HOME | DD

Description
A memorable incident

A distant phone rings out through the dormant house, I remember it shaking
me from a deep sleep and wondering why and who was calling at this hour.
It must have been mid July, two years back. It was the most confusing and
frightening thing that I had ever heard, I could hear mum running down the
house and saying “Bruce, Alex is in the Modbury Hospital. We’ll take
Nicole since she’s awake” I figured my brother must’ve been asleep.
Listening to my Mother, Father and older sister rush around to get dressed
and ready to go, I remember looking at the clock and seeing “1:20AM”
printed in green neon font. Quickly getting out of bed, I just missed my
parents driving out the drive way and speeding off towards to main road
leading to the hospital. I felt scared, because I could see Nicole crying
in the car. Soon afterwards my mobile had start vibrating, I had received
a message. I still have the message come to think of it… the message was
describing how my 19 year old cousin had been involved in a late
motorcycle accident and he was in critical condition “Honey, we’ll be home
as soon as possible. Go back inside and go to bed and please don’t worry
about Alex, he always pulls these kinds of stunts” Even though mum had
even added a joke at the end, I still felt uneasy. Alex was my favourite
cousin, I never saw him much but he was someone easy to remember, easy to
remember his joyful nature and love of mucking around. Crying on the step
outside an hour or two had passed, after the tears had finished flowing I
slowly walked to bed and had fallen asleep as soon as I had hit the
pillows. I didn’t want to stay awake to find out the result of what had
happened as I was only a 16 year old teenager who had never experienced
death before. Normally I would never think of it twice, but in my opinion
you never realise how painful it is until you actually experience losing
family or a friend for yourself. That morning when I had woken up, mum was
sitting in the kitchen with dad discussing last night, I was too timid to
ask because I felt like I already knew what the answer was. Mum than
described to me that Alex had slid under a truck at an intersection
collision, he would have survived if the bell bar at the back of the truck
hadn’t caught Alex in the side. She didn’t give me any more details to
that, but as soon as the words “He would have survived” left her lips I
felt my stomach drop in to a pit of ice. Nothing could make me forget that
feeling of being purely numb. After a week or so had passed, Mum announced
to me that we would be attending his funeral, she never said where but
that didn’t really matter to me all that much. The morning I had to dress
for it, the house was dead silent and that feeling of being purely numb
had returned. The funeral was so depressing, everyone was marching through
the doors with their attire all draped in black. All through the ceremony
I kept thinking the entire church had been cast into shadow. I don’t
understand why, but there was a book everyone signed as they walked in but
than again this was my first time with death and first time ever having to
attend a funeral. Beautiful white and red roses were lined up around the
alter, they sent a sickly sweet sent around reminding me of a joyful
nature. There was a door to the left… or was it right behind me. Either
way, my mother had grabbed my hand and led me into a smaller room with a
child like flare. Cartoon characters and children’s art work were printed
on the wall, although I can’t remember which ones they were. I just
remember what was laying before me, which brought back the feeling of my
stomach being thrown into ice. Alex’s open coffin was directly ahead,
holding three red roses while dressed in a dark suit was my former cousin,
Alex. I’ve blocked out what happened in that room, all I remember was
boiling hot tears filling my eyes as I watched mum kiss his forehead. The
ceremony was so beautiful, as the ceremony was half way through not one
pair of eyes didn’t carry a tear or two. That’s one moment I will never
forget, nor is this moment one I will ever want to repeat. Looking into
Alex’s joy filled face only 3 years ago, never would I ever think of this
happening to him in the coming year. I understand it’s just a factor of
life, and no one can escape something as horrible as this, I just find it
amazing that someone can be so happy and healthy… than become nothing but
an empty shell a year later. I can’t say I understand death, but I
understand the pain it put my family and Alex’s friends through and let me
just say it’s like living in a nightmare. To this day I still remember the
pain I had felt, and this incident is something me or my family will never
forget.

Description
A memorable incident

A distant phone rings out through the dormant house, I remember it shaking
me from a deep sleep and wondering why and who was calling at this hour.
It must have been mid July, two years back. It was the most confusing and
frightening thing that I had ever heard, I could hear mum running down the
house and saying “Bruce, Alex is in the Modbury Hospital. We’ll take
Nicole since she’s awake” I figured my brother must’ve been asleep.
Listening to my Mother, Father and older sister rush around to get dressed
and ready to go, I remember looking at the clock and seeing “1:20AM”
printed in green neon font. Quickly getting out of bed, I just missed my
parents driving out the drive way and speeding off towards to main road
leading to the hospital. I felt scared, because I could see Nicole crying
in the car. Soon afterwards my mobile had start vibrating, I had received
a message. I still have the message come to think of it… the message was
describing how my 19 year old cousin had been involved in a late
motorcycle accident and he was in critical condition “Honey, we’ll be home
as soon as possible. Go back inside and go to bed and please don’t worry
about Alex, he always pulls these kinds of stunts” Even though mum had
even added a joke at the end, I still felt uneasy. Alex was my favourite
cousin, I never saw him much but he was someone easy to remember, easy to
remember his joyful nature and love of mucking around. Crying on the step
outside an hour or two had passed, after the tears had finished flowing I
slowly walked to bed and had fallen asleep as soon as I had hit the
pillows. I didn’t want to stay awake to find out the result of what had
happened as I was only a 16 year old teenager who had never experienced
death before. Normally I would never think of it twice, but in my opinion
you never realise how painful it is until you actually experience losing
family or a friend for yourself. That morning when I had woken up, mum was
sitting in the kitchen with dad discussing last night, I was too timid to
ask because I felt like I already knew what the answer was. Mum than
described to me that Alex had slid under a truck at an intersection
collision, he would have survived if the bell bar at the back of the truck
hadn’t caught Alex in the side. She didn’t give me any more details to
that, but as soon as the words “He would have survived” left her lips I
felt my stomach drop in to a pit of ice. Nothing could make me forget that
feeling of being purely numb. After a week or so had passed, Mum announced
to me that we would be attending his funeral, she never said where but
that didn’t really matter to me all that much. The morning I had to dress
for it, the house was dead silent and that feeling of being purely numb
had returned. The funeral was so depressing, everyone was marching through
the doors with their attire all draped in black. All through the ceremony
I kept thinking the entire church had been cast into shadow. I don’t
understand why, but there was a book everyone signed as they walked in but
than again this was my first time with death and first time ever having to
attend a funeral. Beautiful white and red roses were lined up around the
alter, they sent a sickly sweet sent around reminding me of a joyful
nature. There was a door to the left… or was it right behind me. Either
way, my mother had grabbed my hand and led me into a smaller room with a
child like flare. Cartoon characters and children’s art work were printed
on the wall, although I can’t remember which ones they were. I just
remember what was laying before me, which brought back the feeling of my
stomach being thrown into ice. Alex’s open coffin was directly ahead,
holding three red roses while dressed in a dark suit was my former cousin,
Alex. I’ve blocked out what happened in that room, all I remember was
boiling hot tears filling my eyes as I watched mum kiss his forehead. The
ceremony was so beautiful, as the ceremony was half way through not one
pair of eyes didn’t carry a tear or two. That’s one moment I will never
forget, nor is this moment one I will ever want to repeat. Looking into
Alex’s joy filled face only 3 years ago, never would I ever think of this
happening to him in the coming year. I understand it’s just a factor of
life, and no one can escape something as horrible as this, I just find it
amazing that someone can be so happy and healthy… than become nothing but
an empty shell a year later. I can’t say I understand death, but I
understand the pain it put my family and Alex’s friends through and let me
just say it’s like living in a nightmare. To this day I still remember the
pain I had felt, and this incident is something me or my family will never
forget.