Chapter One

I heard yelling and a few crashes, but I struggled to listen. It was too painful to hear. I writhed in my velvety bed as I tried to fall back asleep. I looked outside through the glossy glass window. Lights flickered off in the houses beside mine as the light moved away from my view, and the stars came out. I shifted onto my back and closed my eyes. 1, 2, 3… and then I heard a crash that reverberated throughout the house. I looked towards the end of my bed where a dog laid. His coat was pure white like snow with small black spots all over. He slept on his side with his legs stretched out far behind him. I petted the small dog as he breathed quietly in and out. He methodically moved closer and leaned on me. I stroked his cloud-like fur as I fell into a deep sleep.

           

I peacefully woke up, hearing no noise except for the snores that came from Oreo. I looked out the window to see the sun peeking from behind the tall trees with the warm colored leaves. I listened carefully for any stentorian voices. When I heard none, I believed it would be a good time to head downstairs.

I feebly walked down the soft, white stairs that felt like cotton beneath my feet as I held onto the light brown, wooden railing and peered into the kitchen where my parents usually were. I looked around the house at the piles of books and papers in front of the large cabinets the same color as the railing on the stairs, but I saw no one. Oreo steadily walked down the stairs and headed in the direction of the family room.

“Hello?” I said softly.

“Ruby? In here.” It was my mother’s voice. It sounded very frail.

I followed where the noise was coming from. “Mom? Da-,” I gandered straight into my mom’s pink eyes, her light brown, wavy, unkempt hair covering most of her face. She wore a light beige jacket over her white shirt. She held a tissue that had many rumples and had a box in front of her. She clenched them in her hands as she avoided eye contact. “Mom? Mom, what’s wrong?” I whispered worriedly as I stirred closer to her. She looked at me as she grabbed my hand circumspectfully. “Mom, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.” Her gaze shifted towards me as she opened her mouth, but then she bit her lip and shook her head. Heart pounding, I sat down next to her on the light brown couch. She squeezed my hand and then placed her head on my shoulder. There we sat for the rest of the day, tears rolling down our cheeks.

Eyes focused, I stare intently at the piece of glossy paper in my hand that is full of color, and most importantly, happiness. I count the number of people in the picture. 1,2...3. I fight back the water that is forming in my eyes. It has already been a couple months since the accident, but it still hurts as much as it did before. All of us were smiling and content when we were camping. No one was upset with anyone else. We were all just having a good time.

“Ruby?” My mom says as she knocks on the white, wooden door that leads to my room. I quickly place the picture under my Social Studies textbook and swiftly open my Biology textbook.

“Yeah, Mom?” I say as I pick up a pencil from my pure white desk.

“Dinner is ready, come and eat.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute,” I say as I look at my textbook and start reading from an indiscriminate section of the chapter. “Just let me finish this question.”

“Alright, take your time,” she says as she leaves the room. When the footsteps stop, I wait a few seconds before I take out the photo and look at it again.

-Dilni Pathirana