”

“D-does that mean Sally is d-dead?” I managed to ask. The only response that my dad gave me was a hug and then I heard him whisper to himself, “Why take her God? Why? I’ve lived a longer life, why would you do this to my baby girl?!”

I don’t recall there being a single minute over the next couple of days when I didn’t cry. Every time I thought of her I realized how much I missed her and how much I loved her. The next few days were spent mourning and planning the funeral.

Eventually the day of the funeral came and I struggled to get ready that day because I couldn’t bear to think of what was going to happen. I remember the ride to the funeral being quiet and solemn. The visitation was a nightmare to me because everywhere I looked I was reminded of Sally and I couldn’t escape the sadness surrounding me. I received so many hugs and kisses that day from relatives I knew and some that I didn’t even know existed. Then we headed to the spot where she would be buried. There were flowers, and pictures and even more crying.

Then came the thing I’d been dreading all day. The burial. It was torture for me to see my baby sister’s casket being placed into the ground. I looked away. I couldn’t bear it.

I opened my eyes. What just happened I thought. I looked up to see faces hovering over me. “ Sweetie you fainted during the burial.”

I suddenly came to the realization that Sally was now buried. I cried. I had missed it. I fainted during my sister’s burial and I felt like a jerk. I suddenly felt queasy and ran over to the trees. I came back and my mother put her arm around me and hugged me yet again. Then my mother and father took me home.

“Chris are you okay” my dad said as I slowly came out of my trance.

“Yeah dad I’m fine. I was just, just thinking.” I said. I tried to wipe the tears away from my eyes before my parents could see them.

“Sweetie are you crying? Aww come here, it’s okay” my mom said as she embraced me.

“Thanks mom. You know, I miss her so much”

“We all do sweetie, we all do.” My mom said as we walked towards Sally’s grave. It looked so lonely without any flowers or anything, so I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. I then grabbed the photo of Sally and placed it on the ground beside the grave. I sniffled as I placed a rock on the tip of the photo to keep it from blowing away. Looking at the photo, a tear came to my eyes, but for the first time in over a year, so did a smile.

 

 

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

I'm glad it's not true, but you sure make it sound like it is. Losing a loved one is always a hard pill to swallow, and a very young one especially so. This is excellent writing.

[Gianna Perry]

Was it your intent to make me cry? Sam is right, this does make a person cry. It's alright to 'overuse' the word 'cry', it's a twelve/thirteen year old's perpsective, so they'd be apt to use the same word repeatedly. This is really sad. Very emotional, especially considering you probably don't know a Sally...

[Sam Cambell]

Jong, you literally just made me cry. I don't do that often. How dare you write something so beautiful and sad?! Were you sitting in your room thinking, "Hmm, I wonder if I can make everybody on writerscafe cry?" AND THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME UP WITH! And in spite of that I can't help loving it. Good job.

[Kasey Jones]

It could be more descriptive, but the main message is still strong. I got chills when I read the end. Sad, but well written story. You should consider expanding upon it, maybe.

[Alex Thomas]

Tragic story. Excellent capture of emotions. Movie titles are supposed to be in quotes. You over-use the word cried a bit as well. Still a powerful piece.