Hey there.
Long stories are something that are best enjoyed when they're well narrated. Well, I'm no writer, but I guess I'll just give it a shot.
As a common 18 year old teenager, I'm not somebody who worries too much about stuff that you may think will never happen to you, or at least it won't happen 'til it's supposed to. I guess everybody feels the same way if they haven't experienced anything like that themselves, but you know... sht happens.
It was late December 2008, on a normal, boring Sunday morning. My family consists in my parents, my two younger brothers and me. We went to the church. I always try to pay attention, but always get bored at the father's speech that comes after the gospel. My dad and brothers sometimes get bored at it too. My mom gets mad at that, but we all just smile and complain that it's really boring.
At the end, since Christmas had been a couple days ago, the Father started singing a weird song. It spun around my head all day long.
Among my brothers and me, there was a rumor that dad was buying a new car. I heard my mom saying something about it, but when we asked either her or dad, they wouldn't say anything, but would smile and walk away.
Well, on that Sunday, before going to sleep, I took out Harry Potter 7 and read 'til my heart's content. It was very cold, but I wasn't sleepy yet and I wanted to keep on reading. I just arranged well my sheets and stuff and kept on reading. I felt very happy. Our family had been having a really good time at vacations, I had good grades, good health, everything was okay. And also there was the rumor of our dad getting a new car. That would be great, since we're a 5-member family and arranging our schedules wasn't easy.
Man, I couldn't help but smile from time to time while I was reading. I felt really good. I was starting to get sleepy when I heard voices from my parent's room. I didn't worry. Then the voices became louder, and then I heard some steps. Mom came into my room. She looked very worried.
-"What's wrong?", I asked.
-"Have you seen your dad?", she asked. "I woke up a while ago, and he wasn't in our room. I can't find him anywhere!"
-"No...I haven't seen him..."
She started looking even worse. I helped her look around the house, downstairs, check if the car was still parked there...everything seemed normal....except the bathroom upstairs. The light was on, and when we tried to open, the door was locked.
My mom knocked. There was no response. She knocked and knocked again, but nothing happened. I felt a chill down my spine.
My mom forced the door open, and she and my brother entered the bathroom. I stayed outside, I didn't dare to get in there.
Then, I heard my mother's words. Those are something I'll never forget.
-"Rogelio, Rogelio!", she desperately said.
-"Wake up! please---" but we all knew he wasn't going to wake up. I hugged my other brother, tried to calm down my mother, and called an ambulance.
Again, I couldn't help but stay outside of the bathroom. I just heard the doctor say it:
-"Yeah, he's dead. He had a heart attack."
Do you know what's it like to see someone cry in despair, and not being able to do anything? Well, it's horrible. I didn't recognize my mom when she was like that. I still wanted to think it was all a nightmare, that the doctor was wrong, that my dad would wake up..but it was all real.
And while the ambulance paramedics took out the body and my aunts, uncles and grandma came home, that church song started spinning around my head.
I almost didn't cry. Not at that moment. I guess I still didn't believe it. The next day, at the funerary, I couldn't help it. I cried and cried. I calmed down a bit, and heard steps coming towards me. I looked up, and saw my best friend coming in. I couldn't help it. I started crying again, and she hugged me.
My cousin and his best friend, who I didn't know very well, came in too. They stayed all day long. I became closer with my cousin's best friend, Christian.
After the funeral in the church, I started crying in despair. My friends got closer, some tried hugging me, and others were just there, with an indescriptible look in their faces. They didn't know what to do. I wouldn't have known what to do either. I just covered my face with my hands, and cried till I was dry. Then I cried some more. I cried for that person whom I've seen and loved all my life, even if I often argued with him, or I never really told him how much I loved him. I cried for that person who had always cared for me and for all our family, but he didn't tell anything to us so we wouldn't worry. I cried more tears than the ones I cried in many years.
The next day, I received a phone call. It was a car dealing business. My dad was indeed getting a new car. The caller didn't believe it at first when I told her he had just passed away. Insisting on that made me feel worse. I wanted to say that he was alright...that all had been just a nightmare, a fake, a very bad joke..
The last high school semester started. I was still torn. I would rarely smile or laugh, I would get sick at all times, and I wouldn't feel like doing anything at all.
But my friends were always with me, and they often tried to cheer me up. Christian would always come to my and my friends' usual table at recess. With his help, I started feeling better bit by bit.
When I finally recovered, the semester was over. I had finished high school! I feel happy again, and I'm really grateful to my friends, cousin, and of course Christian.
Then the prom dance came. Christian came with me. And he declared to me. He's now my boyfriend.
And, you know, I think I love him.
Rest in peace, Dad.
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I guess every sad story has a good ending. My dad's the one who made me love art, drawing, and reading. Over my last high school semester, I worked on a big drawing to honor him. Here's the link.
http://www.theotaku.com/fanart/view/295316/in_memoriam
