Chapter One - The Worst Day

Chapter One

 

                I was five when my sister died.

Maybe died is the wrong word. ‘Committed suicide’ is a more accurate term for what happened to her.

My parents couldn’t believe it when they opened the door to a police officer with his hat in his hands and a sympathetic expression on his face. A grizzled old man stood behind him, gripping his walking stick so tightly his knuckles has turned white. His skin was pasty white, as if he was ill, and he was visibly shaken.

When she saw the officer, my mother’s polite, one hundred watt smile faltered for a second. She quickly recovered, plastering a grin back on her face. Even back then she was good at faking that everything was alright when it wasn’t.

Her cheery exterior did nothing to lessen the tension that was almost visible in the air. The police officer was trying to hide a grimace, and the old man slumped down, his face darkening though still sad.

“Hello officer,” she said in a bright cheery voice, “How can we help you?”

“I’ve come about your daughter…” he glanced down at his notes, his eyes scanning the paper he held there “Theresa?”

 “Resa? What has she done?” The tone  of a concerned parent thrummed through my mother’s voice, replacing the relaxed, happy way she had greeted the officer earlier. However, this rang with sincerity  “She’s usually such a good girl. This is the third time she’s been in trouble this week. It’s so unlike her.”

She sighed and looked at her feet, leaning against the doorframe slightly as if my sisters behaviour had caused her to lose strength. When the officer cleared his throat, my mother’s head snapped up to look at him, as if remembering we had company. For the first time she registered the old man standing there and her eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment.

“Jenna who’s at the-“

My father’s voice cut off as he saw the men standing in the doorway. He looked confused for a second, but when he glanced over at my mother any confusion he previously felt became worried. He had always been protective over her " something that only increased after this incident " and could see she was scared for my sister.

He walked over to her and put his hand on my mother’s shoulder, flashing her a reassuring smile.

“I recognise you.” He said towards the old man, his low voice echoing through the empty house behind us. “You live in the hut near the train tracks, don’t you? Employed for maintenance… and to stop people crossing who are to drunk or stupid to know better. Resa hasn’t vandalised your property or broken into your house, has she?  I promise we’ll pay for any damages, just don’t press charges.”

 Despite the calm tone with which my father spoke, the man looked shocked to be addressed by him. Any colour he had in his face, drained out, and a flame of panic appeared in his eyes. He spluttered, as if he had been struck speechless for a moment.

“I--I "“ Casting his eyes down, he closed his mouth. Whatever was affecting him had to be pretty awful.

The policeman cleared his throat for a second time, taking the attention off the old man and bringing it back to him. It was at that point he really started to get on my nerves.

 “No, his property is fine. Your daughter hasn’t done anything like that. The incident that has occurred is much more… serious. I think you should sit down before I tell you though, ma’am” he spoke gently, looking directly at my mother, who was getting more anxious by the second.

You could tell that his words were meant to help, but with his last sentence he managed to make my mother look totally terrified.  That was when I decided I didn’t like him at all.

 “Oh… O-okay. Would y-you like to come in?”

The officer ducked through the door at this, strolling through the house and into the living room as if he owned the place. The old man followed behind him, his steps tentative. He glanced at my mum, who still looked scared and flustered, and sped up.

“‘I’ll got turn the dinner off, Jenn. It looks like it’ll take a while. And I’ll sort out coffee for everyone.” My father turned to my mother, his voice low and soft, taking on the endearing tone it always did when he spoke to her. She nodded in consent, grabbing his hand a squeezing it gently.

The officer tried to protest at this, telling my dad it wasn’t necessary and that they’d be fine without a drink, a guilty look on his face the whole time, but my dad brushed off his weak argument and told us he’d only be a minute. Whistling, he strolled into the kitchen, dropping kiss on my mother’s cheek as he left.

She turned around and ushered the two strangers into the living room and I trailed after them, the hems of my too-long school trousers dragging on the carpet.

The two men settled into the two-seater sofa and I jumped up onto my mum’s lap. She smiled at me a pulled me closer to her, hugging me, making me feel loved.  The officer peered at me and, for the third time, cleared his throat. Looking back on it, it was probably a nervous tick he had.

 “Ma’m?” he said in a questioning tone.

When she looked up at him, remnants of the love in her eyes that appeared whenever she spent time with her family, he squirmed under her gaze

 “Do you think that he should leave the room? I …’ He trailed off, seeming afraid to say whatever he was going to.

“Is there reason for him to leave?” she whispered as her body tensed up. She was afraid of the answer.

“Probably.”

 “Well… Sure.” She turned to me. “Corey, why don’t you go upstairs, get changed and get your book ready? I’ll be up soon to read to you, and we’ll have dinner. How does that sound?”

“Okay mummy... But…”

“What honey?”

“Nothing.” I mumbled and I got off of her and started to walk to the door. I wasn’t going to tell her I hated leaving these her alone with those people because I didn’t like them. She obviously trusted them, and besides, who would listen to a five year old?

When I reached the doorway a sudden thought occurred to me, so I turned back to the small group of people seated in the room I was leaving.

“Mum? When will dinner be ready?”

She smiled.

"Soon sweetheart, soon."

With that, I continued on my way out and ran up the stairs. Despite not wanting to leave my mother alone, I was happy to leave the presence of the strange men in the front room. Back then, I didn’t realise how bad things were going to get. Now, I wish I had stayed away.

 

                I struggled up the steeper than average staircase my mum often jokingly called 'Stairverest'  when I was younger. She always used to trick me into going to bed when I didn't want to by asking me if I wanted to go on an expedition. Being the gullible kid I was, I fell for it every time.

 

                When I reached the landing, I ran full pelt into my room before flopping on my bed, fingers groping for the book I knew was hidden under my pillows.

 

                I know, I know. I had been told to get changed, but what can I say? I just wanted to read. Rebellious, right? All I cared about was finding out how the heck Alice got away from the red queen and back to this world.

 

                And yes, Alice in Wonderland is not the most obvious choice for a sports obsessed five year old, but it was my sisters favourite book and I kind of idolised her. Which meant that by reading the book, I could talk to her about something she loved.

 

                However, when I reached under my pillow, my fingers did not find the glossy book cover they were expecting. Instead, they came in contact with the matt surface of a small, folded piece of paper that got caught on the bed sheets when I pulled it out.

 

                My name was written on the front of the paper in an untidy scrawl I knew belonged to my sister. I smiled. Resa knew I loved it when she left me notes.

 

                I unfolded the paper fingers trembling in anticipation of whatever surprise she had planned for me. After all last time it had been a treasure hunt, and the time before that she had taken me out into town for ice-cream and the library. What can I say? She was a great sister.

 

                When I read the note, my brows furrowed. My first thought was 'What on earth?'. It made no sense. Was she purposely trying to confuse me or did she just honestly think I would understand? Suddenly, I had a brainwave.

 

                Mum would know.

 

                I barrelled back down the stairs, almost tripping halfway down, calling her the whole way.

 

                When I reached the downstairs hallway that stairs led to, I sprinted towards the front room, navigating my way around the scattered cups, tea tray and damp patch on the carpet.

 

                I arrived at the doorway, reducing my pace as I neared the room. The silence that emanated from the place that was usually filled with sounds of life and love was ominous

 

                 I peeked my head in, making barely a sound. Somehow my mum heard it, and her head shot round to look at me, my father copying her actions.

 

                When I saw their faces, I stopped in my tracks. They were both so pale and their seemed void of emotion. Their eyes were dim, as if they knew a dark secret, and they looked five years older, as if they had aged in the short time I was gone

 

                'Corey?' my father asked me, his voice cracking halfway through. 'What are you doing down here? Your mother told you to get changed.' A frown flicked across his face briefly, before being replaced with the emotionless mask he had been wearing when I entered the room.

 

                I cautiously stepped into the room, glancing around at all the people in the room. Everyone was looking at me, with the exception of my mother, who had resumed looking at the floor again.

 

                'I-I... Umm...' I stuttered, hating the expectant looks I was receiving. I thrust out my hand and blurted, 'Resa left this under my pillow.'

 

                My dad stared out my outstretched hand that was clutching onto the small piece of paper. I noticed a flutter of motion out of the corner of my eyes, but I continued looking at my dad, wondering why he was staring at the letter as if it was some miracle. I was confused at this; it wasn't like Resa had never left me letters in the past.

 

                'Resa left that for you?'

 

                A hushed voice that belong to my mother, broke the silence that had filled the room once again.

 

                I looked at her. Her clear gaze was focused on me, and she had sat up from her slumped position.

 

                'Y-yes. But it doesn't make sense. That's why I came down' I said, knowing that everyone was watching me, and resenting the fact I came downstairs with these men in the house.

 

                'Can I... Can I see it?' she whispered again, her voice filled with sorrow.

 

                I nodded and hurried over to her, placing it in her hand before she folded her fingers around the paper.

 

                'Jenna,' my dad muttered to her. 'Do you really want to know so soon?' This made me even more confused than I had been a minute ago.

 

                'I have to know, Robert. I have to. I can't stand not knowing.' She told him, a desperate look crossing her face. He sighed and nodded, running his fingers through his hair.

 

                My mother fumbled with the paper as she opened it, fingers shaking just as mine had. Her lips formed the words as she read through the letter:

 

Be brave, Corey.

 You're better than I am.

 I love you.

 Never forget that.

 

                Tears spilt from my mum's eyes and she pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle a choked sob.  My father, who had been reading the letter over her shoulder, was also crying.

 

                'Mum? Why are you crying? What does the letter mean? I don't understand.' I asked, going to her side and wrapping my arms around her.

 

                'Oh Corey...' she said through her tears, pulling me up onto her lap and pressing my face to her chest as she stroked my head. 'Sweetheart. Your sister... she.. well... She passed away.'

 

                'Passed away? Like Grandma did?' I asked, confused, moving my head back, looking straight into her sorrow filled eyes.

 

                She nodded gently.

 

                'She's gone?'.

 

                She nodded again.

 

                I hugged her tightly again, burying my head in her shoulder. My dad sat next to us and embraced us as we all cried. We stayed that way for half an hour, before we remembered that both the officer and old man were still there.

 

                We said goodbye to them, before shutting the door behind them and going up to my parents room to sleep.

 

                I fell asleep straight away, my mum and dad holding me and each other tightly, murmuring words of comfort to me as I drifted off.

 

                Needless to say, that was the worst day of my life.

 

                The rest of that month wasn't great either.

 

Reviews

[Trigorin]

Not bad, and there's obviously a great deal of emotion behind this piece. You've managed to convey that fairly well while avoiding stiltedness and passivity, so well done there. You need to unify your formatting, though - halfway through you start putting an extra line in between paragraphs.

[TashaIsADinosaur]

Thanks so much! :)

[Maria Mercurio]

The story is still intriguing - but it needs a re-write for grammar errors. There are quite a few, mostly just missing commas. With that accomplished, the reader will more prominently feel the pain of loss. Nicely done.

Some sections could use a tweak - for example:
My father’s voice cut off as he saw the men standing in the doorway. He looked confused for a second, but when he glanced over at my mother any confusion he previously felt changed to worry. He had always been protective over her, something that only increased after this incident, and he could see she was scared for my sister.

[TashaIsADinosaur]

Thank you muchly! :)