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A Split Second

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Submitted By topcap
Words 866
Pages 4
One Split Second
The day began with a flood of excitement, as everyone rushed around trying to pack. My daughter and her college roommate had arrived home last night; at 7 am, I banged on the walls and said “get up, get up, you have two hours and we are out the door, pack to be gone for four days”. Seven hours later we were sitting on a 17th floor balcony of our condo, overlooking the beach, the place that was to be our home for the next four days. Sometime following, unpacking, a walk on the beach, dinner, some shopping and making plans for the next four days we finally found our way to bed and some much needed rest. My pillow, I carry with me everywhere, felt inviting and familiar as my head laid to rest upon it. The soothing smell of jasmine told me, it was time to rest. The distance sound of the song “I Love Rock N Roll” caused me to stir from my slumber, but not enough to wake me. Then, there it was again piercing through the fog of my sleep “Just take those old records off the self” somewhere through my sleepy fog I realized it was my phone, my baby brother’s signature ringtone. I fumbled to find the little green button that I needed to push to answer, and I noticed the clock was glowing 4:32 am. That is when my stomach dropped, and I knew something was wrong, with trembling hands I pushed the little green button, and in that one split second my life was changed forever.
Expecting to hear my brother’s voice on the other end all I heard was sobbing, the kind that sounds like a person cannot catch their breath. The voice was brother’s wife of seven months, Cindy. With a quiver in my own voice I asked “what’s wrong?” The two words I heard shook my soul to the core, “Stephanie’s dead”. What I heard was that my beautiful 16 year old niece was gone, how does that happen! I asked Cindy where my brother, Richard, was and she said “Vickie I do not know what to do he is in the closet”, as a child Richard would always hide in the closet when he was scared, and his big sister was the only one that could get him out without a fight. Cindy let me know that the only thing Richard said was to call Vickie and she would take care of everything.
I told Cindy I would make the phone calls and I would get there as soon as I could. When I hung up the phone the clock read 4:54, only 17 minutes since I heard the words “just take the old records off the self” why did it feel like an eternity?
I was still sitting on the edge of the bed; I turned and saw my husband sleeping soundly and for some reason I did not wake him. As I stood my legs felt like cooked spaghetti noodles with bricks for feet. I headed down the hallway stopping by the girl’s room to see them sleeping peacefully in their beds. Somehow, I ended up out on the balcony. The night was as black as coal, as sat down, I heard the waves rolling and crashing to the shore. Crashing, that’s what Cindy said, “a crash”, I was starting to remember some of the details she had told me, yet not enough to put it all together. My heart felt heavy, my hands were vibrating like a drum, my mind could not focus, what do I do next? I sat in the dark staring at nothing, I knew I had things to do, but I just could not focus in on the next step. Then, for some reason I stood, closed my eyes, leaned against the wall, and slowly sank to the floor. I found myself curled up in a little ball much like I imagined my brother was in his closet. My tears started to flow, my sobs were drowning out the sound of the crashing waves below, and I began to pray.
I do not know how long I was there, but as my tears subsided and my heart started beating evenly I knew what I had to do.
Eighteen hours later I was in Southern Indiana pulling into my brother’s driveway. As I walked in the house my family was all there. I could see the tear stains on their faces, eyes red and swollen, heads hung low, but what I did not see was Richard. I saw my 14 year old niece sitting in the hall and as she saw me she jumped up, ran to me and wrapped her arms around me. After a few minutes I asked her where her daddy was; she pointed to the hall closet and softly said “there”. I walk over to the closet slowly opened the door, stepped inside and closed the door. A few hours later I again opened the door to the closet, but this time I was stepping out with my brother, we were ready to face what came next.

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